A Wonderful Yule to You All

This is a fabulous slideshow by a lovely guy. Enjoy!

. . . and The Ivy

The Ivy gets raw deal when it comes to the written word celebrating its existence. Although part of the song title "The Holly and the Ivy" its presence in the song is very minor while the Holly gets all the glory. However, going back to before the Christian over-taking of the song there was a previous version called "The Battle of the Holly and the Ivy.", which was represented centuries ago by rites that included a "battle" between boys carrying Holly and girls carrying Ivy. It is recognised that the Ivy represents the feminine spirit and is associated with the White Goddess, Cerridwen, Saturn and Bacchus. Taking Ivy as a metaphor for life it can be seen as a tenacious spirit that has in its grasp both life and death. Like Holly it has poison berry and is also evergreen. It can been seen as represnting a stong binding and symbolises the those who chose a path of seeking and reaching for the light to climb out of a personal darkness. It is seen as representative of opposing themes such as dark and light and binding and freeing. There are various medicinal and magickal uses for ivy, which are best described at the very useful site Rowan's Remedies. However, we can't really get away from the image that springs into most people's mind when Ivy is mentioned and that is it's union with Holly and a really jolly song at Christmas . . . Enjoy Yule ;)

The Holly . . .

Holly has long been associated with winter and the symbolism that a green plant carries when it shows life throughout the colder and darker months. It is thought in some circles that the first Christmas Tree was a Holly Tree but this most likely to be due to its associations with the pagan and Celtic festivals relating to the Winter Solstice and Yule. Holly is seen as protective, most likely due to its thorny leaves and poisonous berries. It is thought to protect elves and faeries during winter and druids and others would bring a holly bough into their homes to assist the fae folk. However, the holly bough had to be removed before the next Sabbat to avoid bad luck. It is also associated with the masculine again likely due to its perceived protective nature, this is where it also complements Ivy, the feminine. Another reason for the masculine link is the Holly King who rules from Midsummer to Midwinter. At each turning of the year he battles with the Oak King for the favour of the Goddess. Although these Kings are cast as fierce rivals they are, as are many magickal icons, two side of the same coin, one cannot exist without the other. The symbolism of Holly is deeply rooted in the King's short annual life, he mates with the Goddess, dies in her arms and is reborn, or resurrected. His colours reflect Holly and its berries, green and red, as well as gold and black. This is quite reminiscent of Santa Claus! Next up will be Ivy.

Be Your Own Biggest Fan

How often do you congratulate yourself on a job well done?  When have you ever bought yourself a present because you've been really kind to yourself and helped get yourself out of a rut?

As Christmas is just around the corner (in most of your local shops since just after Halloween), why not consider all the great things you have done for yourself this year? Don't be hard on yourself there will be awesome moments where you have taken care of yourself.  Times where you have just taken a step away from a situation sat yourself down and relaxed, those are the moments when you have truly helped yourself from the heart and shown yourself the love you deserve.

Image: graur codrin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

You may look back and see that you haven't rewarded yourself for these moments so for Christmas give yourself the gift of gratitude and celebration for who you are and the joy you can bring into your life when you love yourself.  Gratitude is usually something we reserve for others and so neglect our own spirit, there is no reason not to be grateful for your positive actions or for simple things that you have found difficult in the past, such as getting up in the morning!

Make sure the present is something that resonates with your heart and will energise your soul so that you are able to love yourself even more than you already do.

What is Love? It is life and living

Below are the lyrics to Bette Midler's song the Rose.  They are inspiring and thought provoking.

Are there any areas in your life where you are hiding, afraid to live as your heart knows you can?

Some say love, it is a river, that drowns the tender reed
Some say love, it is a razor, that leads your soul to bleed
Some say love, it is a hunger, an endless aching need
I say love, it is a flower, and you, its the only seed

It's the heart afraid of breaking, that never learns to dance
It's the dream afraid of waking, that never takes the chance
It's the one who won't be taken, who cannot seem to be
And the soul afraid of dying, that never learns to live

When the night has been too lonely and the road has been too long
And you think that love is only for the lucky and the strong
Just remember in the winter, far beneath the bitter snow
Lies a seed, that with the sun's love in the spring becomes the rose

Bette Midler/The Rose