Thursday, January 17, 2008

The evergreen and the sun, the dark and light Yule – London

Wednesday December19, 2007:

We cast a banishing circle and took it into the frosty garden. Quietly, we walked through the dark Yule, our purpose to let go and leave in the old year all that which we no longer wanted. In the silence, I found myself moving through ivy clad tall trees, their trunks straight, layered with the frills of the vines as though decorated with dark lace.

Under foot the loam was firm, the walking easy. On and on I trod, the trees watching me silently, witnessing my sadness as I struggled to name the pain inside. At length, the path led me out and I stood leaning against the ivy covered three trunked stump of the old pine tree. I lent into its soft embrace for a moment, breathing in the tang of the wood and the smooth cool leaves and felt the tree’s forbearance.

Outside the kitchen door, I poured salt into water, listened to its soft cascade. I named my grief, sadness, depression and addictions and resolved to let go of them as the salt dissolved into the water. I opened the dark Yule circle and moved into the house.

The sage circled and cleansed me as I moved through the energetic birth canal into the warmth of our evoking circle. Candles around the room, their heat, like light blazing brilliantly in my mind’s eye. We sat around the alter, and took holly and ivy with which to weave our Yule wreaths.

My hands burned as I bent the stiff holly bough into a circle, fastening it with the cool dark ivy. I wove into my wreath the acceptance of the darkness, the dying to what really did not serve me and the need to rest a while longer. My hands throbbing, I ran the silky fluffy golden tinsel across my palms as though to soothe them. Winding it round and round the prickly and silky leaf circle, I imagined it shining brightly against the dark leaves as I wove in my hopes for the future. For me, the holly and ivy, the evergreen, symbolised constancy, the shining tinsel, the returning sun.

Our wreaths fashioned and charged with our wishes for the future, we sang of the returning light, exchanged small gifts, feasted and opened the circle.

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