Blessed Yule

Today marks the mid point of winter in the southern hemisphere when the daylight hours are the shortest and we enter into the longest night. In pagan mythology, the Goddess is pregnant and will tonight give birth to her son and consort, the God. Tonight brings us the rebirth of the Sun God who will grow and gain strength over the coming months. From tomorrow, the days will slowly but surely begin to get longer and all of the world will work towards the time of awakening as the earth thaws.

Sending the brightest blessings of Yule to one and all. Blessed be.

Pentacle Yule Craft Wreath

Talk about leaving things until the last minute - our Yule projects are due today and guess when I started mine. Yep, you guessed it - today! I had a bit of an idea about what I wanted to make and was fortunate to have all of the bits and pieces lying around the house, so busy was I this afternoon, let me tell you.

I had some left over cane from a previous project but could have used thin sticks of vines or a craft ring or various other materials. I soaked the cane in some luke warm water in the bath for about half an hour to soften it so it wouldn't break as I worked with it. I made a circle about the size that I wanted the wreath and then started winding sticks of cane around the circle. It was nice reflecting on the symbolism of the circle as I was doing this, thinking about the turning of the wheel of the year and about the continuity of life.


As I wound more and more pieces of cane around, making sure they were of varying tensions so they would make an interesting pattern and would better accommodate the items that would be added later, the circle seemed to resemble more of a sun. Yule is a sun festival as it is the time when the sun God is reborn. At Yule, we acknowledge the increasing power of the sun and we welcome the warmth and growth that will soon follow.


When I was happy with the size and shape of the outer circle, I cut five pieces of cane that were roughly the length of the diameter of the circle and arranged them into a pentagram by pushing their ends into the wreath. This addition allows for the inclusion of air, earth, fire, water and spirit and thereby expands on the concept of all elements being brought together within the circle.


The red and gold on the ribbon that I started decorating with are wonderful colours of Yule as they represent new life and the fire from the sun.


If I'd had suitable real foliage then I would've added it as well but I had to make do with some fake but lovely light gold flowers...


...and some plastic holly.


As a bit of a finishing touch, I added a bell to the centre...


...and some silver tinsel to represent the chill of winter which will soon melt as the weather warms. Here's the final product:

Turn The Wheel To Yule

Turn the wheel; turn the wheel, as we welcome Yule
The Holly King’s reign, today shall wane, as the Oak King begins his rule
At the solstice of the winter time we enact the winter rite
The shortest day, Callooh! Callay! Also brings the longest night

New year, new cheer, the sun’s return, the festival of Sol,
Adorn the tree in red and gold and reflect upon the soul
Light the log and let it burn for twelve midwinter days
Turn the wheel; turn the wheel, to see out this harshest phase.

The Oak King and the Holly King and All Things Yule

In Celtic mythology, the Oak King and the Holly King are twins, but only in so much as they are two parts of the same thing. Each solstice, the Oak King and the Holly King fight for dominance.

The Oak King is victorious in the battle that takes place at Yule, therefore it is he who rules the waxing year from Yule to Litha. The Oak King represents light, growth and expansion.

The Holly King defeats his brother in the confrontation at Litha, therefore he rules the waning year from Litha to Yule. The Holly King represents darkness, decay and destruction.

In Pagan mythology, this sabbat is when the Goddess gives birth to the God, in his aspect as the sun. He will begin to grow in power as the days become longer from this point on, but he is a newborn now and has little power to warm us.

Tomorrow is the 21st of June and therefore Yule in the southern hemisphere. This is when the sun reaches the Tropic of Cancer so is the shortest day and longest night of the year. Yule is symbolic of the (re-)birth of the sun (or "son" in the Christian symbolism in the northern hemisphere Yule time).

The days and nights will remain cold once Yule has come and gone but the strength of the Sun is increasing so hope and potential are prevalent themes. It is a time to give thanks for surviving to the darkest point of the year in the knowledge that the world and therefore all of life and creation will brighten and become easier from this point on. The giving of gifts is an expression of this thanks and good will.

Other names for Yule include Alban Arthan (Druidic), Festival of Growth, Festival of Sol, Finn's Day, Great Day of the Cauldron, Midwinter, Pagan New Year, Sun Return, the Winter Rite, Winter Solstice or Yuletide.