Winter Solstice - The Wild Hunt - 21st December

Across Central, Western and Northern Europe, the Wild Hunt is a well-known myth.

 A ghostly leader and his group of hunters and hounds flying through the cold night sky during the winter solstice, as the winds howl and the cold seeps through the bones

A Great hunting party of the gods across the sky led by Odin and his horse Sleipnir, who can leap incredible distances.

The hunters are generally the souls of the dead or ghostly dogs, sometimes fairies, valkyries, or elves. 

Seeing the Wild Hunt was thought to forebode some catastrophe such as war or plague, or at best the death of the one who witnessed it.

Herne

Like Cernunnos, the Celtic god often called the Green Man, Herne is a horned god associated with the Wild Hunt.

Artemis

Artemis, in Greek religion, the goddess of wild animals, the hunt, and vegetation and of chastity and childbirth; she was identified by the Romans with Diana

In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Artemis is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. In later times, she was identified with Selene, the personification of the Moon.

Many of the traditional rituals honor the energy of rebirth, transformation, creativity, new beginnings, and the release of unwanted habits. During the Winter Solstice, we focus on what we would like to bring forth with the return of the light and our hopes and dreams for our highest expression.

One of the ways in which neopagans celebrate the Wild Hunt is by walking a route through the forest during the day, and then racing through the same circuit at night. If you can navigate it in time, you will be seen as having gained the trust of the wood spirits, and can cut down wood for their own use.

The Wild Hunt of Odin shows a hunting party of airborne horsemen who move across a dark sky. They are accompanied by ravens and owls and seem to emerge from clouds in the background. All horses are black except for one white horse at the front

Winter Solstice

 

Winter Solstice - December 21st

 

As winter approaches, the Northern Hemisphere prepares for the solstice on December 21 at 10:03 a.m. EST — the exact moment the Earth's axis tilts farthest from the Sun. 

This event marks the shortest day and longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

On this day, known as the winter solstice, the Sun in the sky is the farthest south and travels the shortest path through the sky. Therefore the day has the least daylight and the longest night.

Darkness lasts longer than any other night, making it a powerful moment in Earth's yearly journey around our star

Contemporary pagan and communities observe the Winter Solstice as Yule, emphasizing themes of rebirth, renewal, and the return of light. Rituals involve lighting candles, meditation, and acknowledging the cycles of nature.

Embrace deep jewel tones such as sapphires, and dark colours such as navy and black, which are reminiscent of the night sky that is the canvas for the glowing stars.

Winter solstice rituals focus on welcoming back light and renewal through traditions like lighting candles or bonfires, feasting, decorating with evergreens, creating altars, and practicing reflection or gratitude for the turning of the season from darkness towards longer days, with many pagan, Yule, Dongzhi, and Shab-e Yalda-inspired customs. Common practices involve bonfires, Yule logs, lantern walks, and symbolic release rituals, such as burning intentions for the new year

The Winter Solstice spiritually signifies the rebirth of the sun, a turning point from darkness to increasing light, symbolizing death, rebirth, and renewal, making it a powerful time for deep reflection, letting go of the old, and setting gentle intentions for the future's growth, honoring cycles of rest and resilience. It's a cosmic pause for introspection, honoring the Earth's rhythms, and welcoming new beginnings with hope, often marked by light rituals

Midwinter is the middle of the winter. The term is attested in the early Germanic calendars where it was a period or a day which may have been determined by a lunisolar calendar before it was adapted into the Gregorian calendar.

In the Norse tradition, the Winter Solstice celebrated the rebirth of Sol (the sun god) with offerings to Freyr (the god of fertility)

To celebrate the Pagan Winter Solstice (Yule), focus on welcoming the returning light with warmth, reflection, and nature, through activities like lighting a Yule log/candles, feasting on seasonal foods, decorating with evergreens (holly, ivy, mistletoe), creating an altar, setting intentions for the new year, and connecting with ancient traditions like honouring ancestors or nature spirits

12 Days of Christmas Yule

 

 The Yule 12 days are December 20 to December 31 

- 31st being New Years Eve and the Twelfth Night

December 20 - Mothers Night

Mother's Night comes from Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon traditions

In the Norse tradition, this night celebrated the Dísir or ancestral mothers. The Dísir were the Old Ones: ancestral grandmothers who blessed, protected and provided prophetic counsel to the clan.

Today, December 20th is Mother's Night, the official beginning of the celebration of Yule. 

The day before Winter Solstice

Mother Night is observed in honor of the Dark Goddess, who holds us at our beginnings and our endings. 

She may be the Black Madonna, Frigga, Freya, Holle, Hecate, the Cailleach, the Crone, or nameless. 

Also known as Mōdraniht, this night is Her doorway, after which the days of Yule can begin.

The First Day Of Christmas - 20 December

 On the first day of Christmas,

my true love gave to me
A partridge in a pear tree.

 

The organs in the human body have entirely different functions. 

The cells which make up those organs act independently of each other. 

But in a healthy body, seemingly independent cells quietly depend on the functioning of the others. Because when one system stops working, the others can't function for long.

Just as organ systems are codependent for survival, so are human beings. Studies have shown that our happiness and health depends on our relationships not just functioning, but thriving.

 Sometimes the best we can do is bear each other's burdens and ease each other's pain. 

And hold each other's hands in the dark.

 It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old, 

they grow old because they stop pursuing dreams

  

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world

 The unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself.

 Therefore 

all progress depends on the unreasonable man

 You know your tailbone? It used to be a tail.

That pink part in the corner of your eye? It used to be a third eyelid.

The appendix used to help us digest tough foods. Now, it does nothing.

The story of our evolution, is the story of what we leave behind, what we've discarded. Our bodies only hang on to the things we absolutely need. The things we have no longer use for, we give up. We let go.

Why does it feel so good to get rid of things? To unload? To let go?

 Maybe because when we see how little we need to make us survive, it makes us realize how powerful we actually are. To strip down to only what we really need. To hang on to only what we can't do without, what we need.

Not just to survive but to thrive.

 This place is a dream. 

Only a sleeper considers it real. 

Then death comes like dawn, 

and you wake up laughing 

at what you thought was your grief

  

There are some disasters you just don't see coming, no matter how carefully you plan. 

A little surprise that changes everything. 

. In life, it's a catastrophe.

a complication, a disruption, a glitch, a nasty surprise. 

It calls for extreme measures. 

You have to react quickly, try to catch up, because it came out of nowhere.

 And it can take everything away.

  There's an end to every storm. 

Once all the trees have been uprooted, once all the houses have been ripped apart, the wind will hush, the clouds will part, the rain will stop. 

The sky will clear in an instant 

and only then, in those quiet moments after the storm, do we learn who was strong enough to survive it.

 The essence of independence has been to think and act according to standards from within, not without: 

to follow one's own path, not that of the crowd

  The old saying goes, "Fake it till you make it." 

Because sometimes, pretending you have confidence helps you find the real thing. 

When it doesn't work, when life doesn't give us second chances or dress rehearsals, you can walk away or you can go all in. 

We tell ourselves we don't care.

 We can try to hide our doubts and fears. 

Or we can accept the unknown and dive in. 

The real thing is better anyway.

 My house says to me, 

"Do not leave me, for here dwells your past."

And the road says to me, 

"Come and follow me, for I am your future."

Winter - Tori Amos

 Snow can wait, I forgot my mittens

Wipe my nose, get my new boots on
I get a little warm in my heart when I think of winter
I put my hand in my father's glove

I run off where the drifts get deeper
Sleeping Beauty trips me with a frown
I hear a voice, 

"You must learn to stand up
For yourself 

'cause I can't always be around"

Boys get discovered as winter melts
Flowers competing for the sun
Years go by and I'm here still waiting
Withering where some snowman was

Mirror, mirror, where's the crystal palace?
But I only can see myself
Skating around the truth who I am
But I know, Dad, the ice is getting thin

Hair is grey and the fires are burning
So many dreams on the shelf
You say I wanted you to be proud
I always wanted that myself

When you gonna make up your mind?
When you gonna love you as much as I do?
When you gonna make up your mind?
'Cause things are gonna change so fast
All the white horses have gone ahead
I tell you that I'll always want you near
You say that things change, my dear

Never change

All the white horses aah-aah
Mmm-mmm

Hazy Shade Of Winter

 

Time, time, time
See what's become of me
While I looked around for my possibilities

I was so hard to please
Look around
Leaves are brown
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter

Hear the Salvation Army band
Down by the riverside
There's bound to be a better ride
Than what you've got planned

Carry a cup in your hand
Look around
Leaves are brown
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter

Hang on to your hopes, my friend
That's an easy thing to say
But if your hopes should pass away
Simply pretend that you can build them again

Look around
The grass is high
The fields are ripe
It's the springtime of my life

Seasons change with the scenery
Weavin' time in a tapestry
Won't you stop and remember me?

Look around
Leaves are brown
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter

Look around
Leaves are brown
There's a patch of snow on the ground

Stephen King

 

 Rage is out of print by Mr Kings request - if you have the Bachman Books collection it is in there of course 

If you haven't read Roadwork you are in for a real treat - it's a great story - and yes, will make a great movie 

Will we ever get to see Rage as a movie? It's possible as "worse" films have been made on that subject so probably would depend on who has the rights to the original story, the two published versions, and the movie rights - Frank Darabont would do this one well if he was allowed - and there is a wealth of young talent from the shows we have now who could be involved if the timing is right 

Jacob Elordi would be great in the lead - we have actresses like Madyline Cline and Sydney Sweeney - this could be made before they get too old 

As with Winters Tale in Different Seasons which was never developed into a movie - odd as this is the last in the set, introduces the Club and Stevens, the whole "where are we right now", the "it's the tale not he who tells it" and "there are always more tales" 

It took this long to get Long Walk out - possibly due to coincide with the Running Man new version - NOT a remake 

Rage then Eye Of The Dragon and that's pretty much all older books that were never developed 

Other than that 

Rose Madder 

The Regulators 

Tom Gordon 

Black House 

Buick 8 

Colorado Kid 

Blaze 

Duma Key 

then the later stuff

December 8 - Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception

 

December 8 

- Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception

Vassago: December 8 - Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception

  

Significance is awarded in retrospect 

One must wait until the evening to see how splendid the day has been

6th December - The Feast of St. Nicholas

 

6th December 

- The Feast of St. Nicholas 

Vassago: The Feast of St. Nicholas 6th December

5 December - Krampus Night

 

The Feast of St. Nicholas is 6 December. 

The preceding evening of 5 December is Krampus Night 

when the wicked hairy devil appears on the streets. 

Sometimes accompanying St. Nicholas 

and sometimes on his own, 

Krampus visits homes and businesses

5th December - Krampus Night

 

5th December 

- Krampus Night 

Vassago: Krampus Night - 5th December

Thursday December 4: Cold Moon - Supermoon

December 4 2025 Cold Moon

 

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• December 4 2025 Cold Moon
  This moon marks the start of the year's coldest months.

Its name was coined by the Mohawk people, 

 a reference to the cold winter temperatures that coincide with the last full moon of the year

To our eyes, the Moon’s disk will appear fully illuminated a couple of days before a full Moon, so start looking  towards the east after sunset as it peaks over the horizon.

If you look up during the December full Moon, notice how it’s nearly at the top of the sky, tracing a long path through the night, akin to Santa’s sleigh! The winter solstice Moon takes the highest path along the sky and is above the horizon longer than any Moon—hence, it’s the longest night!

Conversely, near the summer solstice in June, the Sun is highest in the sky while the Moon has the lowest arc—hence, it’s the longest day! 

This full Moon has also been called the Long Night Moon (Mohican), as it rises during the “longest” nights of the year

This name is doubly fitting because December’s full Moon shines above the horizon for a more extended period than most full Moons. 

Other names that allude to the cold and snow include

Drift Clearing Moon (Cree), 

Frost Exploding Trees Moon (Cree), 

Moon of the Popping Trees (Oglala), 

Hoar Frost Moon (Cree), 

Snow Moon (Haida, Cherokee), 

Winter Maker Moon (Western Abenaki)

Moon When the Deer Shed Their Antlers (Dakota) 

 Little Spirit Moon (Anishinaabe)

In Europe, ancient pagans called the December full Moon the “Moon Before Yule” in honor of the Yuletide festival celebrating the return of the sun heralded by the winter solstice

 They hit you out of nowhere.

 When bad things come, they come suddenly, without warning.

 We rarely get to see the catastrophe coming, no matter how well we try to prepare for it.

 We do our very best, but sometimes, it's just not good enough. We buckle our seat belts, we wear a helmet, we stick to the lighted paths. We try to be safe.

 We try so hard to protect ourselves, but it doesn't make a damn bit of difference, 'cause when the bad things come, they come out of nowhere. 

The bad things come suddenly, with no warning.

 But we forget that sometimes, that's how the good things come too.

 A hundred and forty million human beings are born every year, give or take. 

Worldwide population is approximately 7.8 billion.

Every second, 1.8 people die. 

While 4.2 are born into that very, same, second.