“You know mistletoe is important to Druids but do you know why people kiss under the mistletoe? It’s a Norse myth. Baldur the son of Odin was the most beloved by the other gods. So much that they wanted to protect him from all the dangers in the world. His mother, Frigg, took an oath from fire and water, metal, stone and every living thing, that they would never hurt Baldur. At a gathering, they tested him. Stones, arrows and flame were all hurled at him. Nothing worked. But there was one god that wasn’t so enamored of Baldur, the god of mischief, Loki. Loki discovered that Frigg had forgotten to ask mistletoe, a tiny, seemingly harmless plant and completely overlooked. Loki fashioned a dart out of mistletoe and it killed Baldur. Frigg was heartbroken. She decreed that mistletoe would never again be used as a weapon and that she would place a kiss on anyone who passed under it. So now we hang mistletoe underneath our door during the holidays so that we will never overlook it again.”
Reblogging again because SOMEONE ASK ME ABOUT WHERE SANTA CAME FROM AND WHY HE HAS EIGHT REINDEER DO IT.
Santa? Is Odin. With a bit of the Turkish Saint Nicholas plastered over top to make him more acceptable to Christianity.
Let’s wind this back a bit.
So. In Norse tradition, Odin rose with the wild hunt on Midwinter. Children would leave out offerings of hay or root vegetables in their shoes for Slepnir, Odin’s horse. In norse tradition, all gifts create an obligation that must be returned in kind, so if Odin found the offerings pleasing he would leave treats and sweets in return.
So. We have a magical bearded man riding through the sky on a winter feast day and leaving treats for children in footwear if they pleased him. Sound familiar? Yeah.
As for Slepnir, Odin’s mount? He has eight legs. So. Bearded man with powerful magic flying through the air on an eight-legged steed on a winter feast day and leaving treats for children in their footwear if they pleased him.
Yeah.
Enter Christianity. Now, the midwinter season is important to all cultures that live in cold climates. The passing of the worst of the hard times and the beginning of the longer days and the promise of the return of life and light and fertility is a powerful thing. There were Christian festival days around the same time as Midwinter was celebrated in many polytheistic faiths. Christians found that they couldn’t get people to stop celebrating the feast days they’d been celebrating for several thousand years, so opted instead to just absorb those traditions into their OWN midwinter festivals. It was a far easier and more effective way of convincing people to convert.
However, the idea of him flying through the sky, being associated with elves, possessing powerful magic, and the eight-legged steed stuck. (reindeer, incidentally, are an animal with a lot of symbol and power in Norse tales. Ullr, the god of the hunt, had ties to reindeer, and at some point the eight legged horse became eight reindeer.)
Incidentally the image of Santa as a chubby little jolly man didn’t come around until modern advertising began depicting him that way. Before that? A tall, strong man, usually with a staff (echoing Odin’s staff or spear).
So. There you have it. Santa, the jolly bearded old man of beloved childhood Christmas memories? If you ever wondered where he came from in a ‘Christian’ holiday, there’s your answer. He didn’t. He’s the amalgamation of an ancient Norse god and a Middle Eastern saint, filtered through the lens of pop culture.
Jim Butcher actually did this very well in the Dresden Files, where Odin makes several appearances, one wearing the mantle of Father Christmas.
Christianity never really managed to make the old gods vanish.
Sweet as snow spell ─ this low spoon wishing spell consists of collecting freshly fallen snow in a seashell then sprinkling sugar on top while visioning whatever you’d like to manifest. Allow the ice crystals to melt and leave the water on your altar or in a special place to evaporate. This will release the cheerful energies into your atmosphere, while adding sweetness to your life and melting away any worries ❄️
Yule is the first minor sabbat of the year, celebrated at Winter Solstice (which is on December 22nd in 2015), the longest night of the year. This day marks the return of the sun, as the days will start to get longer again from here on, and the rebirth of the Horned God, as well as the beginning reign of the Oak King, taking the Holly King’s place and bringing the light half of the year.
This is a day for introspection, peace, planning for the future and new beginnings and spending time with your family and friends. Parallels can be seen in Christmas, Hannukah and other festivals around this time of the year, all with the same motifs: light and joy. Giving gifts and decorating a Yule tree (I decorate mine with candied oranges and other handmade decor!) are popular activities, as is creating a Yule log and burning it in honour of the sun returning.
Other activities include caroling, wassailing, kissing under the mistletoe, making wreaths, storytelling, sending greetings, lighting a fire, as well as charity, donating food and clothing, volunteering or putting up bird feeders.
Edit: It’s that time of year again! I’ll be reposting this for the upcoming Sabbat but will probably be updating it as I go along. Not everything at the bottom is a link yet but the ones that are there should work. If you guys find any problems just let me know!
with hot chocolate season on the way, there are a lot of subtle ways to work a little magic into your mug! a compiled list of easy recipes to have some magic in your day
for all recipes, melt chocolate in the microwave, and mix in heated milk.
Caramel 🍬
½ cup milk, 5 oz. chopped milk chocolate, 3 tsps caramel, ¼ cup heavy cream. for love, kindness, domestic works
Cinnamon Spice 🍃
1 cup milk, 5 oz. chopped dark chocolate, ¼ tsp cinnamon, a pinch cayenne pepper. divination, fortune, healing, power, prosperity, protection, psychic abilities, spirituality, wealth, and wisdom.
Orange
🍊
1 cup milk, 2 oz. chopped dark chocolate, ½ tbsp sugar, ½ tbsp grated orange peel. for beauty, divination, fortune, love, purification, and wealth.
White Lavender 🌾
1 cup whole milk, ½ chopped white chocolate, ¼ tsp lavender flowers. for chastity, happiness, love, peace, protection, and purification.
Peppermint 🍬
1 cup whole milk, ½ cup chopped milk chocolate, 1 peppermint candy. for healing, love, psychic abilities, and purification.
Pumpkin Spice 🎃
1 cup whole milk, 1 tsp. chocolate powder, ½ tsp pumpkin spice, 1 tsp. maple syrup. for banishment, divination, healing, prosperity, and protection
Hazelnut 🌰
1 cup whole milk, a pinch salt, 1 tsp cocoa, 2 tbsp nutella or ¼ tsp hazelnut extract. for fertility, protection against evil, creativity, intuition, and psychic abilities
Vanilla 🌾
½ cup milk, 5 oz. chopped milk chocolate, 1 tsp vanilla extract. for happiness, love, and lust.
Peanut Butter 🌰
1 cup skim milk, 2 oz. chopped dark chocolate, ¼ cup peanut butter, add cream to taste. for wealth, love, and fortune.
a list of ideas and activities for seasonal and discreet witches, based on what is around to do / use in the winter. based off my personal expiriances
☕ hot cocoa / coffee
coffee grounds are good for cleansing and banishing and growth. but a cup of either hot drink can double as an easy potion on your way to work! some hot cocoa recipes, some coffee magic
🎄 natural decor
between wreaths and popcorn strings, there’s a lot of natural decor that isn’t always readily available most of the year. making spiced pomander balls is a nice subtle spell for for attraction, exorcism, love, protection, and wealth.
🎁 presents
for many cultures, this is a time of gift-giving. buying things online or irl for your craft is easier because all you have to do is answer “it’s a secret!”, and people assume it is a present for the holiday.
⛄ snow men
playing in the snow never gets old, and neither does building snowmen. however, with a few herbs packed inside, you’ve got an easy poppet or a spell that takes action as the snow melts.
🌰 roasted chestnuts
especially if you live in newyork, roasted chesnuts are suddenly very popular. they make great offerings if you don’t want to eat them, or can be used in spells. good for love spells / fertility and protection, but also a sign of the oncoming winter. bury a handful to ensure prosperity for the next season
🍻 drinking
like all times of festivities, there’s usually some alchohol involved. during this time of year if can be easier to excuse an offering as a forgotten drink. (please don’t drink if you’re underage or it conflicts with your meds)
🎅 seasonal spirit
sometimes during this time of the year you can just feel the magic in the air, whether or not it’s actually magic or season’s cheer, honoring the seasonal spirit is an option
💆 charity
this is the time of year charities receive the most, but also go out to call for donations. if you worship/religion calls for acts as well as prayers, this is an easy time to go out volunteer at a soup kitchen, a can drive, or in general donate.
🔔 bells ringing
one prominent type of decor, or at least sound you’ll hear a lot this season, is bell ringing. if you wish to use bell ringing to help cleanse an area, this is the season to do it without bringing attention to oneself.
🍪 cookies
baking cookies is almost traditional this time of year, and if you coordinate the ingredients for a spell, or whoever you leave them out as an offer to, well that’s your business.
🎀 general decor
it is less suspect if you want to decorate for yule with red and green, because in the mainstream understanding it is almost interchangeable with Christmas
🔥bonfires and fireplaces
good for burning offerings and celebrating pagan holidays, especially the notion of burning a yule log would not be very unusual to suggest. take precaution to have a well ventilated area and to not breathe in the smoke
❄ snow / ice / hail
like storm water and sea water have their purposes in magic, so do the various types of winter precipitation, and they can be used in many spells. snow can be for peace or destruction, ice for beauty and offense, and hail in curses.
🐐 yule goat
nowadays perceived as a mere christmas ornament, the making of a yule goat out of straw is believed to be a devotional activity to thor.
🍗 yule boar
if you do indulge in eating meat, another subtle way to celebrate yule if through the concept of the “yule boar”, eaten to represent fertility
💫 lights everywhere
for the witch that has a hard time procuring and lighting candles, this time of year candles are lit more often and with less questions. however, every string of lights can double as candle lights if you need them too.
teakepp 