One of my favorite ways, and certainly our children's favorite, too, is through song and dance. This in itself raises quite a bit of energy and is a joyful way to celebrate the Divine's presence in our lives and to thank Them for Their continued presence and aid. For us, dancing is simple, organic, and sometimes quite a bit silly and dizzying. But, this only brings about more joy and laughter that, considering the purpose and intent, does nothing but strengthen our offering. The songs that we sing are also simple. My family has songs that we sing for all of the Sabbats, as well as songs for our Gods that we sing in thanks and to praise Them. These songs are repetitive and fairly simple, allowing even the youngest of us to join in (okay, maybe not the very youngest as she's just learning to speak, but she's more than capable of being held and dancing about that way, contributing her joy to ours.)

Another simple offering that my children in particular love is in picking wildflowers and finding stones with which to place upon our Family Altar. During the warmer months, our altar is covered with flowers and small stones, as every day the children will bring in small handfuls of each to give to our Gods. We remove wilted flowers as needed, returning them to the Earth. The stones are all kept, and at this point we are in the process of collecting pretty containers to hold the stones so that they can all remain present on the altar.

Other nice offerings can consist of first portions of meals (with care being that the food is not salted,) as well as the smoldering of herbs and incense, and even the use of oil warmers. Some favorite offering items of certain Deities consist of honey, wine, herbs, and juicy red meat, so knowing your Gods and Their preferences is certainly advisable.

Though, often, that simple heart felt "thank you," expressed with sincerity and love is more than sufficient. 

At three years old, children are gifted a necklace, in acknowledgment of their now being old enough to begin formal training in our Family’s beliefs and practices and in the art of Witchcraft. Yes, we teach our children magick. I know this is a somewhat controversial subject and so I won’t go further into it; perhaps I’ll write about that at a later date. However, I will state that I have more faith in my children to both more successfully and more conscientiously work magick than I do in most magickally practicing adults I’ve encountered. Unless said magick involves the weather, then I’d prefer that the children give it a second thought, especially Titus who seems to have a knack for working the clouds. I digress…

Aurora has not had a Wiccaning/Dedication Ceremony yet and will not for another year. But, she will now participate in our Sun and Moon Day School and she will be expected to participate more so in discussions and activities (such as family meditations.) Come her Dedication Ceremony, she will then participate in family Rituals and formal worship of our Gods. 

Happy Birthday, my darling Beaner! May the Gods smile upon you and keep you safe. 

The weather, as of late, is troubling to me. I live in Wisconsin, and Winter is generally a harsh time. To say it is cold is an understatement when more often than not, venturing outside for more than a few minutes is to risk frost bite. There’s rarely any powder snow as the cold tends to make it freeze, rendering it hard, crunchy, sharp. Winter is a time of the Crone, of remembering our mortality, of taking stock, and letting go. But this year, when it’s nearly Imbolc and we’ve just gotten snow, I’m finding it hard to adjust to this change in the energy currents. 

Solar energies were off all last year; I’m sure I mentioned that elsewhere. And this made living in tune with the cycles of Nature to be rather difficult, as the rhythm was so different from the norm. Sabbat energy failed to peak as it should, and even Full Moon energy seemed off, as if the Lady was distracted, concerned for Her lover and His unusual behavior. 

Generally, the Winter is a time of quiet and solitude. Much like the Dark Moon, it is a time of turning inward and making changes. Come the thaw of Imbolc and this change is accelerated, assisted; gentle Zephyrus helps to blow any obstacles away. In Wisconsin, the week after the thaw is met with a furious storm. Stribog turns back Zephyrus for one last run, and the ice and snow blow back in. The world returns to ice and cold and these changes then become solidified within us, as we are once more bid to turn inward, to analyze the progress, and reaffirm its worth.

But not this year.

This year we have days of 50 degree weather –in January. My mind still can’t wrap around that one; it feels more like mid November, or the late October’s of my childhood. And the toll its taking on my emotions is obvious. 

Were it not for the particularly strong Full Moon we just experienced, I’m not sure I would have succeeded in the profound change that I normally experience in Winter. Rather, problem areas were let to build, to escalate, and to threaten relationships with those I care most about; thank the Lady that it didn’t.

As I sit here typing, a gentle blizzard plays outside the window next to me. Tiny snowflakes dance through the air, blowing up and sideways just as much as they blow downward. I feel calm; I’m happy for the snow. And though the usual pattern was disrupted, I feel it may have been to my advantage: I get a second chance this Winter to grow and come closer to being who I am meant to be, to doing what I am meant to do.  

Ignoring the theories perpetuated by pop culture, some of the superstition of this day may come down to the fact that in England, hangings were traditionally carried out on Friday and the hangmen was paid 13 pence for each hanging. Or perhaps because it was on a Friday the 13th that the Knights Templar were seized and tortured to confession by the Church. Another possibility is because Jesus was betrayed by his thirteenth disciple and then died on a Friday. There are more theories, but, still, no one truly knows why Friday the 13th is believed to be unlucky or precisely when this idea originated.

In considering this day from a magickal perspective, we see that the meaning behind this day differs slightly. Friday corresponds to the Norse Goddess Frigg, wife of Odin, a Goddess of love, prophecy, and marriage. The number 13 is a number of rebirth, it is the end of one thing and the beginning of another. Witches have long been thought to gather in groups of 13, and in many Traditions this remains true. Also, the Moon goes through Her cycle 13 times in one year, lending greater significance to this number for Witches and other magickally minded people. 

Keeping these points in mind, then, we see that, magickally, today is a good day to use your creativity to make manifest your desires, especially in regards to romantic affairs. In considering that our Lady currently wanes, this magickal efforts today would be well suited to clearing out obstacles that prevent us from being happy in love. You know what I'm talking about: we all do it. We've got those little personality quirks that when things are going great make us have to create problems. Suddenly, the smallest thing annoys us and makes us question the entire relationship, makes us stop trying. Today is a good day to get rid of that.

Love fully. 

It seems fitting, though I'm unsure of how we're going to work the usual Winter Solstice ritual. Something about fire and a tree (even if it is synthetic; we can't do the potted tree and we've used this tree every year since it was given to us several years ago) makes me uneasy. Keep thinking of combining bits from our outdoor rituals involving actual living trees, but that feels blasphemous to me. 

I'm still working out my thoughts and feelings on this one. It's a change I'm not particularly liking and though I'm trying to be flexible I feel more liking I'm going to snap then bend and adjust. That, too, seems only fitting as this time more than any other in the year is accompanied by much stress and agitation.

The children don't care much one way or the other. They're happy as long as there is a tree, cookies, and presents. Admittedly, I wish my own concerns were there. But, this holiday season leaves me only feeling nauseous. Trying to be excited, trying to feel the magic (spelling on purpose,) but there's too much change going on within our extended families. Yes, my Taurus Sun is showing and me fighting change is a common theme, but that doesn't make it any easier. 

But, we may be baking cookies tomorrow. Nothing fancy, some sugar, some drop, all yummy. Still debating the spice cookies if only because I can't find the electric herb grinder and grinding that much clove by hand with the mortar and pestle will be impossible to achieve timely and without a huge mess (because the three older children will insist on trying, too. Experience says this is not advised. lol)

As my blogging has been rather sporadic lately, I wish you all, precious readers, a very Blessed Winter Solstice and Dark Moon. 

Namaste!


*I know, I know: it's more accurately termed a "shrine" as it is only truly an altar while being actively used. When not in use, this somewhat-decorated-highly-symbolic-flat-surface is a shrine to our Gods and ancestors. Forgive the inaccuracy 'twas merely sticking with common terms for ease of conversation.