Winter Solstice / Yule, What Is It & How To Celebrate It
What is the Winter Solstice | Yule and how can we celebrate it?
At Samhain, the last major turning point of the wheel we celebrated the descent into the dark. However now at Yule or the Winter Solstice, we reach a moment of stillness as the Sun stops its decline and for a few days, it rises in about the same place.
Here we reach that in-between stage, the liminal space in nature, much as we reach this space during Yoga Nidra, everything stands still.
We then reach the turning.
It is here at this time when reach such depths of darkness that throughout our ‘selves’ we might be wondering will the sun ever return?
This is the moment of celebration as we travel through the longest night, taking time to reflect, face our dark moments from which we are gifted the ability to learn to celebrate the return of the sun as this night passes.
The Goddess gives birth to the Sun God/King and with this brings hope and promise.
Today is the Suns birthday!
The days will now start to get longer as do the nights shorter and what was once hidden will emerge.
Throughout the year we have the twin gods, the Holly King that rules from Midsummer to Yule, the waning part of the year, where he then surrenders his life to his twin the young light Oak King who reigns throughout the waxing part of the year from the Winter Solstice/Yule to Midsummer.
Both vie for the affections of the Goddess throughout the year. They are but two halves of a whole, completing a cycle of sacrifice for the betterment of nature.
kissing bough
At Yuletide it has often been customary to make a decoration using two hoops, one thrust through the other, and bound with evergreens, holly and ivy, and rosy cheeked apples specially reserved for the occasion. Inside, dolls are hung, male and female, with other brightly coloured baubles. At the bottom of the decoration a bunch of mistletoe is carefully tied, and the whole tableau is suspended in the middle of the room, the centre of attention. Every berry on the mistletoe bears the promise of a kiss, and for every kiss given or taken a berry is removed. When all the berries are gone, the kissing has to stop! (Hedingham Fair)
Wreath Making
As a representation of the wheel of life, it is also popular to make wreaths from our evergreen gifts of nature.
These can be hung from doors or laid as a table piece decorated with candles.
Easy Winter Solstice/Yule Activities
Recognising the turning of the wheel, or synching up with the seasons and all that that holds for us as we live on this planet Earth is a wonderful thing to do no matter what your belief system is, we are here and the wheel turns regardless. Let us celebrate in simple ways the beauty of this.
There are many things to do at this time to celebrate the return of the light.
evergreens
Evergreens as the word suggests stay green throughout the year and as such represent ever lasting life.
At this time it is popular together (with respect and not taking too much) some evergreens to hang over doorways and around windows.
candles
From out of the darkness we move into the light and so we represent this return by lighting candles.
It is suggested to use the colours red, green and gold, representing the return of the Sun and Yule.
Create Your Own Yule Log
Get out into the woods and gather items to make a Yule Log. This is great to do with children, it becomes an adventure. What can you find? Maybe take a winter picnic with you? Once you’ve found items to put onto your Yule Log, you can decorate it and place the candles, this then becomes the heart of the family. One tradition is to then burn this log bit by bit up until the twelfth night, saving just a little for the next year. It is believed that by burning this of you protect your home.
Ideas for your altar
Here we have a very lovely Yule/Winter Solstice altar.
As always using fruits and vegetables that are harvested at this time are a great addition and as such we have plenty of evergreen around us to use.
Different evergreens have different meanings, so be sure to look up the relevance of each.
As we are celebrating the return of the light it only seems fitting that we have plenty of candles to represent this celebration.
The colours red, green and gold are in keeping with the energy at this time and a representation of the sun would be a nice touch.
Grab Your Event Discount Code Below
As a little Yuletide gift, I am throwing in the code below which gives you a lovely 30% off the ticket price for my Winter Solstice event.
Just pop to the link above and type in
XMASGIFT
at the purchase section.
Winter Solstice Healing Circle & Guided Meditation With Alchemy Sounds, Journaling & Divination – Aurora Facets ©
An opportunity to heal & celebrate at this wonderful time!
Come and join me on the 21st December, on zoom, 8 pm for a Winter Solstice healing circle, curated meditation with alchemy sounds, journaling and divination event.
You are invited to embrace the turning of the wheel as we move into the Winter, embracing the shortest day and the longest night and the eventual return of the light.
We will gather in a circle online, connecting energetically as a collective before moving into our sacred space of rest to enjoy a profound journey taking you within, embracing the fruits of darkness, the silence when our insights can be heightened and yearnings born deep from within our soul. This is the gift that we can harness our energy with the turning of the wheel.
From this period we connect with our inner growth as energies of transformation and new life naturally start to emerge, with no force, an organic transformation set in place by our inner shifts from rest, nurture, reflection, acknowledging endings, lessons learnt and new beginnings. We honour our past and let go as this clears the way for what we wish to bring into or nurture in the year ahead.
This is then when our soul insights look towards the light that will lead us forwards when the time is right.
During this profound experience a variety of soft soothing gentle sounds, hand played intuitively to deepen your journey will be played by myself along with my guiding voice that will guide you upon this Winter Solstice journey.
At the end, you will be invited to journal for a few minutes in silence before we share our experiences and draw cards.
I look forward to working with you, Justine x
Justine Nagaur
Founder