Pagan/Wicca: Yule - occurs on the date of the winter solstice. It is also known as Winter Rite, Midwinter, and Alban Arthan. Yule is celebrated on the longest night of the year, and it is seen by many as the time when the sun begins its journey back from the darkness to the fullest light, celebrated at the Summer Solstice. It is the festival of the Sun's rebirth, and a time to honor the winter aspects of the God and Goddess. The festival of Yule was originally celebrated in Norse and Germanic countries, and many Pagans choose to honor those aspects of the God and Goddess at this time of year.

Celtic: Alban Arthuan (Winter Soltice)
Stregheria: La Festa dell' Inverno, Saturnalia

(Southern Hemisphere) Midsummer - Summer Solstice (also known as Alban, Hefin, and Letha) is the longest day of the year when the Sun is at its zenith. It is the celebration of the fullest light of the Sun, and the time when the Sun turns back towards the darkness of the year. In many Wiccan traditions, It is the ideal time for divinations, Healing rituals, and the cutting of divining rods, dowsing rods, and wands.

Pre-Solstice Ritual Bath
During the Winter Solstice, we often place emphasis on celebrating and sharing this joyous, but often difficult, holiday. For Witches, however, now may also serve as a time to attune to a quiet, internal spirituality. To begin to do so (with the solstice less than ten days away now), prepare a ritual bath with oils of rosemary, pine, and orange. Add a touch of patchouli for grounding. Light gold and green candles, and immerse yourself in watery solitude to refresh your weary holiday spirit. Meditate on the winter goddess and her lesson of stillness. Find the cool and clean space she offers, free of clutter and activity. It is the season for centering and grounding ourselves, and for defining who we really are. After the bath, take your journal and write down your goals by candlelight. Contemplate the coming rebirth, and identify which direction you wish to channel your energy and focus your intentions.


Winter Solstice


Mother earth, we feel your heart beat
Mother earth, bless this day
Turning wheel, with your life force
The Winter Solstice has come our way

Winter Solstice, shaft of light
Signifies the shortest day
Turning wheel, the coldest season
Has sprinkled snowflakes of a silver grey

Snowflakes dancing in the wind of change
Inspires within me the dreams of hope
The Winter Solstice is a magical day
Colorful visions in the kaleidoscope

Mother earth, we feel your heart beat
Mother earth, bless this day
Turning wheel, with your life force
The Winter Solstice has come our way

The Pine Tree


Eternal Love

The light of love cannot be extinguished from the heart or soul, because the light is eternal.

As I began to decorate my home for the Holidays I received messages about some of the traditions and why we do them and the importance of them. I've always loved the greenery I use throughout my home, year round and I've always known there's more meaning than just for the Yuletide. The Faeries, guides and other helpers, asked me to share throughout December the meanings and significance of these wonderful green traditions, folklore and magical ways we make our homes beautiful during the Holidays and all year long with evergreens and greenery~


Sunshine and Happiness, destined to fill your days, may begin with a celebration. The evergreen Pine, always decorated at Christmas time, anticipates Spring. News or a meeting will be as equally bright as the Yule log's pure white flame that represents eternal life. A new start is imminent and misunderstandings are resolved, signified by the purifying sap of the tree, which smells of fresh new life. You may expect permanence in love, as the evergreen needles appear in pairs. Even in old age the tree is green and vital, indicating long life and undiminished marriage bliss. Strength is on your side, represented by pine cones.

From The Celtic Tree Oracle by Liz and Colin Murray

I love pine trees and I've had them around me almost everywhere I've lived and still do.

I love the way some of them sway in the wind and the wonderful scent they share with us. I burn pine in my cauldron and take it around the house to cleanse and consecrate every area of my home. I like that they stay green all year round and share their greenery with us even when other trees are bare.

The Pine tree is an evergreen, its old title was "the sweetest of woods." It was known to the Druids as one of the seven chieftain trees of the Irish. A good magickal cleansing and stimulating bath is made by placing pine needles in a loose-woven bag and running bath water over it. To purify and sanctify an outdoor ritual area, brush the ground with a pine branch. Being an evergreen, the Pine stands for long life and prosperity. Pine is everlasting (from its evergreen properties). It induces clearness of thought with its scent and often symbolizes survival as it can grow even in sub-zero temperatures. Pine wood is useful in spells of preservation. Pine incense is helpful in divining/scrying rituals and rituals to clear the mind.

Remember the New Moon this week and Winter begins, so the energy will be high and wonderful!! A perfect time to use Pine to cleanse and clear!! With the Holidays upon us also, meet new people, make new beginnings, count your blessings, take the time to sit and ponder on the year that's past and how Winter is a time for rest, change and manifesting from within, living for now, but to also think ahead, but take like slower on these long wintry days!