winter

Pagan Parenting

Jennie Johnston December, 2009

The Wintertime Family

winter Pagan Parenting


The winter months can be very gloomy for us.  We contend with few hours of daylight, cold temperatures and often limited mobility due to snow and ice.  Beach frolicking is a distant memory, the piles of leaves for jumping in have been racked away and the fresh sprouts of spring are not quite stirring under their frozen blanket.  Despite the limitations of the season we crave activities to share that connect us to the quite slumber going on under our feet.  This month we’ll look at some options for sharing this time as a family in terms of activities that connect the family unit and feed our spiritual souls in the dark time of the wheel.

Winter activities tend to require more planning than in the summer months but a great way to keep the winter blues at bay is to plan out a tentative schedule for weekend/vacation activities so that the kids can anticipate them, and parents have time to make them happen.  Brainstorm with the family while you are still home for the holidays having each member include some activities that they would like to do.  Be sure to make an Outdoor and Indoor list.  Here are some examples to get you started.

Outdoors:

  • winter sports such as: skating, skiing, sledding, hockey
  • snow ball fights
  • winter forest hikes
  • winter animal search
  • snow science experiments

Indoors:

  • cooking & baking
  • arts & crafts
  • journals
  • future family plans (like vacations, classes or rituals)
  • reading together
  • movies together
  • at-home-family-spa
  • family talent shows/theatre

I would recommend planning one indoor and one outdoor activity each weekend and if the weather is storming or too cold for the outdoor option you have a second option. A key to meeting the spiritual needs of your child and yourself is to let the messages of the season resonate through your home.  One of those lessons in my opinion is rest.  So while keeping the kids and yourself somewhat busy is a good way to ward off winter blues there is also a certain yearning that the body has for more rest during the dark months.  Finding the balance of rest and activity is not an easy task and may be impossible, so instead aim for a healthy home environment that tries to relieve stress rather than create it through too much scheduling.

The moon is particularly beautiful in the winter months with its light reflecting off the snow.  Even if you live in a climate that does not have snow you can still think of creating a special Esbat ritual for the family to celebrate together.  It can be as simple as taking a moonlit walk together or as elaborate as ritual garb and assigned roles but let the planning process be something that each family member contributes to and I’m sure you will make some lasting memories together.

Another key to this time of year is to try and be in the moment.  Yearning for summer or another time period is natural but living in the present keeps us connected to each other and helps us appreciate what we can do now as opposed to later.  And in closing “alone time together” should also be an option for wintertime activities.  A lazy afternoon of one parent having tea and reading, while the other is playing with a child and another child watches a favorite movie is sometimes a more peaceful and needed option than forcing an activity on some members who are not very in to it.  After all we are not looking to create a war zone in the home but a retreat.

Here’s to some fun, active and rejuvenating family memories this winter & many blessings to you and yours this Yule.

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Night Rites

Aurora January, 2009

Bewitching Winter Rite

Supplies

8-10” long thin silver cord

4 snowflake charms

White knob candle and holder

Dark blue glass bowl
Silver ink pen
Piece of parchment paper
Small hand towel

Mitten

Notebook

Snow & icicle
Ritual Prep

Find a large icicle (about the size of a pencil) and gather snow clean snow from outside. Keep them in the freezer until you are ready to begin this rite.

Rite

Cast a circle in your own traditional way. Call forth the Elementals of Water and Air to aid your in your magick tonight. Invite the God and Goddess to witness your rite and guide you in your workings.

Place the snow in a dark blue glass bowl and place it on your altar, next to the candle in its holder. Light the candle. Allow the snow to melt while doing the next part of the ritual, but keep an eye on the candle for safety reasons.

Gather the cord and the four snowflake charms. Fasten the charms on the cord by making a knot in the cord on either side of each of the charms, so they cannot slide down the cord. Each charm should be the same distance apart on the cord from each other. As you are tying the knots and fastening the charms on the cord, think about what area in your life you need energy the most. This may be health, school, work, family, etc. Focus your mind on where you would send the elemental energies of winter. When you are ready, tie the cord around your wrist like a bracelet.

Next, take a piece of parchment paper and draw a picture of a snowflake on it in silver ink. Lay down a small towel under that piece of parchment paper on the altar. Then, put on a mitten and go get the icicle from the freezer. Holding the icicle like a pen with your mitten hand, trace the image of the snowflake with the icicle over and over again with increasing speed, until the icicle melts completely away. While you do this, imagine that the snowflake as a symbol for that area in your life that needs energy. Visualize yourself standing outside with a flurry of snowflakes spinning around you. Accept all the energy that you need as a gift from the Winter Elementals.

Allow the snow in the bowl to fully melt. When it is melted, dip your fingers into the water and draw a pentacle on your forehead.

Raise your hands above your head and invoke the God and Goddess to guide you in your scrying work. Gaze into the water and let your eyes relax. You may start to see the glow from the candle reflecting on the water begin to form shapes and images. Just allow those images to form. Don’t try to force yourself to see something. Just relax and let it happen naturally. Spend about ten minutes gazing at the water in the candlelight.

When you are ready, take a few minutes and write down or draw anything that comes to your mind in a notebook when you are done.

Next, take off the charm bracelet and hold it out in front of you. Touch each of the silver charms, one-by-one, and name something that you can commit do to aid yourself in that area of need. For example, if I was concerned about my health, my four promises could be: 1) I will eat better; 2) I will exercise every day; 3) I will take vitamins; 4) I will create a healthy daily routine. These four statements will move you towards the direction you want to go, and the charm bracelet will serve a reminder of your commitment to yourself and the Deities.

Thank the Elementals and the God and Goddess. Open the magick circle. This rite is complete.
Notes: Wear the bracelet for as long as you need, but store it away after the Spring Equinox.

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Skadi, Goddess of Winter

Anne Baird January, 2009

skadi goddess of winter Skadi, Goddess of Winter

Yule, and other Solstice celebrations of light, is over, and winter is setting in. Though we celebrated the rebirth of the Sun King, and the turning toward the light in December, the reality is that spring can seem a long way off in the gloomy days of January!

Nights are still dark and long. Branches are black against a frozen sky. Snowflakes swirl on bitter winds, and snow crunches crisply beneath winter boots. Noses, fingers and toes are red with cold. There is beauty in this, but hardship too.

For those of us who don’t enjoy it, January is strong meat! It takes a sturdy character to love winter’s rigorous beauty and hidden potential. That is when Skadi becomes my inspiration.

The Viking goddess of winter, Skadi is the embodiment of strength, courage and endurance. She embraces this period of storm, darkness, and challenge, and is never happier than when hunting or skiing in the snowy mountains. During this month of transition from celebration to patience and quiet waiting, therefore, it’s worth examining the myths that surround her, to find clues for our own winter work of transformation. For January, with all its less popular features, is also a time of reflection and new beginnings. Of things resting quietly below the Earth and in our souls.

The daughter of the giant Thiazi, Skadi was born into the heroic, mythical world of Asgard, the heavenly home of the fierce Norse gods and of slain heroes. (Richard Wagner’s famous operatic Ring Cycle tells some of their stories.) Tall, beautiful, and a formidable warrior and hunter, the goddess was a force to be reckoned with.  Determined to avenge the death of her father, who had been murdered by the gods for abducting Idunn, the beautiful goddess of youth, she stormed their citadel to exact either revenge or compensation for her loss. Before this onslaught of a ferocious one-woman army, the gods backed down.

Rather than fight her, Odin, the one-eyed king of the gods, offered her gold for her pain and suffering. But Skadi was already rich from the pillaging and plundering spoils of her father and grandfather. Instead, she demanded a husband from among the gods, and a good laugh as well. (She hadn’t laughed once since the death of her father.)

Odin agreed to her terms. But he too set conditions. Since none of the gods volunteered to marry this daunting goddess, she would have to choose her own mate. But she would have to choose by looking only at their feet! A curtain would hide the rest of their bodies from her.

Secretly in love with Baldur, son of Odin, and the god of light and beauty, Skadi chose the most attractive set of feet, believing them to be his. Unfortunately, she guessed wrong. Instead of the handsome Baldur, she picked the homely sea god, Njord. Loki, the Trickster, provided her laugh at great personal expense. But the laugh was really on Skadi. She didn’t get her heart’s desire. Still, she kept her word, and stoically went through with the marriage. It was doomed from the start.

Njord liked to live beside the sea; Skadi was happy only in the mountains with her beloved wolves. The mismatched couple compromised by taking turns. They lived for nine days each, first beside the water, and then in the mountains. But they were miserable. At the end of eighteen days, they separated for good, and Skadi returned to her snowy heights in Thrymhein. Happily, there she met Ulle, god of winter, archery and skis. He was also the god of justice and dueling. The soul mates thrived on a life of proud independence in the wild mountains. Little else is known about their life together.

There is a dark side to Skadi, as there is in the winter weather that she loves.

She is stormy and unpredictable, relentless in her pursuit of what she perceives as justice. She will stop at nothing to achieve her objectives. But she has passion and integrity, and the determination to live life in all its fullness, regardless of the harshness of her circumstances, or of the feelings of others about her.

She knows how to survive in a tough climate, how to provide for herself and her loved ones. She loves winter because it calls forth the best in her. It demands her strength and courage, not her weakness. It calls on her patience, and her understanding that there is a cycle of seasons in life, and that winter is an essential part of that cycle.

Winter is a special time. It symbolizes the dark times that have been visited upon the human race since the beginning of creation. Times very like the days we are experiencing right now, with a worldwide global recession, rising prices and unemployment, and political upheaval.

At times like this, we need to remember the lessons of Skadi. Beneath the apparent bleakness, life goes on. Within the dark womb of the Earth, new life is germinating and waiting to return. Out of darkness will come light. Out of seeming barrenness, new growth. Out of death, life. Winter will not last forever.

So cuddle up. Light your fire, and stay warm. Rejoice in the people that Spirit has sent you. Remember Skadi.  Emulate her wild, untamed spirit, and try to enjoy January’s unique beauty.

And when you must be out in the cold, remember that spring will come. New beginnings have already begun.

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