Division: Minor Sabbat
Other Names: Winter Solstice, Midwinter, Sun Return, Alban Arthan, Pagan New Year, Saturnalia, Finn’s Day, Yuletide, Festival of Sol, Great Day of the Cauldron, Festival of Growth.
Southern Hemisphere Date: June 20-23
Northern Hemisphere Date: December 21
Associated Holiday: Christmas
Celebration of: The Goddess giving birth to the God.
Celebration of Yuletide
Symbolically speaking and in accordance with Neopagan traditions, Yule represents the rebirth of God after his death in Samhain and it is the first seasonal ritual of the Wheel of the year, the 8 Sabbats, which correspond to solar feasts: Yule, Imbolc, Ostara , Beltane , Litha , Lugnasah, Mabon and Samhain. It is NOT about the rebirth of Jesus. This is a fairy tale and a new-age spin on the reason we celebrate this time of year.
During this time, nature is asleep so that is why it is a perfect time to meditate, recollect and make plans for the new year.
Yule is expected to last for twelve days which represents the twelve months of the year. During the corresponding TWELVE nights, the dead ones appear in different forms to visit their relatives. This is a time for religious-level initiations, whose necessary elements are constituted by the extinction and renewal of fire.
The main ritual performed in the Yule period is the ritual burning of the Yule log for 12 hours. This log is a large trunk commonly made of pine or willow, cut in the previous Yule and carefully guarded. The entire ritual is directed by the druid or dryad priest in charge of the celebration. The trunk is specially selected by the druid, who communicates with the trees to ask for their permission and know which log would be perfect for use. Later on, sacred symbols of rebirth, male figures and the sun are carved on it.
In Druidism, the Yule also means the time of the greatest amount of energetic power so magical rituals performed at this time are usually very powerful.
YULE CORRESPONDENCES
Colors:
Red / Green / Gold / Silver / White
Symbols of Yule: Yule log, or small Yule log with 3 candles, evergreen boughs or wreaths, holly, mistletoe hung in doorways, gold pillar candles, baskets of clove studded fruit, a simmering pot of wassail, poinsettias, Christmas cactus.
Foods of Yule: Biscuits, Caraway cakes ,roasted apples, fruits, nutmeg, nuts, pork dishes, turkey, or lamb’s wool.
Drinks of Yule: Eggnog, ginger tea, spiced cider, wassail, or lamb’s wool (ale, sugar, nutmeg, roasted apples).
Symbols
Yule is one of the Lesser Sabbats, it marks the Winter Solstice and is the time of the year when the God is reborn of the virgin goddess. The God is represented by the Sun which returns after the darkest night of the year, to again bring warmth and fertility to the land.
- Rebirth of the God
- The longest night of the year
Work:
- Plan for the future
- Reborn
- Peace, Harmony, Love, Happiness, Light.
Incenses and oils:
- Cedar
- Cinnamon
- Clove
- Incense
- Juniper
- Myrrh
- Orange
- Pine
- Ginger
Herbs :
- Laurel
- thistle
- juniper
- oranges
- lemons
- chamomile
- cinnamon
- evergreen trees
- holly
- ivy
- juniper
- mistletoe
- oak leaves
- pine pine
- cones
- poinsettia
- rosemary
- sage
Stones:
- Emerald
- Ruby
- Diamond
- garnets
- tiger eye
- zirconia
Deity
Associated Deities: Mother Berta, Father Winter, Santa Clause, Kriss Kringle, St Nick, Kings of Holly and Oak, Aphrodite, Fortuna, Gaia, Hel, Holle, Ishtar, Isis, Apollo, Attis, Balder, Dionysus, the Green Man, Lugh, Odin, Ra
Gods:
- Baal-Bereth is the Father of the Yule season and the Yule (xmas) Tree
- Apollo
- Attis
- Balder
- Bacchus
- Dionysus
- The Green Man
- Helios
- Lugh
- The King of Oak
- Wotan
- Ra
- Sun
Goddesses:
- Brighid
- Isis
- Demeter
- Gaia
- Diana
- The Great Mother
- Athena
- Freya
- Frigga
Ritual Bath:
- Pine branches
- Laurel
- Leaves Rosemary leaves
Yule Activities
* Decorate a Christmas or Yule tree.
* Exchange gifts with family and friends
* Decorate with the colors Red, gold and green in honour of the God
* Add mistletoe, this is both protective and representative of fertility
* Sing carols
* Donate food and clothing to others.
* Private Meditation
* Light Candles
* Drink cider
* Ring bells to greet the Solstice Morning
* String popcorn and hang them on an outdoor tree for the birds.
* Hang little bells on the Yule Tree to call the spirits and fairies.
* For prosperity, burn ash wood.
* Make and burn a Yule Log.
* Bake a Yule Log Cake.
A Little History
The origins of Yule date back to the Egyptians, they held the festival to celebrate the rebirth of Horus, the son of Isis and Osiris, Horus took the form of the Sun. Because greenery was seen as magical growth, and they wanted the Sun to stay longer, everything in sight was decorated in all the greenery. Others followed, and when the Romans came along they named their festival Saturnalia, they brought in things such as candles, singing, lavish feasts and extravagant gift giving. As this spread through Europe it became Yule.
Throughout the world gods and goddesses of light were being born during the Winter Solstice. The Egyptian goddess Isis delivered Horus whose symbol was the winged Sun. Mithras, the Unconquered Sun of Persia, was born during the solstice, as was Amaterasu, the Japanese Goddess of the Sun. Rhea gave birth to Saturn (son of the Father of Time), Heraconceives Hephaestus, and Quetzalcoatl and Lucina (“Little Light”) also celebrate birthdays at this time. Lucia, saint or Goddess of Light, is honored from Italy to Sweden, crowned with candles to carry us through the darkness. The birth of Sarasvati, the Hindu goddess of knowledge and the Queen of Heaven, is also celebrated during Yule-tide.
In ancient Europe, this night of darkness grew from the myths of the Norse goddess Frigga who sat at her spinning wheel weaving the fates, and the celebration was called Yule, from the Norse word Jul, meaning wheel. The Christmas wreath, a symbol adapted from Frigga’s “Wheel of Fate”, reminds us of the cycle of the seasons and the continuity of life.
Many things that Christians use to celebrate Christmas have Pagan origins, such as the Christmas tree. Pagan families would bring a live tree into the home so the wood spirits would have a place to keep warm during the cold winter months. Bells were hung on the tree so you could tell when a spirit was present. The five-pointed star, the pentagram, symbol of the five elements, was placed at the top of the tree. The colours of the season, red and green, are also of Pagan origin, as is the custom of exchanging gifts.
The Druids honored trees and collected and hung mistletoe. The mistletoe’s association with the holidays come from the myths of the goddess Frigga. The plant’s white berries were formed from Frigga’s tears of mourning when her beloved son Baldur was killed by a dart made from mistletoe.
Group singing (caroling) was also a way of guiding the spirits towards the warmth of the homes. Yule is always considered a celebration of peace, love, spirituality and positive energy.
The origin of the word Yule, has several suggested origins from the Old English word, geõla, the Old Norse word jõl, a pagan festival celebrated at the winter solstice, or the Anglo-Saxon word for the festival of the Winter Solstice, ‘Iul’ meaning ‘wheel’.