Yule: Winter Solstice
Pronounced: yool
Agricultural
Winter is the time of deep slumber. This opportunity for rest and renewal is critical to many kinds of life, including plants, animals, and people. Dormancy is actively inactive time. In this suspended state we grow muscle, solidify memory, repair tissues, and synthesize hormones. This hibernation provides us with a chance to process a great deal of information as we prepare to blossom again in the springtime, with some of these important functions occur either mostly or entirely during sleep.
Winter Solstice
The word solstice is derived from Latin word sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still). During the winter solstice in the Northern hemesphere, the sun has gone as far south as it will, and appears to hover there for a few days before beginning its shift back toward the north. Here in the Rocky Mountains, this means that our day has roughly 9 1/2 hours of sunlight and 14 1/2 hours of darkness.
Holly King
Holly King rules over fall and winter, a period of time denoted by withdrawal and renewal. He is a restful, quiet king with great inner strength. As the days become longer, he will be defeated by his bright twin, the Oak King. The Oak King begins to come into power of his own for the segment of the cycle that is characterized by growth and vigor. We cannot live completely in the restorative darkness, neither can we shine unendingly.
The Magic of Yule
Correspondences
Herbs: Juniper, Star Anise, Clove
Totems: Buck, Goat, Squirrel
Stones: Ruby, Garnets, Diamonds
Colors: Red, Green, White, Silver
Offerings: Bell, Evergreens, Gingerbread
Spellwork
Reflect
Rest
Divine
Connect
Wisdom
Yule Oil
4 drops Pine
3 drops Cinnamon
2 drops Peppermint
Symbols of Yule
Yule Log
The Yule log likely originated as part of the Norse winter festivals. It provided magical protection for the year over those who burned it properly. The rules for the log begin with the tradition that a Yule log cannot be bought. Logs found on your own land or gifted by a neighbor are best. A piece of the log is stored under the master bed to be used to light next year’s Yule log. Keeping it in the house is said to protect the home from fire and lightening. The new log must catch fire during the first attempt at lighting it. Failure to ignite easily implied misfortune in the coming year. To help this endeavor, the log could be sprinkled with alcohol and adorned with holly or evergreens and then set afire. As the log burned, people gathered together and shared stories while drinking. Shadows cast upon the wall were used for divination.
Wassailing
There are records of wassailing as far back as the 1400s. Traditionally done on New Year’s Eve and Twelfth Night, this January ritual remains an important part of Yule. Wassail toasts are drunk in honor of the crops. Townspeople gather in the orchard making cacophonous noise in order to wake up the Sleeping Tree Spirit. This also serves to frighten off any ill inclined spirits. The best tree is selected for the celebration. Cider is poured onto its roots and soaked toast is place in the branches. The wassailing song was sung to bring bounty and blessing to the crops in the upcoming year. To conclude, a gunshot rings out over the tree. Then the merry group moves on to the next orchard and repeats the ceremony.
Mistletoe
The tradition of kissing under the mistletoe may go back to Norse mythology. There are many versions of the story, but the consistent thread is that the beloved god of light and truth, Baldur, is killed by poison in mistletoe leaves. His mother, Frigg wept at his death, and from her tears appeared the lovely berry. She declared that mistletoe shall never again be used for a weapon, instead, she would kiss anyone who finds themselves under it. While birds enjoy the berries on mistletoe, they are usually toxic to people. A relative of sandalwood, mistletoe grows upon other trees, stealing water, nutrients, and sunshine from the host.
Gifts
The origin of sharing gifts over the winter solstice has its roots in ancient Rome. The old festival of Saturnalia set aside a special day for gift giving. On December 19, small gifts were shared in the hopes of gaining good fortune and generosity in the new year. Some of these were trinkets like candles or poems. However, they could be as extravagant as an exotic animal or statues. In keeping with the frivolous nature of the Saturnalia festival, the gifts could also be funny, consisting of jokes or gags. Children were often given toys.
Pine Tree
The Christmas Tree has many origin stories. One holds that a tree would be brought into the house in order to keep the wood spirits warm over the winter. Food and treats were draped in the tree to feed the wood sprites, and bells tied to the branches would ring when the sprites were actively enjoying their tree house. In general, the beauty of evergreens lasts all year long, bringing us a welcome splash of green to an otherwise white winter landscape. The scent is both relaxing and uplifting, supporting the well-being of nearly every system of the body. The gift of evergreens is that they can dispel worry, ease tiredness and bring us hope when darkness comes to call.
Dark my surroundings
And cold be this night
Yet magic dances
In the Yule firelight
Raise your glass
And join in song
The darkness and cold
Shall not last too long
There is rest for the weary
As we sleep well tonight
Renewed for a year
Filled with love and delight
YULETIDE BLESSINGS
Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, Yule
Pine scented log, our winter fuel
Oranges, nuts and mulling spice
Holly and ivy greenery twice
Fires and family snuggled tight
Together and loving this longest night
Frost and snow twinkle without
Faces of love contain little doubt
Holding these friends and family close
With love and care in equal dose
So now upon this magical night
Warm within, watching starlight
Spices rare and incense burns
Celebrate a world that turns.
FOLKWAYS
Harvest’s home and hearth fires lit;
We raise the horn and hail with it–
We hail the ash, we hail the oak
We hail our gods, we hail our folk
With barnyard full from floor to bin
We thank the tompten and their kin
We give them oats with honey soaked
We hail our gods, we hail our folk
Our holly and our noble pine
Give us their green through winter time
While the world with snow is cloaked
We hail our gods, we hail our folk
With horns raised full of golden mead
We hail the ones who meet our needs
Winters Nights these rites evoke:
We hail our gods, we hail our folk
And when the spring arrives again
We see the long cold winter’s end,
And feel the turning of the spoke–
We hail our gods, we hail our folk.
THE PAGAN CAROL
The holly and the ivy
When they are both full grown,
Of all the trees that are in the wood,
The holly bears the crown.
Oh, the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer,
The playing of the merry organ,
Sweet singing in the choir,
The holly bears a blossom
As white as lily flower,
And when the Sun is newly born,
‘Tis at the darkest hour
The holly bears a berry
And blood-red is its hue,
And when the Sun is newly born,
It maketh all things new.
The holly bears a leaf
That is for ever green,
And when the Sun is newly born,
Let love and joy be seen.
The holly and the ivy
The mistletoe entwine,
And when the Sun is newly born,
Be joy to thee and thine.
SHIPS OF YULE
When I was just a little boy,
Before I went to school,
I had a fleet of forty sail
I called the Ships of Yule;
Of every rig, from rakish brig
And gallant barkentine,
To little Fundy fishing boats
With gunwales painted green.
They used to go on trading trips
Around the world for me,
For though I had to stay on shore
My heart was on the sea.
They stopped at every port to call
From Babylon to Rome,
To load with all the lovely things
We never had at home;
With elephants and ivory
Bought from the King of Tyre,
And shells and silks and sandal-wood
That sailor men admire;
With figs and dates from Samarcand,
And squatty ginger-jars,
And scented silver amulets
From Indian bazaars;
With sugar-cane from Port of Spain,
And monkeys from Ceylon,
And paper lanterns from Pekin
With painted dragons on;
With cocoanuts from Zanzibar,
And pines from Singapore;
And when they had unloaded these
They could go back for more.
And even after I was big
And had to go to school,
My mind was often far away
Aboard the Ships of Yule.
WASSAILING SONG
Wassail, wassail all over the town,
Our toast it is white and our ale it is brown,
Our bowl it is raised, our song full of glee,
With the wassailing bowl we’ll drink to thee.
1. So here is to Wing-Thor and to his two goats,
Pray Gods send your kindred a good crop of oats,
And a good crop of oats that may we all see,
With the wassailing bowl we´ll drink to thee.
2. And here is to Odin and to his right eye,
Pray Gods send your kindred a good Yuletide pie,
And a good Yuletide pie that may we all see,
With the wassailing bowl we´ll drink to thee.
3. And here is to Tyr and to his left hand,
Pray Gods bless your feast with the best of the land,
And the best of the land that may we all see,
With the wassailing bowl we´ll drink to thee.
4. And here is to Heimdall and to his keen ear,
Pray Gods send your kindred a happy New Year,
And a happy New Year that may we all see,
With the wassailing bowl we´ll drink to thee.
5. And here is to Sif and to her bright hair
Pray Gods send your kindred a Yule Cake so fair,
And a Yule Cake so fair that may we all see,
With the wassailing bowl we´ll drink to thee.
8. And here is to Hugin and to his black wing,
Pray Gods grant that next year we´ll merrily sing,
And merrily sing as ever before,
And that every year you´ll open your door.
7. And here is to Sleipnir and to his long tail,
Pray Gods grant your kindred it never may fail.
A horn of good mead! We pray you draw near,
And a jolly wassail it´s then you shall hear.
8. Come, mistress, come bring us a bowl of the best,
Then we hope that your soul with Frigga may rest,
But if you bring water or nothing at all,
Then love and luck shall leave your hall.
9. And here´s to the maid in the lily white frock
Who tripped to the door and who slipped back the lock,
Who tripped to the door and pushed back the pin
To let us heathen wassailers in.