This season of so many holidays can be so joyous! It can also feel overwhelming. There is so much to be grateful for over the holidays, and this time of year can also bring up a lot of sadness and grief for a lot of us. The seasons and cycles help us to keep returning to what is most important. Whether you celebrate Winter Solstice, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or another holiday, this yuletide season is filled with visceral memories for most of us. Signs of the seasons are all around us. Memories of childhood and holidays past seem to be really connected with this time of year for many people. It’s a good time of year to remind ourselves of the spiral we are all in- continuing to return to the same place again and again, and yet it’s never quite the same on each return. Cherishing our memories while also allowing ourselves to feel the grief for what is not with us now is important. Let this holiday season work with you wherever you are now. Give yourself some quiet time amidst all the noise and celebration. Be gentle with yourself and with others. We are all riding this wave of seasonal gratitude and grief.
Make a Solstice Herbal Blessing for your Home
I like to take some time during this season to make a Yuletide herbal blessing to bless and protect my home. These are some of the plants I use that grow where I live. Work with the plants that call to you.
Cedar for prayer, healing, dreams, protection, and power
Rosemary for cleansing, consecration, peace of mind, and remembrance
Hemlock Tree for protection, healing, change & movement, and togetherness
Pine for protection, healing, and energy
Mix the plants you choose in a mortar, stir and pound them with the pestle and imbue the herbs with your magick and intentions for your home, your family, and your community in the coming year. You can use it as an incense, put it on your home fire, or sprinkle the herbs around your house. As you breathe in the scent of the yuletide blessing, send out your intentions for the coming year.
I hope this season is gentle with you, and supports you in sinking into the spirals around us and within us. Blessed Yule.
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