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Happy Yule!
I hope you're enjoying the season's festivities! Parties, good food, good company, snowmen, evergreens and mistletoe. Gingerbread, clove-studded oranges, hot mulled wine. Peppermint sticks, icicles, snowdrifts, vanilla... So many things come to mind at this time of year that I could easily word associate into infinity.But I'll spare you. After all, you have your own associations to revel in and celebrate. The most important part of this time of year is the intimate meaning it holds for each and every one of us, as unique as snowflakes. The Winter Solstice represents a host of religions' holy days, gift giving, culinary delights, and millennia worth of special traditions. Read about the history of Yule in the book excerpt section below. Still looking for gift ideas? Books are always an easy way out! You don't have to worry if it will fit, if it's the right color, or if it's going to cause an allergy. If the recipient already has the book, it's easily exchangeable for another book of their choice. It's an especially socially conscious gift idea if you buy from an independent bookseller, if there is one in your area. For all the witches and pagans on your list - well, just pretend you're buying for yourself! Treat them to something nice that they can spend a lot of time learning from and really getting into. Do they like cats? Try The Enchanted Cat by Ellen Dugan. Do they love the tarot? Then maybe the Witches Tarot or Tarot for the Green Witch would be a good match for them, or a new deck to play with. You'll find lots of cool ideas and topics on our website - and right now there is a holiday sale running till January 5 with some great deals. And did you know Llewellyn also started two new fiction imprints? For anyone on your list who *isn't* a witch or even interested in this kind of thing, we have mystery books published under the imprint Midnight Ink, and young adult (teen) books under the imprint Flux. Check 'em out, some of them are really fantastic! For a more personal touch, try actually making gifts instead of buying them this year. My predecessor Natalie wrote a great article about homemade Yule gifts a couple years ago; I've provided a link to her article below in case you missed it then or needed a reminder for some crafty ideas! I find that when shopping for others I often can't resist buying a little something for myself - especially if it's on sale! Well, as part of Llewellyn's holiday sale, you can buy all of the 2006 almanacs at 75% off! So if you never did buy the Tarot Reader this year, or the Magical Almanac, then you can buy them now for just $2.00-$2.50. It's a great bargain, especially since the articles in them are just as useful now as they were when the book was released last year. Looking ahead now to the New Year, in January we have some really cool love books coming out in time for Valentine's Day, so if love is on your list of resolutions, read on. One is Va-Va-Voodoo, written by a voodoo initiate and professional relationship counselor. This awesome book has tips on finding or attracting a mate to you - including both real-life advice and cool voodoo workings - as well as keeping it hot with your mate (lots of aphrodisiac oils!) or breaking things off and letting go when it's really not working. Basically the kind of book everyone should have! Or, for something a little more traditional, check out Richard Webster's new book, Magical Symbols of Love & Romance. Stones, numbers, herbs, vegetables, even animals all have magical love associations you can use to find a more fulfilling and wonderful love life. Please have a wonderful and blessed Winter Solstice and Yule season, with lots of love, good health, fun adventures, supportive family and friends, and abundance in everything good! See you in 2007. —Elysia Gallo 
An excerpt from the article The holidays are a tight time for most people. There are way too many things to do, way too many crowds (and blizzards!) to brave, and way too much money slipping through your hands. I don't know about you, but that's not the way I prefer to spend my supposedly relaxing, supposedly celebratory, brief and precious holiday time. It's also not exactly the best way to start the New Year -- to show up back at work or school on January 2 with holiday fatigue and a pile of credit card debt. It makes it hard to imagine 2005 is going to be all that much better, when it starts out so frustratingly. In the past few years I've discovered the joys of avoiding the holiday crowds and stress and debt (well, somewhat) and general unhappiness by taking matters into my own hands. Yep, I'm here to champion the joys of making presents rather than buying them. Save up to 50% off on hundreds of titles during Llewellyn's Holiday Sale! Get FREE SHIPPING on all orders over $25 in the U.S. and Canada! Llewellyn's Holiday Sale features tons of books in every category. Click here for a complete list of sale items, or use the links below to search by category!
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Great Books on Sale through
January 5! Click for a complete list of sale items  7 Days of Magic By Ellen Dugan ISBN: 0-7387-0589-6 Price:  The Sacred Round By Elen Hawke ISBN: 0-7387-0172-6 Price:  The Witch's Coven By Edain McCoy ISBN: 0-7387-0388-5 Price:  When I See the Wild God By Ly De Angeles ISBN: 0-7387-0576-4 Price:  By Candlelight By Janina Renée ISBN: 0-7387-0417-2 Price:  Magical Aromatherapy By Scott Cunningham ISBN: 0-87542-129-6 Price:  Encyclopedia of Wicca & Witchcraft By Raven Grimassi ISBN: 1-56718-257-7 Price: |
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An excerpt from Yule
by Dorothy Morrison
The History of Yule: How it all Began
As human beings, we are a diverse group of people. We come in many sizes, colors, and shapes. We come from different cultures, speak different languages, and practice different religions. Even the food we like to eat varies. Yet, no matter who we are or where we live, one thing remains constant: We all look forward to the winter holidays. By some, they're called Christmas or Hanukkah. By others, Las Posadas or Ta Chiu. Still others call them Winter Solstice, Yule, and lots of other names most of us can't pronounce. Each celebration is a little different, but the main ideas are the same. These holidays provide us with a time for reflection, resolution, and renewal. A time for gift-giving, good will, and kindness. Most important, though, they provide us with rituals to celebrate the balance of light and dark—rituals for welcoming the healing powers of warmth back into our world—and that gives us a common ground that draws us together as a people.
So where did they come from, these holidays that we all celebrate? Contrary to popular belief, they didn't begin with Christmas. Rather, they started over four thousand years ago in ancient Egypt. The occasion? An extravagant party to celebrate the rebirth of Horus—the god who appeared in the sky as a fiery orb each day—the same orb we know today as the Sun. Because the Egyptians honored Horus with a twelve-month calendar, the festival lasted twelve days with each day symbolizing one month. Buildings were decorated with greenery of all sorts to honor the Sun. The most valued decorations, however, were palm branches with twelve fronds. The reason for their value was simple: Because palm branches put out one shoot each month, a twelve-fronded branch formed a type of calendar. This made them a great representation of the entire birth, death, and rebirth cycle of the Sun; using them to honor the Sun was believed to speed His growth and strength, and encourage Him to stay in the sky longer. The Egyptians flourished, and word of their Sun-welcoming ceremonies quickly swept through Mesopotamia. Believing that the rituals were at the heart of their neighbors' prosperity, the Babylonians took up the cause and got in on the act. However, they called it Zagmuk and incorporated their own Creator/Sun god, Marduk. The Babylonians believed that Marduk had created the world, and made it one of order, beauty, and peace. It hadn't been an easy task, however—first, he'd had to fight a grueling battle and defeat the monsters of chaos. |
Cool Links
Likely the best and most useful site for witches and pagans around
In case you missed the article in this summer's CIRCLE magazine, a summary of the pentacle quest
How to keep your coven from being destroyed by trolls - not nature spirits, but people who simply like to cause trouble
Provides funding for women scholars and activists for scholarship and projects in religion and related fields
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Author Events
Meet Christopher Penczak, author of The Mystic Foundation, at several appearances across this Winter! Date: December 23, 2006 Time: 7 - 9 pm Event: Yule Celebration! Bring a crystal or black mirror for scrying, and if you would like, a photo or momento from an ancestor. $15-25 sliding scale. Email lapofthegoddess@hotmail.com to register. Event Location: Amicable Masonic Lodge, 1950 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA, 02140. Date: February 3, 2007 Time: 7 - 9 pm Event: Imbolc Celebration! Bring a candle in a dripless container. $15-25 sliding scale. Email lapofthegoddess@hotmail.com to register. Event Location: Amicable Masonic Lodge, 1950 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA, 02140. Date: February 13, 2007 Time: 7:30 - 9 pm Event: Lecture and discussion involving his latest release, The Mystic Foundation. Event Location: Bodhi Tree Bookstore, 8585 Melrose Ave, West Hollywood, CA 90069. 310-659-4428 |
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