Fjórtándablót Yule 14 • Epli Iðunna

WÆS HÆL! It’s almost time, Yulies – and the second year in a row we can do this on true solstice! Winter traditions old and new, with all of your eldritch friends, romping and chomping and sharing wassail until dawn, including a fleet of new handmade ciders beyond anything you’ve seen before.

PLEASE NOTE OUR UPDATED REQUESTS THIS YEAR FOR NEW GUESTS OR FRIENDS YOU MIGHT BRING.

Our annual Yule gathering is a strange and magnificent costume party, where Xtián and I spoil our guests (you!) with decadence and cheer to warm hearts on the longest night, MUCH better than Christmas ever will – and where magic both silly and solemn abounds.

As per tradition, please arrive bedecked in your finest Yule garb, whether your inspiration comes from pagan style, Norse mythology, forest spirits, “Where the Wild Things Are”, furry beasts, Narnia, or just your weird and wintery imagination. We expect to see you in your velvet robes and (faux) fur; your antlers and your icicles; your flower-wreaths and ram-horns; your crystals, twigs, and feathers — and the more outlandish, the better! Try searching for pictures of Busójárás, Koliada, Perchten, Kukeri, Mummers, Malanka, and Romanian Capra for inspiration.

Whatever your transformation, you will come as YOUR OWN TRUE SELF… the one that is ONLY REVEALED at YULE.

Well-mannered and supervised kids are always welcome (they love it) and please bring drinks and beverages of all kinds, but NO FOOD — the traditional feast of unheard-of Nordic miracles will be provided by your loving hosts.

Also per tradition, our effigy Julbock (yule goat!) will be solemnly burned sometime after 10 pm, before we ramp-up the music and re-stoke the warmth of the outdoor fires that often burn until dawn, for the most committed Yulies!

Generally we allow invited guests to bring a friend or two, or a family member or two — and every year more Yulies join the “cult” to crash the party — but things have flown off the rails a bit in recent years, and we want to keep everyone happy and safe. PLEASE FIRST CHECK-IN with Manda or Xtián to declare any extra people you would like to bring along, so that we’ll know who and what to expect. Then introduce your companions to us formally when you arrive, so that we may both bless and welcome them to the family. This is a gathering of friends in a private home, so we try to avoid an “open invitation” free-for-all that could risk getting a wee bit out of hand… which is already starting to happen.

PLEASE GET IN TOUCH IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SERVE A BRIEF “SHIFT” AS A YULE GUARDIAN THAT NIGHT. Quoting J.D. Salinger: “I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody’s around – nobody big, I mean – except me. And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff – I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye…”

If you’d like, you may bring A SACRIFICE to give away during the night (a personal possession that is precious to you and has a good personal story attached to it; but is something that you are now ready to let-go of, and gift to another keeper.) In recognition of the enormous size that this once-humble gathering has become, all exchanges of SACRIFICES will be casual and private at your own pace and time during the night. Find your costumed recipient… tell them your story… and pass it along in mutual gratitude.

By popular demand (and to perpetuate the neighborhood legend), we will repeat our annual practice of the BEASTLY WAIL. In the weeks and days before this event, you must learn and practice mimicking the night-calls of TWO different animals that are native to our local forests. The two animal calls you will learn are determined by your birthday. One of your assigned animals corresponds to your birth month; the other corresponds to your birth date. Below is the list of all assignments, with some links to recordings that might help you practice. For example, if your birthday is June 9th or 10th, your assignment is to learn and practice mimicking the night-calls of the red fox (for June) and the spadefoot toad (for 9/10). The purpose of all this will be clear around the time we burn the goat. WÆS HÆL!

Here is the list, with some links to assist you: