Things Are Not Always What They Seem - December 2017

December 2017 – Things are not always what they seem!

I want to share a little story with you this month about things not always being what they seem.  When we were on holiday in May I got bitten very badly by some sort of insect, I didn’t see what the nasty little thing was as I had obviously sat on him/her and the bite was on my derriere!  It really was horrible and I kept putting anti histamine cream on it over the holiday but thought not much more of it.  Eventually it went thank goodness.  Cut to a few months later, end of August, on holiday again, and I couldn’t believe it but the same thing happened!!  What were the chances of being bitten in the same place?  Whatever it was must have got the taste for my blood!  As before, the bite seemed to eventually get better and disappear.  Imagine my shock when a few months later, in November at the end of an extremely exhausting week I woke up on the Saturday morning with the same thing.  This time clearly I hadn’t been re bitten so I was puzzled how the same area could be so inflamed and had come up again in little red bites.  I googled everything there was to know about recurrent insect bites and found that it could be possible that the insect’s poison was still in my system, so armed with this information I decided to go the walk in clinic for advice.   A few hours later I left the walk in centre in shock.  It wasn’t an insect bite at all.  It was shingles.  Yes I’ve never heard of it on the buttocks either, but apparently it isn’t uncommon.  I’ve been beyond exhausted and it’s been very sore this time with burning sensations down the other side too, so as much as possible I’ve tried to rest and look after myself, but as I’m sure you will know it’s not easy with a young family and work and a house to look after.  I felt that the lesson in all of this is never to assume and never to look at things on face value, but to always look deeper.  Often our assumptions or presumptions about people or things will be wrong.  Instinct is a different thing, this I would not normally question, but instinct and gut feeling is different to just making assumptions based on what you are shown.  Perhaps I have a suspicious nature and I’m not a naturally trusting person, I analyse, possibly too much sometimes, but I do try to always look deeper than the surface.  What you see isn’t always what you get. 

Christmas time, as we call it in the Christian calendar is full of sparkly things, parties and excess.  We are encouraged to be seduced by the outward glamour and glitz, but of course we must remember the old saying ‘all that glitters is not gold’.  Some people you see at the Christmas party with a smile plastered on their faces are going through difficult times, perhaps they are masking how they truly feel.  Look into your neighbours/work colleagues/friends eyes, really study them, for our eyes don’t lie.  What can you do to help someone this festive season? Christmas can be a wonderful time of joy spent with our families, but for some people it is the loneliest time of year.

In Wicca we celebrate Winter Solstice or Yule as it is also known.  This is marked by the shortest day, the 21^st December when the winter has reached its peak of darkness.  The night is long, the day is short, but we celebrate because after this date the days are gradually becoming longer; light is again triumphing over darkness.  Traditionally a yule log would be brought into the house to be burnt for 12 hours, along with a piece of last year’s wood.  The ashes would then be left to smoulder for 12 days and the ash product scattered on the land to ensure good crops harvest and good fortune for the year ahead.  The yule log should never be bought, it should be given as a gift or taken from the householders land.  As most of us do not have trees readily available in our gardens, I would suggest buying some logs and giving out a log to close friends and family to burn.  Decorate your yule log with holly and other greenery and douse it with cider before burning on the fire. 

Practical Magic

Make your own yule log to encourage good fortune.

This is another way of making a yule log, not to burn but for decoration, which will give you the same amount of good luck.  Take a piece of oak preferably, (I would go to a park and at the foot of an oak tree you will often find a piece of wood or a fallen branch that could be chopped into a smaller piece).  Ask the tree first if you may take it and give the tree an offering of mulled wine, or whatever alcohol you can safely take to the site without looking like a wino!  Take the wood home and decorate it with colours associated with yule, so green, gold, red, white, mistletoe/holly, coloured ribbons.  Place tea lights on top of it or around it, whichever is safest, and light them nightly through the festive season.  Not only are you celebrating the Wiccan festival of Yule, you are also imbuing your house and home with light which symbolises the light of the sun which is coming more rapidly now that the long winter days and nights are diminishing.  It is the positive light of goodness, kindness and prosperity. 

Crystal of the Month – Magnesite

In keeping with the theme of things not always being what they seem, I’ve chosen a crystal which is very often muddled up with Howlite as they do look similar.  However Magnesite is much more easily available than howlite, as howlite is no longer collected in the volume it used to be.  

Magnesite is usually white although it can be colourless, yellow, grey or tan or pink and it has grey mottled lines running over it.  It is very porous, so it can be dyed many different colours.  Dealers will often dye magnesite turquoise, passing it off as the more expensive crystal.  So beware, if the price of a piece of turquoise seems too good to be true then it probably is dyed magnesite or howlite.

Magnesite is said to bring deep peace when worn while meditating or relaxing.  It encourages a positive attitude to life.  It allows the wearer to accept one’s self and others, without feeling the need for change.

Angel Card of the Month – use Your Imagination and You’ll See the Answer!

This card is telling you that although the angels are giving you guidance and answering your prayers, their messages are coming in unusual ways so you will have to use your imagination to translate what is being given to you.  Let go of your pre conceived ideas and allow yourself to believe that anything is possible!  Possible specific meanings are: sit down with a pen and paper and start brainstorming, move forward with your idea no matter how far-fetched it may seem, your ideas are the answers to your prayers, you’re fully supported as you pursue your dreams, jot down a list of things that you believe can’t or won’t happen and then burn it as a symbol of you opening your mind to all possibilities.

Moody Moon

This is such an exciting month for the Full moon which is on the 3^rd December at 15.46 in the sign of Gemini as it is a supermoon which basically means that the full moon coincides with its closest approach to the earth.  It will seem up to 14% larger and 30% brighter than a normal full moon.  This is the only visible supermoon of the whole year and is known in December as the ‘Cold Moon’. The names for all the moons came from the Native Americans who instead of naming the months of the year named the moons instead, usually to coincide with an event at that time.  This cold moon, marks the time of year, as Christmas is just a few weeks away and is also known as the Long Nights moon (we are approaching winter solstice so the nights are longer and days are shorter).  The fact that the full moon is in the communicative sign of Gemini suggest that talks may come to a head on this date, for some this could be a positive thing, for others it may mean a long wordy argument!  Do remember though that Gemini is also the sign of the twins, so things may not always be what they seem.  Don’t take words to heart, especially anything said on or around the full moon.  Wait a few days and then see how the land lies after the passion and drama have subsided.

The new moon is later this month on the 18th December at 06.30 in the sign of Sagittarius.  This is a great day to start a new adventure, as Sagittarius is the sign of the traveller, the explorer, and the sign with a voracious appetite for variety.  Seize any opportunities on this day with vigour and gusto!

On the 13^th December there will be a Gemini Meteor shower, this is considered to be the best shower of the year, producing up to 120 multi coloured meteors per hour.  The waning moon will mean dark skies which will really help you see the show.  Meteors will radiate from the constellation Gemini but can be seen to appear anywhere in the sky.  Enjoy!

Eat: cabbage, clementines, clams, goose, horseradish, kale, mussels, oyster, parsnip, pheasant, Satsuma, swede, truffle, venison, wild duck, winkles

Play: Happy Families – just for a few days, its Christmas!

Love: The Miracle of Christmas.  If you look hard enough there are miracles happening every day, none more than at this magical time of year.  Make a note of any little miracles and do your best to enable them to happen for others in whatever small way you can.