Finding Cheer with Poinsettia
An end of season gift for the season of giving
HAIL POINSETTIA, Euphorbia pulcherrima, Christmas Star, Fire on the Mountain, Keeper of winter cheer! Model for me the need for darkness; the reminder that times of gloom build strengths that make the good days brighter. Revel with me in moments of festivities, catching the happiness of food shared with friends, of laughter around the fire, and of cherished gift giving. I am joy. Life is joyful. I call it in. I call it in. Hail and Welcome!
Thank You
In gratitude for all the support for INVOKED this issue of 52 Petals is available for everyone for free.
You can find the full issue, as well as a download for the Poinsettia Booklet below. Normally the full zine is behind a paywall, but for my last newsletter of 2024 I wanted to spread the magick of the Khaleidoscope Zine Library with everyone.
Poinsettia is an ally for merriment and mirth
My vision board for the last couple months said prominently House of Mirth at the top. A goal of mine lately has been to catch more joy and more merriment, especially at home. To that end, sharing Poinsettia here on INVOKED today seemed the obvious choice as Poinsettia is a flower for cultivating JOY.
In this newsletter I have a gathering of things that brought me joy this year, and a joy poem that I made with the words pools from this month's Digital Goodies - Image and Word Pools for Art Visioning on Patreon.
Join me this Sunday for a Final Vision Board Session of the Year for the New Moon in Capricorn.
No experience is necessary. No art skills are necessary. And if you aren’t sure about materials show up and brainstorm with me, and I’m sure we will find something for you to create with in your space or you can use the goodies from this month's Khindness Digital Download on Patreon.
Composing a Poem for Joy with Poinsettia
Joy can be fleeting if we don’t make an effort to catalogue its presence in our life. What we give attention to grows, and so composing a Joy Poem can help anchor happiness in life.
Poinsettia is a flower steeped in the magick of pleasure and happiness. The stimulating red leaves, bursting vibrantly after the dark, are a beautiful blessing. The sight is a remedy for tender hearts and hard days. In folklore, Poinsettia arrives miraculously to bring joy into the lives of those who may be suffering.
Cultivate your own miraculous joy through words and attention. I invite you to write a joy poem every day for a certain period of time or to write one poem that you read every morning, playing attention to how it feels in your heart and body to center into your own words of happiness again and again. Invoke Poinsettia and let this exercise be a fun meditation. Blessed Be!
I am most joyful when…
Happiness feels like…
I rejoice in my…
A memory of delight I cherish…
I don't know if I wrote it intentionally or if it is an inspiring typo but I love the idea of playing attention to offered above. My intention is to read this poem everyday for the next twelve days, to bolster my spirit and attune to more joy in the coming year. I wrote this poem with the found words in the word pools I made for my Patrons on Patreon this month. Making the word pools was another source of joy!
I am most joyful when…
a beloved circle of friends
who love the earth and seek
come tumbling in the cosmic stream
Happiness feels like…
Fresh-squeezed
flowing
rituals
I rejoice in my…
creative
FORGE
A memory of delight I cherish…
Hand in hand
nurturing touch, a mother's touch
a small planet in play all brilliant MAGIC
"In joy or sadness, flowers are our constant friends." -Okakura Kakuzo.
Cross Pollination- Sources of Joy gathered throughout the year:
Since my son was born one of my personal incantations has been there is plenty of time. Whenever the overwhelm begins to set in, or the fomo bubbles up, or the postpartum gloom descends I chant or write or sing there is plenty of time. Since reading this article about Saint Rosalia back in March i've been contemplating a longer time span for success and offerings. We can't always know how our story will evolve and influence and continue to offer joy to those who come after us. There is plenty of time…
Journaling has been a constant sanctuary for joy this year. Both writing, and revisiting old entries, has filled my cup. I don't currently journal everyday, but I am plotting how to better track my days and moods and thoughts. Some journaling resources that greatly influenced my journaling include The Dream Arc, Moon Lists, and Life's Companion: Journal Writing as a Spiritual Practice.
Belly Dancing is a joyful blessing in my life. Practicing each week with the amazing ladies my troupe is a fun way to move my body and I also adore performing. My favorite performances this year were at the Loveland Medieval Festival, Loveland Pagan Festival, and the Boulder Parade of Lights. Check out some of our performance videos if you are curious to see the joy in action.
At Solstice I spoke a prayer for a honey soft heart and have been reflecting on the wonder of Bees as more-than-human teachers for being in community and building beautiful futures.
I also was stirred up by this podcast on Thrutopia and these musings on Thrutopia, and in general the idea of Thrutopia broadly. I am curious to play with bees as messengers to a way through to brighter possibilities.
"What are desperately needed, but as yet barely exist, are what I term thrutopias . Thrutopias would be about how to get from here to there, where 'there' is far far away in time. How to live and love and vision and carve out a future, through pressed times that will endure. The climate crisis is going to be a long emergency, probably lasting hundreds of years. It is useless to fantasize a shining sheer escape from it to utopia. But it's similarly useless, dangerously defeatist, to wallow around in dystopias. We need ways of seeing, understanding, inhabiting, creating what will be needed for the very long haul. Visioning the politics and ecology of getting through." -Rupert Read
Please enjoy this free issue of 52 Petals: POINSETTIA Thank you for supporting INVOKED and the Khaleidoscope Zine Archive.
In this issue:
Joy Poem Magick
Poinsettia Color Spells
History of Poinsettia
52 Petals Issue XLIX: POINSETTIA
2/24/21 Dear Flower Lover,
As I am writing this week’s zine I have just returned from traveling to Brazil. It was my first time south of the Equator and it was quite shocking to teleport between winter cold, to summer sun, and back again. Summer in December was such a shift in orientation, however it made the magick of tropical Poinsettia, December’s flower, seem more sensible. Today Poinsettia is practically synonymous with Christmas, due to a Mexican legend that popularized the flower in nativity scenes. The majority of Poinsettia are cultivated and sold in the six weeks before the holiday!
Regardless of your spiritual orientation, Poinsettia is an ally for merriment and mirth, as well as regeneration for any time of the year. The scientific name for Poinsettia translate roughly to Beautiful Medicine so with that in mind let’s spiral into the magick of Poinsettia today.
Blessing to you dearest reader,
Artwitch & Pollinatrix Khiri Lee
A Meaning for Every Color
Almost every flower has a secret meaning based on its color. This tradition was popularized by the Victorians in England, and continues to influence the landscape of flower gifting today. The colorful part of the plant are actually special leaves called bracts, whereas the flower is the small yellow part in the middle.
Red- The Aztecs used Red Poinsettia as a symbol of purity. Clear out unwanted miasma in a space by inviting in the pure energy of Red Poinsettia.
White- Poinsettia change color in the Winter, needing a special balance of light and dark. Place White Poinsettia on your Altar to stand in for the spirit of Winter.
Pink- Pink Poinsettia create space for Joy. Place a picture of family members or friends who may struggle with the holiday season to bring Joy and Levity to their life.
Yellow- Celebrate the return of the Sun at Solstice with a Yellow Poinsettia. The cheery color is a reminder of brighter days to come.
Green- Ranging in shades from bright lime to elegant emerald, Green Poinsettia is the perfect plant ally for New Years resolution spells.
Striped- Looking like a festive peppermint swirl, work with Striped Poinsettia to call in a party atmosphere .