By Louise Flanagan

Witches are not criminals, but have religious and spiritual rights too.

That’s the argument the South African Pagan Rights Alliance (Sapra) wants to use to protect the belief of witchcraft against a newly proposed bill. (more…)

The pentagram that hangs from a chain around Kate Dunning’s neck elicits raised eyebrows from many people who catch a glimpse of it. The emblem of a star enclosed in a circle symbolizes that she practices witchcraft.

Don’t expect to find any pointy witch hats or steaming cauldrons tucked away in her dorm room closet, however. Dunning, a junior English and French major, is like any other UB student, she just happens to be Wiccan. (more…)

Judge Elena Simionescu was accused of being a witch and of creating an atmosphere of conflict during her term as a president of the court in Vatra Dornei, a small town in eastern Romania.

She was alleged to have performed rituals involving splashing water, mud and “other liquids”, as well as salt and pepper, on fellow judges’ desks in what some saw as an attempt to bewitch them. The case raises unsettling questions about the outlook of some within the judicial system of one of the newest members of the European Union. (more…)

“Yet mark’d I where the bolt of Cupid fell: It fell upon a little western flower…maidens call it love-in-idleness…The juice of it on sleeping eyelids laid, will make man or woman madly dote upon the next live creature that it sees.” So claims Oberon in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, echoing centuries of creepy crones, wizards and shady apothecaries all promising an elixir to call down Cupid. Surely, in our cynical, scientific, deterministic times, romantic love has been discredited by screenwriters and behavioral scientists alike; the promise of a love potion has all but disappeared.

Not so! Love potions, herbs and oils are a booming business; love rituals, spells and other shenanigans intended to inflame the heart of the beloved (or at the very least catch his or her attention) abound. To be fair, many of the herbal ingredients recommended by holistic practitioners are more directly linked to sex: Foregoing romantic or magical attribution, the promised result is framed in such clinical phrases as “increases blood flow to the genitals” or “boosts overall energy including libido.” Perhaps we find these medical descriptions comforting. Given the often catastrophic, unintended and harrowing results of love potion use described in myth and legend, perhaps a little increased blood flow is harmless enough. (more…)

Phrases inscribed on the walls of an Egyptian pyramid are revealed to be Semitic spells designed to ward off snakes.

Ancient spells inscribed on the walls of an ancient pyramid near Cairo have finally been deciphered more than a century after they were discovered. (more…)

On Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th March, the Green Man will be returning to the legendary Baskerville Hall for a Spring Equinox party. “The Rite of Spring” will be 2 days of fun and weirdness in the Black Mountains.

The party takes place inside the intimate settings of Baskerville Hall, near Hay-on-Wye, Wales, and will run from Sundown to Sunrise each night. Entertainment will come from guest DJs, psych folk cinema and silent films with live music accompaniment. Witches and druids will also be on hand, alongside pagan puppet shows and holistic therapies.

Entry tickets are priced at £60 for the weekend, with a range of special accommodation offers within Baskerville Hall, from sunken baths to bunk rooms, or fend for yourself in the nearby town of Hay-on-Wye.

Tickets will be on-sale from 10am on Friday 26 January, here.

For more information, please visit the official Green Man site or click on the links below.

Source: Virtual Festivals

A magic spell to keep snakes away from the tombs of Egyptian kings, adopted from the Canaanites almost 5,000 years ago, could be the oldest Semitic text yet discovered, experts said Tuesday.

The phrases, interspersed throughout religious texts in Egyptian characters in the underground chambers of a pyramid south of Cairo, stumped Egyptian experts for about a century, until the Semitic connection was found.

In 2002 one of the Egyptologists e-mailed the undeciphered part of the inscription to Richard Steiner, a professor of Semitic languages at Yeshiva University in New York. Steiner discovered that the phrases are the transcription of a language used by Canaanites at some point in the period from 25th to the 30th centuries B.C.

“This is the oldest connected text that we have in any Semitic language,” Steiner said in a telephone interview while visiting Israel to present his findings in a lecture sponsored by the Academy of the Hebrew Language. The previous oldest Semitic text dates from the 24th century B.C., Steiner said.

Another expert said it was still unclear whether the Egyptian text is actually the oldest.

“This is highly significant because maybe, according to the researcher, it dates to the third millennium B.C., so it’s the most ancient pre-Canaanite text that we ever met and maybe … it is the most ancient Semitic text ever discovered,” said Moshe Florentine, an expert on ancient Hebrew and a member of the language academy.

Steiner has not submitted his findings to a scientific journal but plans to do so, he said. More study of the fragments will be necessary to determine how these passages fit into the evolution of Semitic languages, Florentine said.

The Egyptians’ use of the magic spell demonstrates the close relations they had at the time with the Canaanites. While Egyptians considered their culture and religion superior to that of their neighbors to the north, they were willing to do anything to protect the mummies of their kings from the poisonous snakes.

Believing that some snakes spoke the Semitic language of the Canaanites, Egyptians included the magic spells in inscriptions on two sides of the sarcophagus in an effort to ward them off.

“Come, come to my house,” reads one section in the Semitic language that is supposed to be the snake’s mother speaking, trying to lure him out of the tomb. In another passage, the snake is addressed as if he is a lover with “Turn aside, O my beloved.”

The Egyptian and Semitic sections are each an integral part of the magic spell and neither can stand alone, Steiner said. For this reason, the Egyptian experts could not fully understand parts of the religious texts until Steiner got involved.

The Semitic language of these texts that have now been deciphered was a very archaic form of the languages later known as Phoenician and Hebrew, Steiner said.

The text includes words that have the same meaning as in Hebrew, like “yad” for hand, “ari” for lion, and “beit” for house, he said.

Source: PhysOrg.com

People around the Salt Lake Valley plan to welcome back the light this evening as they celebrate winter solstice.

Celebrations of the shortest day of the year date back more than 5,000 years to Ireland’s Newgrange, a stone structure thought to be used to recognize the solstice. Newgrange is built on a hill, and the building contains a chamber with a window that only allows in light from the sun during the winter solstice.

Tara Sudweeks Willgues, a minister at Church of the Sacred Circle, which promotes earth-based spirituality, said while no one knows how the structure was used, it’s apparent it was built for the solstice.

“It was built so long ago that any traditions around it have been lost,” she said.

But not having distinctly established traditions doesn’t stop her and several other Utahns from gathering each solstice to celebrate the impending return of longer days.

She and Edward Slomka are members of the Sun Stave Circle, and Slomka is in charge of planning this year’s celebration. Tonight’s activities will include the burning of a decorated Yule log and feature a living tree, which will be given to a participant to be planted in Heber. The Sun Stave Circle is a “nonorganization” that allows members to come and go and volunteer to host pagan events, such as the solstice celebration.

He and Willgues see clear ties between pagantraditions and Christianity’s celebration of Christmas. In many ancient cultures, such as the Roman Saturnalia, people brought greenery into their homes and exchanged gifts. Also, the Yule log was a tradition dating back to ancient Nordic cultures to help welcome back the sun.

“We start gaining more daytime again,” Slomka said. “By having light and burning the log, it symbolizes the light of hope and it’s evolved from there.”

Willgues calls the solstice a “fairly major celebration” in paganism, mainly because it has become so deeply ingrained.

“A lot of it has to do with ancient traditions, and now it’s all mishmashed into Western cultures,” Willgues said.

In addition to burning a Yule log, Slomka will offer an activity for people to make pinecone bird feeders, another show of respect for nature.

“You don’t have to be member of anything to come to our group,” Willgues said. “We welcome anyone who is curious about earth-based spirituality or wants to celebrate the solstice.”

—
* SHEENA MCFARLAND can be contacted at smcfarland@sltrib.com or 801-257-8619.

* SUN STAVE CIRCLE: 7 p.m., South Valley Unitarian Church Building, 6878 S. Highland Drive. Bring a can of food for the homeless shelter and an item for a potluck dinner.
* UNITARIAN CHURCH OF OGDEN: 6-9 p.m., Earth-Centered Spirituality Group, 705 23rd St.

Source: Salt Lake Tribune

Shortly after 4 p.m. today, the North Pole will be tipped as far from the sun as it gets during its annual orbit, resulting in the shortest day of the year.

After that, the pole starts tipping back toward the sun, taking the Northern Hemisphere back into summer.

For some Spokane residents, it is more than just an astronomical occurrence – it is a time of religious celebration.

“For me it’s really important to observe Yule because it’s looking back at what this time is really about and sort of escaping the craziness,” said Kevan Gardner, a self-identifying Wiccan and member of the Spokane Unitarian Universalist Church, which is holding its annual Yule celebration tonight.

Gardner said that Yule is a time of hope, best expressed by a line from one of the songs sung during the season: “Even in the deepest dark, the light does shine.”

“We go through the dark, we go through the hard times, but there’s always hope ahead,” he said.

Gardner is part of a smaller group within the church called the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans. Wiccans fall under the broader umbrella of paganism, said Gardner, who became involved in the Unitarian church after helping organize a Yule celebration 13 years ago.

Covenant education and outreach officer Terri Cailin described paganism as an umbrella faith that includes Earth-centered and non-Abrahamic traditions.

Gardner said he is a pantheist, believing divinity is found throughout the natural world and its inhabitants.

Cailin said tonight’s Yule celebration will encompass elements of various pagan faiths.

“We’re celebrating the dark and then inviting the sun to come back,” she said.

Kim is a Covenant member who asked that her last name not be used because she’s not “out of the broom closet” because of stigma attached to the concept of paganism. She said attendance at the overnight vigil that follows tonight’s service is usually sparse.

Participants stay at the church playing games or performing tarot readings.

“Witchy stuff,” she said.

As the sun rises, participants head outside to cheer, rattle drums, and sing as the sun comes up.

Kim describes the experience as a “very free-form organic ritual.”

Covenant’s celebration is falling after the solstice physically occurs. Washington State University astronomy instructor Michael Allen said the date varies each year due to the Earth’s orbit around the sun, with solstice occurring a few minutes past midnight on Friday, Greenwich Mean Time. With Spokane clocks set eight hours earlier, the solstice actually occurs this afternoon.

Allen said that around the time of the solstice, the sun just grazes the horizon at the North Pole. At lower latitudes, like Spokane, he said, the sun will be closer to the horizon than it is during the rest of the year, never getting directly overhead.

Solstices have been watched for thousands of years, and appear to have been significant to the civilizations that built Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids, Allen said.

Allen said the idea of a winter and summer solstice is a misnomer since today’s event is the Southern Hemisphere’s summer solstice.

Gardner said that while other churches share similar spiritual paths, the Unitarian church focuses on the values that unite the different religious practices of its members.

“We may have different sort of paths, but we agree on the same basic tenets,” including commitment to human life and stewardship of the Earth, he said.

Source: The Spokesman Review

The season of Yule can be a mixed blessing to Pagan parents. Many of the holiday festivities, school parties and retail displays seem to be centered on the dominant culture. It might be a little difficult to explain to your children about our beliefs at this time of year, amidst the barrage of Santa Claus, shopping mania, and “Silent Night.” The Goddess and the returning Sun King may seem to take a back seat to opening presents. However, this is one of the best times to involve your children in Earth-based spirituality. Many Christmas symbols really did come from Pagan traditions, and several legends including Santa and the reindeer can be traced to pre-Christian origins. Not only is this a wonderful opportunity to share the holiday customs of many faiths, we can also teach our children the meaning of our own Yule celebrations.

Llewellyn readers can find books with some excellent ideas for commemorating Yule. Dan and Pauline Campanelli’s The Wheel of the Year and Edain McCoy’s Sabbats describe many meaningful rituals and fun crafts. Dorothy Morrison’s Yule gives a detailed history of the holiday, as well as recipes, art projects and spiritual ceremonies. This article is geared toward Pagan parents with small children, and intended to supplement these existing sources. You can explain many of our favorite traditions to the youngsters while involving them in related arts and crafts or allowing them to help you in the kitchen. Many of these ideas can be shared with non-Pagan friends and relatives, without causing offense.

That Jolly Old Elf

The legend of Santa Claus may be based on Saturn, an elderly white-bearded Roman god who was responsible for distributing gifts. Santa may have been modeled on Odin of the German, Icelandic and Scandinavian pantheons. Santa’s reindeer chariot might have come from the Finnish legend of Vainamoinen, who lived in the north, had a magical workshop, and wore a long white beard. If you feel comfortable divulging Santa’s secret identity, you might want to teach your children about the “avatar” concept. An explanation we’ve found useful is: “You know how the priestess ‘becomes’ the Goddess in ritual? Mommy invokes the spirit of Santa Claus the same way.” Our kids enjoy being the avatar of Santa themselves, choosing gifts for classmates or grandparents. You can explain Santa’s history while creating these crafts:

Paper Plate Santas

Materials: A plain paper plate, construction paper, cotton balls, glue, felt-tipped markers.

Method: Draw a jolly face on the paper plate. Give him a pointy red construction paper hat tipped with a cotton ball. Glue on more cotton balls for his beard, moustache and “fur” at the base of his hat.

Santa Ornaments

Materials: Craft foam in red, white, and black, and pink or brown for his face; scissors or craft knife, strong glue, your child’s school photo.

Method: Cut out a round pink or brown face. Add black eyes, a smiling red mouth, a white beard and moustache, and pointy hat. Cut out a larger round red belly. Glue on black buttons and white fur trim. Glue the two together, then glue your child’s picture in the center of Santa’s tummy. Now she is Santa’s avatar. Glue a paper clip to the back, or punch a hole in the hat for a standard ornament hanger.

Trim a Yule Tree

If you’ve got ornaments you’ll need a tree to hang them on. Many families have an artificial tree, but you needn’t feel guilty over buying a live evergreen. Here in Michigan, holiday trees are just another farm crop, like corn, planted and harvested yearly. The Yule tree tradition really does have Pagan roots. In Ireland and Cornwall, many trees were decorated near sacred wells year-round. In Norway, evergreens were brought into the house, but hung upside down from the rafters to save space!

You might want to decorate a tree outside for the birds. Smear peanut butter on pinecones and roll them in birdseed. Hang ears of field corn from pretty ribbons. String popcorn and cranberries. Attach a bell-shaped seed feeder to the top. During your child’s winter break from school, get up early to watch all the feathered visitors enjoy your outdoor Yule tree.

Sled Ornament:

aterials: Popsicle or craft sticks, glue, paint or felt markers, ribbon, scissors.

Method: Cut four craft sticks to 3 inches, two sticks to 3 1/4 inches, and two more to 3 _ inches. You’ll need two more for “runners”. Paint the craft sticks all one color, or two complimentary colors, like red and green. Place the two longest sticks flat in the middle, two shorter ones on either side, and the two shortest on the outside. Place two short sticks across them horizontally, 1 inch from the top and bottom, and glue them in place. You may wish to cut the top of the vertical sticks so they are rounded, to resemble a sled. When the glue has dried, turn your sled over and glue the runners in place on the bottom. Use a ribbon to hang the ornament.

Pipe Cleaner Ornaments

Even the smallest children can do this.

Materials: Red and white pipe cleaners for candy canes, other colors. Some craft stores sell neon and sparkly pipe cleaners, especially for crafts.

Method: Twist red and white pipe cleaners around each other to form a candy cane. Older kids can create bells, stars, angels and fairies, or other Yuletide shapes. Pipe cleaners are also good to twist around holly and mistletoe sprigs. Caution: Real holly and mistletoe berries can be toxic to babies and pets. You might wish to use cloth holly leaves, found in most craft stores and holiday special sales. These ornaments can also be used to decorate wrapped gifts.

Magic Reindeer

Yule is a wonderful time to explain about the Horned Lord called Herne, Cerne, Cernunnos or Boucca in western Europe. You might also wish to discuss the importance of deer and other wildlife in many cultures. The Navajo have a sacred deer kachina. Finnish and Lapp people still use reindeer as herd animals, for meat, fur and milk. Folks in Bhutan, Mexico and South America revere an entity much like Herne, who appears in sacred dances and dramatizations. In Abbots Bromley, England, reindeer antlers are used in a ritualized folk dance that has been presented for over 900 years. Of course, children in America love the tale of Santa’s eight flying reindeer. You can make some of these crafts while singing about Rudolf and friends, or while an adult reads “The Night Before Christmas” aloud. (If you’d like, change the title to “Yule”.)

Clothespin Reindeer Ornament

Materials: Each ornament requires two old-fashioned clothespins, the kind without springs. Use commercial googly-eyes, and red pompoms for noses, or draw on their features with a marker. Red or green ribbons can adorn their necks or serve as hangers. Strong glue is needed to hold them together.

Method: One clothespin with the pins facing up makes the face and antlers, another clothespin with the pins facing down, glued to the back of the first, makes the body and legs. Add eyes, noses and ribbon. These can be pinned directly to the tree branches or used as decorations on a wrapped present.

Spoon Reindeer Ornament

This project is easy for smaller kids, as well as craft-impared grownups.

Materials: A wooden spoon, brown pipe cleaners, googly eyes, pompoms or paint.

Method: Make antlers out of the pipe cleaners, glue or tape them to the back of the spoon. Add eyes and a nose to the spoon bowl. You can also decorate your reindeers with ribbon, glitter glue, raffia or other materials.

Reindeer Piñata

This is a craft for older children, although toddlers will have a great time squishing in the paste.

Materials: Newspaper strips, a balloon, paste made from flour and water, paint, googly-eyes, crepe paper or construction paper, paper towel rolls, ribbons, bowl, tape, scissors.

Method: Mix flour and water in a bowl to make a thin paste. Tear black and white newspaper into strips (no slick ads). Blow up a balloon, which you might want to balance on another bowl. Dip the newspaper strips into the paste and apply in layers to the balloon. Don’t forget to leave a hole for the candy! Let it dry. Cut the paper towel rolls into antlers and tape or glue them onto one end. You can also use paper towel rolls for legs and a tail, if you wish. Paint the whole thing brown or tan. Again, let it dry. Using brown or tan construction or crepe paper, cut into strips, and make several parallel cuts along each edge to simulate fur. Glue these onto the deer’s body. Give him googly-eyes and a pompom nose, or paint on his features. If you want, he can have ribbons to hang him up, or to adorn his antlers. Fill him with candy, tape the hole closed, save him for a tabletop decoration. or hang him up and have at it!

Yummy Yule Goodies

We enjoy many traditional holiday foods at this time of year, including gingerbread cookies, figgy pudding, roast goose, candy canes and Wasshail. Your children may enjoy “wassailing the trees”, a British and Germanic custom for blessing the spirits of the woods. Splash some apple cider at the base of each tree, while calling “to your health!”

Cocoa to Go

This is a fun gift for a teacher or scout leader. Mix one cup cocoa powder, one cup dry milk, and one cup dry coffee creamer in a bowl. (Add more proportionally if you’re making a big batch.) You can use flavored coffee creamer if it’s something that tastes good with cocoa. If your brand of instant hot chocolate already has milk mixed into it, forgo the powdered milk and creamer. Add a few tablespoons of sugar, chocolate sprinkles, dry mini-marshmallows, and tiny peppermint candies. Mix well. Spoon the mixture into a zippered sandwich bag with Yule-themed decorations printed on the plastic. Stick a bow onto each bag. Viola, instant Yule presents.

Wassail

The original recipe includes alcohol, but you can make this beverage for kids and teetotaling adults using apple cider, red grape juice, orange juice, cinnamon, ground cloves (just a pinch) and ground nutmeg. You may wish to put the spices into a cloth bag and let it steep. Or push whole cloves into the skin of an orange, and let it float in a punch bowl. Experiment with proportions. Some folks like cranberry juice or allspice in the mix. This is a festive punch for a Sabbat party.

Divination Pudding

This is not a creamy milk-based dessert pudding; instead, this is a traditional English dinner pudding. You’ll need about a loaf of stale bread, three eggs, a half cup of heavy cream, a quarter cup of brown sugar, and spices such as cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, allspice, mace, and ginger. Pick two spices, and use no more than a quarter teaspoon of each. You will also need some trinkets such as small toy cars, rings, large coins like half-dollars, or other prizes. Grease a quart baking dish. Tear the bread into small pieces – children really enjoy doing this. Beat the eggs until stiff. Fold in the heavy cream and add the sugar and spices. Place the bread into the baking dish, pour the wet mixture over it. Now comes the fun part. Hide the prizes in the pudding. Let the kids push them down into the gooey bread, then cover them over. Bake your pudding in the oven for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, checking it frequently*. The top should be golden brown and an inserted toothpick should come out clean. Serve hot, with butter and whipped cream. Caution: WARN people about the prizes, so that nobody chokes on them! You might want to make a separate pudding for toddlers, or use prizes that aren’t small enough to swallow. The coins represent money, the cars mean a journey, and the rings signify love.

* You might want to check a standard cookbook for a Yorkshire pudding recipe to find definite cooking temperatures. I cook with a wood stove, which has three temperatures: “hot”, “hotter still”, and “really honkin’ hot”. Bread pudding is best cooked at “fairly darn hot”. Dorothy Morrison has some really good recipes in her Yule book, too.

More Timely Traditions

Decorating with holly and ivy, lighting a Yule log, and commemorating the Goddess in her mother and crone or grandmother aspect are all delightful Pagan traditions. You can find representations of the crone Goddess in the form of Mrs. Claus and the good Scandinavian witch who brings candy and goodies. The Latvian people have a female elf who distributes presents. Besides the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus, other cultures revere a Mother Goddess who gives birth to a son representing light, including the Egyptian Isis and Horus, the Persian Asura and Mithras, and the Welsh Rhiannon and Pryderi.

Your children can honor the Goddess at this festive time of year by singing carols in a nursing home, or distributing goodies at a women’s shelter. Many carols have Pagan overtones, such as “Deck the Halls” and “Here We Come a Wassailing”. Others are religion-neutral, such as “Rudolf” and “Jingle Bells”. A nice present for an elder: Wrap a new washcloth around a bar of non-scented soap. Tie it with a pretty ribbon. Stuff the whole thing into a soft bedroom slipper. Fill the other slipper with a shampoo bottle. Put the gift into a pre-decorated paper sack, tied with more ribbon. You might also want to help your youngsters choose gifts for the local kids’ charity drive.

Holly King and Oak King Staff

Materials: A dowel or long stick, cloth or paper leaves, pipe cleaners, tape or glue. Each year, the holly king symbolically takes power at Yule, and rules until the Summer Solstice. Then the oak king takes over until the winter. If you wish to dramatize this event without an actual “fight”, your children can remove last season’s leaves from the staff and replace them with this season’s symbol. Real leaves don’t hold up well, and may be difficult to find out of season. Besides, cutting out construction paper leaves is half the fun. Use pipe cleaners, tape or glue to attach them to the staff. You can also use pipe cleaners and cloth or paper leaves to make oak and holly crowns for a dramatization of the Oak and Holly Kings in ritual.

Yule Log

This is a genuinely older Pagan tradition, probably brought to England by the Saxons. If you don’t have a fireplace, you can create a symbolic Yule Log for ritual or for your Solstice dinner table.

Materials: a large dry log, bark removed, electric drill with a wide-boring drill bit, votive candles in metal holders, cloth holly leaves, ribbon, pinecones, other decorations.

Method: With parents’ supervision, drill three holes a few inches apart in the top of the log, large enough to fit the votive candles. Place the candles in the holes. Decorate around the outside of the log with ribbon, holly, pinecones and anything else that looks festive. You can use all one color – gold is lovely – or mix two or three colors. If you plan on using your log year after year, you may wish to paint it and glue the decorations on permanently. Caution: Make sure flammable decorations are far enough from the candle flames to be safe. Keep it out of reach of toddlers and pets. If you want to re-use your log as a bird feeder, screw a large eye-bolt into one end to hang it, drill more holes, and fill the holes with suet, peanut butter and seeds.

Moon and Star Mobile

Materials: Gold paper foil or gold paint, cardboard, yarn, string or ribbon, a coathanger, scissors, tape.

Method: Cut out moons, stars and suns from the cardboard. This is a good opportunity to talk about recycling. Paint or glue paper foil onto the stars and moons to make them look heavenly. Glue or use clear tape to fasten the ribbon or yarn to each planet, then tie them to the hanger. This is another way to honor the Goddess as Queen of the Heavens, as Nimue, Artemis or Diana the Lady of the Moon, or to enjoy Ariarhod’s castle of stars. It’s also a good time to discuss the sun “returning” at the Winter Solstice.

Festive Yule Wreath

Materials: A wreath form or thick wire bent into a circle, the cutoff leftover greenery from the bottom of your Yule tree or commercial cloth evergreen garland, thin wire or bread ties, pinecones, nuts, craft birds, ribbon, bells, tiny gift boxes, seashells, or use your imagination! You can spray paint the pinecones, and nuts, and wrap the gift boxes, or leave them natural. Wire the evergreen boughs to the wreath frame. An advantage to commercial garland is sometimes it includes tiny electric lights. If so, be careful not to nick or expose the wires. Using bread ties, wire on the other decorations. Tie a festive ribbon around the top of the wreath. A ribbon with wire inside the cloth holds its shape well. This is a fun group project for a coven or a children’s Yule party.

May you and your children enjoy a blessed, peaceful and merry Yule!

Source: Llewellyn Journal