This new year, write down those resolutions! Place them in a box to be opened this time next year with a shaker full of Yule Tide sweetness…
THE YULE TIDE
2 oz. Cranberry Pomegranate juice (Northland, Lakewood and Knudsen all make an excellent organic cran-pom juice blend)
1/2 oz. Orange Juice
1/2 oz. Grand Marnier
Dry champagne of your choosing
Mix first three ingredients in mixer with ice. Chill, shake & pour. Fill remaining space with champagne.
This year, for the first time, I will not have spent either of the traditional family gathering holidays with my immediate family. On Thanksgiving I was with extended family in Southern Louisiana. There was more food than our small army of folks could feasibly handle and a good deal of it left the house with us the following day, packaged securely for transport to northern Alabama, to be delivered to more extended family there. It was humbling, really, that so much abundance was in evidence at both locations. The houses were warm and full of light and family and there was always plenty of food and drink. Even the animals were slightly corpulent from seasonal overfeeding. It was impossible to feel as though one wanted for anything in such environments.
In stark contrast, Christmas will be spent on the road, most likely at a truck stop or someplace similar in the great state of Texas. Oddly, I’m very much looking forward to it because it will afford me the opportunity to reflect on the concept of family.
I’m one of those who has traditionally taken in “orphans” during the holidays, those friends who have no family (either nearby or existing at all) with whom to spend a time which rejoices in such connections. This season, at Christmas, I and my partner and our kitty will be orphans ourselves. We duly signed up for it, planning our time on the road as we did, but we never really stopped to consider the import of spending Christmas on the road. We’ll be certain to see and spend time with other orphans, as we’ll likely go into whatever truck stop we’ve decided to camp in, for tea, warmth, and hoping, I’m sure, with many others for some sort of silent fellowship.
Having family close at hand has been a practical consideration throughout human history, most especially during the winter months when help was needed to make sure food supplies were at the desired levels and the very young and very old were cared for with the extra attention that cold and damp conditions generally make necessary. The idea of several generations of a family sharing living space and resources has become rare in this day and age but we are seeing it spring up anew as we travel these days. Parents asking their college aged children to stay under their roof as long as they would wish, young parents asking their own parents to move in and assist with child rearing, and similar family dynamics that mirror those of days gone by are happening right before our eyes. There are financial considerations at work here, but more importantly, and more easily missed, are the bonds of love and friendship that encourage such decision making.
On the approach of the Winter Solstice, when the nights are at their longest, I can think of no better place to be than with family, be they blood or a family of one’s choosing. It is no mere coincidence that the sun sign being transitioned into is all about family, practical choices, reliability and a firm grounding in all that is necessary for not only surviving, but thriving. This is a time of gathering with those closest to you and deciding what is to be left behind in the Darkness since it either no longer serves you or is acting as negative ballast to keep you from reaching other goals. It is also a time for setting those goals anew, so that they might be nurtured by you as well as your immediate family, growing in strength as the days lengthen and coming to fruition even as the light returns to our lives.
As the sun moves from inventive and spontaneous Sagittarius into the more stable and dependable Capricorn, I and many others, will turn attention to practical matters of family, finance and health. New Year’s Eve is not the only reason we are resolution-minded this time of year. Capricorn’s resoluteness and desire to finish what has been begun also lurks in the sub-currents of our psyche around the Solstice when it begins its ascent in the Zodiac.
Rather that reflect on what we haven’t got or failed to achieve in the previous year, Capricorn urges us to look ahead at what opportunities still exist before us, and what we can do about them. We are encouraged to recall all of the sweetness that this year has afforded us and hold gratitude for each and every bit of it. We are reminded that what is important right now, in this moment, is always right in front of us, and that if we are not diligent in paying attention, we will miss it entirely.
With this in mind, I offer you a dose of the previous year’s sweetness in a wonderful little sparkly concoction I like to call The Yule Tide. Share it with someone close to you or sip it in solitary reflection. Mull over what your definition of family is, for there is no wrong answer. Family is generally where we find it, where we are moved to make an effort to connect with our fellow human beings and other living creatures. And it is mostly about the love that you have for all that you hold dear and your willingness to share it with your particular corner of the world.
May your holidays be filled with warmth and joy and the family of your choosing…
Cheers~Charon, The Most Dangerous Beauty Alive
theswordswallowers.com
oddangel.com
Charon Henning is one of a handful of female sword swallowers in the world today. She’s performed on carnival midways and at wine tastings, on theater stages and grassy lots.
Charon also reads tea leaves professionally, a skill she inherited from her grandmother on her mother’s side of the family. Tea-leaf reading is a wonderful and elegant form of entertainment, suitable for many time periods and venues.
Charon loves being on the road seeing new places and meeting new people. Want to catch Charon on the road for her live show? View her tour schedule here. Or, book Charon’s talent for your next event!
did you know that yesteryear’s christmas sugar plums were actually not plums at all? i never did, until i researched this post. apparently, sugar plums are a mish mosh of minced dried fruits mixed up in oats and brandy, and then rolled in sugar. i suppose the round ball shape gives it a resemblance to the plum. so, how cool would that be to garnish a glass of sugar plum sangria with a ready made, pre-slit sugar plum? in theory, this festive garnish should happily slide right on to the lip of the glass. so, yea, lemme know how that goes as i haven’t had a chance to test it. 
our astrology wine glasses were the talk of a 
i’m sad to say goodbye to 
