Post by Lady Silver Vixen on Dec 16, 2010 14:18:02 GMT -5
A ritual for Yule (Winter Solstice) for the solitary practitioner. Written by Lady Silvervixen
Need: Altar
4 Candles (at a min.): Red, Green, White and/or Gold (seasonal colors)
Small but a thick piece of wood (a small log for a fire does nicely, but make sure it has a flat side)
Seasonal Incense (pine or cedar does nicely)
Chalice with egg nog or fruit juice (optional)
Holiday Decorations for your altar ( pine needles, pine cones, red ribbons, boughs of holly, etc...)
A small offering if you want.
What to do:
Cleanse the area
Invoke the elements
Call the Lord and Lady
Have your log on the floor flat side down in front of the altar. Place the candles on or just behind the log. Make sure you have room to do this, you don't want to light the candles and set anything on fire.
Candles should be places like this if possible
----1-------2-----
3---------------4---
Sit before the candles (unlit at this time) and your altar and remember your ancestors who have come before you. Think about the harvest they would have brought in and the difficulty of a bad harvest they would have had to survive through in the cold months. Remember the long nights you've endured and how your ancestors would have had it. Our ancestors knew that despite the darkness of this night, soon the light would return to the Earth and bring with it the life, and green that we see in the spring. This is the night to welcome back the sun as well as the time the Oak King returns to power over his brother the Holly King (the long nights grow into shorter ones while the day becomes longer). Reflect on all the things you've done this past year, and all the people you may have effected. How did you effect them? Was it in a good way, or a bad one? What spells have you done and have you seen them through to the end? if not, then why do you think this is? Think about all you've learned now and consider how you can apply it in the spring. Now is the time to consider what you want to sow in the spring.
Light the First candle (back left)and say:
Tonight is the longest night of the year. It is the Solstice. As the wheel turns to the next season and the light lengthens the days, I give blessings to the Earth and all her children.
Light the next candle (back right) and say:
This is the Season of the Winter Goddess. Tonight I stand before the altar in celebration of the festival of the Winter Solstice. The rebirth of the Lord and the re-awakening of the sun and the returning of the suns light to the Earth. As the wheel turns to the next season I honor the eternal cycles of nature, of birth, death, and rebirth.
Light the next candle (front left) and say:
Today I am showing honor to the Lord of the Forest. He who is King of Nature and rules the seasons as he is the sun. I give him thanks for his caring and hard work. I give my thanks to the lovely Lady whose blessings bring new life to the Earth. This gift I offer you tonight sending prayers to you upon the air. - light your incense
and if you chose an offering place it on the altar now.
Light the Last candle now and make a wish that you'd like to see happen in the coming year.
Meditate on all the changes that you'd like to see. How will you change yourself for the better through the coming year. Writing these things down will help for the next holiday when the time to sow is upon us.
From here you can either end the ritual, do wine and cakes or do any spells you've put together for the season.
Thank deity
thank and dismiss the elements
dismiss the circle
Tidy up!
Need: Altar
4 Candles (at a min.): Red, Green, White and/or Gold (seasonal colors)
Small but a thick piece of wood (a small log for a fire does nicely, but make sure it has a flat side)
Seasonal Incense (pine or cedar does nicely)
Chalice with egg nog or fruit juice (optional)
Holiday Decorations for your altar ( pine needles, pine cones, red ribbons, boughs of holly, etc...)
A small offering if you want.
What to do:
Cleanse the area
Invoke the elements
Call the Lord and Lady
Have your log on the floor flat side down in front of the altar. Place the candles on or just behind the log. Make sure you have room to do this, you don't want to light the candles and set anything on fire.
Candles should be places like this if possible
----1-------2-----
3---------------4---
Sit before the candles (unlit at this time) and your altar and remember your ancestors who have come before you. Think about the harvest they would have brought in and the difficulty of a bad harvest they would have had to survive through in the cold months. Remember the long nights you've endured and how your ancestors would have had it. Our ancestors knew that despite the darkness of this night, soon the light would return to the Earth and bring with it the life, and green that we see in the spring. This is the night to welcome back the sun as well as the time the Oak King returns to power over his brother the Holly King (the long nights grow into shorter ones while the day becomes longer). Reflect on all the things you've done this past year, and all the people you may have effected. How did you effect them? Was it in a good way, or a bad one? What spells have you done and have you seen them through to the end? if not, then why do you think this is? Think about all you've learned now and consider how you can apply it in the spring. Now is the time to consider what you want to sow in the spring.
Light the First candle (back left)and say:
Tonight is the longest night of the year. It is the Solstice. As the wheel turns to the next season and the light lengthens the days, I give blessings to the Earth and all her children.
Light the next candle (back right) and say:
This is the Season of the Winter Goddess. Tonight I stand before the altar in celebration of the festival of the Winter Solstice. The rebirth of the Lord and the re-awakening of the sun and the returning of the suns light to the Earth. As the wheel turns to the next season I honor the eternal cycles of nature, of birth, death, and rebirth.
Light the next candle (front left) and say:
Today I am showing honor to the Lord of the Forest. He who is King of Nature and rules the seasons as he is the sun. I give him thanks for his caring and hard work. I give my thanks to the lovely Lady whose blessings bring new life to the Earth. This gift I offer you tonight sending prayers to you upon the air. - light your incense
and if you chose an offering place it on the altar now.
Light the Last candle now and make a wish that you'd like to see happen in the coming year.
Meditate on all the changes that you'd like to see. How will you change yourself for the better through the coming year. Writing these things down will help for the next holiday when the time to sow is upon us.
From here you can either end the ritual, do wine and cakes or do any spells you've put together for the season.
Thank deity
thank and dismiss the elements
dismiss the circle
Tidy up!