Merry meet all,
As Witches, we celebrate the Winter solstice. Let’s decorate for the Winter solstice and celebrate with a joyful heart! It can be done in the midst of this covid craze.
Let’s get started!
Save all of your orange peels! I baked my first ever Yuletide bread. I had saved all of my orange peels. I made candied orange peel (mmm) with the saved peels. You can grind them in your blender to use in simmering potpourri and incense. It releases the most delicious scent ever. I will include a link on how to make delicious candied orange peel. It’s easy to do. I will also include links on how to make Yuletide bread.
Go out for a long nature walk. Gather pine needles and pinecones. Bring them in and clean them up. You can even burn them a little in the oven on low heat to kill the mites or germs. You can then paint them, roll them in glitter, and glue ribbons on them to make a garland. Pine needles have that famous earthy minty scent we all love.
Star anise Store dry star anise in a dry jar. That prevents the anise from molding. Star anise smells like licorice. Cinnamon sticks correspond with fire and in my opinion, earth related matters. Nutmeg, clove and allspice also correspond to Winter Solstice. Allspice draws money toward you.
Bay leaves Write your wishes for the coming year on a bay leaf. You can either burn the bay leaf then to grant the wish faster. Or you can add it to the simmering potpourri. Or you can tie your bay leaf to a pinecone and burn the pinecone. Pinecones in the home bless and protect the home. Slice oranges and apples and add them to the potpourri.
All of these herbs, spices and barks can be enjoyed in a simmering potpourri. You can save the liquid from the potpourri in a labeled jar. You can share and give it as a gift to a loved one. You can let it all air dry and reuse as a potpourri. Put your intention into it and let the magic unfold.
I baked gingerbread cookies. I can’t wait to frost the cookies. It will be fun. It was fun and a lot of work to bake the Yuletide cake. If you are eager to try, I suggest taking 2-3 days to make it. The orange peels need to dry for several hours. I roasted the almonds and chopped them. I also cut the orange peel slices into smaller pieces. I blanched the cranberries and pierced the berries with a sharp knife. As the berries baked in the bread, they were dehydrated. It takes a while but the scent that will waft through your home is amazing. The same can be said for roasting the almonds myself. The store bought bread doesn’t compare. If you bake it now, you will be prepared for Yule! It can be sliced and stored in the freezer if you wrap the slices in wax paper.
I baked the bread in a tube pan. It worked just as well. The Yuletide bread is meant to be a tall bread but the dough still rises in the tube pan. I purchased mine at the dollar store.
For those of you who are like me and enjoy listening to music for the holiday season, I can’t recommend the Blackmore’s Night Christmas tunes enough. Subscribe and click like to get to enjoy the beautiful music as many times as you want. Play while you gift wrap or bake cookies!
Here are the links:
Easy Sugar Cookie Frosting Recipe – Jessica Gavin
Yuletide Bread | King Arthur Baking
Here is some lore for you to enjoy:
The Pagan Origins of the Yule Goat | Julia Penelope (patheos.com)
A Ritual to try:
Winter Solstice – A Solitary Ritual | John Beckett (patheos.com)
The True Meaning of the Winter Solstice: Hope | Jason Mankey (patheos.com)
Blessings, Spiderwitch
