Our Annual Christmas Spirit Ritual.

Christmas Spirit Ritual

Hello dear reader, if you have followed the recent line of publications of my blog, you will know that by general request I have been focused on sharing magical information, rituals and some anecdotes related to the magic and sorcery of Christmas and the symbolism of it.

If you have not been aware of it, I invite you to read at least the six previous posts to this one, in which I am also recommending some products from different local and botanical stores that could serve you this season, they are also excellent to give to a friend or Some loved one.

Our Tradition, yours and mine.

Every year since I have this blog I usually write here about the “Ritual of the Christmas Spirit”, a simple and traditional ritual that we celebrate in South America, but I have also seen it be performed here in North America, with very few differences, so next, I will shed some light on the matter and share with you the ritual of this year, which we change every year (and usually send it by mail) according to the lunar phases and the available planetary energy.

The Spirit of Christmas & the Local Gods of Winter and Agriculture.

Although it is very similar to the traditional 'Father Christmas' originating in Victorian England (a festive, cheerful and elderly spirit that embodies the holiday festivities), it is rather a set of winter spirits that abandon their extensive annual dream with the arrival of the winter, once the Solstice occurs and the light of the next day (the first day after the winter solstice), these awake spirits and make a quick tour of the lands they inhabit, most of these spirits are, according to folklore local, old minor gods whose names were before the history of man, so we do not know their names and stories, and as has always been the focus of this blog, we emphasize working with these "local spirits and gods" with different purposes

These local spirits are and native gods are largely gods of the season, winter deities and agriculture that have been forgotten over time, but their energy is present with the door that opens the winter solstice, and With this, these spirits seek a little adoration in exchange for granting wishes, and for this, we perform the ritual of the "Christmas spirit" which is the "Christianized" (in a way) way of venerating these old spirits without calling The attention of other individuals.

Similar Examples

A similar case occurs in my native country, Venezuela, where before the colonization the local goddess of rain and agriculture 'Satmanba' was revered by the indigenous tribes who were in charge of drawing the figure of the same goddess, on rocks and caves nearby of the rivers and mountains, surrounded by animals and flowers to indicate the path that "should" follow the rain to the tribe, once she will send it to water the fields.

As with Satmanba, it also happened with Atteoni, the leopard god, Wannatu, the snake god who cures of poisons, and Edissibe, the god of sun and light, who after the Spanish colonization were banned at the level of worship, and subsequently forgotten, and some of them, got the way to manifest themselves in the new world in the form of healing Saints and Virgins with new names to remain so relevant, while others with less luck simply became forgotten for eternity.

 

In my recent Live Q&A with the wonderful Madame Pamita,

some of the show attendants commented about my Holiday tree

behind me and we talked a little about it.

The Winter Solstice

This year, the winter solstice takes place on Saturday, December 21, as usual. Normally the Solstice occurs on December 21, or some very few times, on December 22, usually when the Winter Solstice occurs on December 22, this is a prognosis of a global change to occur, such as a armed war between sister nations, separation of states that give rise to new countries, events or discoveries that completely change the course of humanity, or the arrival (also departure) of politicians and leaders who seek to generate change globally.

Preparation

First of all the most important thing, you should clean the house, apartment, office or room where you have decided to carry out the ritual, and once you have finished, I recommend lighting a white candle to start energizing the atmosphere and burn some pine, sage or tangerine incense sticks.

If you are like me, a fan of natural oils, perfumes, and essences, you can easily mix in a glass jar with atomizer or sprayer, equal parts of essential oil of pine, lavender, and myrrh, or a blend of apple oils and cinnamon, and proceed to spray this energetic cleaning formula (which is also very good for attracting money) in every corner of the home.

The essential colors are red, green, purple, blue and white, obviously, you can complement them with gold and silver, or make the combination you prefer, in my personal case, I choose every year for the green tones (mother earth ), red (energy activator) and gold (abundance and masculine energy of Father Sun), you can use, for example, violet or purple (to transmute negative situations and relationships into positive) and white (purity and peace) or silver (riches and feminine energy of the lunar goddess).

Hanging plants at the entrance is essential, from there in large part comes the traditional Christmas wreath that is placed on the doors, with the symbolism of welcoming Christmas and the times of peace, wealth and well-being.

The crown is something symbolic, so if for some reason you cannot get or make for yourself, a real crown of herbs and flowers, you can get one of the other materials. If you have the possibility of getting a real Christmas wreath, the crowns that combine mistletoe, cedar and pine are the best, have an incredible aroma, withstand the cold winter without problems, and attract very good energy to the house.

Music is important, at home we use a “Google Home” digital player that is practically on all day (probably recording all my personal conversations and my bad jokes), you can use your smartphone, music CDs, radio, Spotify Whatever you want, the idea is to create an atmosphere with winter (or Christmas) songs that help you focus your thoughts on what you are invoking.

In my case, for a theme of tastes, I choose to play the Christmas records of Kenny G (a traditional jazz musician), as well as the Christmas records of Sia Furler, Idina Menzel (non-Christian seasonal music), and Voice Veis (a choral group).

A Ritual based on Love and Unity rather than Traditional Sorcery.

Part I

Then, once everything is done and properly organized, I offer two options, the first is to decorate your altar with mistletoe and pine, light green and red candles and burn incense of herbs to welcome the coming spirits.

The second option, which is my favorite, is to have a dinner together with family, friends and loved ones, a small family feast for the purpose of winter, to mark this first day of the new cycle with an act of unity and love between you and your loved ones.

I usually do both, but I suggest you try the one you prefer.

Part II

You will need:

• White paper
• Ink to write
• Red, green and gold ribbon
• A white or green candle
• A small cauldron or a white saucer
• A glass of water
• A plate with fruits

The magic moment is entered into the darkness of the night, between six in the afternoon and before dawn, it is here when you proceed to light the candle, you write at this time (not before) your three wishes on a piece of paper, if You want to make it more symbolic, you can use red or green ink. Write these three wishes on paper, fold the paper several times, close your eyes and breathe deeply three times.

Visualize these wishes already fulfilled and take a piece of the ribbon, first wrap the desire (the paper already folded) with the green ribbon to symbolize the spirits and gods of nature that will attend to the wish for fulfillment, now tie it with red ribbon, to activate its energy and charge it positively, and proceed to wrap it with a piece of gold or yellow ribbon, to symbolize its closure successfully.

Then take this paper amulet at one end, thank aloud for the fulfillment of it to your god or personal divinity, and proceed to burn it in the candle flame, burn one of its ends and carefully place it inside the cauldron or saucer until completely consumed.

Tip: it is common that due to the movement of oxygen (or lack thereof) the talisman stops burning at some point, do not be afraid to use another white candle to burn it by its edges until it is completely consumed.

Once the candle has been consumed, throw all the remains and ashes of the ritual out of the house, and place the glass with water and the plate with various fruits near the door, to welcome all the spirits that will read your desire in the energy of the place and will be in charge of granting the "push" necessary for its fulfillment.

with love & blessings to all

by Elhoim Leafar

Some extra Info & Magic for you.

Among the last chapters of my book 'The Magical Art Of Crafting Charm Bags' you can find a couple of recipes for these dates, a Special Charm Bag to conjure the Christmas Spirit, and another to call Prosperity & Success with the Yule / Christmas energy.

BUY MY BOOK HERE

You can read too:

• YULETIDE & CHRISTMAS 2019
• THE HOLIDAY TREE, MAGIC, SORCERY & TRADITION
• FIVE ESSENTIAL & MAGICKAL ELEMENTS FOR CHRISTMAS
• PLANTS AND FLORAL ESSENCES FOR THIS SEASON
• PROSPERITY, JOY & PEACE

Some Magickal Stuff you will LoVe!
(my favorite list of items for this Season)

To complement any ritual that you want to perform around your Christmas/Holiday Tree, I recommend a couple of products from my personal selection that you will surely LOVE as much as I do, these products are mostly handmade, created and consecrated by true magicians expert in creating different items and with exclusive distribution through their stores.

If you wish to purchase any of these products that I advise you to get, click on the name of the product to be automatically redirected to the page.

• The Signature Scent Candle (Sol & Luna Fragances). Made with 100% Organic Coconut wax and essential oils, is a caravan of aroma, Earthy, Woodsy, Spicy, and Romantic, the full aromatherapy experience for your own home, office, Sacred Space or Travel. (exclusively available in AusetGypsy.com online and physical Store).

• The Frankincense &Myrrh Liquid Smudge A Sacred & Meditative combination of Frankincense and Myrrh, with Rosewater base and 100% natural Handmade. Perfect to Space clearing, Creating Sacred Space, and Meditation. (exclusively available in AusetGypsy.com online and physical Store).

• A Fantastic Sabbat Fire Bundle (Herbs from a Witch's Garden), is a beautiful and aromatic lovingly crafted smudge made with herbs grown with a true will, 9th Ward soil, and Mississippi River water in a real New Orleans Witch's garden. They were harvested in the correct moon phases and astrological aspects and blessed with the proper intent. (exclusively available in HexWitch.com online and physical Store).

• Salem Witches' Money Spell Kit, As a maker of Charm bags as my favorite form of magic, I always recommend doing them for yourself at home, but many times for inexperience, fear or lack of time, some consider buying them ready to use, usually, I make custom Charm bags on request to my clients, and there are few experts that I know who know how to do them and put in their objects true magic and intention, personally, I love the good energy of this store and its owners, if you want a good Charm bag to complement your Abundance ritual this season, I suggest you order one of these at HexWitch.com.

• The Beautiful Candles from Mithras Candle (100% Beeswax) This variety of candles have good taste and quality, you can use these for almost any spell, they are as beautiful as they are powerful, they are available in a variety of shapes and sizes, also, collaborate with artists supporting local beekeepers and their hives. (exclusively available in CatlandBooks.com online and physical Store).

Yuletime & Christmas 2019.

How, When and why do some pagans still celebrate Christmas?

My version, my story.

Decorate the house in Christmas season being pagan.

It is November, one of the mildest months of the solar cycle, I suppose that is because we unconsciously know that a month of celebrations is quite stressful, and during the last weeks of the month we already feel that December is among us (Or us in it? ).

A great series of festivities occur during the month of December along the globe, but the most recognized by all are usually Christmas, that adorable holiday of Catholics where they celebrate the birth of Jesus de Belen, Yule (the true pagan origin from the previous holiday), The Winter Solstice (the origin behind both festivities really), and other more social and less religious ones such as “New Year's Eve”, and for the less conservative, the holiday of the Christmas Spirit, which is not only one of my favorites, but also one of the pagan / Catholic festivities that has gained more strength in recent decades.

Also during this month several celebrations of the Jewish people, of the Muslim people, and of the Hindus become important, but the latter are more complex and I lack the knowledge and experience to be able to write freely about them. However, they are part of our “Month of Holidays”.

Once December arrives it is quite difficult for the pagan community not to take part in a side trying to stay in the middle of the debate, there is always the group that decides to attend all these celebrations with respect and love (you will find me here with the happy people) , and there is the group of "the others", "the others" is that group of people who do not identify with any religion or pagan current, but who always seem to be against each and every one of the ways in which others celebrate some holiday, whether arguing 'unbridled hatred' towards one of the previously mentioned religions, the typical excuse of 'it is only a celebration invented to take money out of your pockets', or the new and very fashionable' I do not celebrate that because it is cultural appropriation '(my followers know that this argument is apparently the favorite of the Haters).

Some pagans, and let's be honest about it, come from Catholic or Jewish families, and for them it is difficult, and that is not bad, to get rid of their family traditions like Hanukkah or Christmas, not because of a social imposition issue, but more Well because this celebration reminds them of the nostalgia of eating typical dishes and celebrating, dancing or sharing memories with their loved ones, and that friends, that is 100% Humanity.

Others celebrate Yule from a very young age, but not because we are “pure-hearted pagans” or because we are looking for a way to sell the mystical imagery of “pagan idealism” or anything similar, we all celebrate it for different reasons, some for social reasons, others For being Wiccans, some refuse to celebrate 'Catholic Christmas' and some as is my case, simply because it is something nice that they taught us at home, and yes, we also put a Tree.

Traditions & Folklore

My father has always been the expert in unraveling Christmas lights and preparing eggnog, my mother is the typical cook who gets up at 6 AM to make the stew of meat, chicken, salads, and all the typical dishes that have passed from generation to generation, such as 'las hallacas' (a tamale made from cornmeal seasoned with meat), and some typical Ramadan dishes he learned from grandfather.

At home we do not begin to place a 'Christmas manger' until a neighbor gave us his and since then we placed it, and always with mother and father telling the story of those Three Wise Men who came from Babylon to give gifts to the son of God of the Jewish people on the eve of his birth, also guided by a star (which I still insist is a comet!).

Since then the manger is placed at home, more on the occasion of honoring the pagan magicians and their journey through the desert, than by the Jewish theme, because even with the Turkish blood ‘No one at home is Jewish. The story of Yule learned it much more adult, while he was a child it was another story, father always said while they put together the tree that “this one” symbolized nature and its varied ornaments represented prosperity, the lights were a guide for the souls of our dead will find us in the night and not get lost on the way to visit their families, the star on the tree symbolized the light of the gods that illuminated everything, because he has always affirmed that only the ignorant choose to live in darkness .

And the whole season was more a family theme than a social or religious theme, even the altars of the Orixas were decorated in every corner (someone shouted here cultural appropriation or something like that?), And the most important thing was to be in Family and eat typical dishes.

Something catholic

I remember that it was at 9 years old, probably because I am not a person of many friends, otherwise I would have heard before, that someone came to tell me about Christmas, that they celebrated the birth of the son of God (wrong), who would have been born in December (wrong), that it was white as milk (as wrong as a Republican in election season), born from the womb of a virgin (what an interesting story), and that the wise men were only ornaments (a bit cruel, eh?), oh, and of course, in addition, the boy was called Jesus of Nazareth, an interesting factor to take into account, especially because he was not born in Nazareth but in Bethlehem, and at that time the name of the individuals confirmed his city from birth, wouldn't it be then... Jesus de Belen ?.

I got home, I asked Papa, and he really didn't give it much importance, Mama either, and in the end I have kept the tradition of placing my tree at home every December, full of ornaments, and attending all the dinners that They invite me.

Magic & Winter

For me throughout the year this is an important date, December is barely ending I am already sitting to plan next December, especially because at home we celebrate the arrival of the Christmas Spirit (about whom I have already written in this and other blogs before ), and no, it is not San Nicola Di Bari (Santa Claus), the Christmas Spirit is the popular and most commercial name we give in Latin America to the "Winter Spirit", that old man with long beards who sleeps eleven months at year and wake up during the winter to take the animals to their shelter, store seeds in their bag, which will be sown again in Spring, and will go through the houses granting wishes to the good Samaritans, and all this occurs from one week before the day December 21 (the winter solstice), until a week later.

The winter rituals are so varied that I have written many, especially dedicated to the Christmas Spirit, every year I usually send an email to all my subscribers with the rituals to perform at home, the date and time of some collective rituals, and even the Two more recent years I have made a couple of live videos (Facebook live and Periscope), to share the joy of the Winter spirit with my tribe.

I come from a tropical country in the middle of Ecuador, so I had never lived Winter until we arrived in the USA, so we don't celebrate winter or snow, that's why we know the spirit of the season as "Spirit of the Christmas "and not as" Winter Spirit ", although the late and very talented Venezuelan author Conny Mendez, fervently insisted on taking over the term and making the spirit look like a kind of" divine creation associated with Jesus ", the truth is that we know him as "Christmas Spirit", simply because of the absence of a better name.

For my Mom, this was literally "one of those old gods that nobody remembers and he wakes up on December 21 to take care of trees and animals, but nobody knows what it's really called."

For Pope and grandparents, it would be not one, but a group of spirits of dead pagans who took advantage of the night of "All-hallows eve" to come to this world and now have refused to return, so he called them ""Noel ruhları" (the spirits of Christmas).

More than a holiday

Celebrating the holidays is for many people like me, something that transcends religions, it is a date full of appreciation for life and loved ones, it is a period of reunion with the family (alive and dead) and it is time to order and clean the house looking, and always channeling, that the next winter cycle (within a year) be more prosperous and happy than the present.

That is the way I celebrate these holidays, and the truth is, I am dying to share more about this with you, so very attentive to my social networks, which as every year I will be giving away readings and some homemade amulets.

Kisses, lots of light, wisdom and blessings.

with Love & light.

Elhoim Leafar

#urbanShaman