Yule Spell - Day 3 Very Delayed!!

Thanks to a combination of terrible weather, lack of internet and plunging into a very busy 2011, to my huge disappointment I didn't get to post my final installment of the yule spell! So just because I was determined to do it at some point, here it is:

God and Goddess
Perfect in balance
I bid you to bless
My life with your talents

Your wisdom and serenity
The strength in your identity
I seek to imitate
With total humility

I am content where I am
And for now I shall stay
To suspend growth for now
And to embrace today

It seems that I suspended growth for a little too long though! Hopefully will get back to more blogging now so catch you later!

Blessings to you. xx

Yule Preparations - Day 1

It's funny that at this time of year, Yule represents the earth going to sleep or dying before its rebirth. And yet we are all running around like crazy trying to get everything done!

That said, it's time to start thinking about Yule traditions and making plans for my festive celebrations. In terms of renewal, I'm actually quite happy with the way that most of the important aspects of my life are going at the moment so I'm going to aim for stability - to keep up the good work and keep everything ticking over so that I am then ready for another spurt of enthusiasm and progress come Ostara. It's been a very chaotic time and so I am happy to see some calm and balance come in, it will be grounding for me.

I'm happy to throw in a bit of giving thanks for the opportunities I've had lately though - I don't plan to make it too sensible a party!

Anyhoo, here are some of my ideas so far:

• Red and green candles, for the sake of being tradionalist. And lots of them too being a celebration of light.
  
• Plenty of holly and mistletoe, for the same traditionalist reasons as above!
• Almonds, cloves and cinnamon
• Snow quartz
• Thyme - a great herb for this time of year.
  
• Last year I went for divination with a tarot reading. Plan to fit in crystal ball work this year.
• Symbolism for the God and Goddess, for which I have some ideas already but will let you know the details a bit nearer the time.

Can't wait for the next wave of ideas!

Fran x

The Yule Spell Tarot Reading

You may or may not be interested in the tarot, but in case you are I thought I’d include the tarot reading I did on Sunday to give you an idea of how readings can contribute to your spells. Very briefly, the cards I pulled were:

Card 1 - What this year has taught me - The page of swords. To be careful of others, observe them closely if you don’t know them well. Dealing with them will need grace, goodwill and manners.

Card 2 - My weaknesses - 8 of wands. Not acting quickly enough and procrastinating instead of doing!

Card 3 - Next year in general - 4 of swords. A more peaceful year, not as fraught as last year (Music to my ears!!!) This time of rest will allow me to build strength.

Card 4 - 1st quarter of 2010 - 5 of wands. Shows inner struggles. I would expect this actually as it’s hard to make yourself change. We’re often set in our ways for a reason, it brings comfort on some level even if it is not good for you.

Card 5 - 2nd quarter - Ace of cups. Being creative and resourceful.

Card 6 - 3rd quarter - 7 of pentacles. Success will be around me by this time but I am not to start relaxing too early or resting on my laurels.

Card 7 - 4th quarter - Knight of pentacles. Determination but not stubbornness.

Card 8 - Where my strengths will grow - 9 of pentacles. Getting more organised, seeing success financially.

Card 9 - Where the hurdles will be - 4 of cups. Being too quick to give up when inevitable problems arise. Look for the positive signs of the situation however small.

Card 10 - How to overcome the hurdles - Hermit. Think it through, reflect, don’t just mope.

Card 11 - What new energies should I be prepared for - Judgement. Clarity when making decisions and increased speed of thought. New beginnings too - woohoo!!

Card 12 - Conclusion - 8 of pentacles. Work at it, it’s not all going to come at once.

This reading gave me some very helpful pointers. I wrote my statement of intent around sustained determination, increasing my output and not worrying about what can go wrong - not necessarily areas that I would have thought to include had I not done the reading. I’m now feeling extra excited and raring to go!

Fran xx

Free Spell - Yule

I have finished my Yule spell! I’m really looking forward to it this year, I’ve got some high hopes and some interesting ideas I’d like try out. So, here we go - here’s how my week is going to pan out.

Tarot Reading
As mentioned here, I will be doing a tarot reading on the Sunday (20th). I will be using a 12 card spread to show the following:

1st card - what this past year has taught me.
2nd card - what my weaknesses are
3rd card - what next year holds for me in general
4th card - card for the 1st quarter of the new year
5th card - card for the 2nd quarter
6th card - card for the 3rd quarter
7th card - card for 4th quarter
8th card - where I will see my strengths grow
9th card - where I will find hurdles to my progression
10th card - how to overcome these hurdles
11th card - What new energies should I be ready for
12th card - conclusion and outcome

With this information I intend to write a statement of intent for my spell work the following day. This means writing down my hopes as well as some promises to myself that I will endeavour to work on.

Yule Altar
Around the room, I am hanging candles in jars. This has a soft but conscience altering affect on the room and builds some very warm, comforting energies. It is the perfect environment for working on change which can be unnerving in many ways. You will want to feel safe with the new path you are taking.

I will lay out my altar space with a barest minimum. My reason for this is to ensure that I do not carry over any energies from the past into my aims for the future. I am planning a 7 candle semi circle, I will complete the circle with my arms as I sit opposite, creating an intimate space between us. The candles will be 4 red and 3 green with tumblestones of red aventurine and malachite placed in between each one.

I am covering the altar with green velvet and will be placing bark, holly and pine in the middle, bound together in red ribbon to combine and strengthen the energies. I will also have a green apple which is going to be a central part of my spell. I’m really lucky in that a friend of mine is the actual apple grower! I have total faith therefore that it has been grown in a natural environment - and a trip out to the orchard is always lovely J The significance of the apple, in case you’re wondering, is that it is at the very last of its “life”, the harvest has finished. I will enjoy the season’s bounty but also prepare for a new one.

Yule Spell
First, light the semi circle of candles going from left to right. Say:

These brightest of flames
Lights the fire within
Its passion proclaims
A new life will begin

I will then read out my statement of intent from the previous day’s tarot reading (which I am going to write on red paper), focusing on building excitement as well as conviction!

Then taking the apple in my hand, I will say:
My apple is bounty
Ripened by the waning sun
My abilities are plenty
Growing and just begun

My aim is to discover
And to enhance all areas of my sphere
My potential I will uncover
The path ahead is to become clear

For the following 7 days I am going to light one of the candles for 5 minutes, repeating the first section of the spell. Then I will open up my mind to images, thoughts and any inspiration that comes to me to aid me in this new beginning.

As ever, there is so much that you can do to adjust this spell if you want. I always fully recommend the personal touch, never more so than when you are looking for new beginnings and self discovery.

Good luck and brightest blessings!!

Fran xx

Yule Diary 4

Ok next is psychic awareness in my Yule spells plans. I intended to focus a lot more on this than I actually am as I’ve decided to postpone much of it to the New Year. This is a time factor more than anything as psychic development is a matter of understanding yourself, the tools and methods you use to tune in with and how to develop some discipline so that you can do this at will - this all takes time.

So I’ve decided on a tarot reading and some pendulum work the day before Yule. With the tarot reading, I’m going to do this for myself with a general aim of seeing what next year has in store for me. Looking at the main areas, I will then ask the pendulum to draw me towards the most productive areas, the areas where I have most work to do etc. and see what comes up.

I’ll give you an example of how I did this before. In a previous reading, I got some great cards indicating success around me. However there was also some guidance showing me not to take this for granted and to continue to put in as much as effort when things started to go well. To get more clarity I used the pendulum to confirm the major weak areas asking ‘does this relate to the course I’m doing’ then ‘does this relate to my project at work’. Once I can see more precisely what I’m dealing with, I’m better placed to be more specific with my spell. I would strongly advise keeping notes throughout, it’s surprising how much information you get and consequently forget soon after!

Yule Diary 3 - Using Red & Green in my Yule Spell

I’ve been fleshing out the colours aspect of my Yule celebrations and I’m feeling happy that I’m starting to see some shape forming - good job as it‘s just around the corner. I’m also happy that I decided to do this instead of Christmas shopping :) Here’s what I’ve come up with so far.

Using Red in a Yule Spell
Red can represent blood. This may sound a bit off-putting or icky but I like to use this symbolism from time to time to help me realise what the main driving forces in my life are - the lifeblood. It’s about recognising my strengths and realising what takes me forward. There is almost always something in everyone’s life that they can look back at with a sense of pride and excitement. It could be anything from winning a race, singing or discovering you’re really good at crosswords! It doesn’t matter what it is, it’s the fact that you realised that this is what gave you a buzz, made you feel alive and worthwhile.

So much of life seems designed to grind you down and there’s so much that we have to deal with that may not play to our strengths. Turn back to the ‘natural you’. You can achieve so much, and often so much more quickly, when you embrace your innate abilities rather than deny or belittle them. Spend some time thinking about what these memories and experiences are for you and write them down.

I’m going to be using some or all of: red paper, red candles (naturally), red ribbon, red aventurine. (Oh all right, maybe a little drop of red wine too!)

Using Green to Keep you Keen!
As for green, this gives staying power to the spell. Where red is a standing ovation on the night, green is your loyal fan! It helps you to remain hopeful and keep up your faith in those moments when you feel weak. This is why evergreens were bought into the homes of our ancestors during the bleak winter months - to remind them that more fruitful times were ahead. I don’t want my Yule spell to just be a feeling of elation on the night and a few weeks of feeling really productive. I want to see real change and continued growth.

For green, I’m thinking: green candles, holly, malachite, green apples (locally produced), green velvet.

Yule Diary 2

I’ve been trying to narrow down my main aims for my Yule/Christmas spell and I must tell you it hasn’t been easy. It’s a bit like trying to cut back on your list for Santa, there’s just too much temptation! Yule offers a huge array of opportunities for change - and change can cover just about anything. Therefore, it’s very important not to try and cover too much, thereby diluting your efforts and wasting such a fantastic chance to make a difference. Anyways, here’s what I’m planning on working with (or at least my thoughts so far):

• I’m using green and red for colour. This may be the obvious choice but it’s got just the right combination of energies so I’ve got no problem with that. Red is great for its ‘kick up the backside’ qualities and green as it has real staying power. It’ll ensure that this is not just a quick fix spell but more of a transition into a new way of life.

• Yule is a time for psychic awareness and so I’m going to try and use this as, seeing as I’m also a tarot reader, I need to be constantly working on improving myself in this area.

• For ingredients, I’m thinking of trying to include pine (because I have some), bark (because I don’t have an open log fire for a Yule log sadly), bay leaves (for prosperity and abundance) and holly (for the traditional evergreen). Talking of holly, this is something I have used for years due to having a neighbour that had a holly bush in their garden. I don’t live nearby any more but I’m keeping an eye out for another local source! But I recommend using any local available ingredients, it gives a sense of being at one with the earth and it‘s energising.

• Hanging candles and tea lights in jars - as much for decoration as well as to encourage some nice, bright energies. I bought them a few years ago from a cheap shop and have been in love with them ever since. They are in red and green as well as clear so are perfect for the job.

I mentioned above that I am thinking of using bay leaves because I already have some. Seeing as this is a time to welcome in the new, you might as well use up any of the old you have lying around! Don’t be afraid of being a little creative, you don’t need to stick to just traditional Yule items and ingredients.

So, I’ve got some ideas to work with and a few thoughts on the structure. Now I just need to fill in some details!