CELEBRATING WINTER SOLSTICE

Winter is a time of rest and renewal and inward focus.  This is the earth's fallow time, a mini-death when nothing is growing (at least outwardly).
It is a time to honor the complete cycle of nature.  And, coming as it does at the end of a calendar year and the beginning of another, it is a time to re-evaluate, to shed what no longer serves us, and to create intentions for what we want to manifest in the New Year.

Winter Solstice, also know as Midwinter or Yule, is an ancient pagan festival that marks the shortest period of daylight of the year, and the longest night; when the sun's daily maximum elevation in the sky is at it's lowest. Winter Solstice is celebrated on December 20th or 21st.

Winter Solstice festivities traditionally commenced the morning after the longest night, acknowledging the 'rebirth of the sun' (which was personified into 'Newborn Son' in Christian mythology), with much joy! From this day forward, the day's became longer.

Bonfire's were lit, homes were decorated with evergreen boughs, apples and oranges were studded with cloves, holly and ivy and mistletoe (regarded as the 'seed' of the Divine) were hung everywhere....all insuring that the Nature Spirits would come join the celebrations!   According to Celtic lore, a spring of holly was kept near the door all year long as an invitation for good fortune to visit the household.

The ceremonial Yule Log was considered the highlight of the Solstice festivities. In accordance with tradition, the log was harvested on the household's land, and once dragged into the house it was decorated in seasonal greenery, doused with cider, and set ablaze by a piece of last year's log.
The log would burn throughout the night, then smolder for 12 days.

The Deities of Yule: Sun Gods, the Mother Goddess, and the Triple Goddess.

I have just listed our Winter Solstice Triple Goddess Spirit Doll in our Etsy store.

THE FAERY GODMOTHER

*Faery GodMother: Faery Grace. Unconditional Love. Protection.

Gifts. Talents. Grace. 

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*The Faery Godmother is here to bring a little magic into your life. She might give you a bit of faery dust to brighten your mood, or perhaps a little grace to help you on your way. She’s responsible for those little inconspicuous miracles that make life a little bit nicer. She will bestow gifts upon you and sometimes gives you a choice when you thought you didn’t have one. The Faery Godmother loves you not because you deserve it or don’t deserve it, but because you exist, that is reason enough for her. It is simple. She is the giver of grace and useful lessons. She tries not to interfere very much and instead gives you a touch of faery grace so that you learn a wee bit faster.

Think of her as your personal guardian angel’s assistant. She takes care of those things your guardian angel might forget about.

The Faery Godmother turns up when good things are happening to you, especially good things that you feel you don’t deserve. That is her lesson. It’s not about being worthy, it’s about giving and receiving unconditionally and she wants you to know that. Take that lesson to heart and teach it to others. 

*(some descriptions of this Spirit Doll from Brian Froud's The Faeries' Oracle)

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* The Faery Godmother is made of salvaged, recycled, tattered fabrics, textiles, laces, ribbons, jewels, beads, buttons, furs, feathers, twigs and stones. Her face is hand formed, hand painted polymer clay

*The Faery Godmother is 15" L, comes with her own stand, or can be hung on the wall

*The Faery Godmother is available for purchase in our Etsy shop

BACK IN BUSINESS

"I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it"- Shakespeare

The cabin is finally finished! The landscaping is finally finished! And, the decorating is nearly finished! (That will be a work in progress for awhile yet). It was a little over two years ago that Tom and I began this project, and I put my business on hold.  I wanted to devote my time and energy to building and decorating the cabin.  Now that it is pretty much completed,  I have been itching to get back to creating my Spirit Dolls. Last week I re-opened my Etsy Shop,  and this week I have been busy posting our (Kristin has stuck with me) latest creations!

Take a look at 'The Shaman'. He might be my favorite Spirit Doll thus far, and is the first one I chose to list in our 'new' Etsy Shop.

Please come back and visit often in the coming weeks. We have many new dolls to share!

*Shamanism organically arose all over the world, all throughout history, as a response to the needs of people. Shamanism is an ancient collection of traditions based on the act of voluntarily accessing and connecting to non-ordinary states — or spirit realms — for wisdom and healing.

The word “shaman” comes from the Siberian Tungus tribe, and it directly means “spiritual healer,” or, more cleverly, “one who sees in the dark.”

Generally, there is one shaman per community. These shamans access the spirit realm for the purpose of individual and communal growth and healing — they do this by restoring and removing energetic pathways, recovering soul parts, and communicating with non-physical helpers to discover the spiritual aspects of illness and find answers to life’s seemingly impossible questions. This reality-penetrating ability marks them as the world’s very first doctors, storytellers, mystics, and even psychotherapists.

Shamanism comes with a great responsibility. Alongside simply accessing these worlds, they must possess the ability to transform what they have learned and experienced into a concrete change in the physical world.

Shamans also act as great teachers, for they teach that everything is spirited; that all things are interconnected and alive, including (but certainly not limited to) the Earth itself, the stars in the sky, and even the wind in the air. For this, it is also the shaman’s role in a community to demonstrate and maintain the harmonious balance of humankind, nature, and spirit.
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* 'The Shaman' is made of salvaged, recycled vintage fabrics, textiles, ribbons, yarns, jewels, crystals, beads, buttons, furs, feathers, twigs, bones and stones. His face is hand formed, hand painted polymer clay.

* He is approximately 18” L

* He is an original and one-of-a-kind, collectible art doll

* He comes with his own stand, or he can be hung on the wall.
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 https://www.etsy.com/shop/rhinestonegypsy

(or, click on the ETSY link on the right hand side of this blog to go directly to our storefront).