#snowy summer solstice

[blueberry-gills]

Legend has it that if you hike up to the peak of Glaseado Mountain on your birthday, you’ll get to see a wonderful gift of nature—Diamond Dust.

Gill only realized she had fallen asleep when she was stirred into consciousness. Her skin curdled under the feeling of something pressing against her cheek. Slowly, she peeled open her eyes.

The Drifloon floated back from her head, seemingly satisfied. Gill blinked blearily at her. She could feel Sizzle’s claws around her neck, digging into her flesh in tandem with her breathing. In any other instance, she’d be terrified.

“…What’s the time,” she said blankly, knowing full well there was no one nearby that could answer her.

“Loooooon.” The Drifloon leaned backward. Her tendrils grew taught around Gill’s arm. Gill felt one of them loosen, untwining from his jacket as the Drifloon raised it up- She could untangle herself at any time? She was just hanging on for fun? Oh Arceus, I can’t feel my hand, is that a blood flow or cold or kidnapping soul thing-?

Pressed her heart to his chin-

Wait wha-

-And tilted his head upwards.

Gill barely had time to react before the first snowflake landed on his nose.

The sky was a cloudy gray. A vast expanse of off-white, a mirror to the earth beneath it. You could argue it looked more beautiful earlier.

But that wasn’t the point.

It was snowing.

Gill’s breath hitched in her throat.

She had seen snow before, of course. Despite her aversion to the cold, she had spent quite a good amount of time in the Polar Biome at Blueberry, thank you very much. She had suffered through artificial winds whipping as snow sliced against your skin. Through opening your mouth and catching a face full of ice. And even before that, her parents had brought her to Montenevera before. Glaseado Mountain was nothing new.

What was new, however, was Diamond Dust.

…It really did look like crystal.

It was soft, gentle even, not fierce or piercing. The snowflakes melted on her blazing skin with a quiet numbness, sparkles dancing in her eyes. As if someone had thrown glitter into the heavens. As if Gill was resting inside a gorgeous snowglobe. A gentle breeze tousled her hair.

It was dazzling. It almost hurt to look at. Gill lifted her free hand and watched as the flakes tumbled out of the sky like dazed Ribombee, gently landing in her palm.

Like shavings of sunlight.

It was beautiful.

It was cold.

It was gorgeous.

It was really cold.

It was decadent.

It was so, so cold. Gill couldn’t feel his feet. Or hands. And he was pretty sure the Drifloon was still trying to lead his soul astray.

But the tears still pooled in her eyes and the glitter danced in her vision all the same.

It wasn’t Lental. It wasn’t the desert. It wasn’t a party in some fancy restaurant surrounded by friends and family who cared.

But it was the best she had.

…And it wasn’t too bad.

The Drifloon hummed in satisfaction as Gill stood up, grabbing the Pokeballs at her waist. Sizzle dug her claws in deeper.

Happy Birthday, Gill. She’s turning seventeen by herself on a mountaintop, speckled with freezing cold Diamond Dust.

With her team beside her. With Pepper sniffing at the long-since-dead Whismur-lite and Salt wordlessly watching beside her, with Locke flitting around and prodding Sizzle, with Key resting a tacky hand on Gill’s shoulder as Sugar decorates a tupperware of berries in cream, with Spice and Baryon watching from afar while Junebug curls up by her bag. With a Drifloon looming over her. (She ought to start thinking of a name.) With regret still lingering in her heart, but a resigned peace nestled beside. Blistering cold and shocking warmth.

And so, the taste of mint and chocolate in her mouth, her skin abuzz with relief and frostnip, Gill wiped the tears out of her eyes and smiled to herself.

Maybe today wasn’t a disappointment, after all.

[mountainmagpie]

Just hear me out: bright, crisp winters and dark, rotting fruit summers.

[toaarcan]

I did some Sonic-centred worldbuilding thoughts and ended up accidentally creating an idea where technically Mephiles is Mobius' version of Santa Claus.

Okay hear me out here.

It started with me in my frequent "Hurgleburgle I hate it when settings that don't have Christianity have Christmas" grumbling.

Because that doesn't make any sense, no matter how secularised Christmas has become it's ultimately rooted in the Happy Birthday Big J origins. More than that, porting exclusively Christmas into fantasy settings and nothing from other cultures is, well... it says things about writers.

Nonetheless, midwinter festivals are commonplace in cultures where winter is usually bleak and snowy. It would make sense for at least parts of any world to have some sort of festival around that time.

Obviously the easy option there is to centre it on the Winter Solstice, given that it's literally the middle of Winter, the shortest day of the year.

Since this is relating to the sun, in a Sonic sense, shouldn't this be a Solaris thing? Solaris is the only sun god we've seen.

Also there's a Summer Solstice, and Solaris is a dual-god, composed of two entities.

So therefore it makes sense for bright and fiery Iblis to be associated with the Summer Solstice, and cold and dark Mephiles to be associated with the Winter Solstice.

The Winter Solstice is a festival day for Mephiles.

Mephiles is Santa and also the Krampus.

The secularisation of the Winter Solstice is probably a good thing actually.

If someone says "Keep Mephiles in the Winter Solstice" they're probably a cultist.

Also I guess the Equinoxes are probably also Solaris-related festivals.

Lmao Sonic got killed by Santa

Mephiles takes the Naughty List very seriously.

"Timmy if you don't be good this year then on Solstice Night, the eldritch master of time and darkness will creep out of your shadow and stab you through the heart with a laser beam."

I suppose it could be the other way around, they pray to Mephiles in the summer for relief from the blazing heat, and Iblis in the winter to warm the dark, cold nights, but this way is funnier.

Even if Solaris in general does have a bit of a "Yeah we worship it to stop it eating us" vibe.

I have worldbuilder's disease and it's terminal, I have spent way too many braincells on gods that only exist because SEGA were having a Final Fantasy phase (affectionate).

[linnoya-writes]

Zutara Childhood-Friends-to-Lovers Alter-Egos Forbidden-Romance AU (part II)

It was Zuko's idea, to write the first letter.

It had arrived to the Southern Water Tribe by a very cold and shivering messenger hawk, folded by wax stamp of a blue theatrical demon mask nobody had recognized. Nobody, except Katara, and she tried to keep her pounding heart from giving herself and her childhood friend away.

In the years that they had been allies, Katara only recalled the Fire Nation sending messenger hawks to the arctic tundra under dire circumstances (an island's epidemic in need of more healers, a village's drought in desperate need for ice)... and so she noticed the brilliance of her friend's gesture easily. How, in spite of their feuding nations, there was no need to let an innocent creature freeze to death by being turned away as soon as it arrived.

It was Sokka who read the content of the letter. "Her name is Caiduri. She likes fish." Their father had been with the tribal council, and so Sokka was left to decipher the significance of this letter and the writer. "We're supposed to keep this enemy bird?" Sokka deduced. But Katara jumped in immediately to calm Caiduri's annoyed ruffling of feathers, and the bird seemed to find a home on the girl's pelted arm. "She's not our enemy! She's sweet. And she should stay with us until the summer solstice." That meant they would have the bird for months, and Sokka shook his head in disbelief.

"Dad's not gonna like this."

"Well, Dad doesn't have a choice, does he?" She smirked at her brother knowingly.

"Yeah. Well don't get too attached to it. Once it goes back, it's not coming back here."

"It's a she, stupid." But Sokka had already left their hut before he could hear that. Katara groaned, but then yelped as the bird started nipping at her ear. And it hit her that she suddenly had something to take care of-- something else, anyway.

After feeding her the last scraps of their salmon dinner, Katara took Caiduri out with a lantern towards the snowy forest that encompassed the tribal village-- a forest that sang of screeching snowy owl-cats and howling distant polar bear-wolves. The girl had grown accustomed to these sounds, they didn't phase her anymore... but the bird perched on her shoulder trembled from all of the new.

"Don't worry-- you're safe here." Katara reassured, grazing the birds' feathers with a finger. "I just want you to see what I've been working on since the summer."

The little lantern light directed Katara towards a centuries-old pine tree, its trunk leaning back as if basking in the blanket of stars. The tree was as thick as the Fire Nation eastern redwoods that Katara had seen as a child... and it was that memory that had granted her the idea: a tree that thick must have a village of roots underneath, so vast, it can bring up soil a good distance away. And so Katara had searched for a cavern... a bungalow... any place where animals had long abandoned and could still shelter soil and warmth for a foreign seed. Her plum seed was precious; she couldn't just plant it half-heartedly. She tested potential spots with local shrub seeds, first, and then, if it succeeded... with cranberry bushes... and finally, in a little damp bungalow a short hike west of the leaning pine, Katara boldly planted Zuko's gift. All she did was give water and a prayer.

She had done this every night, for weeks.

And when Katara introduced Caiduri to her secret bungalow, the seed's stem was beginning to sprout. Tiny leaves were shining against the lantern light like dew drops.

Katara let the hawk scrunch into her warm pelted hood.

She couldn't help but laugh, thinking that Zuko had been the one to beat her at the first message, the first gift.

It was only because her gift was taking a bit longer to make, and she would've sent it through a private courier or a a stowaway shipment towards the islands. She would've found someone to vouch for her, made up some story to get this gift to the palace after so many levels of clearance.

But Katara had to give it to Zuko; the hawk was a brilliant idea.

By summer solstice, Caiduri returned to the Fire Nation palace. A tiny tropical plum neatly wrapped around the bird's leg. The image of a woman's face obscured by a veiled hat was the first thing Zuko recognized, drawn with ink on the wrapping.

Zuko tried to hide his grin while his uncle and his advisors tried to decipher the strange message.

"As it turns out... she likes plums, too."

[kellanved-ammanas]

TF2 Drabbles: Scout/Sniper - Matters of Perspective

Summary: If we're talking holidays, there's Sniper having grown up with summery Decembers while his boyfriend is from snowy New England. Fun little comparison of what they associate the holidays with.

~

Scout had been warned it would be hot, Sniper had said he lived in one of the hotter parts of Australia. Being confronted with it was entirely something else. It made the New Mexico dessert in summer seem not quite as bad. The AC in their rental car struggled to keep up with it but based off how hot it had been outside during their last stop, it was still a great boon.

Outside the passenger window, the desert rolled by uninterrupted. More red than any desert Scout had seen before, it had been an interesting view at first. After more than an hour of driving though, it was kind of boring. Sniper really had grown up in the middle nowhere, huh? No wonder large gatherings made him uncomfortable. Also how mostly unbothered he’d always been in the heat completely tracked.

“If this is how hot it is here during the winter, I can only guess how much worse it is in the summer. How do you people survive out here in this craziness?” Scout surely wouldn’t have been able to.

Sniper didn’t take his eyes off the road as he replied. “This is summer so this is as bad as it gets. Not that winter’s particularly cold but it’s better.”

“But it’s December so it’s winter.”

“Nah mate, seasons are flipped on this side of the world.”

“That doesn’t make sense. Why would they be flipped?” Though since Scout didn’t know much about how the seasons worked in general, why wouldn’t they be flipped. This was the opposite side of the world so everything could just work the opposite way here.

Sniper shrugged. “Something to do with the angle of the Earth as it spins. I don’t really know. My parents might though so you could ask them when we get there.”

Even if they did explain it, Scout probably wouldn’t understand it, he hadn’t become a mercenary because he’d done particularly well in school after all. This revelation did bring one more bombshell though. “So not only have you never experienced a white Christmas, Christmas is also in the summer time for you?”

“Yep.”

“That ain’t right. Christmas is a winter holiday.” Originally it had celebrated the winter solstice – whatever that was – before everyone randomly decided it was a religious holiday instead – though few people Scout knew treated it like one. So it not being in winter made no sense.

“Christmas in winter don’t feel right to me. It’s a summer holiday.”

“Australia’s weird.”

“Or maybe America’s the one that’s weird.”

It was another one of those ‘matters of perspective’ things that Scout was experiencing more and more since leaving Boston. Befriending so many people from different countries and different walks of life really made the world feel like a much bigger, more diverse place than he ever would’ve imagined. And there were still whole other parts of the world he knew almost nothing about. Scary in a way with how small that made his personal bubble of experience feel but also exciting because maybe one day he’d get to go to some of those places and see them for himself. Or at the very least, if he kept up this line of work he evidently had a good chance of meeting people from such places. Like how he was due to meet Sniper’s parents here real soon.

[musingsbyserena]

Yule 🎄

In the Northern Hemisphere, Yule is December 21st. In the Southern Hemisphere, Yule is June 21st.

Like Samhain, Yule, also known as the winter solstice, is a rather large holiday in the Pagan calendar, but it is also has a large presence across the world. The biggest shadow looming over Yule is, of course, Christmas and Christmas Eve. It's the Christian celebration of Jesus’s birth, but we all know that it’s the Catholic church’s way of shoehorning pagans into celebrating Christmas. Those who are blatantly against the celebration of Christmas celebrate Newtonmas, which is the same basic idea, but in honor of Sir Isaac Newton and science instead. Alternatively, you could join the Festivus gang for people who are fans of Seinfeld. Other holidays include the Jewish Hanukkah, which honors the miracle of lasting oil, the Ancient Saturnalia, a festival for Saturn and the coming of longer days, and Kwanzaa, which is actually a holiday started in America to celebrate African culture and family in much the way Christmas does. There are also a number of other holidays of varying names, and religious backgrounds that all celebrate the same core idea of family, beliefs, the coming of summer, and giving back.

At its heart, the Solstice signals the coming of longer days and shorter nights. In the midst of the dark days of winter, Yule is the promise that it won't last forever  The God has been reborn, and as a symbol of the Sun, he brings a stronger one. A sun that will melt the snow and bring new animal and plant life. Now that the Goddess has ensured the survival of nature, she can rest for the rest of the season. It is a time to celebrate hope and the power of community in surviving the hard times.

Traditional decorations really take the concept of the new sunrise and run with it. Bonfires, candles, Yule logs, and even Christmas lights all come from the same idea of bringing light back into the darkness. You could even be as obvious as hanging sun symbols and using citrus fruit in decor pieces. Pinecones and evergreens are included for the symbolization of being “ever green” and the hope of new life. We’re just looking for the general feeling of life going on through the winter, and bringing the sun back into our lives, also incorporating the standard “Christmas” colors like red, green, gold, silver, or even blue if you want to bring in the cold and snowy element.

[hpdrizzle]

🌈 HP Drizzle Fic 🌧️

☔ The Doe Between Us 

💧 Pairing: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter  💧 General Audiences, 11468  💧 Weather: Rainy, Snowy  ⚡ Warnings/Tags: silver fox?, stag harry, Patronuses, Hogwarts Professors, headteacher harry, Animagus, Animagus Harry Potter, Hogwarts Forbidden Forest, Banter, Camping, Centaurs, Christmas, Boys Kissing, Hogwarts Setting, HP Drizzle Fest 2023, Alcohol, Drinking

☔ Summary: 

Draco's teaching career is taking off alongside his friendship with Harry Potter. The rain that had endured all of summer time turns to snow as the winter solstice comes nearer, and the two of them spend a few chilly nights in the Forbidden Forest.

Read on AO3

[glitter-force-holidays-au]

i'm assuming this is based off of glitter force doki doki so can you make a little fairy baby please

You're right and sure^^

Meet The Solstice-fairy twins, Sunny and Snowy they represent the Winter and Summer solstice

(Yes they are based off of Snow miser and Heat miser a bit)

[junbunetc]

Summer solstice means more time to melt! 🌞 Channel cooler weather by sticking these snowy stickers all over yourself to become a bonafide snowman! ☃️ If it's winter in your country, even better! Show off your weather, and send the postcard to all your summer friends to gloat. ���

[shamandrummer]

Saint Nick the Flying Shaman

Have you ever wondered about the origins of modern Christmas traditions? What is the origin of the Christmas tree, decorations about, and all the brightly wrapped presents beneath? This Christmas, as it's been done for generations, stories of Santa and his reindeer will be told around the world, including tales of how Saint Nick flies around on his sleigh in the middle of the night delivering presents to all the good children while they sleep snug in their beds. Where do these stories come from--and better yet--what are we actually celebrating on Christmas morning?

Although most people see Christmas as a Christian holiday, many of the symbols and icons we associate with Christmas celebrations are actually derived from the shamanic traditions of nomadic reindeer herders in Siberia and the Arctic Circle. John Rush, Ph.D., author of Mushrooms in Christian Art and professor of anthropology at Sierra College in Rocklin, CA., suggests, "Santa is a modern counterpart of a shaman, who consumed mind-altering plants and fungi to commune with the spirit world." He believes the story of Santa and his flying reindeer can be traced to shamans in the Siberian and Arctic regions, where the practices of the Indigenous shamanism have uncanny resemblances to the traditions of Christmas. In particular, the red and white mushroom, Amanita muscaria, is a significant connection between the two. Indigenous shamans would visit locals on the Winter Solstice, an astronomical phenomenon strongly related to modern-day Christmas, with gifts of dried hallucinogenic mushrooms.

According to scholars who study Arctic cultures, Indigenous shamans would pick the Amanita in summer, hanging them to dry on the evergreen trees growing above them. The mushrooms may also be taken inside to dry by the fireplace, leading to comparisons with stockings and a Christmas tree surrounded by red and white parcels. The drying of the mushrooms was one way to remove the toxins found in Amanita muscaria, while increasing the potency of psychedelic compounds. Come late December, on the Winter Solstice, the shaman would gather up the dried Amanitas and make use of the mushroom's psychoactive effects to commune with the spirit world and bring gifts of healing to the families, as they set intentions for the new year. If the hut's doorways were covered in snow, the shaman would enter through an opening in the ceiling.

Upon comparison, the similarities in ancient and modern Christmas traditions are undeniable: a Winter Solstice celebration in the snowy North Pole region where reindeer are prominent, consisting of evergreen trees, fireplaces hung with colorful decorations, rooftop chimney entrances and communal gift-giving. Regardless of where the origin of Santa Claus comes from, Christmas is a time of year for rebirth, inward reflection, setting intentions, gifting to loved ones, communing with family…and perhaps, unknowingly, celebrating a psychedelic mushroom.

[nordictwin]

🖊 + raye, alloy, and foxglove’s favorite holiday and/or season?

Good question!

Foxglove: Foxglove loves winter, which is ironic considering how he's got a feud with them by proxy through Raye. He loves looking over the snowy landscape, knowing that his people have been kept safe and well-fed for another year. His favorite holiday is New Year's, which he welcomes in with a grand feast.

Of course... winter is also a great time for hunting, and Foxglove isn't one to shy away from the temptation to engage in a few wild activities. He is a fae king, after all.

Raye: Raye is fond of summer - another bit of irony, since her entire thing is dancing on ice. And sure, she likes winter as well, but when she starts living in the Labyrinth, she falls in love with spending those long summer days just running around the winding paths and eating apricots to her heart's content.

Before becoming Goblin Queen, her favorite holiday was the Lunar New Year, which she still celebrates as well. After going Underhill, though, she's fallen in love with pretty much all the holidays that involve feasting and dancing. But to name one in particular, she thinks the Summer Solstice in the Goblin Kingdom is absolutely amazing.

Alloy: Alloy, prior to certain events in the story, likes spring for all the new beginnings it brings. Alloy after certain events in the story, however, favors autumn for the same reasons.

His favorite holiday is a secret at the moment, but he also enjoys the Lunar New Year a lot.

[blueberry-gills]

Gill couldn’t make it up the whole mountain. Of course not.

Flakes of ice whirled in his lungs with every breath. His lips dried under the blistering, freezing sun, splitting beneath the dry air. He flexed his fingers, cold and numb. He slipped his hands into his coat’s pockets the best he could, inadvertedly dragging the Drifloon closer to his face. Her rubbery skin bumped softly against his eyelashes. Before him, the water on the Whismur-lite stove bubbled and boiled.

Gill craned her neck to the empty sky. The sky that was supposed to be full of clouds. Sizzle squeaked, nestled in the crux of her jacket’s collar.

This was a disappointment.

She should’ve expected this. Of course she wouldn’t be able to make it up to the peak. Of course the forecast would be wrong. Of course she wouldn’t get to see that stupid dust. Really, she was an idiot if she ever thought otherwise.

He just had to settle with staring into nothing with his skin feeling freezerburnt as a Ghost Pokémon surely drained his lifeforce.

Gill groaned, looking around at the makeshift camp he had set up. Just a chair, his Whismur-lite, and his bag. Nothing special. The bottle of Primeape Energy Rye so “lovingly” gifted him rested on top of the bag, already coated in a light dusting of snow.

…Gill assumed that was from the wind. There wasn’t a cloud in sight.

Anyway.

She leaned forward and pulled the pot full of water off the stove. The steam from it rose up in thick white clumps, the moisture sizzling in the air. With her metal mug in one hand (already full of hot chocolate mix), she carefully poured the water in. The Drifloon didn’t seem to mind being waved around.

“Loooooon.”

Gill was still on the fence on whether the Ghost Pokémon was planning on dragging his soul to the afterlife or not. She was a pretty Pokémon, to be sure- he had never seen a Drifloon be so clingy, too- but. Her tendrils were really starting to dig into Gill’s arm. He absently wondered if she was going to leave scars.

He turned off the stove and leaned back. He absently stirred his hot chocolate with his finger, too tired to reach for his spork in his bag. This worked fine. Even if his hand was getting to the point where the cold and the warmth felt the same. Even if the tip of his finger ended up feeling raw.

…

……

It was quiet up here. Gill lifted her head.

She had found a natural alcove. A hill exacerbated by a snowdrift, angled in such a way that she could only look out over the rest of the mountain. At the snow slopes leading down, down, down, disappearing into greenery and stone below. A few lone pine trees stood guard.

The air was still. The trees’ branches only cracked under the weight of the snow occasionally. The sound of Gill’s jacket rubbing against itself sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Not even the sounds of wild Pokémon permeated the air.

It was quiet.

It was lonely.

…tch.

Isn’t that what she wanted? She scoffed at herself and tilted her mug back. She bit too hard on the metal and she swallowed a clump of dry powder.

She wanted to be alone. She wanted to have this day for herself. She deserved it. No hearing people complain, no trying to cater to anyone else, no judgmental stares, no Susanne, no parents…

Nothing, really.

Gill sighed even louder this time in a desperate attempt to break the silence. The Drifloon glanced at her. Sizzle mumbled in her sleep.

The silence remain undaunted. If anything, it only got worse.

…

Disappointing.

Pathetic, even.

Happy Birthday, Gillian. He’s turning seventeen all alone on top of a fucking mountain, pointlessly freezing to death because he foolishly trusted the weatherman.

Because he couldn’t go to Lental. Because he couldn’t stand on Voluca Island, wishing on shooting Minior as the Sandshrew milled amongst the cacti. Because he didn’t want to spend another celebration sitting in that house.

Because he couldn’t do what he wanted to do, so he had to settle for scraps.

And it didn’t even work out in the end. Gill choked down another sip from her mug.

I bet Susanne’s having a nice day. Back at home, nice and warm. Probably hanging out with Mom and Dad. Waiting in line for Kofu Lounge. Celebrating with her friends, she thought with a rush of envy. Celebrating their little golden girl.

Gill was their golden girl, once. Well. Son. Something something gifted child burn-out.

(…But she wasn’t burnt out. Susanne just started shining brighter, she guessed. Or maybe that day in the desert knocked her down a peg in her parents’ minds.)

(Why was she thinking about her sister? This was supposed to be her day.)

(Some day it was turning out to be.)

This is why she hated being alone.

I should’ve just spent the day in Asado Desert. At least I’d be comfortable there.

But it was too late. She was already up here. She bit the bullet, didn’t like how it tasted, but had to swallow it anyway.

Besides, it could be worse. At least the Drifloon was cute. At least Sizzle felt warm against her neck. At least she got gifts this year. Lots of gifts. From Arven and Drayton and Susanne and even-

Swallowing back the bitter taste of regret, Gill took another draw of her hot chocolate.

(She wasn’t counting Rye’s delivery as anything.)

So. Yeah. She should quit complaining. She was having a good time.

The Drifloon hummed, as soft as the wind.

[edwinspaynes]

this is a really weird ask to send you on christmas day (and with a few of your asks still sitting in my inbox too) but i've just realised we've passed the summer solstice a few days ago and there have been no eggs from pearl, snowy's wife. and she seems healthier and happier when she's not laying so i don't think it's because of a medical issue (though it's nearly impossible to know). so for her birthday in two and a half weeks i thought of throwing her a menopause themed party for being the first of our girls (we've had a lot of complications come up for her older sisters, i don't really want to go into detail) to make it to the end of her egg cycle! do you have any ideas for a menopause themed party? she likes to eat berries if that helps

Lots of berries, then! Maybe little berry pies or something if there's some kind of crust or seed that she likes eating. That's really nice that she's more comfortable now that she's not laying eggs. Maybe you could play her music lol

[tencrowns]

An American Witch’s Herbal: Burning Bush

Euonymus alatus

Common Names:     Burning Bush, Winged Spindle, Gui Jian Yu

Type:     Deciduous Shrub

Element:     Fire

Botanical Family:     Celastraceae

Region of Origin:     Northern and Central China, Korea, Japan

Euonymus from either Latin euonymus (a kind of tree growing in Lesbos) or Greek euonumos (of good name), and so may be associated with Euonyme, mother of the Furies in Greek myth. (Other versions may have the Furies as the daughters of Hades and Persephone, or as having sprung from the blood of Uranus when Cronus castrated him.) The specific name alatus (winged) from Latin.

Growth and Care

Burning bush has been a very popular landscaping shrub in the Eastern half of the US for a number of reasons. It’s considered cold hardy from zones 4-8 and makes an attractive hedge that helps prevent roadside erosion, but has been known to become invasive, spreading both by seed and pushing up suckers from their root systems. They require no special care, and thrive easily in full or partial sun, growing to a height of 9 feet if left unpruned, though some cultivars are slow growers. They put out a small flower and berry in late spring and early summer, but the real draw of this shrub is the bright red tones its foliage takes on in the autumn. 

It should also be noted that burning bush is toxic (berries and other parts of the plant as well) and so are best avoided wherever there are livestock, pets or children left unsupervised. Its sale has been prohibited in a few states.

General Use

In traditional Chinese medicine, it has been used promote menstruation, reduce swelling, and kill insects and parasites. As all parts of this shrub are toxic to humans when ingested, I do not recommend internal use or use of the wood to make implements that will come in contact with food.

In the same genus as the European spindle tree, it also has a creamy, smoothly grained wood that is good for carving small objects like skewers and knitting needles. As a point of fact, my first wand came from a broken burning bush stem wrapped in copper wire: my freshman year of college, taking some major strides into my personal practice, I was dashing to class on a snowy February day. The area along the sidewalk of my dorm building was landscaped with burning bush--they’d been a vibrant, electric red in October but now stood bare, and even though I was in a hurry as I was running late, a sudden sound and movement caught my eye. Down at the base of the row sat the first robin I’d seen for the year, chirping at me as it stood on a slim, broken stem and flew off as soon as it seemed to have realized I was looking at it. Acting on reflex, I picked up the broken stick, tearing the last shred of bark holding it to its shrub, stuffed it in my pack and took it with me. It wasn’t until later in the day that I realized it was February 2nd--Imbolc, Candlemas, or however you prefer to call it. It is the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.

The smooth grain is good for producing tools used in fiber arts so that threads and fibers don’t snag on rough spots or splinters--items like spinning spindles, bobbins, looms and knitting needles, hence the spindle tree's name. The twigs also make an excellent charcoal for drawing.

Symbolic and Magical Uses

Although not technically the same as the European spindle (Euonymus europaeus) which features in some versions of the Celtic ogham system, they are sibling plants, and it maintains many of the same qualities that made it culturally significant, and so can be substituted for spindle in spells and formulae that call for it.

This shrub may also be used in dedication to those spirits that focus on fiber arts (off the top of my head, the Moirai, Athena, Frigg, Neith and Mokosh--there are many other with whom I am unfamiliar, depending on your personal path and practice). The creation of cloth was an incredibly important and widespread aspect of human civilization, so no matter what your path, there are likely to be myths and stories that involve this sort of work.

In my research, I also found a small consensus of symbolism in this plant that calls on us to fulfill our obligations. If you squint a bit, I think that this can related back to Euonymus and her daughters. The Furies or Erinyes were minor goddesses who punished wrongdoing, especially for offenses committed against family members. One of their euphemistic names was also the Eumenides, which can be roughly translated to "The Well-Meaning Ones," or "The Kindly Ones," an epithet which readers of Neil Gaiman's Sandman series may be familiar with. If these are entities one works with, then I think you could easily see your way to using this plant in rituals designed to invoke the Furies, or at least to connect with their mother to intervene with them on one's own behalf. I would, however, make sure that you yourself are blameless and in appropriate behavior in whatever altercation you seek to have them punish--I certainly would not want to invoke the Furies for petty matters or draw attention to myself if I held responsibility for some wrongdoing.

[stellae-de-baphometis]

❅ Hymn To Krampus ❅

Mighty Father Krampus, fierce ruler of the Winter and Summer Solstices. He who weeds out discord and chaos to restore peace and harmony in times of despair. We honour you and the blessings you have rained upon us. He is the one who punishes the wicked, and shields the innocent and vulnerable from their poison. He swallows the venom of the cruel and spits it back in their face, reaping the wickedness out of their soul and sowing order where there once was chaos, fitting them for the festive season. Mighty goat of the snowy tundra, he who brings swift justice to the rightful, lest they needlessly spit their venom once more… Krampus shall whip them into shape, while showering merriness and joy upon the rightful and the deserving. Amen.

Wrote this sometime around the Summer Solstice (I live in the Southern Hemisphere lol). Thought I'd share it here. Xx

[boarseye]

Local Ecology Calendar- Part 1: Weather

Devo, a Kemetic (that is Egyptian polytheist!) made a great guide to making a calendar based on one's local ecology. It can be used for any cultural focus.

Creating a Calendar Based on Local Ecology: Gathering Information

Building the Backbone of Your Calendar: Weather Analysis

Satsekhem (another Kemetic's) blog post about the backbone

From Devo's page:

Rain patterns: do you have a rainy or snowy season? When is it? Does your rain or snow typically come from a particular direction or location?

Here are the average weather statistics in Minneapolis from 2010 thru 2022, as measured at the MSP Airport weather station

January- coldest, cloudiest month

February- driest month

4 March- colder season ends, rain (alone) season begins

20th/21st- Spring Equinox

10 April- wetter season begins

22 May- warmer season begins

June- rainiest & sunniest month (lots of rainbows for Pride month!)

21st- Summer Solstice

July- hottest, muggiest month

17 Sept- warmer season ends,

20th/21st- Autumn Equinox

4 Oct- drier season begins

26 Nov- colder season begins, 28 snow (alone) season begins

December- snowiest month

20th/21st- Winter Solstice