Post by robincragin on Nov 5, 2015 11:06:23 GMT -5
“Yule”
When the sun enters the sign of Capricorn, anywhere from December 19-23, you have also officially entered Winter. Witches call this second celebration in the sabbat calendar alternately Winter Solstice, Midwinter, and Yule. The word Yule comes from the Norse Iul, which means “wheel/“
Yule marks the rebirth of the sun—the “great wheel” of the sky. From the time of the Summer Solstice to that of Winter, the days become progressively and visibly shorter in the northern hemisphere. The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year in terms of daylight hours. Imagine how feared this time would be for the trial folk of Old Europe. As the days became shorter, the crops in the fields would die out. The darkness of night with its myriad spirits and goblins would reign supreme during this tide. The rites of tour ancient ancestors were often aimed at coaxing the sun, “Return, O return…” to bring back light and life into their world.
There are two dominant mythic themes that represent the interplay of the energies of birth and death at Yule. The first is the battle between the Holly and Oak Kings. Holly is an evergreen that can survive the harshness of Winter’s chill and it represents the winter-tide. The King of the Holly is the Winter King, the Underworld Lord of the waning year. He represents the death principle. On the flip side is the leafy, deciduous oak tree that comes into its full power during the summer months. The Oak King is the Lord of the waxing year, the time when the daylight hours grow. He represents the life principle.
*** A Word to the Wise: Ritualized enactments of these mythic themes are called Mystery Plays. ***
During the Winter Solstice, Witches join together to ritually enact the mythic battle between the opposing forces of holly and oak. The Oak King reigns victorious; the life principle wins over death at Yule and the celebrations and symbols of Yule reaffirm this life principle.
Yule’s second mythic theme is that of the child-sun, who is born of the “white lady,” the “snow hag” of winter. This myth tells how the sun is reborn at the moment of greatest darkness on the night of Yule. In British traditional covens, the High Priest calls upon the goddess to “bring forth the child of promise” at the exact moment of the night’s greatest darkness.
And what would Yuletide be without the appearance of the familiar “Santa Claus” figure? The Jolly Red Elf takes his name from the Christian Saint Nicholas. However the Christian figure has his origins in the pagan past. The name Nicholas itself is not a mistake as it is rooted in the name “Old Nick,” a reference to Nik (also Woden), who is an old Scandinavian Holly-King god. The myths of Nik describe him flying on the back of a horse through the night sky instead of being pulled by the familiar reindeer (animals which are, incidentally, another symbol for the pagan horned god.)
The evergreens that we use to decorate our homes at Yule—such as pine, mistletoe, and holly—are pagan symbols of everlasting life. These plants became symbolic of the eternal life principle, since all of these evergreens thrived at the seeming center of death. Mistletoe was reputedly a highly respected magical herb for Druids who collected it only at their high holy days of Midsummer and Midwinter. The Druid priests would use a golden sickle to harvest mistletoe from oak trees, which they regarded as teachers and sacred beings. Ancient reports describe how the Druids would devise elaborate means to assure that they would cut the herb without touching it with their hands. They could allow cut mistletoe to drop onto a white cloth, and an officiating priest would sacrifice a bull or another sacred animal as a token exchange to the tree for its gift of mistletoe.
Contemporary Witches use mistletoe in their Midwinter spells and, of course, they suspend it over a doorway under which they kiss someone to assure a lasting love.
Practice: Yule Questions
* Spend some time today journaling about your winter holiday memories.
* What is it about the winter months that you enjoy? What are your least favorite aspects of winter?
* As you contemplate your past memories about winter, what are the dominant feelings that emerge?
* How did you feel after reading about the historical roots of Yule? Was this information startling or disorienting? Or did you find it settling and comforting? Why?
* Which of the old Yule customs have you (knowingly or not) observed in your lifetime?
* Which of the holiday customs from your memory are the most powerful?
* How might you incorporate or adapt some of your traditional winter holiday customs to your new Yule observances?
Yule: Solar Practice
Find time to sit in the sunlight today and feel its warmth against your skin. If the weather does not permit this activity, start a hearth fire or light up a dozen candles and arrange them in a grouping on a table. Now close your eyes and feel the warmth of the fire, the warmth of the sun. Whether you sit before a fire or outside in the sunlight, imagine that you absorb the sun’s warming energy with each inhaled breath. Become one with the heat-energy.
When you have finished this exercise, journal about your experience and any energetic changes you experienced.
When the sun enters the sign of Capricorn, anywhere from December 19-23, you have also officially entered Winter. Witches call this second celebration in the sabbat calendar alternately Winter Solstice, Midwinter, and Yule. The word Yule comes from the Norse Iul, which means “wheel/“
Yule marks the rebirth of the sun—the “great wheel” of the sky. From the time of the Summer Solstice to that of Winter, the days become progressively and visibly shorter in the northern hemisphere. The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year in terms of daylight hours. Imagine how feared this time would be for the trial folk of Old Europe. As the days became shorter, the crops in the fields would die out. The darkness of night with its myriad spirits and goblins would reign supreme during this tide. The rites of tour ancient ancestors were often aimed at coaxing the sun, “Return, O return…” to bring back light and life into their world.
There are two dominant mythic themes that represent the interplay of the energies of birth and death at Yule. The first is the battle between the Holly and Oak Kings. Holly is an evergreen that can survive the harshness of Winter’s chill and it represents the winter-tide. The King of the Holly is the Winter King, the Underworld Lord of the waning year. He represents the death principle. On the flip side is the leafy, deciduous oak tree that comes into its full power during the summer months. The Oak King is the Lord of the waxing year, the time when the daylight hours grow. He represents the life principle.
*** A Word to the Wise: Ritualized enactments of these mythic themes are called Mystery Plays. ***
During the Winter Solstice, Witches join together to ritually enact the mythic battle between the opposing forces of holly and oak. The Oak King reigns victorious; the life principle wins over death at Yule and the celebrations and symbols of Yule reaffirm this life principle.
Yule’s second mythic theme is that of the child-sun, who is born of the “white lady,” the “snow hag” of winter. This myth tells how the sun is reborn at the moment of greatest darkness on the night of Yule. In British traditional covens, the High Priest calls upon the goddess to “bring forth the child of promise” at the exact moment of the night’s greatest darkness.
And what would Yuletide be without the appearance of the familiar “Santa Claus” figure? The Jolly Red Elf takes his name from the Christian Saint Nicholas. However the Christian figure has his origins in the pagan past. The name Nicholas itself is not a mistake as it is rooted in the name “Old Nick,” a reference to Nik (also Woden), who is an old Scandinavian Holly-King god. The myths of Nik describe him flying on the back of a horse through the night sky instead of being pulled by the familiar reindeer (animals which are, incidentally, another symbol for the pagan horned god.)
The evergreens that we use to decorate our homes at Yule—such as pine, mistletoe, and holly—are pagan symbols of everlasting life. These plants became symbolic of the eternal life principle, since all of these evergreens thrived at the seeming center of death. Mistletoe was reputedly a highly respected magical herb for Druids who collected it only at their high holy days of Midsummer and Midwinter. The Druid priests would use a golden sickle to harvest mistletoe from oak trees, which they regarded as teachers and sacred beings. Ancient reports describe how the Druids would devise elaborate means to assure that they would cut the herb without touching it with their hands. They could allow cut mistletoe to drop onto a white cloth, and an officiating priest would sacrifice a bull or another sacred animal as a token exchange to the tree for its gift of mistletoe.
Contemporary Witches use mistletoe in their Midwinter spells and, of course, they suspend it over a doorway under which they kiss someone to assure a lasting love.
Practice: Yule Questions
* Spend some time today journaling about your winter holiday memories.
* What is it about the winter months that you enjoy? What are your least favorite aspects of winter?
* As you contemplate your past memories about winter, what are the dominant feelings that emerge?
* How did you feel after reading about the historical roots of Yule? Was this information startling or disorienting? Or did you find it settling and comforting? Why?
* Which of the old Yule customs have you (knowingly or not) observed in your lifetime?
* Which of the holiday customs from your memory are the most powerful?
* How might you incorporate or adapt some of your traditional winter holiday customs to your new Yule observances?
Yule: Solar Practice
Find time to sit in the sunlight today and feel its warmth against your skin. If the weather does not permit this activity, start a hearth fire or light up a dozen candles and arrange them in a grouping on a table. Now close your eyes and feel the warmth of the fire, the warmth of the sun. Whether you sit before a fire or outside in the sunlight, imagine that you absorb the sun’s warming energy with each inhaled breath. Become one with the heat-energy.
When you have finished this exercise, journal about your experience and any energetic changes you experienced.