Yule Ritual

The altar is decorated with mistletoe and holly. A fire of oak roots is laid, but not lit. The room is dark.

Meditate with trance breathing.

“This is the night of Solstice, the longest night of the year. Now darkness triumphs; and yet, gives way and changes into light. The breath of nature is suspended; all waits within the Cauldron, the Dark King is transformed into the Infant Light. I watch for the coming of dawn, when the Great Mother again gives birth to the Divine Child Sun, who is bringer of hope and the promise of summer. This is the stillness behind motion, when time itself stops; the center which is also the circumference of all. I awake in the night. I turn the Wheel to bring the light. I call the sun from the womb of night. Blessed be.”

Purify and cast the circle. Do not light the candles. Invoke the Goddess and God. Sit down in the center of the circle and begin to chant:

“To die and be reborn,
The Wheel is turning,
What must I lose to the night?

“Fear.

“Fear is lost to the night.
Fear is lost to the night.
To die and be reborn,
The Wheel is turning,
What must I lose to the night?

“The light is born.
And the light has died.”
(Continue repeating these two lines).

“Everything passes,
All fades away.”

Place a pinch of salt on your tongue.

“My body is salt,
Taste the breath of death.”

Lie down and relax.