Winter Wonder

Even though we have had record breaking high temperatures here in Colorado, (high 60s and 70s for two week now), the rest of the four season areas of our country are experiencing winter. While most folks find it strange, I LOVE Winter. It is my favorite season. Here in Colorado Winters are beautiful probably in part because we have so many sunny days and although the temperatures can be extremely cold, the combination of the sun and the dry air,make it seem much warmer. Aside form weather, I like the winter because it represents a time where we can go inward. Staying snuggled inside our warm homes, gives us time to read and study and be more reflective since there are no gardens to tend, harvests to gather or major holidays to get ready for. I love to sit and knit by the fire while watching some of my favorite shows and movies and go down to my craft room and work with no interruption, for hours on end. Yule is just the start of the
winter season. As such, I like to continue to decorate my house in winter themes such as snowmen, holly, candles to warm the environment, and incense to complete the picture. With each season or Sabbat, I also change out my tarot cloth and often times my tarot decks as well. I do this not only to acknowledge the change of season, or to focus on a particular Sabbat,but also to refresh myself as a reader and bring new energy into the readings I do for my clients. Right now, for example, I am using a burgundy Celtic print cloth for February. When I am working on my crafts, I tend to lean towards the current season as an inspiration. For Winter I work a lot with soft blues, lavender and teals because these are the colors that I identify with the season as a whole. The blue and teals are reflected in the bright and sunny skies of Winter. The snow and cold reflect off the snow forming prisms of light

where I can see a rainbow of soft colors. If Winter tends to get you in a bit of a funk, why not think about how you can make your home a sanctuary from the dark, whether it be glowing candles, a warm and comforting incense (cinnamon comes to mind), baking some hot and crusty breads and maybe a little handkerchief to wipe your eyes from the sting of the cold air...

Oh Gods!

My passion  for making handkerchiefs is never ending these days and having found some wonderful Goad and Goddess designs has only fueled my creative fire. I think my favorite thus far is Isis. I was able to create her using a multicolor thread which gave me a spectacular effect. All of the Goddess/Gods designs are delicate which makes for a perfect design for the lightweight material that I use for my handkerchiefs. At present, I am working on bringing some of these beings onto my tarot cloths as well. I have thus far made two of them and really think they are great for people who like a simpler cloth using their favorite gods.

My Pan cloth, for example, is sweet  and subtle in color so that Pan can be seen playing his music in the corner of the cloth. With this collection I have used a mix of stark white and tea stained cloths, letting the personality of each god determine which direction to go. Hades and Hecate insisted on tea stain, the darker the better.
Artemis wanted to fly high up in the sky so white was the obvious choice there. I am still  working my way through more of the gods and wondering if I can't just make a day of the week hanky set  out of them. Hmmm.....