Musings on a Fire Rune in the winter.
This coming weekend, December 21st to be precise, is the Winter Solstice, at least here in the Northern Hemisphere. Since the Summer solstice in June, the days have been shortening a bit each day, and it culminates in the longest night of the year, when the sun is at its most southerly point, and has likewise given us our shortest day of the year. And, despite the cold weather experienced, this marks the actual first day of Winter. The final harvest of winter crops and thinning of the herds and flocks yield a bounty that must last throughout the cold winter months ahead, but first a celebration for the abundance. For the Norse and Germanic peoples, this was a time of merry-making, feasting and much revelry before the bitter cold kept people indoors and hunkering down for warmth for the next few months. The Celtic peoples saw this as the battle between the dark Holly king, who has reigned since summer, and the Oak king, who now re-asserts his dominance with the ...