The 2024 Winter Solstice, or Yule, occurs at 4:21 am EST on Saturday, December 21.
First a Few Facts…
In the Northern Hemisphere, Winter Solstice is the longest night of the year, the sun at its lowest point in the sky, as the Sun enters 0° Capricorn (Midwinter). Yule celebrates the observance of the turning of the solar year from waning to waxing. The word Yule comes from jól, Old Norse meaning “wheel,” and Old English “to revolve, move around,” correlating back to the great seasonal annual wheel (sun). Sol means “sun,” while sistere means “standing still.” Thus, solstice refers to a pause before the days become longer once more.
Ancient Myths…
Tradition associates Yule with deity figures and renewal. Powerful women abound in stories of birth, as it is women who nurture life’s spark within. In Northern Europe, it’s known as “the Mother Night.” Examples include Frigg, the Norwegian goddess of winter, who labors to birth the sun into the world. Germanic lore holds that a forest goddess shapeshifts into a white doe and enters a sacred cave to birth the new year sun.
The Fates (Norns, Moira, Parcae) are often mentioned. (Does The Christmas Carole ring a bell?) Three working sisters spin, weave, and cut the threads of the book of life. December may have been named after Decima, the Roman equivalent of the Greek Fate Lachesis, the allotter, who both measure the life thread of each mortal. Their ability to “spin death” may also be a metaphor of the symbolic quiet of winter that must proceed renewal (spring). In Celtic theology, Cailleach is the divine older crone who rules the time period between Samhain (October 31) and Beltane (May 1).
During Mean Geimbriddh (winter), Bridhid, daughter of Dagda, patroness of the Druids and Bards, is honored. Some believe Brighid was once known as the Great Goddess, the Creatrix and All Mother. Today she is often recognized as St. Bridhid of Kildare and, as such, revered at holy wells, shrines, and churches.
Festivities
Saturnalia, originally held December 17th to 23rd, celebrates the god Saturn, the astrological ruler of Capricorn. Feasting, presents, and role reversals between servants and lords ensued. Many Midwinter festivities all over the globe feature dancing and merrymaking, such as Calluin in Wales and Scotland. Despite efforts by the church to control enthusiasm, the “feast of fools” ridden with “misrules” continued. Mummers and Morris Dancers, also known as the “the Twelve Days of Christmas” commenced on Christmas Day through January 5th.
Chanukah, Hebrew for “dedication,” is the eight-day Jewish Festival of Lights. It commemorates the rededication of the Temple and celebrates the miracle of the enduring flame — one extra light being added on each successive night on the Menorah. It is ruled by the Angel of Miracles, suggesting that no matter how dark our experiences, inner light is eternal.
Presided over by the Angel of Divine Light, Christmas is one of the holiest days in the Christian year celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. The date for this observance is based on Rome’s winter solstice feast of the Birth of the Unconquered Sun to celebrate the coming of the “Sun of Righteousness.”
Practices
The Yule Log was ceremonially burned in a central fireplace of the home. Wood was from the homeowners’ land or a gift (never purchased), and preferably was Oak or Ash. The women would cleanse the space and prepare the hearth, while the men fetched a suitable log. Decorative carvings, greenery, and anointments, such as mead or whisky, were sprinkled on the log. It was lit on solstice eve, ideally using a piece of the previous year’s log as kindling. Wishes and toasts were made over the log as stories were told. Many Druid customs left it burning for twelve days. The ashes were saved to spread over the fields in spring and any remaining wood was reserved for the next Yule fire.
Evergreens are symbols of immortality. Holly, ivy, mistletoe and other greens decorate the house to welcome nature spirits. Bring something fresh indoors as a sign to woodland spirits that they may find safe refuge here. Bonfires might be lit in the fields and crops and trees are “wassailed” loudly with toasts of cider.
Yule is a time to come together to celebrate the birth of the sun. There is an external sun, giver of life, heat, sustenance, and there is an internal sun, our source of wisdom, spirituality, and intuition. Like the dormant earth, we shall contemplate during winter so we will be ready and rejuvenated when spring arrives.
You might want to perform this healing blessing on Winter Solstice, New Year’s Eve, or some other special occasion. I often do it in a group in front of our fireplace. We incorporate other things, like songs and wood representing qualities we need for any goals for the coming year.
Decide what you want to release and visibly place this in your palm to blow away — perhaps while reciting paragraph 3.
Then decide what you would like to manifest and write it on a piece of paper, which you can burn at any point during the latter part of the blessing.
If you would like, start with your back to the fire/altar and turn toward the fire when indicated **
Winter Solstice Blessing
I bless myself and the path of my past,
for in blessing my past, and these things that I bring from ages past,
Good or bad, cheerful or painful, my past has formed who I am now.
I recall all the people I have met on my path, kind and unkind.
Whatever they did, they walked with me awhile and I shared their path.
I bless their being and their teachings.
I allow myself to let go of past cell memories and bad habits that negatively influence my decisions on all levels today — physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. I release these and allow the void to be filled with peace and harmony.
Blessed are all things surrounding me, including people, pets, and possessions,
here and at home, as these things make the circle of my life.
I bless myself, the rational and spiritual, the words and images, the austere and comforting. I bring these divisions together. My present blesses me, living in the moment frees me from the past to create an ideal future.
**
I bless myself and all the things that point to what is to come,
My uncertainties, the possibilities, my future.
For in blessing what is new in my life, I move toward what I can be —
unknown but shown, unpredictable but mapped potential to be fulfilled.
My future is unfolding – more of who I am is waiting for me to be reborn.
I am creating and striving toward goals and allow Spirit to work on the outcomes.
I face a new path every morning — every day I step forward,
I accept and embrace my unique path.
In the divine presence — past, present, and future — I trust I am where I am supposed to be. I give thanks for all that I have and all I am about to receive…
Blessed be!
Contributed by Wendolyn Sky Otter
Images courtesy of Dreamstime
Comments