Yule decorating . . .

Wow! I can't believe we're already at the end of November. Where does the time go? I've been so busy with classes and getting my business up and running that it seems the time has just slipped away. Although, that being said, it also seems as if time has been standing still. I've been waiting patiently (which is a feat in and of itself for me) to move into my new space at the Harbor Wellness Center. The time has finally come and I'm going over today to clean up and do some painting. I'm a jumble of feelings, mostly good and positive, but there's that little creak in the door and I'm trying hard to keep out the nagging doubts.

I have managed to set up my Yule altar and get the lights out on the house. Half of them won't work and so I find myself replacing them, on the cheap. I found two lighted wreaths at ACE yesterday for $2.99 and spent $13 on a new lighted garland for our light pole. We still need to replace (or fix) one of the net lights along the front hedge . . . I'm leaving that mess up to Brian along with stringing electrical cords to my lighted window boxes. Once everything is taken care of, I'll share some pictures.

Here are pictures of my altar . . . hope you enjoy!

12 Days of Yule ~ Day 2

2nd Day of Yule – The Winter Solstice
December 21st

"The Winter Solstice represents the shortest day and the longest night. From this day onward Caillech Bheur gains strength and eventually breaks winter's spell. Celebrate Caillech's return and the fertility she brings!"

Yule (from the Anglo-Saxon 'Yula', meaning 'wheel' of the year) is usually celebrated at the Winter Solstice. It is a Lesser Sabbat or Lower Holiday in the modern Pagan calendar, one of the four quarter-days of the year, but a very important one. This year it occurs on December 21st with the Solstice being at 5:38 p.m. Central Standard Time. Pagan customs are still enthusiastically followed ~ the burning of the Yule log, the drinking of Wassail, and lighting the tree (which in times gone by was lit with candles). It is a time for reverence, joy and celebration.

On this beautiful and most celebrated of nights, the Mother Goddess gives birth to the Sun-God, thus setting the 'wheel' in motion again. The days start to get longer and we can look forward to warmer days and the coming of spring.

Tonight Brian and I will be celebrating the Winter Solstice at Circle Sanctuary, which I'm really looking forward to. We'll most likely celebrate at the weekend with our ham, some spiced cider and the burning of our Yule log. However, I am planning on getting up during the night (early morning) to take in the lunar eclipse and perhaps celebrate in my own quiet way with a nice cup of tea. Maybe I'll even make some homemade muffins. After all, it's not in every lifetime that you get a chance to celebrate a solstice with a total eclipse of the moon.

Weather permitting, the lunar eclipse will be visible from 12:33 to 4:01 a.m. Central Standard Time Tuesday, with the total eclipse starting at about 1:41 a.m. The last time a lunar eclipse happened on a solstice was 372 years ago, in 1638.

Sunset Prayer

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.

From our home to yours . . . may the Blessings of the Goddess be with you and yours and all joy and happiness be yours in the New Year!

The Winter Solstice

What is a solstice? The earliest humans knew that the sun’s path across the sky, the length of daylight, and the location of the sunrise and sunset all shifted in a regular way throughout the year. They built monuments, such as Stonehenge, to follow the sun’s yearly progress. Today we can see the solstice differently, from the vantage point of space, and we know that the solstice is an astronomical event, caused by the Earth’s tilt on its axis and its motion in orbit around the sun.

Because the Earth doesn’t orbit upright, but is instead tilted on its axis by 23-and-a-half degrees, the Earth’s northern and southern hemispheres trade places in receiving the sun’s light and warmth most directly. That’s what causes winter and summer.

At the December solstice, the Earth is positioned in its orbit so that the North Pole is leaning 23-and-a-half degrees away from the sun. As seen from Earth, the sun is directly overhead at noon 23-and-a-half degrees south of the equator, at an imaginary line encircling the globe known as the Tropic of Capricorn. This is as far south as the sun ever gets. All locations south of the equator have day lengths greater than 12 hours at the December solstice. Meanwhile, all locations north of the equator have day lengths less than 12 hours.

You can see signs of the solstice everywhere in nature because for all of the Earth’s creatures, nothing is so fundamental as the length of daylight. After all, the sun is the ultimate source of all light and warmth on Earth.

If you live in the northern hemisphere, you can notice the late dawns and early sunsets, and the low arc of the sun across the sky each day. You might notice how low the sun appears in the sky at local noon. And be sure to look at your noontime shadow. Around the time of the December solstice, it’s your longest noontime shadow of the year.

Many people have an unfavorable response to this time of short days and long nights in the form of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). I myself suffer from this disorder and use special lighting, although I wouldn't say no to a vacation on a warm, sunny beach somewhere south of the border!

The 2010 December solstice takes place on Tuesday, December 21 at 23:38 (11:38 p.m.) Universal Time. That’s the time at the longitude of Greenwich, England. To find the time in your location, you have to “translate” to your time zone. Here’s an example - I live in the midwest and use Central Standard Time. So I'd subtract 6 hours from Universal Time. Therefore, the time of the solstice for me would be 5:38 p.m. Central Standard Time.

An ancient belief is that the Wheel of the Year stops briefly at this time of the Winter Solstice. It was taboo to turn a wheel or even a butter churn, on the shortest day. This time of stillness was a precious opportunity to consider the year gone by and to look forward to the increasingly active months to come. It's also a time to choose what to take with you into the New Year and what to leave behind.

Celebrate the Winter Solstice by lighting candles around your home and for a few minutes during your celebration or ritual, turn all the lights on in the house welcoming and celebrating the rebirth of the Sun God.

This year, Brian and I will take part in a Winter Solstice/Full Moon Ritual at Circle Sanctury. Afterwards we'll come back home to enjoy a quiet evening, set our Yule log on the fire and perhaps look out at the stars meditating on the darkness, and light, of the world.

Yule Altar Additions

Remember that little 'Frosty Fern' from my previous post? Well, he's all potted up now and has found his place on the Yule altar. I have to tell you that I've never been quite so enthralled by a plant before. While they all have their special places and special meanings, this little guy has stolen my heart.

While reading about the traditions of Yule somewhere (I'm reading in so many places I can't quite remember where) I came across a lovely description of the 'Goddess cradling the newborn Sun-God in her arms'. That description stuck with me and while browsing the internet just the other day, I found this gorgeous statue that captured that description to beautifully for me. So rather than waiting for the bidding to end, I jumped all over the 'buy it now' button and now, just a few short days later, this gorgeous piece sits on my Yule altar.

Every time I gaze at this piece, my heart is warmed by the tenderness of the Goddesss cradling the newborn Sun. It's an image that will carry me through the holidays as I'm reminded what the season is really, truly all about . . .

Winter's First Snow

After snowing all night and most of yesterday we ended up with four inches of snow and a nice blanket of white covering the starkness of fall. Waking up this morning to a blue sky and sunshine, we couldn't resist the urge to go for a drive in the country. I also had an ulterior motive . . . I needed a pine log!

We had a beautiful drive and did manage to find a grove of pine trees that had been felled beside a cemetery. We looked around for a bit and found the perfect log.

After stopping off at our local nursery for some greens, holly and mistletoe, and getting settled back at home, I set to work putting together my Yule log. I also found some rafia, floral picks and pine cones in my stash.

While at the garden center, I also found this adorable little plant called a 'Frosty Fern'. Isn't it cute? Brian found the perfect weathered urn for it and it will make a great addition to my Yule altar.

All in all, a great day spent in and around nature . . . life doesn't get any better than that!

The Winter Solstice & Yule

I have to admit I'm feeling somewhat discombobulated this holiday season. It is the first for me as a Wiccan and although I embrace all that being Wiccan entails, those old belief systems are there in the back of my mind. I expect that as I go through the month and enjoy all that it has to offer in the way of the Winter Solstice and Yule celebrations, that feeling will go away and I'll be left to revel in the mysteries.

My Yule Altar

Brian and I are going to the Winter Solstice/Yule celebration on December 21st at Circle Sanctuary. Although I practice as a Solitary, it will be nice to celebrate the Sabbat with others who share in my beliefs.

As the Wheel of the Year turns and the days get shorter, the skies become gray and it seems as though the sun is dying, it's in this time of darkness we pause at the Winter Solstice to celebrate something wonderful. On Yule, the sun stops its decline into the south. For a few days it seems as though it’s rising in exactly the same place . . . and then an amazing, wonderful, and miraculous thing happens - the light begins to return!

In celebration of the Sun's return, the most important part of any Yule festivity is light which could include candles, a fire in the hearth or even a bonfire. It is customary to burn a Yule log to honour the Lord Cernunnos or the Horned God. Because each type of wood is associated with various magickal and spiritual properties, logs from different types of trees might be burned to get a variety of effects. Aspen is the wood of choice for spiritual understanding, while the mighty oak is symbolic of strength and wisdom. A family hoping for a year of prosperity might burn a log of pine, while a couple hoping to be blessed with fertility would drag a bough of birch to their hearth.

This year we'll be making our Yule log out of pine. Here's how to make a basic Yule log . . .

You'll need:
A log about 14"–18” long; pinecones; dried berries (such as cranberries); cuttings of mistletoe, holly, ivy and pine needles; feathers and cinnamon sticks; some festive ribbon (use paper or cloth ribbon, not synthetic or wire-lined types) or rafia; fruits and nuts; and a hot glue gun.

A picture from the internet - I'll replace it once my own Yule log is made. Isn't this one pretty?

Most of these items can be gathered outside or found easily enough at craft stores or the supermarket. Just keep in mind you'll be burning the log on your Yule fire so you'll want to use as close to nature as you can. And remember, only pick up items found on the ground, rather than taking cuttings from live plants.

Begin by wrapping the log loosely with the ribbon or rafia. Leave enough space that you can insert your branches, cuttings and feathers under the ribbon or rafia. In our house, I'll be placing nine feathers on our Yule log – one for each member of the family (yes, I include the birds and dogs in that count). Once you’ve gotten your branches and cuttings in place, begin gluing on the pinecones, nuts, cinnamon sticks and berries. If you're adding fruit (such as apples) try piercing them first with a floral stick and then 'sticking' them in. Add as much or as little as you like.

Once you’ve decorated your Yule log, use it as a centerpiece for your holiday table. A Yule log looks lovely on a table surrounded by candles and holiday greenery. You could also use your Yule log as our ancestors did and burn it in your hearth or in a bonfire outside if you're lucky enough to have a space available for that purpose. Before burning your log, write down a wish on a piece of paper and insert it into the ribbon or rafia. It's your wish for the upcoming year and should be kept to yourself in hope that it comes true. While watching the Yule log burn, share in a cup of hot cocoa, discuss how thankful you are for the good things that have come your way this year and how you hope for abundance, good health, and happiness in the next.

In many Celtic-based traditions of neopaganism, there is the enduring legend of the battle between the Oak King and the Holly King. These two mighty rulers fight for supremacy as the Wheel of the Year turns each season. At the Winter Solstice, or Yule, the Oak King kills the Holly King, and then reigns until Midsummer, or Litha. Once the Summer Solstice arrives, the Holly King returns to do battle with the Oak King and defeats him. The Holly King then rules until Yule.

In some Wiccan traditions, the Oak King and the Holly King are seen as dual aspects of the Horned God. Each of these twin aspects rules for half the year, battles for the favor of the Goddess, and then retires to nurse his wounds for the next six months, until it is time for him to reign once more.

Often, these two entities are portrayed in familiar ways - the Holly King frequently appears as a woodsy version of Santa Claus. He dresses in red, wears a sprig of holly in his tangled hair, and is sometimes depicted driving a team of eight stags. The Oak King is portrayed as a fertility god, and occasionally appears as the Green Man or other lord of the forest.

Ultimately, while these two beings do battle all year long, they are two essential parts of a whole. Despite being enemies, without one, the other would no longer exist.

The Yule season is full of magic, much of it focusing on rebirth and renewal, as the sun makes its way back to the earth. Focus on this time of new beginnings with your magical workings!