Its about an hour or two before we will be settling in for our traditional casual Christmas Eve dinner. Family members are in the living room watching “Pirates of the Caribbean II: Dead Mans Chest” and I am safely ensconced in my office, listening to Christmas Music on Yahoo. Tomorrow the house will be filled with people and merry-making and this is my last few moments of quiet calm. Our “real” holiday was already celebrated anyway (Yule) so this is simply another excuse for festivity.

I’ve got lovely bayberry candles burning throughout the house (they have been since Yule) and hand-made incense from witch-friend Silver Ravenwolf that makes the house smell glorious.

I am a huge supporter of witch-craft and like to get my supplies and such from witches who really know their stuff. Here are some of my favorites:

Silver Ravenwolf’s Ebay Store: http://stores.ebay.com/silverravenwolfdesigns

Silver offers so many unique items. I have many of her oils and incense. I make many of my own oils, but sometimes its great to have a collection made by another witch. Her stand-out items are her jewelry and art curios. They are quite lovely. And yes, this is the same Silver Ravenwolf who writes all the books on witchcraft!

Earthy Elements: http://www.earthyelements.com

Joanna is the most talented Shamaness I know. Her artwork is exquisite and her products are used in some of my mojo and spells (especially her herb mixes). I have many of her art pieces in my collection. I especially love her gourd bowls and spirit drums. She also makes the lovliest Medicine Bags and jewelry.

Knickertwist’s: http://knickertwists.ecrater.com/

Before she opened this adorable emporium, Niccola was known as “La Bona Dea” (the Good Goddess). I use her herbs and oils and have a couple of her natural wood wands for various uses. Niccola is an eclectic but like me has a strong background in Stregha (Italian Witchcraft), so I immediately felt at home many years ago when I discovered her offerings. Another gifted artist, I own many of her original painted boxes.

Dinner is ready -we’ll eat then watch “Scrooge” with Albert Finney, my favorite rendition of “A Christmas Carol” since I was a child - I always loved musicals!

So I’d like to say - “Thank you very much, thank you very much - that’s the nicest thing that anyone’s ever done for me!”

See you after Christmas.

I cannot believe that it is only 4 days until Yule! Where does the time go at this season of the year?

The good news is the family will all be arrving for Yule and Christmas and that the house is nearly ready to receive them. It seems like only yesterday we were having Thanksgiving dinner with our friends; making our plans for Christmas. Now it’s so close I can smell the eggnog and gingerbread!

For Yule this year we will cast our traditional Bayberry Prosperity spell. We will also have the lighting of the Yule log and a lovely feast. I will make Scottish Meat Pie as usual and then we will have a Yule log cake roll for dessert. Did I mention the Mead? And the punch? Oh and eggnog?

I love that Yule is so precious to us but also that it is a warm-up for Christmas. We don’t do Yule gifts; we just wait until Christmas. This year my brother will be getting his Christmas gift early - he bought a vintage corvette! I will be riding shotgun - that I guarantee!

More about Yule:

Yule is also known as the Winter Solstice. On the longest night of the year it is thought that the Goddess will give birth to the Sun God which heralds a re-birth of the light; a renewal of the coming warmth of Spring and Summer.

It’s no coincidence that many Yule traditions found new life inthe Christian holiday of Christmas. It is believed that Pope Julius I eschewed the idea of Christmas being a lunar holiday (that changed every year) and decided on December 25th as the appropriate day to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

Thus in the fourth century Christmas found its timeless date and became one over hundreds of years with the pagan celebration of Yule.

Some of the very well-known Christmas traditions that originated as pagan are:

The Christmas Tree: This was part of Germanic Pagan Yule celebrations as well as Druidic celebrations. A tree was brought into the home in winter and decorated with berries, preserved flowers and strung with food items (seeds and nuts) as an offering to the Goddess and God. This served double duty as also appeasing the spirits of the forest and bringing good luck to the home. The tree would be live and then re-planted after winter. The earliest record of an evergreen being decorated in a Christian celebration was in 1521 in the Alsace region of Germany.

Yule Log: To celebrate Yule (the coming of the sun) a log would be brought back to the homestead to be burned on the eve of Winter Solstice. It was usually of birch, oak, pine or holly. Elder was never used as this tree was sacred to the Druids. A piece of the log would be saved to burn the following year and kept in the home for good fortune and protection. Most pagans still celebrate Yule with a Yule log but often not in a fireplace. They would use a log with holes drilled in it for candles (3 candles) that they can light on Yule Eve.

Mistletoe: Since mistletoe was known as a Druidic healing herb (and bringer of peace), it is believed that kissing under the Mistletoe was probably a fertility rite. There is a Norse myth that involves Freya and her son who was slain by an arrow of mistletoe. When he was resurrected, Freya used the mistletoe as a blessing and gave a kiss to anyone who passed beneath it.

Giving Gifts: It was common during the pagan celebration of Saturnalia (in Rome) for gifts to be exchanged. This is probably the origin of gift giving on Yule (the same day as Saturnalia, which was the Roman celebration of the WInter Solstice.) and then Christmas.

Reindeer: The stag was closely tied to The Horned One (The Green Man - God of the Forest), so it was quite natural for these creatures to become associated with Yule. Originally Santa Claus himself was depicted as an expression of the Holly King(another embodiment of the God), so it was perfect for them to pull his sleigh.

Santa Claus: The Holly King (king of the waning year) does battle with the Oak King (king of the waxing year) and traditionally the Holly King is killed and the Oak King begins his reign. The Holly King will be reborn again at Midsummer. The Holly King wore red or green often with boughs of holly and a pine wreath upon his head. Both kings are actually versions of the same Forest God.

Christmas Wreath: Since Pagans celebrated the Circle of Life, the wreath was embleamtic of this custom. It signifies the Wheel of the Year and the eight sabbats. Wreaths became popular in Norse lands during Yule celebrations. One particularly pagan holdover is the Advent Wreath.

Since I’ve been working as a witch on the web now for three years, I’ve met so many incredible people. I’m astounded by the locations of some of them - Pakistan to Peoria, Singapore to San Bernadino. Melbourne to Minnetonka.

At least half of my clients are foreign, many of them from Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. Every now and then a surprise location will pop up though like Mumbai or Hong Kong. I cannot tell you how much it means to me that I am able to work with the world and not just a small provincial location where I live. I thank the Goddess for the reach of the web at the same time I curse it since so many people end up falling for the charlatans on the web.

What I feel though for all of my clients is a kind of love that is hard to describe. Some of my clients have returned to me many times for many different kinds of magick over the years. I’ve watched their lives grow and change. Seen photos of children who were born out of unions I helped them to manifest. I have a cache of wedding photos stored on my hard drive as well as happy couple photos from vacations in exotic locations around the world.

I save all my correspondences with every client, so I can keep up with them. I always appreciate it when they let me know what is going on in their lives. I feel so much joy in hearing from my long-term clients and being a part of their lives in some small way.

I put my heart and soul into my spells. I use the love that I feel for my family, my soulmate, my husband, my familiar to draw love to my clients. That means that everytime I cast a spell for love some of my love goes into it. That’s the only way I’ve found that it can possibly work.
Love + Love = More Love. Love attracts love. After over 20 years of doing this; I’ve gotten pretty good at it.

There are all kinds of love. For instance one of the greatest love relationships I’ve ever had has not even been with a human! It’s been with my familiar. For 17 years this unbelievable creature has been at my side, a part of me. Witch’s familars give great power and unconditional love to us. I am blessed by his presence.

I have a special bond with my family - each in different ways. We are closer than ever right now; having endured some dramas that made us stronger. Their love is a haven for me.

Sometimes our friends can be the greatest loves in our lives. I think about my dear old best friend from high school and how we always knew that no matter what else happened in our lives, when we are old are grey we will be there for each other.

I’ve been very fortunate to be able to fall in love with my closest friends. I think of my friend in Australia that I have known for a decade and how there is not anything I would not do for him. It feels good to be able to give that much of myself. It has taught me so much about myself by giving love like this. My heart is full. My heart is open.

This love letter is really to my clients though. You are amazing people and I am honored to be invited to assist you. I’m glad you found me.