Ex Penna

In our extremely proud and self-governed community, Pagans take a range of viewpoints on a holiday dear to us, the one with which we share the most in common with the Christian calender--Yule.  Some choose to quietly reflect on its meaning or hold a ritual in its honor, as they do the other Sabbats.  Others simply remember it as a special time with a lit candle or bit of incense.  With these folks, Yule will always be the preamble to the larger holiday, the one of their youth, the one remembered in song and TV specials--Christmas.  Rarely have I encountered a Pagan who forgoes the date of Christmas and focuses entirely upon our Pagan Sabbat.

It's hard to blame a person for this; Christmas is declared everywhere--in shop windows, lamppost decorations, every form of media, and classrooms across the country.  There's Christmas trees, Christmas carols, Christmas shopping, and Christmas cookies.  We cannot escape the 25th of December as being the date upon which to pin all hopes and dreams, even if our own were fulfilled on the 21st.  But Yule is not just "Christmas Jr."  Whether or not you celebrate the Winter Solstice as the grandest day of the year or just a part of the Christmas season, making it an independent entity is possible, desirable, and easier than you may think.

Bringing Yule into Its Own 

You can create Yule celebrations that are unique, meaningful, and fun for all ages.  "Christmas is for children," as they say, but Yule is for everyone.  The simple methods described here will do just that and in such a way that you can bring them home this year, for this Yule.

Make your Yule it's own distinctive celebration by considering the following:

• Understand the relationship and separation of Yule and Christmas
• Highlight your favorite traditions from the usual stuff
• Play them up in a big way
• Create new traditions
• Integrate ritual into the entertainment

Dissecting the Holidays

Decide first which you will celebrate and how much importance you will give to each. Because most of the secular parts of Christmas are shared by Pagan celebrations, you might want to choose one or the other to host the majority of those images.  My goal has always been to show Yule as the premier winter holiday event and to make it the most special and meaningful, far ahead of Christmas.  There are many ways to create separation between them--if only to give each their own space--so feel free to adjust these suggestions to fit with your idea of the perfect holiday.

In my home, we keep Yule as the special day within our home and Christmas is for traveling to visit friends and family who live elsewhere.  This means that the events of Yule are at home, and while visitors are always welcome, we don't leave home for work or school.  Nor do we ever celebrate elsewhere or leave to do things individually.  This keeps the two celebrations separate and allows our day to remain our own special event.  Consider what you can do that will have the same effect in your situation.  What individual options will you take to make it work for your own family?

This can be handled in many ways.  Will you follow the exact Solstice day from year to year (December 20, 21, or 22) or pick a standard date to make planning easier?  Will you arrange to have the day off of school and work for all family members?  Will you accept visitors or keep it private? These choices may change for you after years of celebrating, so allow yourself to stay flexible.  


The Wheat from the Chaff

Separate from the usual stuff your very favorite traditions.  It's simple to remove the religious overtones of Christian theology that goes along with some parts of the holidays--no religious carols, no time spent in church, no passages from the Bible in your cards--but it also goes far beyond that to the aspects that you continue to promote but don't actually enjoy or with which you feel little connection.  You may know right away what this means to you or you may have to take time to contemplate it or journal on the concept.

For me, it was Santa.  I love the idea of his generosity and kindhearted nature, but I wasn't interested in making an entire day in honor of getting presents from a stranger and not our children's hardworking and loving parents.  So our family has only sparse connection with Santa and lets other aspects take the spotlight.


Play Up What You Love

Through this introspection, you will also discover those aspects that you love most of all, those things that speak loudest to you of happiness, togetherness, and festivity.  This is what you should play up in your holiday.  There are a wide array of sights, sounds, scents, and events that coincide with the month of December.  Some are strictly religious, most are secular, and some are only of a seasonal nature.  Don't overthink this part; answer the simple question--what comes to mind when you think of the holidays?  This is your treasure; work with that and do it big.

For example, if you are really moved by holiday music, make Yule a day for music and fill the entire season with it as well.  Gather musicians to entertain during parties.  Play a selection of your favorite carols all day on Yule.  Make a yearly trip to see The Nutcracker or other live theater.  Look in the newspaper for productions of holiday themed musicals in local playhouses or go big and travel to New York City for the Radio City Music Hall show.

If you are a singer or musician yourself, this can be the perfect holiday to show off your talents.  Take part in a show, arrange a small ensemble to play for charity at schools or nursing homes, or gather all your friends for caroling.  I have toyed with the idea for the past few years of getting some fellow Pagans together to offer our services wassailing at the many apple orchards in my area.  Wassailing is a traditional blessing at midwinter for the health of fruit trees and would look beautiful with a group in Victorian dress.  It includes singing and sprinkling the trees with a special infusion of hard apple cider, brandy, and heady spices.  If you know of orchards that host winter events to drum up out-of-season business, this could be a perfect addition.

If you love all things Santa Claus, make a special day of visiting him at the nicest local place available.  Ask around to find a Santa with a real beard, the most plush costume, or who is at place that has other special features like craft sales, wreath making, or free hot chocolate.  There is so much more out there beyond the mall!

Also note that there are many classic movies, songs, and stories about Santa that can play their part in your festivities.  Create a special moment before bed to recite "Twas the Night Before Christmas" in a lavish style.  Many versions of a Pagan rendition of this classic poem can be found online, as well.  Ask a friend to dress up and visit your children or to be available for photos at your party.

You could even organize the main thrust of your day around what you don't want, like cooking.  Host a potluck dinner or take everyone to a favorite restaurant.  If you have a friend who does enjoy cooking, offer to bring the holiday to their house while they are busy cooking.  You will surely be a hero providing tablecloths, candles, centerpiece, music, flowers, and special decorations.


Make Your Own Traditions



Integrate Ritual into the Holiday

Don't think that rituals must be separate from the fun.  The best rituals have an element of fun that is all their own.  Ideally, everyone will be looking forward to the ritual the same way they look forward to other elements of the day, so let your events flow into the rite and then back out of it with interesting things to do before, during, and after.

So what can you add to your rite that will make it something its participants eagerly await?  How can you integrate into it your talents and style?  If there was ever a rite that can sustain a little loosening, it's this one.  The weeks leading up to Yule carry with them a feeling of peacefulness and awareness of the human exchanges and natural world changes going on in the season.  The spirit of the holiday is acknowledged in a variety of small ways over a long period of time.  Let your ritual be a celebration of that, not just a summary of it.

To keep your ritual entertaining and enjoyable, make it something that has recognizable features.  Stimulate all the senses at once with lights and candles, music, incense, colors and textures, and food or drink.  Let these things come together in an active and upbeat way.  Give your participants something to do--especially as a group effort--and keep the different elements moving along, flowing from one part to the next.

The final word on rituals is that they should be somewhat brief.  It is up to you to decide what this will look like for your coven or family, but the event should be long enough to be enjoyable (and worth getting dressed up for!) but short enough that young ones don't become restless.  Give your rite a big finish and then send them on their way.  They will remember a rollicing parade of color and laughter, spice and poetry that can sustain any heart through the long winter.


Starting and Continuing

It was 15 years ago that my husband and I decided that it made more sense to honor the Winter Solstice than Christmas.  We were newlyweds and eager to give our new life its own unique stamp.  I had been Pagan for two years and he was just coming to the path, but we knew that switching could make a much more meaningful celebration for us.  We started that year, wondering if we would notice that we were waking early to exchange presents on a "not Christmas" day.  But on Yule morning, with the milky sun rising through our apartment window, a Bing Crosby record playing loudly, and the two of us sitting under the tree like children, we realized that the dates don't matter.  We were spending the day focusing on love, generosity, and the adoration of our spirituality.  For us, Yule has remained a perfect expression of that ever since.

If you decide to switch, do it completely.  Give yourself over to a new practice and put your all into making it something special for you and those you love.  It can quickly become your favorite holiday for many more reasons than the presents, for Yule is a whole day of good things: time for frivolity and pleasure, the remembrance of friends and family, and the celebration of all the good in your life.  To wake on a day that holds all this in store is surely the greatest present of all.

Happy Yule to you and yours!



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Real Witchcraft in Your Toy Store


This kind of thing simply confounds me to the point of a good chuckle.  I don't take it seriously but I do like to turn it over in my mind.  What kind of a person sees evil in books which make fantasy and history entertaining?  What is their goal in dissuading the rest of us from even picking up such a diabolical item as a decorative book?  Do they really believe that they can remove all traces of other beliefs (even ones that are clearly intended only to entertain, such as books like these) simply by jumping at every shadow?

Most of all, however, I question why they worry over things like this when there are so many books, public events, and groups which do aim to share real witchcraft with children.  My own coven has always been keen to help even the youngest kids get involved in casting spells and discussing magical theory.  Our children have been raised Pagan since birth and have been privy to all kinds of magical work since then.  I have never resorted to books like these for teaching.  Instead, I work with actual witchcraft books.  Makes sense, right?

So whether you're like me and find it only amusing, or if this article makes you bristle, I hope you think about, talk about, and share your thoughts with me and others in the magical community.  After all, that's the real way we teach and learn.

At this time of year, my thoughts quickly turn to the beauty of snow.  Some folks seem utterly baffled by this, but I suppose I just can't seem to join them in lamenting the bother of driving, shoveling, and shivering in it.  Instead, I focus on watching it drift by my window, swirl around me as I walk, and fly by in a torrent as I sled down the hill with my children.  So, to me, snow is absolutely wonderful!

Living all my life in Pennsylvania, I've grown up nearly obsessed with snow.  It's a topic in every conversation from September to nearly March: when it might come, the first snow, the biggest snow, remembering past storms, Snow Days and more to come (oh dear!), hating it, loving it, teasing one another about it.  It being such a major topic makes it  a perfect candidate for magic spells.  Not a lot seem to be in existence so years ago I chose to write my own.

Oddly enough, I only now discovered, in the course of wishing to write this to you, that I have actually made three such spells, each completely distinct from the others.  Somehow this slipped from my memory completely.  Just this past week I used the one that often comes to mind.  I was driving home from work and saw a cold, gray road stretched out before me just asking to be re-imagined into a white and sparkling landscape.  So I chanted and focused (yes, I cast while driving and I don't mind if others do or no not) until I'd had my fill.  By the time it was getting dark, the snow had begun.  When I woke up early the next
Whether you're now cheering withe me or gritting your teeth as I'm sure was the case with the many other people around here who slid down the highway beside me that morning, I've decided to share some of my snow magic with you.  Perhaps you will bring a storm home or just leave this information to sit in a book or file awaiting some odd moment in future years when you'll actually want the stuff.  Either way, you are welcome to share in these spells and cast them as you see fit.

The first spell is from 2003.  It was written to replicate a spell I'd done several years prior (circa 1998) but lost in a move.  The original work was, as best as I can remember, very similar to this.  It caused such a massive blizzard that it quite took me by surprise.  The only problem was that it was not an instant thing; I'd cast it the night before Yule, hoping that I would awake to a transformation.  Instead, about a week later (post-Yule and post-Christmas) we got a storm that dumped a tremendous amount of snow on our valley, bringing down trees and knocking out power.

Now, I don't claim that this is a blizzard maker--far from it--only that you should use a regular amount of effort but start early.  My overzealous work did not produce instant snow any more than turning up the heat on an oven will make a cake bake faster.

The page you're seeing alongside this spell is a scan from my BoS of that time.  For some reason, I left the wording the same as in the original (though waiting until the last minute didn't work out so well the first time!) but you can also see that I used it on New Year's as well.  So use this spell when you have lots of time but then, perhaps, give it a shot for those events when you want snow actually falling as well.




Spell to Cause Snow


Go outside with your besom (or a new broom) as in the spell to bring rain.  Stand upon a high point and raise your arms and broom to Divinity.  Say:


This second spell is from about 2005.  The scan is from one of my big four-inch binders in which I keep magical information to be referenced quickly.  A good number of my spells--and classic spells that I've used over and over again--can be found there.  Unfortunately, I didn't add any further instructions for this one.  However, I can remember the specifics of this one and added the further instructions to the spell below.

I've used this spell far more often than the previous one.  It's the very same that came to mind as I drove home last week on a bare road.  The two are clearly different, but I've had about as much success with both of them.  I suggest going with the one that feels most natural to you.

Please note that the third of my snow spells can be found only in "The Book of Brass Mirrors," a manuscript spellbook of unusual magic that I plan to have published.  I hope that, in time, I may share it with you all as I have done these!



To Bring Snow

Upon a foggy window pane or in the open air, draw with one finger the image of a simple snowflake.  Make sure all vertical lines go from bottom to top and horizontal ones left to right.  Make a single snowflake for each stanza of the chant, envisioning a thick fall of snow behind your drawing.  You may say the chant as loud or quiet as you like, but it must be said aloud.


Looking back on the spells I've made in the past is a sort of time capsule; I can discern my influences at that time and the kind of witch I thought most impressive.  With the first spell I notice that it was during the time that my most used spellbook was Dorothy Morrison's "Everyday Magic."  Not only does the set-up retain a nod to her writing style, but the instructions are derived from her spell to make rain.

In the second spell you can see that I've grown a little more frank in my arrangement and plain title, modeling it off of Valerie Worth's Crone books ("Crone's Book of Charms and Spells" and "Crone's Book of Words").  Perhaps that's why I left out instructions, because I couldn't make them rhyme like Ms. Worth's always did?

The third spell was written sometime around 2004 specifically for the book.  I tested it that winter and the story of it is nearly legendary around here.  A friend of ours recently recounted the entire thing as he saw it and I was amazed that he could remember nearly every minute of the day.  That is, for me, one impressive endorsement!

Whether you are just looking for a winter pick-me-up or you're dreaming of a White Solstice, give these spells a try.  And may your days be merry and bright!



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Magical Affirmations


Sometimes as we progress as practitioners, we go through a phase where we slow down on casting, get confused or disoriented, and pay more attention to the roadside than the road. That's a normal part of the journey; it won't always be pretty and the traveling won't always be quick.  Right now, I'm the perfect example of a witch who has gotten tangled up in the path.

Between writing books and articles for publication, tending to Quill's Occult Supply, keeping up with my local public practice, and managing a full and busy homelife with husband and children, I've got a lot going on.  And because my itch for magic is scratched in several other ways, I don't often get the chance to cast spells for the things that I want.

But I'm changing that.  I'm going back to basics and back to the core of my practice.  I'm sure I'll be talking about it a lot in upcoming posts, but to get things started on the right foot, this week's link is a page dedicated to magical affirmations.

The affirmation is often maligned as a bit of New Age fluff for readers of "The Secret" who want a newer car.  But magic users know that it's just another part of the magical process.  Our incantations and charms are often little more than rhyming affirmations.  If they're done well, they're so affecting that we don't even notice that they're only really reiterating the things we desire.

So I'm going to start today and go back to my early years when daily affirmations were a must.  I'll be sure to keep you updated on my progress.  Watch Twitter for more of my daily work.  You can find me here--@MadamQuill

Papercraft Krampus

I've shared this one a million times, but it deserves to be a million more.

Krampus is, as some call him, the Christmas devil.  He's Santa's more realistic side, doling out the punishment that the "naughty" list so richly deserves.  While Santa rewards the good, Krampus chases, whips, and devours the bad.  Sounds fair to me.

In truth, I've never really been a Santa type of gal.  He's so sacachraine that I couldn't identify with him at all.  My Dad did his best to bring the wonder of the holidays to us as kids, tromping around on the roof and leaving a string of beautiful antique bells hanging on the door as proof that Santa had indeed visited us in the night.  But, even so, while I loved it all, I also felt that Santa--if he could indeed be real--was kind of a chump.

Early in my life as a Pagan, I discovered Mother Berchta.  Here was the no-nonsense spirit I craved.  While so many others denounce her horrible side as Christian propaganda, I loved it.  She was equal measure kind and cruel, delighting and destroying like winter itself.  To this day, my family and I retell her story as a play during our Yule ritual.  Santa is given as a pleasant side-note, but that is all.

So when I learned about Krampus years ago--a cultural connector between my German family and my Pagan beliefs--I took to him instantly.  He and Mother Berchta have their tradition ties and definitely share a world view, which I adore.   Able to see into the truth of your soul without a scrap of prettiness or pretention, Krampus is a fantastic balance to the typical sugar-covered holiday themes.

So perhaps this will be the year that you invite the long-tongued devil to your home and family, risking the switch and the basket.  You won't be disappointed!

In the meantime, enjoy making this papercraft Krampus, adorable and vicious little bugger that he is!   Happy holidays to all!

Don't Be Fooled by Pretty Magical Theory

There are those among us who, with the best of intentions, wish to take the fangs away from the serpent and show witchcraft as totally benign and safe.  They want outsiders to view us as regular people, soccer moms in mini vans, middle aged men with out-of-style pants.  Some of us are just that, of course, but it is their personalities and not their practice which dictate such things.  Inside we are very much a different breed.  Our outlook on life and its trials must certainly be different from the fatalistic viewpoint of the average individual thinking that there is no real influence he can possibly exert upon the world.

Witches are not helpless creatures, nor are we tossed by the idle winds of chance.  We step up and grab the ropes of our ship's sail and guide her home to the port of our choosing. Sometimes such bold gestures interfere with the course, directed or not, of other ships. When that happens--according to this witch, at least--it's just too damn bad.  If I am to be in charge of my own life, others around me will have to take charge of theirs because I might make things messy for them otherwise.  This attitude is called wicked and I embrace it completely.

Witchcraft has always had a side that was wicked: wild and untamed, unadulterated by societal norms because it sits outside of them.  It is not something that manners or wealth or the law can affect.  To be wicked is to work with your own set of morals and your own idea of normal.  No one outside can dictate this to you.  I say to you now that it is okay to be wicked.


The Bold are Rarely the Bullied

Those who speak openly about their practice of magic are the very last ones to receive ridicule for it.  When I was quiet about my magic (many, many years ago), I was rabidly scolded about the peril in which I was placing my immortal soul, the jeopardy I brought to my husband, and the waste of a life that I was leading.  That was when I was meek and

Yet, I have never had a complaint about selling such items, nor have I gotten bad reviews (thus far, at least) because someone's evil magic made evil things happen.  I speak freely on all topics which are posed to me because I believe with certainty that my practice is valid, traditional, and needed within the magical community.  And from the looks of the items that have sold especially well in the past, this is quite true.


We Need the Dark

I don't mean this in a "necessary evil" kind of way.  On the contrary, the dark side of nature is a good thing and one we crave.  Humans are free beings and yet we constantly exert our influence upon one another, in mundane as well as magical ways, that augment that freedom in one another.  The things which restrict are lessons of great value: like the shell which binds the baby chick, we learn to grow strong enough to overpower these ties and break free of them.  We then may go out into the world ready for anything.

Adversaries teach us, as well.  We learn what we are capable of when we are pushed to the brink.  Who are you when no one is looking?  Who are you when things go all wrong, when you have to strike back, when you are alone in the world?  Who are you then?  It will sting, but an adversary will teach you the answers to those questions.

Being the adversary for someone else tells us about human nature and the kinds of impulses which drive our actions.  We get the chance to see who we are when the tables have turned, when we have ultimate power, when we can do whatever we like.  Of course, the secondary part of being one's enemy is that, generally, the target has done something terribly wrong and is being made to pay for it.  I don't understand why it has become an unpopular thought but bad people deserve to be stopped.  Maybe I'm too much a matriarch, but if you mess with those I care about you must prepare to have your ass handed to you. Of course, if we want to look at this in the sense of "tough love," I might just be saving a person from a much worse fate that awaits them by stopping their string of poor choices before it truly gets started.

Because magical belief systems are autonomous we can experience these lessons personally.  We don't absorb the flow of the world through myth or rules or threats about the afterlife; we feel them directly and interact with them.  We are students of nature and teachers of one another.


Delight in All Aspects of Nature, Outside and In

It's been said that nature is cruel.  Things do not get dealt to us fairly.  The good die young while the hateful live on.  Justice is not served with equal measure and force for all crimes.  Some live in suffering and want while others frivolously waste their good fortunes.  But life isn't being mean.  Nature is indifferent.  These things don't have meaning to the natural world.  We are each dealt a lot and we live with it.  That is all.

There is something gutless and dull to my mind about a view of nature in which everyone is cared for and tucked up tight.  Nature is wild and uncivilized and it's best that way.  Within every living thing, ourselves included, is a spark of this untamed element.  It is our darkness, the part of the human soul that is free and unafraid.  It's the part of you which not only connects to the truest essence of the world, it is that essence.  You are a part of the unbound laws of nature.

The system was never intended to be fair.  You're not given "only what you can handle," you're just given something.  We're here to use that inequality to grow and become more than we were at our beginning.  Evil makes us evolve, inequality is the hull upon the seed of our potential.  If you want to put down roots and grow strong to reach the sunlight, you're going to have to break out with all the force you possess.  Your only other option is to rot.

Nature only realizes you're there by the influence you wield.  You needn't attempt to create a life of ease, only that you are able to create the best life possible and use your talents to their greatest effect.  You may discover that the trials of your life have given you a unique


Related reading includes  What It Feels Like to be in the Broom Closet, How to Get What You Want,  Black Magic Badass: Curses, Coercion, and Collateral Damage

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Amazing Science Fiction magazine for August 1973
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