As the year turn we move through the four seasons; spring filled with new hopes, and our thoughts turn to the maiden aspect of the Goddess, Summer and the time of warmth and love and our thought turn to mother aspect of the Goddess then Autumn the time of harvest and the crone aspect of the goddess and winter the time of death and rebirth and our thoughts turn to the dark aspect of the goddess. Winter is a time of darkness, coldness and in older times fear of not surviving through this period. Amongst all of this harshness there is hope and this hope is found in the Yule festival the point where the darkness begins to turn back to light and we face the promise of better days. Many of the deities associated with winter are also associated with death and rebirth in one form or another. While others deities are related to gift giving and hope of better days. Here is a list of deities and legendry figures associated to the winter and the Yule festival. Alcyone (Greek): A Greek demi-goddess, sometimes regarded as one of the Pleiades. More often she was thought of as the daughter of Aeolus and wife of Ceyx, son of Eosphorus and the king of Thessaly. They were very happy together, but then Ceyx perished in a shipwreck and Alcyone threw herself into the sea. Out of compassion, the gods changed them into the halcyon birds. Since Alcyone made her nest on the beach, and waves threatened
