. . . 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 ;)

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.