11/12/2025
Let me tell you about Jรณlakรถtturinn.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐.
In Iceland, they don't tell this story to children to make them feel cozy.
They tell it to make them finish their work.
Picture this: It's deep winter in Iceland. The kind of cold that bites through wool and bone. The kind of dark that lasts for months.
And somewhere out there, in the frozen distances between farms, in the howling wind and blinding snow...
๐ฆ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด.
The Yule Cat is not a normal cat.
It's enormous. Bigger than a house, some say. Eyes that glow like lanterns in the dark. Claws that could rip through walls.
And it's hunting.
๐๐๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ.
The Yule Cat hunts for the unprepared. For those who didn't finish their work before Yule arrived.
In the old days, this meant your spinning, your weaving, your woolwork. Iceland's survival depended on wool... for clothing, for trade, for warmth. If you hadn't finished processing the autumn wool by Yule, if you didn't have new clothes to wear for the Solstice...
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ธ๐ป๐ฒ๐.
It could smell laziness. It could sense those who hadn't honored the season's work, who hadn't prepared for winter's harshness.
And on Yule night, when the darkness was deepest and the cold was cruelest, it would come.
Prowling between houses. Peering through windows with those terrible glowing eyes.
Looking for anyone not wearing something new. Anyone who hadn't earned their survival through diligence.
๐๐ณ ๐ถ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐?
Well... To be honest, the stories don't end well for those people.
Some say it devoured them. Some say it dragged them out into the frozen waste. Some say it simply marked them... cursed them to bad luck for the entire year ahead.
But here's what the story really means, beloved:
๐ช๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐๐ป'๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฒ๐
๐ฐ๐๐๐ฒ๐.
The Yule Cat isn't cruel for cruelty's sake. It's a reminder that in the old world, in the harsh north, preparation meant survival.
If you didn't do your work, if you didn't spin the wool, weave the cloth, make the clothes... you froze. You starved. You d.i.e.d.
The Yule Cat is accountability made feral and fierce.
It's the natural consequence of ignoring the season's demands until it's too late.
๐๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ'๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ด๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ผ.
Because the Yule Cat also teaches: honor your responsibilities and you'll be protected.
Finish your work. Prepare for what's coming. Don't put off until tomorrow what winter demands today.
The people who wore their new clothes on Yule night? The ones who'd honored the rhythm of the season, who'd done what needed doing?
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ ๐ฏ๐.
Alas... not because they were lucky... just because... they were ready.
๐ฆ๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐?
As we approach the Solstice, as we step into the darkest time, ask yourself:
What work have you been avoiding?
What intentions have you been putting off?
What preparations does your craft, your life, your spirit actually need?
See, the Yule Cat isn't coming for you. Not literally.
But the energy is real: ๐๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ต๐๐บ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐.
So when the longest night comes, you're not scrambling. You're not guessing.
You're ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐.
And the Yule Cat? It prowls right past your door.
Finish your work. Honour the season.
The Yule Cat is watching. Make sure you're wearing something new.
With luv ๐ค
