Yuletide Thanks: Day 1

Doors are metaphorically opened to welcome all who are wandering (those who have passed as well as the living), with all who enter bringing mother nature to adorn the inside of the house by decking ‘the halls with boughs of holly’ as well as ivy and any other evergreen main staples at this time of year. A yule candle would be re-lit from the old stub of last year and a yule log (usually a trunk) would be set to burn for the following 12 days.

These traditions are easy to rekindle albeit scaled down, with tealights sitting on a burred out piece of wood and a family walk to gather greenery to decorate the house. Don’t forget to tell visitors to bring some of mother nature with them too when they visit, that way they are contributing to the overall energy of the house. Evergreens are a symbol of hope and rebirth and bringing them into the house wards off misfortune and brings protection and luck by providing a safe haven for woodland spirits. for more on this symbolism see here

The first night of Yule is called ‘The Mothernight’ and traditionally a vigil would be held from dusk till dawn to welcome the sun rising again on the morning of the 23rd. Today cast your mind back to the beginning of this year, did you set out with resolutions and good intentions… did those intentions come to fruition or did you find them wanting as you got caught up in daily life through the early signs of spring in February? Give thanks for all the intentions you had regardless of the outcome; be thankful for the lessons you learned from choices that changed at the beginning of the year as well as those that remained.

Think about motherhood on Mothernight

Think about your connection with the earth; give thanks for mother earth as the great provider of all things great and small.

Think about your connections with your mother; give thanks for her bringing your life into the world and for the lessons you have learnt, be they painful or joyous.

Think about yourself as a life giver, regardless of having children you give birth to each new idea in your life; give thanks for your inner alchemy and its ability to create your own reality and all that it touches.

Enjoy the ritual of consuming your sweet/fruit/nut symbols of thanks

Have a happy Yule one and all

Yuletide thanks day 2