The Ditzy Druid Joins The Witches Yuletide Ball!

Despite family and college-related stress, I’ve finally managed to take part in the ball!  I had grand schemes but, because of everything going on, I will just share what I did today.

After a long morning and afternoon of class and meetings, I spent a majority of my evening prepping for the Winter Solstice celebrations.  The meeting, especially, stressed me out so I started by taking a walk in the forest.  I made offerings to the local spirits and collected fallen evergreen boughs (with permission, of course).  There was an energetic buzz in the forest…  In the distance, a hunter’s gun went off every so often.  It was as if the forest were on edge.  The drips from melting snow made me uneasy.  Was that a drip or a footstep?  At times, the forest seemed to go out of focus.  I thought I saw someone walk right out in front of me, but he or she vanished back into thin air…  Despite the oddness, it was good to clear my head and gather evergreens.  On my way out of the forest, I sung a wassailing tune to thank the trees and comfort myself.

Once inside, it was back to work!  I’ve been very busy crafting gifts and decor.

A felt sun ornament.  Since we celebrate the returning strength of the sun, it seemed fitting to have a representation on the tree – so voila!  It was very easy to make – just two tones of felt, stuffing, and yarn!

My “Yule log.”  Breaking from tradition, this guy doesn’t go in a fireplace.  Part of the reason is that we just don’t have one.  I also place a lot of sentimental value on this log.  It’s from the forest outside my parents’ home, thus the forest I grew up with.  It’s followed me from Utica to the North Country!  It’s a favorite decoration.

This evergreen decoration was made with gathered balsam branches, birch twigs, and a red ribbon.  It’s very easy to make and, together, symbolizes eternal life as well as new life.

I looked for mistletoe as some lucky Pagans have been sighting it recently.  No such luck for me.  In the past I’ve made faux mistletoe using felt.  That works really well, especially in a home with cats.  This year I decided to take a chance with some more poisonous greenery and made  a kissing ball.  It’s hard to see the ball shape in this photo, but trust me, it’s there.  I used rafia-wrapped florist wire, green florist wire, gathered balsam branches, a few pine cones, red ribbon, and a few twigs of holy which I gathered from my garden.  The kissing ball is hung up high and I’m hoping everything is secure enough to keep it  away from the cats.  This was made with magical intent: it’s a charm for peace and love within the house.

I hung our stockings up and wrapped some prezzies!  All of these gifts were wrapped in handmade fabric bags or  the paper and bags my family used last year.

I ended my day baking cookies.  I know it’s a bit early, but I felt like it.  After a stressful day, I deserved them!  One cookie is a snowflake to represent the beauty and hardships of the season.  The other is, of course, the sun.  I used a basic sugar cookie recipe along with an equally basic frosting recipe for these. I’m going to eat some now…

I’ve truly enjoyed seeing what other Pagans are doing to celebrate the Winter Solstice. It’s been fun – I hope to join you next year!