At Yule, my kids and I spent the day mostly indoors. It rained, sort of. Enough to make us stay in and snuggle up with cocoa and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This holiday time is coming to a close, and we are all sad about it. It's been a wonderful respite from a dreadful daily life, the past few months. I did a lot of cleansing and purification magick, and there is still more to be done. But the peace and serenity and happiness we had together the past few weeks is it's own brand of magick. On the left there, is Fireball the Reindeer....Sarah has been wearing these antlers at holiday time since she was four. I wonder if she'll take a break next year, when she's fourteen? I hope not.
We built the Yule altar together on the day of the Solstice. The kids found stuff in their rooms for the Goddess and God; I was going to use the big rock from Will for the Goddess and the blue glass sphere from Sarah for the God, but they objected. "Rocks are a symbol of the underworld and Osiris" says Will. I couldn't really argue with that, and certainly a blue glass orb makes a great Isis, so there you go.
The weeks leading up to Yuletide were very hard, for my family. Lots of stress and anxiety around work and school, health and finances. I've been doing a lot of supportive work for us all, we all have in our own ways. And we were very tired. Having the time to just be together, love each other and have enough time and space to reflect on what is and isn't working is what the Long Dark Night is for. As we prepare for the Sun's return, I am clear in my mind and heart about what I want and need as the Wheel turns again.
