Yule

"I'm one with the Goddess
and open to Her Wisdom."

Yule

"When the wheel hath turned to Yule,
light the log, the Horned One rules."

Lunar and Celtic Tree for today is the Yew tree.

Moon Phase:  waxing Crescent
Moon rises: 10:42AM EST
Moon sets: 9:59PM EST
Moon in Aquarius v/c 7:53AM EST
Moon enters the Mutable Water Sign of
Pisces at 6:41PM EST
Blodeuwedd's Cycle of the Moon
Lunar Meditation: Music of your choice.
Sun enters the Cardinal Earth Sign of Capricorn at 12:46PM
Sunrise: 7:39AM EST
Sunset: 4:56PM EST
Solar Question for the Day: " What do you most appreciate about being human?"
Samhain (Calan Gaeaf) Quarter of the Year
December 21st, 2009

Sun in Capricorn

  Capricorn is one of the Earth signs bringing physicality, resourcefulness, practicality nand a down-to-earth attitude. It is also a Cardinal sign indicating a desire to take action, impatience, eagerness and a need to be in control.
   Having said that, Capricorns are generally restrained, patient, cautious and methodical. They tend to be rational, prudent, and admire disciplined behavior. They will persevere with a problem or task, taking it one step at a time until they reach their desired result. They do not give up ideas or dreams easily. They can appear cool and calculating, but this is because they tend hold back their feelings, and can appear unaffected by even the strongest stimuli. On the negative side they can be harsh and exacting on those around them. They can be narrow-minded, critical, selfish, and pessimistic, particularly in respect of human nature. Their desire for control can also lead to them being quite manipulative, especially of emotions.
   This period is one where Capricorns should restrain their expression about others; it is very much a time when they should think carefully about the effects of what they say and do, before they say or do it. Those of other signs can use the energies of this time to great effect in honest examination of their relationships with those around them. They will also find that this is a good time for tackling outstanding tasks and chores, especially those which previously seemed over-complex.

The Yew Tree

Taxus baccata

Tree of Resurrection, Tree of Eternity

Winter Solstice, December 21st

Fifth vowel and last letter of the Ogham alphabet - Idho

The Yew is the grandfather and grandmother of the Celtic woodland. The longest living of the native British trees, it sees the wheel turn many, many times and so understands well the cycles of energy that unfold in mankind time and again. It can live thousands of years and when the central trunk begins to decay, a new tree sprouts from within to keep the cycle of life turning. It is thus the tree of death and rebirth and hence transformation. The most sacred and mysterious of magical sites were found in the groves of yews and indeed many ancient churches have yews growing in their grounds that predate the arrival of Christianity and indicate an ancient sacred site.  The slow-growing Yew is one of our oldest trees. It is an evergreen with a flaking reddish bark. The female tree, for there are male and female trees, bears a bright red fruit. It reaches a maximum height of around 50 feet after which it tends to increase in birth, often having more than one tree trunk growing from one set of roots.
 
The Yew is sacred to the Druids and ancient peoples, and was thought to be a guardian of the dead. It is often found growing in churchyards and there are many reasons for this. Churches were often the only places with solid walls around them preventing the transpass of livestock. The Yew, being a favored tree for making bows and arrows since the Stone Age, therefore had to be protected from cattle and the like. Conversely, as it is highly poisonous, valuable livestock had to be protected from eating the Yew. However, as some churchyard Yews are thought to be around 4,000 years old, it is more probable that the Churches were built near the Yew as a sacred place.
 
  All parts of the Yew are poisonous, especially the fruit and seeds, and protective gloves should be worn if it is necessary to handle it. There are no recorded historic medicinal uses for the tree, although it is being experimented on with reference to treatments for cancer today. Magically the Yew is linked to the salmon, the word Eo being an ancient word for both, and hence is a tree of knowledge. Because of its links with death it is particuarly useful as a focus for meditation on the afterlife.