Yule - A good time for what kinda magick?

[Adrenaline Junkie]

Just wondering, as all Sabbats carry powerful energies, what kind of magick would be ideal for Yule?

[Lavender]

I find this time of year is good for looking inside yourself. Sort of to reflect on the past year, meditate on the upcoming year. It's a time of contemplation. Spend time with family & friends, mend arguements or at least come to some peace. Things to close up the wheel of the year. Most of the magick I'll probably do would be centred around these things. Like the making the Yule log, decorating the tree, putting seeds out for the birds. Personal family rituals.

[Twilight Garden]

Also maybe growth; personal, emotional, spiritual, etc... As the Sun's energy will be growing for the next six months.

[Haedis]

I've always seen the time between Samhain and Yule as the time for introspection and reflection, and the time after Yule as the time of new beginnings and rebirth. (i.e the birth of the Oak God signifying the lengthening of the days and the coming of the light.)
I use Yule as the time to start new projects and to make changes to myself.

[Rick]

OK... think of the year wheel as a big lunar cycle... Summer Solstice would be the full moon, Winter Solstice would be the new moon... as the year winds down to Yule, you'd do magic to remove negative things, or to bring an ending to something... just after Yule, you'd do magic to bring positive things, & to aid in new beginnings...

[Flar's Freyja]

bump

[Flar's Freyja]

Here's a good article that might help:

Yule: A Traditional Pagan Holiday
Jennifer Gilbert


22 December 1999

Yule is one of the four minor Sabbats; it celebrates the rebirth of the Sun and the Sun God and honors the Horned God. It is celebrated between December 20 and 22; the exact date varies from year to year depending on when the Sun reaches the southern most point in its yearly cycle. The longest night of the year falls on Yule; it is when we celebrate the coming light and thank the Gods for seeing us through the darkness. It is a time to look on the past year's achievements and to celebrate with family and friends.

This day is the official first day of winter. The Goddess gives birth to the Sun Child and hope for new light is born. Yule is also known as the Winter Solstice, Alban Arthan, Finn's Day, Festival of Sol, Yuletide, Great Day of the Cauldron, and Festival of Growth. The origins of most of the Christian Christmas traditions are in the Pagan Yule celebration, such as the Christmas tree, the colors red and green and gift-giving.

Whether you're designing a pagan or Wiccan ritual, want to incorporate some truly traditional elements into your holiday celebrations, or are just curious, the following are natural elements associated with Yule for many years.

Symbols used to represent Yule are evergreen trees, yule logs, holly, eight-spoked wheels, wreaths, and spinning wheels.

Traditional foods for the Yule feast are roasted turkey, caraway rolls, mulled wine, dried fruit, egg nog, pork, beans, and gingerbread people.

The plants and herbs associated with Yule are holly, mistletoe, evergreens, poinsettia, tropical flowers, bay, pine, ginger, myrrh, valerian.

For Yule incense and oil, you can use any of the following scents, either blended together or alone: rosemary, myrrh, nutmeg, saffron, cedar/pine, wintergreen, ginger, bayberry.

Colors associated with Yule are red, green, white, gold.

Stones associated with Yule are bloodstone, ruby, garnet, cat's eye.

Animals and mythical beasts associated with Yule are stags, squirrels, wrens/robins, phoenix, trolls, memecolion.

Appropriate Yule Goddesses are all Spinning Goddesses. Some Yule Goddesses are: Angerona (Roman), Eve (Hebraic), Pandora (Greek), Zvezda (Slavic), Metzli (Aztec), Yachimato-Hime (Japanese), Tiamat (Babylonian), NuKua (Chinese)

Appropriate Yule Gods are all Re-Born Sun Gods. Some Yule Gods are: Apollo (Greco-Roman), Balder (Norse), Oak/Holly King (Anglo-Celtic), Ra (Egyptian), Saturn (Roma), Jesus (Christian-Gnostic), Helios (Greek), Ukko (Finnish-Yugoritic).

Altar decorations may include mistletoe, holly, a small Yule log, strings of colored lights, Yule/Christmas cards, a candle in the shape of Kris Kringle, a homemade wreath, presents wrapped in colorful paper.

Traditional activities during Yule are decorating the Yule tree, exchanging gifts, storytelling, making wreaths, throwing holiday parties, sending greetings.

Taboos on Yule are extinguishing fire and traveling.

Spell work can be for divination, a healthier planet, peace, joy.


The above article was reprinted with the permission of the author. Send her an e-mail, or visit the Cycle of the Year Website.


Psychic Journal (http://www.kajama.com/archives/991220/991220f2.htm)

[Mnemosyne]

Thanks for all that information, Freyja! I knew a lot of that info; however, I didn't realize that it is not good to travel then. Also, I didn't really associate divination with Yule. Are all sabbats good for divination?

[Flar's Freyja]

Interestingly, I've been looking for appropriate forms of divination to do at Yule and the above is the only info I have found. This surprised me because this dark, reflective time of year should be an excellent time to practice. I would think that the energy of any sabbat would be good for divination if one asked questions consistent with the energy of that particular time in the Wheel of the Year. Of all the Sabbats, Samhain is the most powerful for divination due to the veil between the worlds being thinner and allowing ancestor spirits and guides to communicate with us more easily.

The runes are a method of divination, but they are also used as a form of magick/ritual according to the Wheel of the Year. The correspondences are listed in the individual rune threads in the Divination forum.

[Mnemosyne]

True, Samhain is definitely the most powerful time of the year for divination. I haven't read all your posts about the runes. However, I was just reading how Jera, Eiwaz, and Isa are associated with yule.

Here's some divination practices used on around Yule throughout the world.

In Russia, there's a Christmas divination that involves candles. A girl would sit in a darkened room, with two lighted candles and two mirrors, pointed so that one reflects the candlelight into the other. The viewer would seek the seventh reflection, then look until her future would be seen.

The early Germans built a stone altar to Hertha, or Bertha, goddess of domesticity and the home, during winter solstice. With a fire of fir boughs stoked on the altar, Hertha was able to descend through the smoke and guide those who were wise in Saga lore to foretell the fortunes of those at the feast.

http://ancienthistory.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.candlegrove.com%2Fsolstice.html

[Flar's Freyja]

Thank you! Do you mind if I cross-post your reply to start a Yule Divination thread in the other forum?

[Mnemosyne]

Originally posted by Freyja
Thank you! Do you mind if I cross-post your reply to start a Yule Divination thread in the other forum?

Go for it, Freyja! :)

[Flar's Freyja]

:D Done. Thanks again!

Yule Divination (http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=22326)

[Gazer_of_Stars]

Merry meet all!
It has to been my understanding that Yule was the beginnig of rebirth!

I personally don't think there are any rules regarding what kind of magick you do, if your moved to do it, then there is a reason.
While I think it can help to correspond with elements sometimes you are just called to do your rite and there are no absolutes,

[Flar's Freyja]

Originally posted by Gazer_of_Stars
Merry meet all!
It has to been my understanding that Yule was the beginnig of rebirth!

I personally don't think there are any rules regarding what kind of magick you do, if your moved to do it, then there is a reason.
While I think it can help to correspond with elements sometimes you are just called to do your rite and there are no absolutes,

:wave: Merry Meet and Welcome!

I agree. The best energy that we can invest in ritual is the one that we get from the emotions relating to our needs or feelings connected with the moon cycles or sabbats. Personally, I have found that designing my rituals around the wheel of the year seems to give them a little extra kick :)

[Mnemosyne]

I agree. There should be no set rules on what you should be doing at a particular time of year. We are all individuals; and thus, we all have our own beliefs and paths. For me, this time of year is a time to focus on the positive. After all, a new year is approaching, since the longest day of the year approaches. As Rick stated, it is a time to banish the negative and look for the positive. :)

[Flar's Freyja]

bump

[Flar's Freyja]

Last night, I attended ritual at my circle. We passed the Yule log (unlit, of course :T) around and put our prayers, hopes and dreams for the coming year into it. We then lit the log, and passed around a container of tobacco into which we put all of the things that we are ready to get rid of, and then tossed the tobacco on the fire. Our high priest mentioned that in the old times, a sacrifice was made and that this is what the Yule log represents. The tobacco we tossed on the fire represented things that we are willing to get rid of, although some of them may be a sacrifice.

I am looking forward to a very good year. So Mote It Be!

[FaeRain]

I had my mother and grandmother at our house for the weekend..both of whom are very Christian. So, I knew that anything conspicuous would make for an uncomfortable visit. At 8:14 pm, I lit a gold candle in my sun candleholder and sang happy birthday sun with my children and husband. I also have a sun mask, and we woke up Dakotah before sunrise on Sunday, and he ran through the house to symbolize the sun's rebirth.

I wanted to stay awake all night, (so did my 6 yo daughter) but we pooped out kinda early.

We attempted to go on a Solstice hike on Saturday, but by the time I found this really cool place to go, the kids were asleep and it was almost dark.

All in all, it was a good time. Of course, it's hard for anything to compete with their attenntion this close to Christmas, but they were into it.

Blessings,
FaeRain

[Flar's Freyja]

Does anyone have rituals or traditions to share?

[asamananara]

Just wondering, as all Sabbats carry powerful energies, what kind of magick would be ideal for Yule?
In my tradition, the winter solstice is a time for gestational
magic; the spirit of god ascends from the Realm of Shadow, quickening
the Seed of Life within the belly of the earth. Thus, we use
the presiding energies to potentiate our own capacity for rebirth,
essentially setting the foundation for the work we hope to
accomplish throughout the next solar cycle.

[SacredWithin]

*BUMP* :D

[celticfire]

here is mine...which i had already posted on the other yule ritual thread...but thought i'd like to share it in this one as well..

blessed be

call together everyone...do a brief description of what yule is and what it represents...then ask for those who represent an element to speak about it's representation during the time of the winter solstice.

then light candles (one spirit, two each maiden, mother, chrone - for everyone in the coven) and then the spirit completed as the Goddess to light the fire of the Sun God, being reborn. from there, take turns writing down the negative aspects of the past year or things we would want to change for the new year down and then lit the paper from the spirit flame (kind of like to banish the bad/dark/shadows of the past for a rebirth to the dawn). then light a colored candle in representation of yule/celebration beginning with the flame of the Sun God flame going around the circle, from one to another each lights the other one's candle. then have meditation and upon 'awakening' close with honoring the Goddess and God with an offering (i used red, gold, green ribbon tied to rosemary, holly, mistletoe and pinecones on a grapevine wreath; along with an bread and cider - to represent the apple).

blessed yule!

NOTE: i've been solitary for 15yrs and am only 'student status' with a coven for the past 4mths...i was asked to host yule and was terrified of doing anything for the first time with/in front of others. you could also use the same ritual above, in a solitary form.
__________________

[Teresa]

Bump!!!

[Nitefalle]

Good thread!! I love it when threads are added to over time, like this.

Anyway, my group is small, only about six people, and we are an interesting mixture, but we follow a Celto-Germanic path as a group. As almost every single Sabbat throughout the year has its origins in either Celtic or Norse cultures, we really try and honor those origins by revising authentic practices and keeping it really seasonal (ie, we don't follow the Wiccan Goddess-God mythos throughout the year). As we have an active Asatruar in our group, we asked him to rock us out this year for Yule. We are keeping it very simple, doing a blot to Thor and Sif and then burning some herbs on the Yule log (we saved from last year) for some manifestation magic. Then, we are going to do a symbul while we feast (and we are really making a feast!). We're just going to hang out after that and eat, maybe do some divination or make ornaments. Oh yes, we'll also have a wreath that we're going to decorate together and toast over the wreath.

[omar]

Double bump! I see Cerninos is celebrated. I read that in Welsh he is called Daghda!

[Lauren Michele]

Thank you all so much for the beautiful and informitive info regarding Yule. :wave:

Lauren~

[AthenaCrowns]

*bump-bump-bump* :thumbsup:

[Lunacie]

Thought I'd add something more than just a bump. :lol:

My small group will be celebrating the Winter Solstice tonight, December 19th. There are six of us so we'll have four people to light each of the quarter candles and two people to light the god and goddess candles. When we put them out, I'll remind everyone to carry that flame in their hearts and take their candle with them, and then relight it in their own homes at the moment of sunrise on the 21st, which is the actual winter solstice this year. Yes, I looked up the exact moment of the sunrise and will note that in each copy of the ritual (for their files), but then can do it whenever they awaken on the 21st if it's later than sunrise.

We are also going to cast the circle and then turn off the lights, or if we're outside we'll wait to light the fire & candles. We'll go through the intent for this ritual and then light the goddess candle in the cauldron. Then each quarter caller will light their candle, and then we'll call for the light of the newborn winter king as we light the god candle. Of course there will be a raising of energy to use for banishing negativity and replacing it with bright new energy, a meditation, cakes and ale, all the usual stuff. Our group has had to cancel Yule the last two winters, so I'm really looking forward to tonight. YAY!:sunny:

[HetHert]

Reflection, renewel, new beginnings, fresh starts; celebrating life with family and friends, reaffirming relationships, re/connecting with community; finding, connecting, and celebrating your inner light; passages through the darkness.

Last night I attended the second largest Winter Solstice event in the US. It was held in the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, TX and it was huge! I had the honor of dancing in one of the elements and generally helping keep the energy up and moving. The ritual occurred in 3 parts, celebrating our aspect as children of the stars, moving through the darkness by remembering our own inner light, and wrapping it up by celebrating the web of community. It was a beautiful rit and I hope to be working with the community more in the future.

[Windsmith]

For us, Winter Solstice is about honoring the dark: our own dark places, the darkness outside. It is a quiet, introspective, contemplative time when we embrace our shadow selves and nurture the small, quiet hurts that are often overlooked and the inward-turning facets that don't want to go to parties and sing happy carols. It's a good time for sacrifice and deprivation.