YULE THINGS TO DO

Prayers:
 O! Mighty goddess, in silvery ice,
watching over us as we sleep,
a layer of shining white,
covering the earth each night,
frost on the world and in the soul,
we thank you for visiting us.
Because of you, we seek warmth
in the comfort of our homes and hearths.
________________________________
 
Cold and dark, this time of year,
the earth lies dormant, awaiting the return
of the sun, and with it, life.
Far beneath the frozen surface,
a heartbeat waits,
until the moment is right,
to spring.
________________________________
 
Great sun, wheel of fire, sun god in your glory,
hear me as I honor you
on this, the shortest day of the year.
Summer has gone, passed us by,
the fields are dead and cold,
all of earth sleeps in your absence.
Even in the darkest times,
you light the way for those who would need a beacon,
of hope, of brightness,
shining in the night.
Winter is here, and colder days coming,
the fields are bare and the livestock thin.
We light these candles in your honor,
that you might gather your strength
and bring life back to the world.
O mighty sun above us,
we ask you to return, to bring back to us
the light and the warmth of your fire.
Bring life back to earth,
Bring light back to earth.
Hail the sun!
_______________________________________
 
Beneath the tree of light and life,
a blessing at this season of Jul!
To all that sit at my hearth,
today we are brothers, we are family,
and I drink to your health!
Today we do not fight,
We bear no one ill will.
Today is a day to offer hospitality
to all that cross my threshold
in the name of the season.
_______________________________________
 
The food is put away for the winter,
the crops are set aside to feed us,
the cattle are come down from their fields,
and the sheep are in from the pasture.
The land is cold, the sea is stormy, the sky is gray.
The nights are dark, but we have our family,
kin and clan around the hearth,
staying warm in the midst of darkness,
our spirit and love a flame
a beacon burning brightly
in the night.
_________________________________________________________
 
Rituals:

Blessing your Yule Tree

If your family uses a holiday tree during the Yule season - and many Pagan families do - you might want to consider a blessing ritual for the tree, both at the time you cut it down and again before you’ve decorated it.

Things to take with you

You’ll want to have the following items on hand when you go to cut down a tree for Yule:

• A sharp saw
• Gloves
• Rope
• Some fertilizer sticks and birdseed

Selecting Your Tree

First of all, make sure you’re in a place where you have permission to cut trees. Either find a local Christmas tree farm, or if you’re on private property, get the approval of the landowner before you cut anything. Never cut a tree down in a park or forest without permission.

Don’t just randomly start hacking away at trees. Take some time to wander around and find the tree that’s right for you. Often, you’ll know the right tree when you find it - it will be just the right height and width, the exact fullness you want, and so forth. 

Cutting Down Your Tree

If you’ve found the right tree, take a moment to touch it. Feel its energy flowing from the earth and into you. Recognize that once you’ve cut it down, it will no longer be a living thing.

In many traditions, people find it comforting to ask the tree for permission to make the first cut.

In Dorothy Morrison’s book Yule, she recommends asking the tree to move its spirit deep into the ground so that it will not feel injury or pain when you cut the trunk.

Use the following blessing before you make the cut:

O evergreen, mighty tree, you who are full of life.
I am about to make the cut, and ask your permission.
We will take you into our home and honor you,
adorning you with light in this season of the sun.
We ask you, o evergreen, to bless our home with your energy.

As an alternative, if you have children with you and you’d like to make the occasion more fun than somber, try something like this instead:

Evergreen, evergreen, big fat tree!
I ask you now please to come home with me!
We’ll cover you with ornaments and lots of pretty lights,
and let you shine about our house at Yule, the longest night!
Thank you, tree, thank you tree, for the gift you give today,
we’ll plant another in your name, when spring comes our way!

Make the cut about eight inches above the ground, and cut quickly. Make sure no one is standing on the opposite side when the tree begins to fall. Using the gloves to protect your hands if necessary, tie the rope around the trunk so you can pull it out of the area. Before leaving, push the fertilizer sticks into the soil near the cut trunk. This will promote new growth from the remaining stump. If you can, periodically stop by and add more fertilizer sticks to the newly sprouted branches.

You may wish to also leave some birdseed on the ground as an offering to the wildlife in the area. Some families even use the birdseed to cast a protective circle around the stump where they’ve cut their tree down. Finally, if you’ve promised to plant a new tree somewhere in the spring, be sure to keep your word.

Decorating Your Tree

Decorating a Yule tree is a lot of fun, and should be a celebration of family. Put on some holiday music, light some incense or scented candles, get a pot of herbal tea brewing, and turn it into a ritual of its own. Before you decorate, you may wish to bless the tree once more.

Have on hand some salt, incense, a candle and water. Bless the tree as follows:

By the powers of earth, I bless this tree,
that it shall remain sacred, a symbol of life,
stable and strong in our home throughout the Yule season.
By the powers of air, I bless this tree,
as the cool winter winds blow away the baggage of the old year,
and we welcome the brightness of the new into our hearts and home.
By the powers of fire, I bless this tree,
as the days have gotten shorter, and the nights grown dark,
yet the warmth of the sun is returning, bringing with it life.
By the powers of water, I bless this tree,
a gift I give, that it may stay bright and green for us a bit longer,
so that we can enjoy the harmony and peace of Yule.

 As you say the blessing, sprinkle the salt around the tree in a circle (not on the tree, just around it), smudging with the incense, passing the candle over it, and finally, adding water to the tray at the bottom.

Once you’ve finished the blessing, decorate your tree and celebrate!

____________________________________________________________________

Family Yule Log Ceremony

If your family enjoys ritual, you can welcome back the sun at Yule with this simple winter ceremony. The first thing you’ll need is a Yule Log. If you make it a week or two in advance, you can enjoy it as a centerpiece prior to burning it in the ceremony. You’ll also need a fire, so if you can do this ritual outside, that’s even better. As the Yule Log burns, all members of the family should surround it, forming a circle.

If you normally cast a circle, do so at this time.

This first section is for the adults – if there is more than one grownup, they can take turns saying the lines, or say them together:

The Wheel has turned once more, and
the earth has gone to sleep.
The leaves are gone, the crops have returned to the ground.
On this darkest of nights, we celebrate the light.
Tomorrow, the sun will return,
its journey continuing as it always does.
Welcome back, warmth.
Welcome back, light.
Welcome back, life.

The entire group now moves deosil – clockwise, or sunwise – around the fire. When each member has returned to his or her original position, it is time for the children to add their part. This section can be divided amongst the children, so that each gets a chance to speak.

Shadows go away, darkness is no more,
as the light of the sun comes back to us.
Warm the earth.
Warm the ground.
Warm the sky.
Warm our hearts.
Welcome back, sun.

Finally, each member of the group should take a moment to tell the others one thing that they are thankful for about their family – things like “I am happy that Mom cooks us such wonderful food,” or “I’m proud of Alex because he helps people who need it.”

When everyone has had a chance to speak, walk sunwise once more around the fire, and end the rite. If possible, save a bit of this year’s Yule log to add to the fire for next year’s ceremony.

____________________________________________________________________

 Recipes:

Wassail

History and Folk:

The word Wassail comes from the Anglo Saxon word wes hál, which means to be whole or to be of good health depending on the context that its used in. In Old Norse its called ves heill, which is used as a salutation use at Yule as the Wassail bowl is passed from person to person with joyous toasts and loud singing. Many Wassail carols are sung as people travel from home to home in the town to bring good wishes in return for a small gratuity that may be a small gift of food or drink or monetary. The Apple Tree Wassail song is sung to help bring a good crop of cider for the following year. One of these carols that is still sung today is the Gower Wassail.

But Wassail is not just songs and carols, its also a cider.

Ingredients:

• 3 red apples
• ¼ Cup packed brown sugar
• 2 pints hard cider or brown ale
• ½ pint dry white wine
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ginger strips (not powdered)

Directions:

Get things stared by coring the apples and heating them with the brown sugar and half of the brown ale or hard cider in the oven for 30 minutes.

Once you have the apples out of the oven put them in a large pan and add the spices and ginger strips, let it simmer on stove top for 5 minutes.

Don’t add in the rest of the alcohol until the last minute so it heats up but doesn’t evaporate. If you don’t have access to hard cider, ale or wine you can use burgundy or brandy.

White sugar and halved oranges are also sometimes added depending on your taste preferences.

Serves 8.

____________________________________________________________________

 

Old-World Manicotti

Ingredients:

• 12 large manicotti shells
• 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese divided
• 2 cups ricotta cheese
• 6 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 2 tablespoons dried basil
• 1 (26-ounce) jar prepared spaghetti sauce, divided
• ½ cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 350, Spray 13 x 9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
• Cook pasta according to directions. Drain, rinse with cool water. Let pasta dry on paper towels
• For filling, in medium bowl, stir together 3 cups mozzarella with the ricotta and fresh basil. Using a teaspoon, carefully stuff pasta shells with prepared cheese mixture.
• Spoon 2 cups spaghetti sauce into prepared baking dish. Arrange stuffed pasta over sauce. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over top of pasta. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.
• Bake manicotti for 15 minutes. sprinkle with the Parmesan; bake for 10 minutes longer. Serve immediately.

*Another method to stuff the manicotti: Put the cheese mixture in a large resealable plastic food storage bag, cut off one corner of the bag, the same size as the manicotti opening and squeeze the bag to fill the pasta.

____________________________________________________________________

 

Yule Log

History and Folk:

Christmas is almost here, and ‘tis the season for rich food traditions. Be it cookies and milk under the tree for Santa, candy canes or figgy puddings, it’s hard to think of a Christmas ritual that isn’t tied to food. And what proper bakery would go through a holiday season without a giant, delicate Yule log in the front case? The Yule log cake (or bûche de Noël for French speakers) is an elaborate creation consisting of a rolled, filled sponge cake, frosted with chocolate buttercream to look like tree bark and festooned with meringue mushrooms, marzipan holly sprigs, spun sugar cobwebs and any other sort of edible decoration.

The history of the Yule log cake stretches all the way back to Europe’s Iron Age, before the medieval era. Back then, Celtic Brits and Gaelic Europeans would gather to welcome the winter solstice at December’s end. People would feast to celebrate the days finally becoming longer, signaling the end of the winter season. To cleanse the air of the previous year’s events and to usher in the spring, families would burn logs decorated with holly, pinecones or ivy. Wine and salt were also often used to anoint the logs. Once burned, the log’s ashes were valuable treasures said to have medicinal benefits and to guard against evil. Some groups claimed the ashes would protect the bearer from lightning—an important quality at a time when houses (and most of the contents in them) were made of wood.

With the advent of Christianity, the Yule log tradition continued, albeit on a smaller scale. Families may have burned a log on Christmas Eve, but smaller hearths became the norm so huge logs were impractical. Those small hearths, however, were perfect for baking cakes. We don’t know who exactly made the first Yule log cake, but judging from the individual ingredients it could have been as early as the 1600s. Marzipan and meringue decorations, two of the most popular choices for Yule logs, appeared on many a medieval table. Sponge cake, which often constitutes the base of the log, is one of the oldest cakes still made today. It dates back to at least 1615, when the first known recipe appeared in Gervaise Markham’s tome “The English Huswife.”

Parisian bakers popularized the cake in the 19th century, and different bakeries became known for their more elaborate decorations. Nowadays, few people make Yule logs at home, but that doesn’t mean you should pass up a slice in favor of apple pie or a second helping of mashed potatoes. Enjoy your bûche de Noël, and think of the hundreds of years of history behind it.

Ingredients:

for the cake

• 6 large eggs (separated) 
• 150 grams caster sugar 
• 50 grams cocoa powder 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 5 teaspoons icing sugar (to decorate) 

for the icing

• 175 grams dark chocolate (chopped) 
• 250 grams icing sugar 
• 225 grams soft  butter 
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4/350ºF.
2. In a large, clean bowl whisk the egg whites until thick and peaking, then, still whisking, sprinkle in 50g / ¼ cup of the caster sugar and continue whisking until the whites are holding their peaks but not dry.
3. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks and the remaining caster sugar until the mixture is moussy, pale and thick. Add the vanilla extract, sieve the cocoa powder over, then fold both in.
4. Lighten the yolk mixture with a couple of dollops of the egg whites, folding them in robustly. Then add the remaining whites in thirds, folding them in carefully to avoid losing the air.
5. Line a Swiss roll tin with baking parchment, leaving a generous overhang at the ends and sides, and folding the parchment into the corners to help the paper stay anchored.
6. Pour in the cake mixture and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Let the cake cool a little before turning it out onto another piece of baking parchment. If you dust this piece of parchment with a little icing sugar it may help with preventing stickage, but don’t worry too much as any tears or dents will be covered by icing later. Cover loosely with a clean tea towel.
7. To make the icing, melt the chocolate – either in a heatproof bowl suspended over a pan of simmering water or, my preference, in a microwave following the manufacturer’s guidelines – and let it cool.
8. Put the icing sugar into a processor and blitz to remove lumps, add the butter and process until smooth. Add the cooled, melted chocolate and the tablespoon of vanilla extract and pulse again to make a smooth icing. You can do this by hand, but it does mean you will have to sieve the sugar before creaming it with the butter and stirring in the chocolate and vanilla.
9. Sit the flat chocolate cake on a large piece of baking parchment. Trim the edges of the Swiss roll. Spread some of the icing thinly over the sponge, going right out to the edges. Start rolling from the long side facing you, taking care to get a tight roll from the beginning, and roll up to the other side. Pressing against the parchment, rather than the tender cake, makes this easier.
10. Cut one or both ends slightly at a gentle angle, reserving the remnants, and place the Swiss roll on a board or long dish. The remnants, along with the trimmed-off bits earlier, are to make a branch or two; you get the effect by placing a piece of cake at an angle to look like a branch coming off the big log.
11. Spread the yule log with the remaining icing, covering the cut-off ends as well as any branches. Create a wood-like texture by marking along the length of the log with a skewer or somesuch, remembering to do wibbly circles, as in tree rings, on each end.
12. You don’t have to dust with icing sugar, but I love the freshly fallen snow effect, so push quite a bit through a small sieve, letting some settle in heaps on the plate or board on which the log sits.

MAKE AHEAD TIP:

Make the Yule Log up to 1 week ahead and store in an airtight container in a very cool place.

FREEZE AHEAD TIP:

Make the Yule Log and freeze in a rigid container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in a cool room and store in an airtight container until needed.

____________________________________________________________________

 

Yule Moon Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 ¼ cup sugar
• 2 tsp. grated lemon peel
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1 1/3 cup flour
• 1 ½ cup grated almonds (blanched)
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Icing

• 2 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 ½ Tbsp. water

Directions:

Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy and light. Add grated lemon peel, salt, flour, grated almonds, and 1 tsp. vanilla; mix thoroughly.

Place dough in bowl. Cover and chill thoroughly.

When the dough is well chilled; or the next day, roll out dough to 1/8" thickness and cut with moon/crescent cookie cutter.

Place ½" apart on un-greased baking sheet. Bake in preheated 375° oven for 8-10 minutes.

While cookies bake, combine confectioner’s sugar, vanilla and water.

Spread over the tops of cookies while still warm, but not too hot, as icing will melt. Thin with additional drops of water if glaze is too thick.

Allow cookies to cool. 

____________________________________________________________________

Yule Mule Cocktails

Ingredients:

•  9 limes
•  750ml vodka
•  crushed ice
•  3 x 750ml bottles ginger beer, chilled

Directions:

1. Juice 6 limes. Cut remaining 3 limes into small wedges. Pour vodka and 1 cup lime juice into a carafe or jug. Stir to combine.
2. Half-fill twelve 300ml-capacity highball glasses with crushed ice. Pour over 1/3 cup vodka mixture. Top with ginger beer and lime wedges. Serve.
   _________________________________________________________________
    Craft:  
   
   Yule Goat

   

   Witchy Ball

   

   Magical Gingerbread Poppets

   

   Handmade Yule Ornaments: Dried Oranges

   

   Pine Cone and Felt Gnome Yule Ornament

   

   Toadstool Ornaments

   

   Cashmere and Herb Heart

   

   Winter Nights Incense

   

   Yule Simmering Potpourri

   

   Winter Solstice Oil

   ________________________________________________________________

   Yule Pomander Magic

   

   Pomanders, in their various forms, have been used to add delightful scents to people’s lives since the middle ages. The word “pomander” actually comes from a French phrase, pomme d’ambre, which translates to “apple of amber.” Originally filled with perfumes, early pomanders were wooden, metal or porcelain balls that were either placed around a room or carried on one’s person. These early pomanders included various herbs, spices, and even ambergris that were ground up into a fine powder and placed in a ball or even a pouch. There are paintings of Queen Elizabeth I holding her pomander ball.

   Today, people use pomanders primarily as a room freshener or decorative item. They can be placed in drawers to keep clothing smelling nice, left in decorative bowls to freshen a room, or even used in aromatherapy.

   When the Yule season rolls around, why not make fresh pomanders to decorate your home? Add some colored ribbon, and you can hang them from your holiday tree, or give them away as handmade gifts!

   You’ll need:

   • An orange
   • Whole cloves
   • Ribbon
   • Small pins

   Wrap the orange in ribbon - usually a quick cross design is simple and easy. You can use the pins to hold the ribbon on place. Use the cloves to stud the skin of the orange in any design you like — you can do them in rows, spirals, or even a pentacle on either side! Be sure that the cloves don’t touch one another. If they do, as the orange dries, you may notice cloves falling out. Try to include a lot of cloves, whichever pattern you choose to use - less empty space is better as the orange dries out.

   Some people like to roll their studded pomander in a blend of spices. To do this, mix equal parts cinnamon, nutmeg, or your other favorite scents into a bowl, and roll the orange in the mix until it’s completely coated.

   The orange will last longer if you “cure” it, or dry it out. To do this quickly, you can place it in the oven at a low temperature (around 150 degrees) for an hour or two - the bonus to this is that it makes your house smell spectacular.

   If you’ve got a little more time, you can place your clove-studded orange in a paper bag, and let it sit in a cool, dry place for four to six weeks. Be sure to check your orange periodically to make sure it hasn’t begun to mold - if it does, it mean that cool dry place has moisture in it, and you’ll need to throw your orange away.

   A cured pomander will last a very long time. Once it’s done drying out, add decorative ribbon so you can hang it up for all to see - you may want to use decorative pins to hold the ribbon in place. If you make a bunch of pomanders, place them in a bowl where they’ll look pretty through the Yule holiday season.

   The orange is associated, like many fruits, with abundance, fertility and prosperity. As you’re making pomanders with oranges, you can incorporate them into magical practice. As you poke the cloves through the skin, focus your intent on bringing abundance your way.

   ________________________________________________________________

   Yule Oracle

   

   Yule is nearly upon us and we have little time to find the last perfect gifts :) So, let’s craft! Yes, because, peeking on the web, I found a very interesting idea about an oracle made of salt dough.

   In theme, beautiful and above all ECONOMIC …

   Below you will find the procedure I used to compose this beautiful Yule Oracle !!

   Ingredients for the dough:

   • 1 Cup of salt
   • ½ Cup of water
   • ½ Cup of glue
   • 1 Cup of flour
   • 1 teaspoon of oil

   Materials for decorating:

   • Permanent markers
   • Oracle bag
   • Enthusiasm!

   Procedure:

   First of all, you need to prepare the salt dough, you have to mix it up well to dissolve the salt.

   

   Then, pinching the dough, you must create balls with a diameter of 2 cm more or less, you have to crush it slightly to facilitate later the design on one of the sides.

   

   Allow for a little drying by air and then bake the figures in the oven for half an hour at 50ºC (122ºF). You can Increase to 100ºC (212ºF) after the initial half hour if more time is needed.

   When everything is cooked, you have to let stand the pieces of your oracle in a warm, dry place until the dough will be dry and tough.

   

   At this point leave space to your creativity and decorate the pieces with the following 12 symbols: mistletoe, holly, orange, pomegranate, garland, Yule log, bell, Rudolph, candle, Wassail, poinsettia.

   
   How to read the oracle:

   Mistletoe: indicates a serene period, strong protective cover, communion with the deity; if reversed causes you to reflect on your situation, you should protect yourself, and you probably need a job to regain contact with the deity.

   Holly: indicates that you have all it takes to break the problems down, you will experience a propitious and fruitful period; if reversed there could be someone pulling against you, it is a good idea to protect yourself.

   Orange: indicates a link with good things that come from the other (“giving and receiving”), so expect some pleasant surprise from a relative or friend; if reversed may indicate that you haven’t behaved well with others or that you have some debt to pay.

   Pomegranate: indicates rebirth, resurrection, renewal; reversed indicate a period not favorable, you may need to postpone projects to more propitious times.

   Wreath: indicates that you should stop to think and reconsider your position, you need to scan your time and give you goals to aim for; If reversed, the meaning doesn’t change because it is a circular symbol.

   Yule Log: indicates that you can leave behind things unfinished and problems. Dwell on the past will not bring anything good to you, you need a new beginning; reversed can mean that you continue to stay connected with the past and if this will not change then you will not make progress on any level of your life, you have to implement some transformation!

   Christmas Bells: are an invitation to review the scale of your values. Are you the person that you’d like to be? do you operate in the right way? do you live in harmony? are you on the right track? If the answers are not what you hoped for, then you need a purification or a departure from what affects you in the wrong way.

   Rudolph: indicates that you already know within you the answer to your questions, so continue in this direction because this is a sign that the road you want to take is illuminated; if reversed then you have to stop for a moment and consider the possibilities, the road to take is still unclear, perhaps you need a help to selecting the right one.

   Candle: symbolizes a serene period, because the light of the candle illuminates your path; if the candle is reversed it’s to be considered as off and could symbolize that your spiritual journey does not proceed as expected.

   Christmas Stocking: indicates that you need a help, a bit of luck to propitiate your lot. Reversed, the sock is empty, there is no prosperity luck or help except what you can give to yourself, in this case you can propitiate good luck sewing a sock for yourself.

   Wassail: give thanks and make a toast to yourself for your victories. If they have not already arrived, they will not be long in coming; reversed means you probably put so little effort into what you do that you haven’t achieved any goal. So think and try to understand for what it’s worth to exploit your energy.

   Poinsettia: indicates a period full of beautiful things, good feelings and satisfaction. Your path proceeds in the best way and what you do is recognized and taken into account; reversed is a symbol of sacrifice, of disappointment, a period of loneliness and sadness.

   Merry Yule & Blessed be !!

   ___________________________________________________________

    
   Altar:

   
   

   

   ReanDeanna

   

   

   galleryhip.com

   

   

   Jess-Foxx

   

   

   El-Sharra

   

   bedknobsandbesoms

   

   EnchantedMasquerade

   

   

   

   Feather & Moss Curiosities

   

   kinkyalechan

   

   Mister Grey’s Blog of Shadows

   

   VULGARlouis

   

   Gypsy Moon’s Enchanted Chronicles