For Yule this year, I did several things: I attended the Diving Deeper membership's Yule ritual, I met with my circle of witchy friends, and I started my Wheel of the Year tree.
My Wheel of the Year tree is basically a "Christmas" tree that I will decorate for each Wheel of the Year celebration. I have wanted to do this for some time but I now have the time to properly start working on this. I plan to collect various decorations that correspond with each celebration so that I can easily change the tree every 6 weeks or so.
During the meeting with my circle of witchy friends, we made a Yule incense. Like the Samhain one, it was really nice to make another incense that will help bring the energy of this time of year to me and my home. While I initially wasn't a fan of this incense, it was suggested that I play around with the ingredients to find something that I do like.
We also had some journal prompts that were interesting and, again, I used a deck to answer them. Rather than use my Game of Thrones deck, I opted to use my Triple Goddess tarot deck this time.
What can I do in 2023 to strengthen my connection to my inner/higher self?
7 of Wands
This card looks and feels very defensive to me. It feels like I need to defend myself from something, or if not myself, then I need to defend people who aren't necessarily able to defend themselves. If anything, I should at least take a stand against someone or something that I disagree with. It looks like I'm going to need to be brave and courageous, and that's okay because I'm happy to be that person when I need to be.
I feel like this card is saying that I have some battles within that I need to face. Battles about whether I can achieve and complete tasks that I set myself. Battles about my own self-belief and -confidence. These are life-long battles that I have faced many times already and I know they won't be the last ones I face, because they are necessary to discover the truth about my own self.
How can I best benefit from the long dark nights of winter?
7 of Pentacles, 10 of Pentacles, 6 of Cups, The Maiden/Magician
With the 7 of Pentacles, I feel like I can best benefit from the long dark nights of winter by harvesting what I've already learned while making sure that there is plenty left for those who come after me. I don't need to harvest everthing all at once though, so I feel like this ties into the intention I set for the month of December that I noted in Part One of A Magickal Advent post. I don't have ot know everything at once so I should take things easy and take my time when learning about new topics.
With the 10 of Pentacles, I feel like I will be able to use my knowledge and gifts to help others with their own gifts. I feel like this card is saying that I will have enough knowledge to do this, that I will have come full circle within this particular phase of my journey. But I need to remember that the destination isn't important - the journey itself is the most important thing. Sharing what I learn is something that I enjoy doing because I don't think that knowledge should just be kept secret; it's meant to be shared. But perhaps I need to present the information to others in a different way so that it's easier for others to understand
With the 6 of Cups, I feel like this is confirmation that I need to share what I've learned and what I will learn. I have no problems doing this but perhaps I need to consider the emotional connections between people and the information I'm sharing. But this card is also making me feel like I know more than I think I do and because of this, I may need to take the role of teacher or mentor, guiding others who are just starting or about to start on their own spiritual journeys.
With The Maiden/Magician, I feel like this is saying that I can use these darker months to discover how I can help others, how I can control and harness my gifts for the highest good of others. I also feel like this card is saying that I can manifest the reality or life that I wish to lead during this time. I need to study and learn from external sources (and I have a few courses that I'd like to complete). I feel like this card is encouraging me to do all the things that I have wanted to do because I can achieve them and more if I would only believe in my own self.
What is my biggest takeaway from 2022?
Ace of Pentacles
I feel like this card is saying that I've learned how to start growing ideas and plans. While my current plans are still rather seedling-esque, they are still growing. There's no guarantee that my plans will amount to anything but I won't know for certain until I at least try.
So I have to give things a go before I can definitively know whether it is a path I should walk or not. I'm trying to be more openminded now about what it is that I could achieve and how I could achieve it.
It's interesting that this card came up about what lessons I've learned this year because it's all about a new cycle or abundance starting, that in 2022 I've been planting the foundations for a prosperous life but I will need to keep tending to the seeds of my desires and dreams if I really want the prosperity and abundance that will come from this phase of my journey.
As well as this, I also attended the Winter Solstice ritual hosted by Emily at Wise Woman Witchery as part of her Diving Deeper membership. It was recommended that I have a candle, journal, orange or honey, and a warm drink with me but because I'm not a fan of eating fruit generally, I opted to make a mug of Lady Grey tea because it has orange and lemon peel in it as well as the bergamot that is associated with Earl Grey tea. I also remembered that I had a spiced orange candle that I chose to have with me for this ritual.
The main part of the ritual was a visualisation meditation. I started off in a snowy place, with barely anything around me apart from a rocky outcrop that had snow on top of it. Part of the rock jutted out that left some of the ground underneath free of snow, and this was where I felt I needed to curl up. At first while I was there, I felt alone and like I was left out in the cold, but after a short time, I felt like I was joined by something that wasn't human or an animal that I've encountered before. I expanded my awareness gently and discovered that a dragon had joined me. I didn't call this dragon to me or anything like that - they just came to be with me and provided comfort, love, and support. The dragon was blue, but not a cold kind of blue as their colour actually radiated warmth from within its body. This dragon somehow fitted into the same space as me but without moving me or disturbing me at all, they curled up around me, letting their legs hold me gently while one of their wings stretched over me so that I was completed sheltered from the cold.
When I reached for my tea and breathed in the aroma, I felt like this dragon enjoyed the citrus undertones and this was confirmed when I brought the candle to my nose and breathed in that scent. The scents of both candle and tea made me feel like I needed to curl up again while letting myself bask in the warmth and comfort emanating from them and the dragon. I felt like this was a gentle reawakening, a rewarming experience that brought with it a renewed sense of confidence.
This was an amazing experienced and incredibly unexpected. I did thank my dragon for coming to me and being with me in that space. It felt so magickal but like it was also present in my physical life. It reminded me of a card from the Enchanted Forest deck: the Six of Boons. The card depicts a woman curled up on the cold ground but she has been joined by a family of rabbits who choose to lie with her and give her their warmth and comfort, as well as hope that this won't last forever.
On the day of the Winter Solstice, Emily did a live where she pulled a card for those who wanted some guidance from her. I asked for a card initially because I needed a pick-me-up after an interaction that left me second-guessing myself. This was really powerful because I received the 9 of Roots which is the Brady Tarot equivalent of the 9 of Pentacles - I discovered that the 9 of Pentacles/Coins from my Game of Thrones deck had somehow fallen into my laptop case last month so to receive it two months in a row was quite special. The fact that I received it on the day of the Winter Solstice made me feel like the Sun wasn't just returning and bringing light back to the world but it was also shining a light on what I've achieved in the last 12 months and bringing them back to my attention. I say this because it was a year ago when I changed my mentality around my home and the way I was living. Quite literally, Yule 2021 was when I saw the light and started making changes. Now it's a year later and I'm reaping the rewards of what I've accomplished: I've gotten my home clean, tidy and organised, my eating habits have gotten healthier, I've got a flexible plan for my various projects, and I'm feeling a lot more positive about life in general and within my own self. I am proud of what I've done, even if it seems like little things to others. I'm proud of the changes I have made within myself and my life because I've put the work in, kept at them and accomplished them
I hope this inspires you to explore what you could do for Yule in the future, how you could celebrate and bring in the energy of this time. I hope this reminds you that the light will return to the world, even after the longest and darkest night of all.
Peace and love to all!!!
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