This year the Winter
Solstice falls on December 21 for the Midwest USA, under the waxing
moon u. If
you're in the South it is Midsummer, I will post on that in our June. For many traditions, the Yule is 12 nights
and the Winter Solstice is 1 night.
Personally, like many of my main blessings, I use three marks to honor
the day - past, present and future. I
start the night before on the 20th at sunset (4:20 pm). I use it as the Mother's Night for the
ancestors. On Winter Solstice the 21st
at sunrise (7:20 am), the present moment.
Ending with the 21st at the end of twilight (5 pm), the future.
Mother's Night is the first day of
Yule. I start it with lighting a candle
next to my Yule Log. (Don't leave flames
alone!) All this year has been guided by
Frigg, mothers, grandmothers and other Ancestors o . It is a time of the year when our deceased
Ancestors are closest to us; this is when the dead are more active than any
other time. We all have worked hard and
produced much over the years. But now is
a time to do something else, to reap the rewards. Take a break.
Go look at the stars, listen to the wind, feel the warmth of the candle,
warm the prayer beads or just touch someone.
Remember who you have been, your ancestors and the natural world.
The second part is the sunrise on the
day. It is a time to reflect where you
are now. Clean your alter, taking items
outside to meet the rising Sun Sunna s. Say thanks to her for returning, offer a
sacrifice - food, mead or blessed oil. Honor
the beginning of the Sun's return and the breaking of Winter. Do something today for others. Have compassion for the homeless with food
and clothing. Go down to the animal
shelter and help feed the lost pets. Exchange
gifts, even with strangers. Tell your
family and friends you love them. Live
today in the present moment - for yourself and family.
Finally close the holiday at twilight. Hopefully you have taken stock of the past
year and are beginning to think about the next year and what you would like to
accomplish. Resolutions are promises
made to try and accomplish something, a training tool. An oath is binding, fail an oath is to lose
yourself. Tonight I write down oaths
under the Moon Manni d. I then offer them up to Freyr along with the
Yule Log burning for Thor. When lighting
the new Yule Log it should be with the charred remains of the previous year's
log, which is keep to guard the house. Usually
my Yule log burns for a few days into the New Year. May your New Year be filled with happiness,
wealth and health.
But there are many names to this holiday and
many ways to celebrate it.
Note
from Silver Book of Shadows...
For people of nearly any religious
background, the time of the Winter Solstice
(about December 20) is a time when we
gather with family and loved ones. For
Pagans and Wiccans, it's often celebrated as Yule
(Jul), but there are literally dozens of ways you can enjoy the season.
Words during this night are said to bear great weight and power. It is a time to count blessings, take stock
and lay a course for the future.
Yule is celebrated on the winter solstice, the longest night of the year. It is one of three greatest blessings of the
year. The date for Christmas was chosen
by the roman Emperor Aurelian in the third century, to coincide with the feast
of the Unconquered Sun. So, for both
these feasts, we see a strong association with the power of the Sun. Many pagan
traditions were incorporated in the Christmas feast. Boniface introduced the Christmas tree, which
was a Germanic tradition. Also, Santa Claus is a blend of St. Nikolas and the God
Odin.
Celebrations of
the Norse New Year, a festival of 12 nights (Yule), is the most important of all
the Norse holidays. On the night of December 20, the God Freyr rides over the Earth
on the back of his shining boar, bringing light and love back into the World.
In later years, after the influence of Christianity, the God Baldur, then
Jesus, was reborn at this festival.
Yule signifies
the beginning and end of all things; the darkest time (shortest hour of
daylight) during the year and the brightest hope re-entering the World. During this festival, the Wild Hunt is at its
greatest energy and the dead are said to roam the Earth. The God Odin is the
leader of this Wild Ride; charging across the sky on his eight-legged horse,
Sleipnir. In ancient times, Germanic and
Norse children would leave their boots out by the hearth on Solstice Eve,
filled with hay and sugar, for Sleipnir's journey. In return, Odin would leave them a gift for
their kindness. In modern times,
Sleipnir was changed to a reindeer and the grey-bearded Odin became the kindly
Santa Claus or Father Christmas.
North is associated with the sacred element Earth, the season
of winter, night and death. An altar may be placed to the North during rituals
associated with honoring spirits of the dead, Dark Goddesses, observing winter
holidays or during the dark moon. Some symbols
for North Earth are the fertile land, soil, hands, evergreens or mountains.
Colors commonly associated with North are black, green or brown. For Wiccans, the altar tool known as a
pentacle, a disc inscribed with a pentagram, represents the North.
Seek
Justice, equity and compassion in human
relations. Justice is a concept of moral rightness
based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity,
along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics; justice is the act of
being just and/or fair. Understandings
of justice differ in every culture, as cultures are usually dependent upon a shared history, mythology and/or religion. Each
culture's ethics create values which influence the notion of justice. Although
there can be found some justice principles that are one and the same in all or
most of the cultures. The Tiwaz Rune t is balance and justice ruled from a higher
rationality. Tiwaz is a warrior rune named after the God Tyr who is the
Northern God of law and justice. The
rune of sacrifice of the individual (self) for well-being of the whole
(society).
"True peace is not merely the absence of
tension: it is the presence of justice." - Martin Luther King
Candles
Encourage light
in times of darkness. This light is represented in various ways: the unconquered
sun, the star of Bethlehem or simply by the ritual use of candles. Burning candles
throughout the night is a practice of both Pagans and Christians. Christians
still perform a midnight mass, a symbol of keeping the light burning in the
darkest of the night. Pagans let candles burn all night long to give strength
to the Sun on the longest night of the year.
Welcome Back the Sun
The ancients knew
that the Winter Solstice was the longest night of the year -- and that meant
that the Sun was beginning its long journey back towards Earth. It was a time of celebration and for rejoicing
in the knowledge that soon, the warm days of spring would return and the
dormant Earth would come back to life. In most
Wiccan groups or covens, Yule marks the rebirth of the Great God in the form of
the solstice sun. On this one
day, the sun stands still in the sky and everyone on Earth knows that change is
coming.
Sunrise
The sun returns! The light returns!
The earth begins to warm once more!
The time of darkness has passed,
and a path of light begins the new day.
Welcome, welcome, the heat of the sun,
blessing us all with its rays.
Sunset
The longest night has come once more,
the sun has set, and darkness fallen.
The trees are bare, the earth asleep,
and the skies are cold and black.
Yet tonight we rejoice, in this longest night,
embracing the darkness that enfolds us.
We welcome the night and all that it holds,
as the light of the stars shines down.
Gift Giving
The exchanging of gifts is one of the core aspects of
the modern Christmas celebration, making the Christmas season the most
profitable time of year for retailers and businesses throughout the World.
Gift giving was common in the Roman celebration of Saturnalia, an ancient festival which took
place in late December and may have influenced Christmas customs. On Christmas,
Christians exchange gifts on the basis that the tradition is associated St. Nicholas with Christmas and that gifts of
gold, frankincense and myrrh were given to the infant Jesus by the Biblical Magi.
Yule Log
Yule was an
indigenous midwinter (Winter
Solstice) festival celebrated by the Germanic
peoples, absorbed into celebrations surrounding Christmas
over time with Christianization. If
your family enjoys ritual, you can welcome back the sun at Yule with this
simple winter ceremony. The first thing you'll need is a Yule Log. If you make
it a week or two in advance, you can enjoy it as a centerpiece prior to burning
it in the ceremony. For some Norse sects, Yule logs were lit to honor Thor, the God of thunder. Feasting would continue until the log
burned out, three or as many as twelve days.
You'll need a fire, so if you can do
this ritual outside. Jumping over the
flames brings luck and purification. This
rite is one the whole family can do together.
Solstice Evergreen
Another ancient midwinter custom is
decorating with evergreens to represent Yggdrasil. The Romans decorated with
rosemary, bay, laurel, holly, ivy and mistletoe. The holly and ivy were both
important midwinter plants in Great Britain and Ireland, as seen in the
mysterious medieval carol which mentions the rivalry between them. The Norsemen had a tradition that enemies who
met under a bough of mistletoe were obligated to lay down their weapons. (There is an interesting tale told about the
Death of Baldur that explains this mistletoe use) The Christmas tree is of more recent origin.
Yule
Beneath the tree of light
and life,
a blessing at this season of Yule!
To all that sit at my hearth,
today we are brothers, we are family,
and I drink to your health!
Today is a day to offer hospitality
to all that cross my threshold
in the name of the season.
