For the upcoming new year I bundled rosemary for purification and protection, thyme for healing, cinnamon stick for success, and orange for divination, happiness and love. We wrote our hopes for the new year on a little piece of paper and tucked it into the bundle then burned them in the new year fire. It smelled lovely.

I didn’t realize you could make a candle just using oil. Any oil. We made Yule candles with jars filled with evergreens, berries, pinecones, and mushrooms we gathered in the woods. Added some citrus slices. I took the tip off of a lemon and slipped a little piece of cotton wick into a slit in the lemon. Filled the jar with olive oil because that’s what was on hand. The wick’s crackled nicely because of the moisture from the lemons. I’ve also seen people just fill an orange peel with oil to burn. I’m a little afraid that would tip over easily and make a mess. But it looks pretty and smells great.

For New Years Eve I took 12 gold candles and placed them on 12 coins for good luck for the next 12 months. At midnight our granddaughter blew out each of the candles one at a time. Once again I had rosemary, thyme, cinnamon and orange. I found this custom by reading through all the customs from different countries. I picked the one that resonated with me.

For a little bonus here’s the info for a New Year’s Spell Jar from @LosilleWitch on Instagram. They have lots of posts with spell jars and rituals for the holidays.