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Some exciting things are happening at Red Feather, just in time for this magical holiday season:
To celebrate the release of The Three Principles of Oneness by Anthony Stultz, we are offering a RARE opportunity to “Ask Sensei Tony” any question you have about cosmic oneness, Buddhism, spiritual living, or anything else that you’d like to know. In much the same style as the end of his book, Sensei Tony will choose one or two questions to answer for our final blog of December to end 2019 with his wise counsel.
To ENTER, email us with your question by clicking this button:
Dear Wee Witches (and your Grown-Ups),
Since many of us celebrate really important holidays at the end of December, we thought that exploring and explaining our poems and pictures a little more might help make the most wonderful Wiccan holiday of YULE extra meaningful and fun for you!
is for YULE…
“Purple twine and some twigs
Make a five-pointed jewel
For crowning the holly tree:
Beautiful Yule!“
Yule, also known as the Winter Solstice, is one of the eight major celebrations on the Wheel of the Year. Solstice means “Sun (sol) Stands Still (sistere),” in Latin, and is the shortest day of the year, as well as the longest night. It is the first day of Winter and marks the time of year when we begin to move out of the darkness toward the light; the returning of the Sun.
The burning of a Yule log in the fireplace, and the stringing of a Yuletide Tree with tiny lights are both rituals celebrating the rebirth of the Sun’s light. The Holly Tree is sacred to Wiccans as it represents both Death and Rebirth. We light a fire and decorate a tree in order to welcome the warmth and promise of the Sun’s return as the days grow longer and the darkness of night recedes.
Crowning our Yule Holly Tree is a five-pointed star called a Pentagram, which has a very special meaning in our faith. The star’s points stand for the elements of Air, Fire, Water, and Earth, with Spirit at the top — five points contained in a circle, which unites us all together. Every living thing contains Air, Fire, Water, Earth, and Spirit; ingredients in a recipe for life.
In our illustration of the letter “Y,” the Wee Witch peeks through the center of a Pentagram. She is you! Created from the five elements, at the center of the five points of light inside us all.
is for UNTYING
“Untying three knots —
Sisters red, black, and white —
Sets wishes in motion
This Midsummer’s night.”
The ritual act of braiding cord or ribbon is akin to weaving magic. We make a wish, or set something firmly in our minds called an “Intention,” and, as we braid the ribbon, we think hard about our wish and set it in motion, help make it become real.
In our illustration of the letter “U,” the Wee Witch has three ribbons colored red, black, and white, representing Birth, Life, and Death. They also stand for the Maiden (white for purity), the Mother (red for childbirth), and the Crone (black for wisdom). Our Wee Witch is the Maiden, who is connected to, or woven together with, the statue of the Mother, who in turn is linked to the old witch, the Crone doll — the three of them representing the Cycle of life.
The Wee Witch is performing this ritual on another Wiccan holiday, “Midsummer’s Night;” when the fairies are out-and-about, and magic is in the air. Midsummer is the Summer Solstice, the beginning of Summer, and also called “Litha.” It is the longest day of the year, at the exact opposite point on the Wheel of the Year from Yule.
**Note: You can see another version of this ritual in the illustration for the Letter “H” in our book, where the Wee Witch there is braiding a corn dolly.
is for
LORD and LADY
“Her shawl is soft showers.
His blanket, crisp snow.
The Lady brings snowdrops.
The Lord, mistletoe.”
For Wiccans’ “The Lord” is the God, and “The Lady” is the Goddess, the male and female sides of ourselves, two halves of the Spirit that connects us to each other and to all life. We use statues, or photographs, or puppets to help focus our minds, and to look for a deeper understanding of what is both masculine and feminine within us.
In our illustration of the letter “L,” the Wee Witch puts on a puppet show with The Lady and The Lord. In the background is a cut-out stag that stands for the God, which equals The Lord, which equals The Male Side of things. See how her Lord Puppet wears stag horns? The Lady’s snowdrops and The Lord’s mistletoe are two more examples; they also stand for the Female and Male sides that are part of us all.
Look for these kinds of connections on every page of Wee Witches. They are called “Correspondences.”
is for EARTH
“It’s best to go barefoot
To honor the Earth.
Winter toes, Summer toes;
Sleep and Rebirth.”
Earth equals The World, equals The Lord and The Lady, equals Spirit equals US! When we “honor the Earth,” we show respect for ourselves, and for our planet, and for every animal and plant we share her with. When we take off our shoes and touch the Earth with our bare feet, we become one with the ground beneath us, and can sense its solid support; we feel safe, like being held in our mother’s arms.
The Wee Witch in the picture plants a little pansy, one of the first signs of Spring when everything comes back to life; this is called “rebirth.” See the pussywillow branches that surround her? They are also signs of Spring, as that’s when the little furry buds begin to sprout again for another season. The snow is melting, and the icicle ornaments are beginning to drip away the “sleep” of Winter.
Even the Sunflower is happy to be reborn come the Spring. What a silly smile!
Wee Witches and Red Feather hope you, and your family, and your pets, plants, and puppets, have a really beautiful Yule!
Want to purchase the perfect Yule Book Gift Bundle for your kids?
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