The Winter Solstice, which marks the longest night and the subsequent lengthening of days, is different from Yule, which hails the rebirth of the Sun. The origin of the word Yule comes from the Old Norse word jól, a pagan festival celebrated at the Winter Solstice. The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year with the shortest amount of sunlight and the longest night, that being the exact opposite of the Summer Solstice. The Winter Solstice is a term to describe a specific astronomical alignment. It is the longest night of the year and usually celebrated on 21 or 22 December. Yule, on the other hand, is a religious celebration with many spiritual traditions. The date of this sabbat varies from December 20 to December 23 depending on the year in the Gregorian calendar. This year, Yule will begin on 22 December and run until 2 January so adjust yourself accordingly!
Yule is when the dark half of the year relinquishes to the light half. In old almanacs, Yule was represented by the symbol of a wheel, conveying the idea of the year returning like a wheel, The Great Wheel of the Zodiac, The Wheel of Life. It is celebrating the rebirth of the sun which is the promise of spring and life even on this, the darkest day. It marks the beginning of the new solar year and ending of the old. 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 at this time knowing that the sun would be returning again.
The world is frozen at Winter Solstice and, in nature, little is happening on the surface. Deep in the earth, roots are quietly putting out shoots, building up the resources for the great push towards life when the weather warms in spring. This is the season of rebirth and many religions celebrate the birth of a Sun King.
Yule or Yuletide (“Yule time” or “Yule season”) is a festival historically observed by the Germanic peoples. Scholars have connected the original celebrations of Yule to the Wild Hunt, the god Odin. Some consider this the New Year instead of Samhain. Bonfires were lit in the fields and crops and trees were “wassailed” with toasts of spiced cider. The burning of the Yule log was meant to give the sun strength. The Roman festival of the Solstice was Saturnalia, which lasted from December 17th until the 24th was their version of this festival.
New Year celebrations are rooted in the Winter Solstice, which marks the longest night and the subsequent lengthening of days, while Yule hails the rebirth of the sun. After the Norse brought Yule into prominence, it nearly replaces Samhain as the date of the New Year, and many modern Celtic covens still honor Yule this way. Trees were strung with flaming torches to encourage the sun’s return and rich foods were eaten with a view to abundance in the year ahead. These festivities set the tone for winter magic, which is performed with intent of long lasting effects for the next 12 months.
The ancient season of Yule is a time of both reflection and celebration, a time to connect in a relational way with one’s own inner wisdom and with the people that surrounded them. Many different cultures from the Nordic Vikings to the Celtic Druids, Egyptians to the Hopi ritualized this sacred time to promote spiritual unity and atonement.
The winter is an excellent time to review your life goals and to focus on your dreams with the help of a little magic. It is a time for reflections, resolutions, and renewal. In the depths of winter when sunlight hours diminish and the nights seem endless, the power of magic to restore your spirits is much needed. Spells can boost your energy levels, attract new blessings, strengthen your relationships, and assist in creating positive change in your life. Many traditions that you take advantage of such a decorating a Christmas tree and leaving out your stockings have their origins in winter magic.
Many of the customs you may observe at Christmas are rooted in pagan ritual. Later departing from its pagan roots, Yule underwent Christian reformulation resulting in the term Christmastide or Christmastime. Many present-day Christmas customs and traditions stem from pagan Yule traditions. Evergreens, for example, have always been brought indoors at Yuletide to symbolize everlasting life. This ritual survives in the traditional Christmas tree. Other aspects of the festivities, such as kissing under the mistletoe, giving presents, and stockings also hark back to ancient beliefs.
The ideas, dreams, and visions you begin to connect with at Samhain can now be born. They will grow in power and strength- in parallel with the waxing of the sun’s strength and nurturing warmth as it begins its journey towards the Summer Solstice. In Wiccan lore, the power of the Holly King is at its maximum but the summer Oak King has been born. He will gain in ascendancy from this point on, showing that the Wheel of the Year always turns.
The Story of the Holly King and the Oak King: On the Winter Solstice the Triple Goddess gives birth to the son of light known as the Oak King. People celebrate on Yule at his birth as the sun will now start waxing. After the Goddess gives birth to the Oak King she dies and descends to the underworld. In spring Imbolc, the Oak King brings back the Goddess and she is reborn, she is maiden in her Triple Goddess aspect. She flirts with the growing sun god the Oak King. On Ostara the Goddess and the Oak King become lovers, the earth starts to grow and bloom at their reunion and the Oak King grows more powerful. On Beltane the Goddess and the Oak King will marry and are deeply in love. On Litha (Summer Solstice) the Goddess is heavily pregnant and becomes the mother of her Triple aspect.
The sun god, after fertilizing the earth and shining so brightly for so long, is now weakened. There is to be a major battle as the Holly King (the Lord of the Dark Sun) is rising from the underworld. As the Holly King rises the Oak King, weakened, starts to lose his power. In the following weeks there is a major battle where the holly King will kill the Oak King and ascend as the new Sun King and sun starts to wane. On Lughnasadh it is the final days on earth for the Oak King as he descends into the underworld (the Goddesses womb) and the dark lord, the Holly King, takes over the skies. The Goddess gives birth to the harvest. On Mabon the Goddess is still giving birth to crops and the earthly fruits. On Samhain the Triple Goddess, after giving birth, is now in her crone aspect of her Triple Goddess phase, in such sadness at the loss of her husband, the Goddess opens up the gates of the underworld to see her beloved, making the veil between the two worlds thin so spirits can communicate with lost loves once more. The Holly King sees this and closes the gates. Seeing the Goddess weak, the Holly King tries to mate with her, but she battles him. She longs to see her beloved husband again. So with her last ounce of strength on Yule, she gives birth to the Oak King once more, the child of light is so strong that he knocks the Holly King back into the Underworld, but because the Goddess was so weak she also dies. She is reborn again as the maiden aspect of the Triple Goddess on Imbolc, thus continuing the never ending cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. That is why at this time fires are lit to give strength to the sun and to encourage it to return.
From our altar to yours, with love from the sea,
