Issue 2: December 2025

The Awen Gazette
Solstice & Yule Edition
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My Dear Folk of Awen....
Hello & Welcome
to the second eition of the much anticipated
‘The Magical Awen Gazette’...
“Hello my Darklings, Wilhelmina Catnip here, Editor in Chief of the one and only Awen Gazette. How exciting, here we are again and already into our second edition, hasn’t that flown around quickly! But have no fear, just as before, I will continue to be your host on this exquisite rollercoaster & literary extravaganza of ours.

Well I don’t know about you, but it really has been a busy month. No sooner have all of the Samhain rites been done & dusted and we are straight into the Yule, Solstice Festive period. But regardless of how cold and dark it is had been, the Sun will return, not long now. However, it must be said that my cauldron has been in over drive brewing cough, cold & flu remedies...I cannot recommend the magical and medicinal properties off coltsfoot enough mixed, of course, with a few other magical ingredients.

I hope we will see some of you out and about at the seasonal Frost Fayres and Wytches Markets that are happening up and down the Isle of the Mighty. Dates for your diaries are The Mistletoe Rite, which will be held for the first time in 2yrs, on 20th Dec at the Orchard at Tanhouse Farm. Further details will follow in coming days & weeks. Also don’t forget the Wytches Market in Glastonbury on the 6th Dec.

Be safe out there if you are travelling especially considering the time of year. More to the point have you made sure your brooms have been serviced? There is nothing worse than your broom stalling, icing up and you freezing your magical bits off whilst falling... Take it from a Witch that knows!

Anyways enjoy the read, have a wonderful Yule, Solstice & Festive time.. Remember to grease/protect your lips if you are going to indulge with the kissing fad, more than normal under the Mistletoe, I tell my students this every year, but nobody ever listens and then they moan when their lips crust over and start to fall off... Just saying..Prevention is better than cure....

Magical Sparkly Sprinkles and the Blessings of the Breath of Life to one & all
Magically Yours

Wilhelmina Catnip
Precious Pixie Corner

Do you have a problem that you need help with? Magical, Esoteric or personal.. Our very own Vagina Buttercup is here to answer all.....So don’t be shy, you can email, Whatsapp or private message on Facebook Messenger.

Due to the uncertain times we live in, the Ministry of Magic has asked that we relay the following. “Vagina Buttercup, is famously known and identifies as a Witch & Druid of this and many other realms. She is a long time resident of a little known & much hidden place called Magpie Bottom and has spent lifetimes working with troubled Witches, Wizards, Druids and all manner of magical folk. The disclaimer here at the Gazette requires that we are open & transparent in ensuring that the reader is aware that they at all times are responsible for their own problems and dilemmas that should/might/will occur as a consequence of existing! Personal responsibility is the name of the game and at all times remains with the Witch, wizard, Druid or other magical folk of concern. Vagina Buttercup is here to support & provide the most excellent guidance and advice. T & C’s apply please remember to always ask permission from your responsible magical adult as we do not condone the use of rose tinted specs when reading or submitting anything for our attention!

Thank you for your understanding.”

“Hello and welcome back to this edition of ‘Precious Pixie Corner. As previously shared with you all, I am Vagina Buttercup and I am thrilled and delighted to have been invited to be the Gazettes Magical Agony Aunt...Such an honour... Lets get straight to it... As I always say a Problem shared is a problem halved...

This month’s question has been bravely submitted by ‘BW’. It’s a heart wrenching one that sadly is all too familiar to those of us who know what it means to walk to our own drum beat. So let’s see if we can help, here is her question....“

“Dear Vagina Buttercup,

I have small problem. As a BoneWitch and collector of all things deceased, I’m finding that people are somewhat nervous of me. I think they’re scared that I am sizing them up for my next skull-on-a-stick project. I’ve tried reassuring them with a friendly smile but that seems to make things worse (I think it’s the fangs). How can I make friends more easily and not scare folk into thinking I’m going to peel them?

BWx

My dearest BW...

Goodness me this is a sad case is it not, I sympathise whole-heartedly about how difficult it can be these days, especially if you are a dedicated practitioner of what I like to call one of the... ‘Heritage Crafts’! As a consequence you have chosen a lonely, withering and shrivelling path my dear, not to mention smelly.

It never used to be so of course, dedicated temple space, incense, offerings and reverence was once the expectation of someone in your profession. Ahhh, the good old days, but for the most part those days are now well and truly gone..... Well for the time being!

It is a fact of life, is it not, that people can sadly be so judgmental and if I might say, terribly shallow. It cannot be denied that your craft is terribly misunderstood and the fear experienced by others is definitely, in my opinion exaggerated, if not completely unfounded. But don’t lose heart (unless it’s already in a pickling jar) or give up hope just yet...

You mentioned your smile not conforming to the prescribed social norms. I understand fangs are considered as being so last century re the fashionarty of our community, but for the love of all things sparkly, we are NOT muggles here! So I say wear your fangs with pride, they are a natural part of who you are. Having an ugly and frightful smile is a surface issue and does not necessarily make you a horrible or unlovable person. It doesn’t help, I accept, but I always find that a sense of humour helps enormously.

Perhaps a visit to a good dentist, clean those fangs up, remove any old trapped food from them and then I am sure, given time, you will be able to smile with more confidence.

If others have a problem with your looks, that says more about them, than you. However, and only if it helps, try a wide brimmed hat that puts your face in shade and if that fails a highly decorated bag that fits over all of your head (ensuring you have cut the appropriate holes so that you can see and breathe). I mean to say at this point, I would say anything is worth a try don’t you think? Of course you could decide to only come out in public during the dark of the Moon. That at least might ensure that you are not lit by any form of light, giving the people with whom you are trying to get acquainted a chance to get to know you first.

So there you have it, my dear, don’t give up on friendship and or Love. Get out there and expose your fangstastic smile, be loud and proud. Join a club and learn to love yourself before expecting anyone else to. Hang your bones in pride of place as an expression of who you are, make sure to wash the blood and guts off , smudge and Febreze the begebees out of yourself and I don’t think you will go far wrong.”

So there you have it, thank you all for joining me as together we have traversed BWs problem shared moment. As always please do feel free to email me at spiritofawen@btinternet.com with all or any of your questions, queries, and magical problems. I will look forward to hearing from you. Make sure you mark your email FAO V.Buttercup, Precious Pixie corner... Until next Month.

Until next Month

Seasonal Blessings

V.Buttercup.
Threat of The Month!
(Invocation or Evocation....You Decide)

As you will see, normal service has resumed. This Month’s Threat of the Month has come via the dulcet and potty mouth tones of one half of Awen’s very own terribly Magical & Cosmic ‘The Dangerous Sisters’. We would like to take this opportunity to send our most sincere thanks to the one & only ‘Ms CRW Frog’.

“Retrograde....Yes We Know 😱...DON’T encourage it. Don’t even look at it. Throw it a sacrifice and carry on regardless. (Appropriate sacrifice list is available from De-Management – Please ask)”

THREAT
Tittle Tattle Nook
Well welcome to Tittle Tattle Nook... A little place of potential naughtiness...A little gossip corner as a bit of light relief and medicine for the soul.

We promise to never divulge our sources, nor will we ever say what is fact, truth and what is absolutely made up..Ha,ha... Obviously most will be made up... Or will it???.... Oh come on...really..what did you think we were going to do here?...But just maybe there is a grain of truth & sometimes a lot of truth in everything and anything written... The Choice dear reader is up to you to decide what you want to believe and what you do not... We feel like we need to have one of these disclaimers that somebody reads out ridiculously fast at the end of an advert.. You know the Terms and Conditions etc, etc.. Readers own discretion etc, no magical workers were harmed in the creation of this article etc., you get the picture..So read on dear reader at your own discretion and enjoy!” ,

Welcome once again to this little Nook of loveliness... pull up a comfy chair, or snuggle on the sofa and lets share a few care free moments together as we traverse the nonsensical terrain of Tittle-Tattle.

First order of news that has come across the desk is the worrying statistics of how many magical folk are being killed and eaten by wild bears. It’s hard to believe I know. However, we are living in a time where some believe that they can and should have the right to do and be everything and anything that they want. This it would seem, includes having wild animals as their best friends, regardless of what the animals in question might want or even understand.

From the scant reports that are now beginning to come in, it would seem that a lot of individuals from our world now believe that all animals are cute and fluffy and just want to be their friends. We are led to believe, that this is not an isolated incident but something that appears to be sweeping our world.

The powers that be, overseeing this phenomenon have now labelled it an epidemic, officially naming it ‘The Snow white Syndrome’. Which should not, of course, be mistaken for the ‘Little Mermaid’ epidemic of a few years ago, where by people believed that they could suddenly grow a fish tail and live under water. Few will need reminding of the chaos that caused, nor the damage to the sea beds due to the sheer volume of faux mermaids flapping around as they were being rescued so that they did not drown. It was quite the scandal at the time.

It is hoped, we are told, that a spell will be developed in the not too distant future that will ensure brain cells are reactivated, common sense and basic survival instincts are reintroduced, with the hope that this will be enough to immunise against such stupidity and reckless behaviour in the future. Here at the Nook, if we are being honest, are not sure there are enough spells in the world to deal with that kind of stupid. We will, obviously, keep you all updated on this matter as and when new information becomes available. In the mean time a go-fund-me has been set up to provide the bears with the necessary therapy they need to move forward from, what for them, has been expressed as a harrowing experience..

In other much brighter news, it has been whispered to me from a source close to the story, a much anticipated YouTube channel is expected to launch in the New Year. ‘The Magical Us Company Of Wyches’, we are told, will be delighting the masses with laughter, stories, ‘old school’ magical technique and knowhow and attempting to debunk stuff & nonsense whilst preserving their own ‘Heritage Craft’! There will be talks, workshops and tutorials, so it its hope a little something for everyone. Again we will keep you posted,

So there you have it for this edition, but please do get in touch with your tip bits, your tittle tattle.. I will never divulge a source.. honest...You are completely safe with me... Email spiritofawen@btinternet.com also ensure to address it to Awen gazette Tittle- Tattle Nook. We will look forward to hearing from you all..

Have a wonderful Solstice, Yule & Christmas

Until next time

Blessings from The Nook...
Women’s New Moon online Meet Up
Save the Dates... 8pm on 22nd December 2025

Welcome to this month’s New Moon update. I will once again be hosting the second of our face-face on line WhatsApp New Moon Group. Last month was brilliant, so relieved that it all worked and such a joy to see everyone’s faces and have a laugh.

Several suggestions have been put forward, ie, having a designated topic, or person giving a short talk/ sharing their magic, know-how and experience etc. I would like to second these ideas; I think it absolutely fab and also a wonderful opportunity for us to learn more about each other and celebrating the extraordinary women that make up our number.

This will still be a place where we will be able to talk craft, ritual, seasonal and of course all thing moon. I hope it will become a place of sharing, laughter and being. Please don’t worry if you missed us last month, we hope to see you on the 22nd. Feel free to be sitting in your PJs (we all were last time!) perhaps this time with a glass of something bubbly or a glass of sacred Juniper Juice (Gin!) even.. Tis the season after all...Anyway bring your lovely selves, wear whatever you want and drink what every you like, we will be just happy to see your smiling faces.

The sessions will last approximately 45 mins – 1 hr and all who are interested will need to WhatsApp me and join the community via this direct link. I really hope you will be able to join me for what I hope will become something quite special.

So don’t forget to press the link if you are interested and I look forward to seeing you all on the 22nd at 8pm

Michelle xx

Spirit of Awen Camp
News & Updates
Save the Dates... 31st July – 9th August 2026
Where we will all be working with the Wisdom, Magic and Spirit of Heron.
TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW... Don’t miss out!

Since we last spoke I can confirm that all of the Awen Elves have been hard at it securing fabulous workshops & talks for next year’s camps. As already reported several of our favourites have confirmed, like Damh The Bard, Crow, Dan the Blacksmith and quite a few others. But we can now add, the magical Fanny Bah to that number and we have all fingers & toes crossed Carolyn Hillier & Nigel Shaw will also join us on the field, but we will let you know once that has been confirmed. We are slightly behind with updating the website re workshops, talks & music, so bear will us, winter ailments have played havoc with everything, hopefully we will be back on track ASAP!

And don’t forget there are three ways to pay for your Awen tickets, either in full, via the website, or contact us if you would like to pay Direct Bank Transfer, or if you would like to pay in instalments. We are happy with all and any of these modes of payment.

Awen site planning meetings are hopefully due to go ahead in the New Year; we will keep you posted on those. But in the meantime there will be, I promise, a continuation of exciting cunning plans being hatched and plotted in the usual and expected fashion. However, if you have any thoughts & ideas that you would like to see at Awen next year do let us know, we always value input, fresh ideas & prospectus. We can’t promise they will all be included, but you never know some just might!

I thought it might be of interest if we share some of how we come to know the theme/thread and focus of each camp. The Awen Ritual preparations, as you might gather, by the very nature of Awen Rituals, take a year to manifest and organise in their full glory. But the initial concept can make itself known in many different ways. For example Heron, made itself known in the opening ritual fire of 2024 year of the Snake

Fire Heron

So why did we not have heron for 2025 instead of Stag, you might be asking. Well that is because we already knew that 2024 would be the year of the Snake before we moved to Walter’s land. Adders had been seen, and we were shedding a metaphorical and actual skin in moving sites. It was about letting go and allowing growth, so all good there.

But when we visited the new site to start set up for camp, a huge antlered stag appeared up on top of the 13 Oaks Mound. It was huge, it did not move it stayed and stared down at us for quite some time. As set up continued over the coming days younger stags and deer were seen in the wheat field usually in groups of three, just standing, watching us as we worked.

There were a few other indications which involved, what was happening globally, communally and personally. But all indicators and omens were shown well before the opening fire of the 2024 camp and long before the camp had even begun. Basically it was impossible to not notice that we were being guided and told by the powers that be, the ancestors & spirit of place, that Spirit of Stag would be the camp for 2025.

SO you can imagine that when the Heron appeared in the opening fire of that camp in such a dramatic way and then several of us saw Herons flying over the camp at various times over the following days ( which is very unusual), well I think you might be getting the picture, we knew that we would be honouring the Spirit of Heron in the 2026 Spirit of Awen Camp.

So there you have it Magical Folk of Awen, I will leave it here for this edition. I promise to continue the updates and keep you all in the magical info loop, if and when we have news to share. Have a wonderful and Magical Yule, Solstice & Christmas

Michelle x
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The Mistletoe Rite, Solstice & Yule
The Return
of the Sun
Samhain Ancestors

As the New Moon approaches on the 20th Dec, the Mistletoe Rite will be upon us and ushering in Solstice & Yule this year. The Mistletoe, the Heal All, the Seed of the Sacred Masculine, once it has been cut it must never touch the ground as it represents all that resides between the worlds. We take the Mistletoe Bough into our homes to ward off and to absorb bad luck, which as the year proceeds will turn it golden. We Ritually Kiss under the Mistletoe representing the breath of life given. At the same time The Solstice will mark the longest night and the turning of the wheel from the dark time of the year calling for the return of the light...After three days slowly the Sun will begin to rise again and our days will start to lengthen. But until that time we will continue to keep the fires burning brightly as the blanket of the Mother of Winter remains around our shoulders.

*Don’t forget to Burn the old Golden Bough of old Mistletoe & Bring in the new.

*Decorate your home & altar with Seasonal Greenery, reminding us that life continues even when all around seems to have been died back.

*Bring in and light the Yule log as we call for the Sun to return

*Leave offerings for the Ancestors, Spirits of Place, Nuts, a drop of Mulled Cider

Divination Alley
Rune, Tarot & Ogham for the month
This is a general reading of universal energy for the coming month.
Tarot, Rune and Ogham cards
Tarot: The Seven of Shields

How lovely, as we enter the festive season to have pulled this card. For many this year has been difficult, a bit of a slog. However, the Seven of Shields reminds us that we have actually achieved more than we realise, even if at times we can’t see it, or it has manifested in the ways differing from our originally aspirations. This card reminds us that we need to strive for perhaps a little more balance and perspective in our lives this month, remembering to enjoy what we have, what we have already worked for, accumulated and achieved. Basically take a breather this month and try to enjoy yourself. Celebrate, party and embrace family and friends. In short look around you and see the true wealth that you have already amassed, this is the month for reaping the benefits of all your hard work.

Rune: Thorn

Thorn, in this instance, is the stone of personal protection. It is important this month to ensure that you create your own personal space, which can mean from both an external and/or internal prospective, particularly during the festive season. Situations that might pull us into dramas, emotional situations that can overload or over whelm us, are definitely something that we might want to avoid. Thorn reminds us that this month there is an important need to manage and protect our energies. This might mean allowing ourselves to retreat as and when required, thus holding less helpful or damaging energies at bay. However, Thorn is non aggressive but proactive in its protection so this is a perfect runic energy for protecting and looking after yourself. When we read in conjunction with the Seven of Shields, the energies indicate that its important to allow yourself to stop, rest have a breather, enjoy the season in whatever way works for you. Make sure that you avoid unnecessary conflict and dramas wherever possible and recharge your batteries as and when you need to, then Thorn will work its magic and provide a protective cover to see you through this next month.

Ogham: Coll, the Hazel

Interestingly the residual energies of last month’s Yew haven’t quite played itself out yet. The Yew Ogham fell from the deck before I had even begun! But my intent had not been set nor had I started my focus for this coming month of December. Once I had it was Coll: The Hazel that made itself known. A beautiful Ogham that represents the wisdom and magic held within and of course that of wisdom sought. Interestingly Hazel is usually associated with the Salmon of Wisdom, which of course always swim against the tide and upstream ensuring that they can mate and staying true to themselves.

But in this instance, especially with the Rune Thorn and the Tarot Seven of shields in play, this is a joyous time not a time of hard work. I think the message also highlights the need to do what feels right, listening to yourself, your body and your intuition. Say away from situations that you know will stress you and avoid getting dragged into other people’s dramas. Don’t ignore your own wisdom and understanding of situations. Allow yourself time to find ‘You’ time. But don’t dismiss what is around you and any relevant opportunities. Try to Enjoy as much of this coming month as you can, recognising that this is a time to be yourself and enjoy all that you have achieved thus far and know that there will be time this coming month to look at what comes next and to start to plan your next move.