[Chrysalis]

Originally Posted by MysticalMama

I am sad to see so few replies. I am a solo green witch. I long for community which is why I joined this forum. I hope it is more active!

I started my Yule celebration/ceremony on Yule's Eve by reading different stories from different traditions to get into the spirit of the event. I spent time in meditation and also in contemplation of the current astrological picture.

The next day (Dec 21) I had coffee with a friend and ran errands but made sure to be home before 2:23 pm (PST). On the way home, I knew I'd be scavenging supplies for my altar so I was looking for old/dead Oak trees and found 2 perfect Yule logs - one for this year and one which was charged during the ceremony and will be burned next year. I got home and let my dogs out while I gathered my supplies for wild-crafting. My intention was to find as much plant beings on the ground vs: actually harvesting them. I quickly prepared a type of wassail in my slow cooker with orange juice, apple cider, honey, cinnamon, allspice, juniper berries and sliced fruit.

I drove to a Native American preserve in my community. It is a beautiful, peaceful place. I found amazing evergreen needles from the gray pine on the ground plus a large cluster which had turned brown (good for incense). I did harvest a small sprig of Live Oak leaves (they look just like Holly but without berries!). I also harvested enough Desert Sage to make a smudge stick after the ceremony. I left that site and drove around my neighborhood to see if I could find any other evergreens not on someone's property and I found a huge conifer that I can not name. But the needles were about 3-4 inches long and in clusters about 6-7 inches. These were also on the ground. I thanked Mama Earth and all of the plant beings and went home to build my altar.

I put all of my plant material plus 2 pinecones I keep inside. I had my pentagram candle holder with a large red beeswax candle. I made an incense from the dried pine needles, juniper berries, rosemary, orange peel and resin of frankincense and myrrh. I had my ceremonial bell, my wand, some Yule bath salts and Love oil scattered around amongst the natural treasures.

I did a short ceremony/ritual, consisting of mostly thanking Universe for all my blessings. I also took the time to honor my shadow as well as my light. I invoked the 4 directions, smudged etc and when I closed my circle, I kept only my candle burning.

I started the festivities of celebration with red wine and the wassail, cheeses and crackers and finally a homemade apple pie. I indulged and spent the evening with Christmas Carols, baking dog treats and later, a Christmas movie.

I spent time bathing in the light of the full moon before bed. I snuffed my candle and thanked Goddess for my special evening.

Today, I dismantled my altar and will burn this year's Yule log tonight. I will also bathe in my charged Yule bath salts before bed.

So, thanks for asking!!

Thank you for sharing your yuletide activities. I like the idea of going out in nature and collecting items that can be used for various purposes. I've collected feathers and stones but nothing that can be used for yule. As for gathering plant material, I'd have to do that during summer or fall as snow and frost kinda ruin those. I'd be able to collect pine/spruce cones and evergreen branches would have to be cut off the trees since those are more durable compared to leaves. Acorns would be a nice addition. The only thing I can't do is burn a yule log as I don't have a fireplace.

Doing outdoor activity is a challenge during winter as it gets quite cold with wind.

Thanks again for sharing!