Well, that time is almost upon us again isn’t it? I’m often told I’m miserable this time of year, and yes, I am. I have absolutely no idea what this time is about. Though I’m pagan, or more accurately Kemetic, in previous years I’ve felt no connection with this time of the year, in fact I loath it. Why? I don’t mind the dark or the cold as such, but the short days seem to wear me down quite a bit and I long for the sun’s return.

My year (in a complicated way) starts at mid-summer, and for me this is the half way and lowest point for me. I mourn its loss and hope for the return of longer days and to see that glowing ball in the sky. Every morning on my way to work the past few months I’ve seen less and less of the sun and that makes me sad.

I don’t understand the pagan festival of Yule and this year, for the second year, I will mark it with friends in a our groups, but the festival as such means little to me. I care only about the companionship. That means more to me than any season change.

My family of course will celebrate Christmas as my wife is Christian and that is fair enough, I don’t get it so I will tag along and as a way to include my path such as it is we will have a Yule meal to mark it. Again I will have little feelings for the festival and only for the family connection.

That has been my annual routine for more than two decades: I hide and hope the sun comes back.

This year though there will be something different which is due to significant changes in my Kemetic practices. Tomorrow (Friday 16th) I begin a Kemetic festival period which I think ends around Boxing Day.  The festival is something I found in the last few months and is called ‘Festival of The Ten Dead Deities of Dendera’. A right mouthful and not as depressing as it sounds actually.

More to come as that one unfolds as this is the first go, and at least I have a number of days to work out what I need to do – mostly its just offerings of food and water to them. Those deities are connected with the creation stories and sit quite deeply at the early aspects of my Kemetic path.

Time will tell if it works out and get me more ‘in the festive mood’ like everyone else, now that I have something to look forward to! 🙂

So the rest of you have a happy whatever, I’m off to toast some dead deities. TTFN.

Kev