Winter Solstice - YULE

Here we are once more, at the beginning of the end. The great earth wheel has arrived at one of the yearly Solar festivals, the Winter Solstice, also known as Yule. The days will now incrementally become longer, creeping toward the warmth and light in the darkness and cold.

Celebrated between December 21st and the 22nd, Yule marks the rebirth of the Sun by the Great Mother. This female entity, the Goddess, births forth the light. This symbol is repeated in the birth of the one with "Christ" consciousness meaning higher level of human evolution with heightened awareness often associated with the third eye.

Many traditions through out the world celebrate the birth of the Shining One who appears in many stories and goes by many names including Arthur, Thor, Odin, Mithras, Oedipus, Theseus, Hercules, Perseus, Jason, Dionysus, Apollo and Horus.

The word Christ is derived from the Greek Christós meaning anointed. For us mortals living at a time when the humans appear less and less connected to the agricultural rhythms that sustain life of earth a simple anointing and breathing deeply can facilitate a bit of calm. The seed of evolution and heightened consciousness is birthed from that place of serenity.

One of the stories of Jesus, the "Christ", tells of Mary Magdalene anointing him with nard, aka spikenard.  This highly aromatic essence, derived from roots, goes by many names including muskroot because of the intensely earthy, musky odor. The flowering plant is part of the Valerian family with a very ancient history in the east and texts included The Song of Solomon and Dantes Inferno. Besides being used in aromatic, herbal traditions Spikenard was also used as a flavoring for food and beverages like wine.

Of the illuminated tribe the ones that feature spikenard most prominently are Chiaroscuro, meaning light/dark and Figure 1: Noir. I suggest layering these two together, a very nice third fragrance will manifest which is perfect for celebrating the Solstice as an anointing balm.

For more essences related to Yule I'm really loving the woody fumes like Q, Chaparral and the soon to be released Figure 5: Bois.

"And the Yule-log cracked in the chimney,
And the Abbot bowed is head,
And the flamelets flapped and flickered,
But the Abbot was stark and dead."

H.W. Longfellow 'King Witlaf's Drinking Horn (1848)

Images:
Xmas tree on parchment by Roxana Villa
Mary Magdalene by Jan Van Scorel (1495-1552), oil on oak panel 1530

The Return of the Light!

The Winter Solstice has arrived to the Northern hemisphere, marking the return of the SUN. The days will slowly start getting longer, inching toward more and more light and warmth.

Here in the woodland Spring normally begins in January with the blooming of the rosemary, oaks and ceanothus. (Although this year the rosemary began earlier than usual.) Having lived in these woods for over ten years I've noticed December is our coldest month. I'm so happy to soon be done with the cold. As much as I adore our little 1950's cottage, no insulation and lots of glass is a bit challenging during the colder months.

Joey of the blog Beauty, Bacon, Bunnies wrote a lovely little paragraph about Q solid in reference to woody scents. I'm including it here since Q smells very Winter Solstice to me:

"Roxana Illuminated Perfume’s Q: Nobody does dreamy quite like Roxana: her fragrances are a call to an idealized, fairytale version of nature that is not unlike that of my childhood fantasies. Woodland creatures, fairy sprites, and the souls of the ancients live and dance together in the scented scenes that her perfumes create. To try her perfumes (I adore her solids, with their beautiful color-coded seals) is to find one’s ‘happy place’, to reacquaint oneself with the simplicity of the surrounding world. Her gift is to make art out of that which one usually does pay attention to: Q is a perfect example of this - who knew that the oak tree could serve as muse for such a beautiful fragrance? Q is a deep and twirling sort of woody scent, and while smelling it, it is easy to imagine oneself standing amongst the sturdy, tall trees. You pick up a fallen leaf and hold it to your face, feel the trace amount of dew which it has collected, and smell the sunshine and greenness. There is a beautiful hint of citrusy snap to Q that marries well to the fresh green powderiness of the wood accords; I wear it and I feel a deeper sensuality. There is an unmistakeable spice to the fragrance, and as it wears, Q reveals an animalic ambered base, an accord which smells to me of benzoin and labdanum. Bark, leaf, twig, sun: the oak is encapsulated, revered, and made magic. It shares the magic with me, and I revel in it."

Standing Still Sun

Once again we herald in the Sun on this beloved Winter's Solstice in our northern hemisphere. This year the Solstice takes on new meaning for me. I've been mindfully observing the decline of our Squirrel Box Bees #2 as they await the return of the flowers to once again begin building their stores and colony. These little winged alchemists are like the ancients of old who anticipated the turning point of the darkest part of the year. Today we witnessed a little honey bee emerge from the hive, clean herself off, zip straight up into the distant sky, disappear over the top of the roof, then quickly zoomed back down and into the hive. Obviously not a good day to forage with so much rain.

Wishing each of you a blessed holy day as we celebrate the return of the light!

Image: Bee Prosperity by ©Greg Spalenka

Ever Green

The Winter Solstice, also called Yule or Yuletide, marks Midwinter and another turn in the great seasonal wheel. Read more on Yule in last years posting at this journal.

In ancient times those that honored the earth decorated their homes or temples with boughs of evergreen trees. The evergreens represented magical powers during a time when all other plant life died or hibernated.

In the Druidic tradition the holiday is seen as creation myth where one stays up through the night to midwife the return of the light. Acorns, symbols of the great Oak, are put on altars as a gift to the newborn light.

Here in our little woodland home we have a small Cypress tree that is moved inside for the holy days. This year we have done a more traditional decorating of our little evergreen with colored lights and our tin ornaments.

Normally I celebrate the Winter Solstice with girlfriends atop the mesa in Topanga. This was written by my dear friend Jane on the invite in 2006:

On this longest night, from the depth of the dark,
we sit,
we invite,
we meditate,
we listen,
and then
we honor the light of our unfed flame.
How do we stroke that spark of the dream?
How shall we fuel the passion to truley be?
And where might we shine
even more brightly
in 2007 (2009)
?

Thoughts and musings on creating a Winter Solstice perfume begin with the conifer notes of the evergreen trees such as Pine, Spruce and Fir. Woody elements to represent the "Yule" log such as Cedar and Cypress would weave in nicely with the conifer notes. Since bonfires were a n important component to ancient Solstice celebrations consider a few strands of a smoky note such as Cade. Bright and luminous citrus, like Yuzu, works nicely as the top notes signaling the return of the light.

In Japan, where bathing is incorporated in their Winter Solstice celebration, the citrus fruit Yuzu is utilized in the bath. The tradition of eating pumpkin soup and bathing with Yuzu fruit insures good health during the cold months.

During this time of great change, consciously light a candle connecting to the inner light within which burns brightly even during the darkest hour. Use your Winter Solstice fragrance with intention to courageously guide you to that luminous brilliance within your self.

Illuminating Midwinter perfumes include Sierra, Q and Sierra Solid Gold, each of these has been created with strong intention and contain many of the notes and aspects discussed in the post above.

Roxana Illuminated Perfume™

Winter Solstice

Here we are again, at another turn of the great wheel which leads us into the light. This celebration goes by many names including Saturnalia in ancient Rome and Yuletide. The words winter solstice translate in Latin to sun stand still. The word Yule means wheel. The concept of rebirth is the main theme throughout different cultural celebrations, referring to the rebirth of the sun god. Winter Solstice Festivities date far back to the ancient civilizations, when human celebrations centered primarily on the planets and shifting seasons. Originally called “Sol Invictus” honoring the return of the sun. Festivals and celebrations include dancing, feasting, gathering, evergreens and illumination. Psychologically these festivities help keep our inner flame lit as we move through the darker part of the year. The light and warmth from celebratory fires and heartfelt gatheings facilitates the rekindling of our own internal flame during a time when “winter blues” may set in due to cold, damp weather and darkness.

Intending divine Merry Making for each of you

Photo above was taken during a trip to Prague, City of Alchemy & Magic. Astrological Clock ©Roxana Villa