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Yule Lore (December 21st)
Yule, (pronounced EWE-elle) is when the dark half of the year
relinquishes to the light half. Starting the next morning at sunrise,
the sun climbs just a little higher and stays a little longer in the sky
each day. Known as Solstice Night, or the longest night of the year,
much celebration was to be had as the ancestors awaited the rebirth of
the Oak King, the Sun King, the Giver of Life that warmed the frozen
Earth and made her to bear forth from seeds protected through the fall
and winter in her womb. Bonfires were lit in the fields, and crops and
trees were "wassailed" with toasts of spiced cider.
Children were escorted from house to house with gifts of clove spiked
apples and oranges which were laid in baskets of evergreen boughs and
wheat stalks dusted with flour. The apples and oranges represented the
sun, the boughs were symbolic of immortality, the wheat stalks portrayed
the harvest, and the flour was accomplishment of triumph, light, and
life. Holly, mistletoe, and ivy not only decorated the outside, but also
the inside of homes. It was to extend invitation to Nature Sprites to
come and join the celebration. A sprig of Holly was kept near the door
all year long as a constant invitation for good fortune to pay visit to
the residents.
The ceremonial Yule log was the highlight of the festival. In accordance
to tradition, the log must either have been harvested from the
householder's land, or given as a gift... it must never have been
bought. Once dragged into the house and placed in the fireplace it was
decorated in seasonal greenery, doused with cider or ale, and dusted
with flour before set ablaze be a piece of last years log, (held onto
for just this purpose). The log would burn throughout the night, then
smolder for 12 days after before being ceremonially put out. Ash is the
traditional wood of the Yule log. It is the sacred world tree of the
Teutons, known as Yggdrasil. An herb of the Sun, Ash brings light into
the hearth at the Solstice.
A different type of Yule log, and perhaps one more suitable for modern
practitioners would be the type that is used as a base to hold three
candles. Find a smaller branch of oak or pine, and flatten one side so
it sets upright. Drill three holes in the top side to hold red, green,
and white (season), green, gold, and black (the Sun God), or white, red,
and black (the Great Goddess). Continue to decorate with greenery, red
and gold bows, rosebuds, cloves, and dust with flour.
Deities of Yule are all Newborn Gods, Sun Gods, Mother Goddesses, and
Triple Goddesses. The best known would be the Dagda, and Brighid, the
daughter of the Dagda. Brighid taught the smiths the arts of fire
tending and the secrets of metal work. Brighid's flame, like the flame
of the new light, pierces the darkness of the spirit and mind, while the
Dagda's cauldron assures that Nature will always provide for all the
children.
Symbolism of Yule:
Rebirth of the Sun, The longest night of the year, The Winter Solstice, Introspect, Planning for the Future.
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.
Herbs of Yule:
Bayberry, blessed thistle, evergreen, frankincense holly, laurel, mistletoe, oak, pine, sage, yellow cedar.
Foods of Yule:
Cookies and caraway cakes soaked in cider, fruits, nuts, pork dishes,
turkey, eggnog, ginger tea, spiced cider, wassail, or lamb's wool (ale,
sugar, nutmeg, roasted apples).
Incense of Yule:
Pine, cedar, bayberry, cinnamon.
Colors of Yule:
Red, green, gold, white, silver, yellow, orange.
Stones of Yule:
Rubies, bloodstones, garnets, emeralds, diamonds.
Activities of Yule:
Caroling, wassailing the trees, burning the Yule log, decorating the
Yule tree, exchanging of presents, kissing under the mistletoe, honoring
Kriss Kringle the Germanic Pagan God of Yule
Spellworkings of Yule:
Peace, harmony, love, and increased happiness.
Deities of Yule:
Goddesses-Brighid, Isis, Demeter, Gaea, Diana, The Great Mother.
Gods-Apollo, Ra, Odin, Lugh, The Oak King, The Horned One, The Green
Man, The Divine Child, Mabon.
Yule, (pronounced EWE-elle) is when the dark half of the year
relinquishes to the light half. Starting the next morning at sunrise,
the sun climbs just a little higher and stays a little longer in the sky
each day. Known as Solstice Night, or the longest night of the year,
much celebration was to be had as the ancestors awaited the rebirth of
the Oak King, the Sun King, the Giver of Life that warmed the frozen
Earth and made her to bear forth from seeds protected through the fall
and winter in her womb. Bonfires were lit in the fields, and crops and
trees were "wassailed" with toasts of spiced cider.
Children were escorted from house to house with gifts of clove spiked
apples and oranges which were laid in baskets of evergreen boughs and
wheat stalks dusted with flour. The apples and oranges represented the
sun, the boughs were symbolic of immortality, the wheat stalks portrayed
the harvest, and the flour was accomplishment of triumph, light, and
life. Holly, mistletoe, and ivy not only decorated the outside, but also
the inside of homes. It was to extend invitation to Nature Sprites to
come and join the celebration. A sprig of Holly was kept near the door
all year long as a constant invitation for good fortune to pay visit to
the residents.
The ceremonial Yule log was the highlight of the festival. In accordance
to tradition, the log must either have been harvested from the
householder's land, or given as a gift... it must never have been
bought. Once dragged into the house and placed in the fireplace it was
decorated in seasonal greenery, doused with cider or ale, and dusted
with flour before set ablaze be a piece of last years log, (held onto
for just this purpose). The log would burn throughout the night, then
smolder for 12 days after before being ceremonially put out. Ash is the
traditional wood of the Yule log. It is the sacred world tree of the
Teutons, known as Yggdrasil. An herb of the Sun, Ash brings light into
the hearth at the Solstice.
A different type of Yule log, and perhaps one more suitable for modern
practitioners would be the type that is used as a base to hold three
candles. Find a smaller branch of oak or pine, and flatten one side so
it sets upright. Drill three holes in the top side to hold red, green,
and white (season), green, gold, and black (the Sun God), or white, red,
and black (the Great Goddess). Continue to decorate with greenery, red
and gold bows, rosebuds, cloves, and dust with flour.
Deities of Yule are all Newborn Gods, Sun Gods, Mother Goddesses, and
Triple Goddesses. The best known would be the Dagda, and Brighid, the
daughter of the Dagda. Brighid taught the smiths the arts of fire
tending and the secrets of metal work. Brighid's flame, like the flame
of the new light, pierces the darkness of the spirit and mind, while the
Dagda's cauldron assures that Nature will always provide for all the
children.
Symbolism of Yule:
Rebirth of the Sun, The longest night of the year, The Winter Solstice, Introspect, Planning for the Future.
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.
Herbs of Yule:
Bayberry, blessed thistle, evergreen, frankincense holly, laurel, mistletoe, oak, pine, sage, yellow cedar.
Foods of Yule:
Cookies and caraway cakes soaked in cider, fruits, nuts, pork dishes,
turkey, eggnog, ginger tea, spiced cider, wassail, or lamb's wool (ale,
sugar, nutmeg, roasted apples).
Incense of Yule:
Pine, cedar, bayberry, cinnamon.
Colors of Yule:
Red, green, gold, white, silver, yellow, orange.
Stones of Yule:
Rubies, bloodstones, garnets, emeralds, diamonds.
Activities of Yule:
Caroling, wassailing the trees, burning the Yule log, decorating the
Yule tree, exchanging of presents, kissing under the mistletoe, honoring
Kriss Kringle the Germanic Pagan God of Yule
Spellworkings of Yule:
Peace, harmony, love, and increased happiness.
Deities of Yule:
Goddesses-Brighid, Isis, Demeter, Gaea, Diana, The Great Mother.
Gods-Apollo, Ra, Odin, Lugh, The Oak King, The Horned One, The Green
Man, The Divine Child, Mabon.
