Yule Plans Are Still On

[dr_pretentious]

A lot of folks have been calling and emailing to ask if we're still hosting Yule on Saturday. Yes, absolutely. All through this hard week, Dan and I have been working on the theory that, no matter how things went for George, a lot of people in the community would feel the need to be together. Goodness knows, we do.

Clover Coven's Yule celebration will be held as planned at our house tomorrow, starting at 3pm. Sunset is at 4:32, so we plan to begin the ritual proper when it gets dark, around 5pm, after which there will be feasting, wassailing, singing, etc., until people feel like going home. Given our community's recent loss, Dan and I realize that people may not feel like going home for a good long time. We'll have enough firewood to keep the chiminea going all night, just in case.

Members of the Blue Star community from out of town who are coming to Jersey for the memorial on Sunday will be very welcome at our Yule on Saturday. Although our house is a lot smaller than Turtle Hill, we figure we'll work out whatever arises. A heads-up before you arrive and a potluck thing for feast would be cool, but are not necessary. Children are welcome, and the ritual will be child-friendly, but we do not have a sitter lined up, and our house is not childproofed.

If you RSVP'd that you were coming to Yule, but now you find that you're just not up to it, no worries. If you committed to bring a particular dish for feast, please drop us a line if you can, so that we can cover the gap. Needing to be alone is just as valid as needing to be in community. If you don't have time to drop us a line, or even if you only discover as you're turning your car onto our street that you need to be somewhere else, that is okay, too. Be kind to yourselves.

And now for the weird request: Does anyone who's coming to Yule have a twig of rowan we could burn? We've got the rest of the Nine Woods covered, but the university arboretum's lone rowan specimen blew down in a storm last spring, and I was only able to confer with the arboretum's curator today to find out why I couldn't find the tree. Rowan (sorbus aucuparia) is not native to North America, and it likes a colder climate than most of New Jersey has, so it's hard to find. If nobody has any rowan, I won't stress about it. The important thing is that Yule will still happen, and the Wheel of the Year will still turn.

Comments

[vgnwtch.livejournal.com]

I don't know about this Yule, but I swear you will have good English rowan next time around.

We'll be thinking of you all.

[siobhra.livejournal.com]

I will not be able to make it after all. Car problems. It might just be minor but I don't need more stress right now. And a long drive would do that. I was to bring a main course.

[dr-pretentious.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the heads-up. We're now covered for that main dish. Good luck with the car repairs, and I hope to see you Sunday.

no twig, but...

[leapfaith.livejournal.com]

... I have a housemate named Rowan. I suspect objections will be raised if were to I volunteer her, however, so I shant. Good luck!

Re: no twig, but...

[dr-pretentious.livejournal.com]

There's a small child named Rowan in our community, too, but burning her is right out of the question (even though she is a witch, and we did start with Monty Python references).

[sligoe.livejournal.com]

I won't be able to make it up today or tomorrow. I have three concerts scheduled this weekend, and while time-wise I could do this, energy-wise it's just not possible. I wanted to see if I could do it, but with all of this week's developments and my own less-than-optimal health (eyes are really bad again), I think I need to stick close to home. I am alrady missling all of you, and hope tha next year will be better. My love to all, and my thoughts will be with you all over the weekend.

[dr-pretentious.livejournal.com]

You'll be missed. May your music bring you comfort.

[onyxtwilight.livejournal.com]

The Blue Book lists Ash as an alternate for Rowan. I strenuously disagree; "Mountain Ash," either European or American, is not related to proper Ash trees. Rowan and it's American cognate (which I also call rowan, they're barely different) are members of the rose family. I personally associate the tree with Beltane specifically (I have this whole theory about the nine woods*). If I needed to sub for rowan, I would choose another may-tree type, perhaps hawthorn. It has the faery associations, the protective associations, the Beltane associations... works for me.

*I see them as an expression of the full year (one for each sabbat), plus the mistletoe to fertilize and energize the entire new year when it falls into the cauldron. I put them in in Wheel of the Year order, and then cut the mistletoe down at the end. Sabbat associations in order starting with Imbolc and ending at Yule: Birch, Willow, Rowan, Oak, Juniper, Apple, Pine, Holly. :-)

[paganpilgrim.livejournal.com]

I thought Laurel was the sub

[onyxtwilight.livejournal.com]

The book itself doesn't list a substitute per se, it just lists "Ash/Rowan" as one of the nine, as if they were interchangeable, which is what I'm objecting to.

I think we have lots of flexibility on substitutions to the nine woods; there are different reported sets all over the Isles. Where our specific set came from, I've no idea. I strongly object to using imported woods; if it won't grow in the area, I would replace it entirely, on a permanent basis (while maintaining and passing the traditional list, of course).

I'd totally buy laurel as a sub for rowan. But I wouldn't have thought of it. :-)

[dr-pretentious.livejournal.com]

I see your point about changing the list to reflect the local ecology.

I'd been thinking of vgnwtch's offer to send us some rowan from her area next year as a way to include her in the sabbat, even when she's so far away.

[dr-pretentious.livejournal.com]

Very helpful!

Poking around online, I found a lot of references to burning the Nine Woods at Beltane. If, as it appears to be, burning them at Beltane is the more common practice, I wonder why we burn them at Yule.

In the end puckmls and serbrew brought some rowan with them, so we didn't have to come up with an alternate.

I hear a rumor you're considering moving east. Is it so? Could we possibly be that lucky?

[onyxtwilight.livejournal.com]

Well, I would imagine the original practice wasn't done in a cauldron, either, as it is in part a recipe for a strong, long-lasting fire. >:-)

Personally, if I had a fireplace, I'd probably do the nine woods thing in that, so I could build a decent fire. A fireplace would be sorta cave-like, and that would work for me as a womb symbol just as well as a cauldron. (Sure, you'd lose some layers of symbolism... but you'd get a MUCH better fire. >:-)

Yes, I'm headed your way. Current theoretical target is sometime in the Mabon-Samhain range (like, if I could just wish and get my way, I'd do Mabon here, then get in the car and be all settled in there in plenty of time for Samhain). I expect to visit at least twice and possibly three times before then -- FSG, of course, and maybe also the Beltane thing, and possibly even the Imbolc thing if it still happens, or maybe I'll visit then even if it *doesn't* happen. :-)

[dr-pretentious.livejournal.com]

It'll be really good to have you on our end of the landmass. If there's anything we can do to help you relocate, let us know.

If the Imbolc thing happens, we'll see you for at least part of that. We don't go to the Beltane thing, but I'm pretty confident we'll be at FSG.