WELCOME!
Yule: We Are Light
Come in, come in! I’m so happy you’re here. The season of Yule (pronounced YOOL) is upon us! It all begins with the Winter Solstice, which is celebrated by people all around the world and marks the longest night of the year. For those of us in the northern hemisphere, the Winter Solstice falls on December 21st. This ancient holiday honors the return of the sun and highlights themes of rebirth, active hope, intention-setting, illumination and enlightenment.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Story of the Season: a Homily for the Winter Solstice (audio & PDF)
The Great Wide Open (video)
In the Studio (video)
Collaborative Alchemy Podcast: with Myriam Loeschen
Fuel for the Fire: Writing prompts, links, reading lists, Spotify playlists, etc.
Further Connection: Community Zoom call (link)
NOTE of ENGAGEMENT:
Please do not share the link to this page with others. This content was created just for you. Thank you for your respect and understanding.
PART ONE: Digital Content
Seasonal Focus: Joy Practice
In my part of the world, there is a damp and lasting darkness that happens during the final throes of November. Yes the days are growing shorter, but it’s more than that. All autumn color has seeped away, revealing the charred brown and black of earth and the bruised gray and sepia of sky. The clouds roll in for weeks at a time and the mud and mess of early winter covers tires and boots and dogs and floorboards.
Then one day in early or mid-December as sunlight circles the drain of the year, the sky opens up and delivers light in the form of snow. What was once a blanket of dank decaying leaves transforms in an instant. Fresh fallen snow is a wonder to behold, not merely for its shocking whiteness, but for the light it reflects. The little bowl of our valley sheds its cave-like personality and becomes a mirror for the heavens.
As light begins to return to the valley, I give thanks for the darkness. I give thanks for the creeks as they ice over, thanks for the howling Coyotes prowling the foothills, thanks for the feisty birds elbowing each other at the edge of my neighbor’s bird feeder, thanks for the hearth that heats the bones of my home, and I give thanks for all the silence that surrounds me. I wonder if these winter gifts were what the composer Issac Watts was referring to when he wrote “repeat the sounding joy.” Let’s all share the gifts of our grateful hearts as we dive into our creative work this season. Then might we truly deliver joy to the world.
Calling You Home — A Homily
This is a great place to begin. For each of the eight bundles that make up the Creative Alchemy Cycle, I write a seasonal story to set the container for the bundle. These homilies are my way of practicing alongside you and using the creative alchemy tools to create my own work. You can download a copy using the button below and/or listen to the audio.
The Great Wide Open
My creative process always begins outside. This is where I weave the outer landscape with the inner one. Pine Valley is covered with its first layer of snow. Follow me down to the Powder River to catch the last glimpses of the water flow before it ices over. Then we’ll walk through the Wallowa foothills along Pine Creek and marvel at the conifers.
In the Studio
After viewing The Great Wide Open, let’s head into my studio. This is where I metabolize, incubate, and process all the elements which make up my current state of creative alchemy. We’ll chat about your care packages, build our seasonal altar, talk about themes of this season, and create two botanical paintings to honor the wonder and magic of Yule.
Collaborative Alchemy Podcast
Collaborative Alchemy is a series of conversations with artists, thought leaders, activists, farmers, educators, creatives, and other polymaths where we tell our stories, expand our histories, and hold space for new ways of being. This season, I’m re-sharing a conversation with facilitator and coach Myriam Loeschen about releasing perfectionism, appreciating the beauty in the cracks, and the healing power of silence. We also talk about how Myriam weaves her creative passion for cooking and nourishing food into a powerful framework for working with clients and groups. Listen in as we discuss what it means to be wounded, worthy and honoring a life in process. More about Myriam HERE.
FUEL FOR THE FIRE
Writing prompts and further exploration, links, reading lists, spotify playlists, etc. Click on the images or buttons below to view, visit, or download.
PART TWO: For Full Subscribers
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Invitations for Further Connection
Friends, our January Community Call, which was supposed to take place on Sunday the 8th has been cancelled. Our family is taking a rest in the wake of our son’s recent hospitalization. But there's no need to go without! I am including two engagement options for those of you who still wish to "gather."
JANUARY COMMUNITY CONNECTION CALL (2021)
The link above will take you to our recorded Community Connection Call from last year's January gathering. In it, the group talks about our own individual creative practices and then we create intuitive watercolors with an exercise about "color craving."
NOURISH YOUR YEAR WORKSHOP (2021)
The link above is for a workshop called Nourish Your Year. (You can read more about the workshop HERE.) I begin each lunar new year with a powerful and intentional ritual. I create a list of delights to cultivate in the year to come. These are juicy, joyful everyday acts of pleasure and healing that I want to call into my life. Once I create my manifesto of personal delights, I undertake a fun and meaningful collage process to create an artful representation of my vision for the year. At the end of the journey, I have my list of delights and a deeply personal mandala to remind me throughout the year that joy is my birthright. This workshop will walk you through this process!
The Yule Community Network & Gallery
The community network & gallery is a communication platform for those who are full subscribers! It’s like Facebook but WAY better: no advertisements, completely private, and built collectively. As a member of the Cycle you received an invitation to join our Creative Alchemy Cycle (CAC) online network via Mighty Networks. The button below will take you to the network.
Gratitude.
“And if they tried
to match the whirl
of my fingerprint,
they’d learn my true
identity is galaxy,
close cousin to the fern,
and sister to the nautilus.
They’d learn I’m most definitely
guilty of Fibonacci.
I leave evidence
everywhere—tiny
invisible swirls,
reminders that I,
too, am hurricane,
eddy, whirlpool,
and sunflower head.
I have been marked
like the pinecone,
spiraling out from the center,
and there’s nothing
I won’t touch.”
— Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer