At The NestKeeper, I’m the magical matchmaker where family enchantment and hearth wisdom meet for tea. Here, the Sabbats come alive through shared feasts, gentle rituals, enchanting tales, nature strolls, and small devotions that are welcoming and joyful for all ages.

My mission is to craft living traditions and weave sacred magic. This is the magic that grows alongside your Littles and shifts gracefully with your family (or your own) seasons of change. The knowledge you gather here is meant to return year after year, familiar and comforting, like a well-loved story brought back to the hearth.

I also invite you to join in fully, not just as a guide, but as a participant. Reconnecting with your inner child, it is so important to do so on your journey. In this Nest, the hearth isn’t just warm; it is alive. It is a place of belonging, remembrance, and magic meant to be shared and carried forward.

With Hearthlight and Care, Ashley Keeper of Sacred Magic — a kitchen witch, story weaver, and mama navigating the wilds of the medically complex life. Co-creator with The Lunar Hearth Ministry and guide of the Feral Fae.

The 12 Nights of Yule Magic offers family-friendly ways to celebrate the season. Each night includes a small ritual or activity to help you slow down, reconnect, and bring a touch of magic into your home throughout Yule!

At Yule, the kitchen becomes a sacred space. Cooking together is hearth magic made visible and tangible.

Yule Kitchen Hearth Practices:

• Stirring Intentions: While stirring clockwise soup, hot cocoa, or porridge with a spoon, set the intentions of the light coming back in the winter.

• First Sip Blessing: Before drinking warm beverages, pause to thank the earth, the hands that prepared the food, and the season that nourishes rest.

• Spice Teaching Ritual: Introduce cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, or ginger. Explain or research their meanings. Make a sweet treat like gingerbread cookies or sprinkle some on a warm winter drink.

For individuals, this can be as simple as lighting a candle beside the stove and cooking with awareness.

Yule is the season of remembering and retelling.

Yule Story & Hearth Practices:

• Firelight Storytime: Gather by candlelight or fireplace to share winter tales, myths, or family memories.

• Ancestor Remembrance: Light a candle for those who came before and speak their names or stories.

• Seasonal Book Ritual: Choose one Yule or winter book to read aloud each year, creating a tradition that returns like the sun.

• Scrapbook: Create a book full of your Yule memories whether it be recipes you made, drawings or cards, and pictures.

For individuals, journaling or reading by candlelight serves the same sacred purpose.

Winter crafting is magic you can hold. Make creations to protect the home and honor the season.

Yule Crafting Hearth Magic:

• Hearth Talismans: Make sun symbols, animal guardians, or protective charms to place near the hearth or door.

• Lantern of Light: Create paper, glass, or ice lanterns to welcome the returning sun.

• Yule Ornaments: Each ornament can hold a wish, prayer, or memory for the coming year.

As hands work, energy settles into what you are making.

Yule Hearth Magic: Bringing the Outside In

Winter whispers that beneath its frosty stillness, life hums on! Yule hearth magic sparks when you tune into nature's hidden gifts and bring that cozy awareness inside.

Yule Hearth Practices for Families & Individuals:

• Frosty Forage Fun: Stroll through the winter wonderland, gathering pine needles, twigs, stones, feathers, or bark. Whisper a thank you to nature before bringing your treasures home.

• Detective Adventure: Get outdoors! Look for the following: tracks, feathers, nests, snowman, snow angels, pine cones, and ponder, “Who's our winter neighbor in this land and how is the weather changing?”

• Chilly Breath Cheers: Take a moment outside to breathe deeply, letting your frosty breath carry a gratitude note into the crisp air.

These small acts anchor the hearth to the land beyond the door.