Thursday, December 1, 2022
Second Quarter Waxing Moon in Pisces
Neptune, Chiron, Uranus Retrograde
Celtic Tree Month of Elder
Cloudy and cold
Phew! It feels like ages since we got together, even though we only skipped last Thursday for American Thanksgiving. I hope you had a good one. Ours was lovely and quiet, filled with good food and good books.
I started the decorating over the weekend, but haven’t gotten very far, and there are boxes scattered everywhere. I hope to get another big push done this weekend, especially when it comes to getting the big tree in the stand, and start that decorating. We are learning how things fit in the space. Last year, we just kind of slapped everything up, in our first year here, to get it up. This year, we are taking more time to figure out what we want, and so there’s more box chaos early.
Tessa, the big black cat does not like it. She likes things tidy. Charlotte and Willa think it’s fun.
We will get there. I have to stop berating myself for not getting it all done in a single day. After all, I’ve accumulated a lot more decorations since the single-day-decorating years, and I have to get the writing and other paid work done before I can decorate. On weekdays, I’m often too tired.
But I got the wreath from Whitney’s Farm, and it’s decorated and on the front door. It looks kind of pretty. Remember last year’s wreath? It was fresh until June, and after the holidays, we hung the green wreath on the living room door.
I’m hoping, once everything is decorated and just before Solstice, I can get some fresh greens and scatter them amongst the decorations here and there. I’m worried if I get them now, they’ll dry out too early.
The photo above is of the Advent Table. We’ve kept it simple this year. The wreath used is artificial, not real. The candleholders for the four Advent candles have been in our family ever since I can remember, and the silver-plated tree in the center was a find at an antique store in Saybrook, CT, when we were moving from NY to the Cape. The bells attached to the top came to us on a gift probably back in the 1960s or 70s. The top cloth on the table is a gift from friends in Germany; again, we’ve had it for ages. The cloth underneath (barely visible) is one I made back when I was living in NYC. Everything has a story and a memory attached, whether it’s on this table, or anywhere else. As we decorate, we tell the family stories and keep our history alive. We combine old and new traditions, as works for us.
The fake fireplace (we don’t have a real one in this house) is a work in process. The artificial garland we use had blue poinsettias. In the back, you can see that I’ve put a seasonal ribbon on my broom.
Even though we don’t celebrate the traditional Christmas anymore (Solstice is my big holiday), the tradition of the Advent table and lighting the candles is a big deal. Each Sunday, after dusk, we light a candle. On the first of Advent, we light one; on the second, we light two, and so forth and so on. On Christmas Eve, we light all of them, plus the center (it’s often a bayberry candle; this year it’s the votives in the silver tree) and burn them all the way down.
I still have to get bayberry tapers. Tapers, in general, are difficult to find around here. I’m hoping to pick them up on my errands this weekend, if the weather clears up.
If you haven’t yet planted your bulbs, today is a planting day, by the astrological calendar. Better get them in. Ours are planted and on the front porch. There’s one little shoot, which started peeking out, probably a narcissus.
I’m still trying to nurse the peace lily back to health.
The Celtic Tree Month of Elder began last Friday. Elder is the thirteenth lunation, and is connected to death and regenerative magic. It’s bad luck to cut from an elder tree without permission (and even worse luck to cut one down). Elderberry syrup is a popular medicinal for the winter, helpful in promoting healing from coughs and colds.
Here we go, into the busy holiday season. I hope you take some time to enjoy the greenery, the lights, and the joy.
Gratitude and Growth: A Garden Journal 