Posts Tagged Pagan
Hello January
Posted by Kerry Schofield in Magical Year on January 3, 2023
Welcome to January 2023!
In England during the Middle Ages, the Twelve Days of Christmas or Twelvetide was a period of feasts and joviality.
This Friday, Jan. 6 is the last day to take down Christmas decorations. According to traditional lore, it is considered bad luck to leave decorations up after Twelfth Night. Although, the Gregorian calendar translates the end of The Twelve Days on Jan. 18 and some Western traditions in England and the United States will leave decorations up until Jan. 15.
This Friday also marks the first Full Moon of 2023. January’s Micro-moon in Winter is at its farthest point from Earth. The Supermoon in Summer is at its nearest point to Earth. Likewise, the moon sits high above the horizon in Winter and appears smaller compared to when it sits near the horizon during Summer and appears larger.
January’s Wolf Moon sits on the opposite side of the Earth to the Sun, and the side of the moon facing Earth is completely illuminated by the Sun’s rays.
According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, hungry wolves in winter were more likely to be heard howling in January and the moon was appropriately named, Wolf Moon. Other recorded names for January’s moon include Cold Moon, Hard Moon, and Spirit Moon.
Yuletide Greetings
Posted by Kerry Schofield in Magical Year on December 19, 2022
The Winter Solstice has arrived at last!
It marks the longest night of the year. Upon awakening, the Winter Solstice brings dark mornings and shorter days. What does the Winter Solstice mean to you? For me it also brings chilly, frosty mornings and even cooler evenings.
Interestingly, in ancient Celtic times from around the 2nd to 5th century BC, the Gauls started their new day at sunset and not at midnight, as we do today in the Gregorian calendar.
The Celtic calendar, based from the Gaulish Coligny lunisolar calendar, recognized the months of November through April as the dark half of the year, when weather can be harsh during the Fall and Winter seasons. The following Spring and Summer months, May through October, are designated as the bright half of the year, and notably so.
During the dark half-year, we can sometimes feel “frozen” or unable to find the inertia to move forward. It makes sense as this is a time of reflection, meditation and hibernation. This is the time we can also find an inner peace for things or circumstances we cannot control.
By taking small steps during Yule and the Winter Solstice, we can work slowly and quietly on our plans and our thoughts that have come to mind for the New Year. In this way, we can plant the small seedlings that will germinate into the bright half-year when Spring rebounds and grows full force into Summer.
Let Nature be Our Guide.
— Kerry
Kerry Schofield 