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Psychic Readings, Astrology and Counseling
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Open up the East Gate and let the New Year in! - Welsh carol The month that ushers in the New Year is a time to make a fresh start and what better place to begin than at home? In Scottish tradition, the family came together to sain (ritually cleanse and bless) their house with holy water and incense.You can sain your home with holy water. Collect this from a local spring or pool between midnight and dawn, preferably toward the end of the first quarter of the moon. If this is impossible, use bottled spring water from a pure source. If you live with other people, form a circle around your fireplace or a large candle. Pass the water in a sunwise (clockwise) direction for everyone to drink, then take it around the house and sprinkle some in the four corners of each room. A saining can be done by water alone. But you can also use juniper incense, as was the custom in Scotland. This shouldn't be too hard to find, being a popular garden plant as well as one that grows wild in many parts of the world. Cut a few sprigs the night before and put them on the hearth or other warm place to dry out a little. (For a better burn, dry it by the hearth, on layers of newspaper or hang it in a dry place for a few days or weeks.) When you light them, have a small bowl or shell to catch any ash or sparks that might fall. Using either your hand or a long feather, fan the smoke around each member of the household in turn, then take it to each room and blow some into the four corners. For an even
simpler house blessing, light a white candle and slowly carry
the flame sunwise (clockwise) around
the threshold, the hearth and four corners of each room while
reciting this blessing from the Hebrides, which invokes
the goddess and saint, Bridget
of the Hearthfire: Both clay
and wattle; Both man and
woman; (slightly adapted from the collection: Carmina Gadelica by Alexander Carmichael) |
The Wassail Bowl
In
Wales and Cornwall and other parts of
Britain, January 6th (Twelfth
Night) was the time to go wassailing.
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