This Friday, December 21st is Yule! This marks the winter solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year. It is the first day of winter and this year it falls right before the full moon.
At Yule, we celebrate the return of the sun. The days are no longer getting shorter. Everything gets brighter from here! To honour this, we bring lights to our celebration. If you’re inside, make sure to burn plenty of candles, including your beeswax tapers. If you’re celebrating outside, a bonfire is an excellent way to welcome back the sun.
In the Northern traditions, Yule is when Balder is reborn. He is the son of Odin and Frigga and is sacrificed at midsummer, which is also called Litha.
Personal Yule Ritual
It’s a great idea to begin by taking a ritual bath or shower. You can use your peppermint hemp terpene soap to prepare yourself for your celebration.
Place your candles and carnelian and black tourmaline crystal pair on your altar. Light a cone of pine incense and cast your circle, if it is part of your tradition.
Light your candles, and say:
The Wheel of the Year has turned again
until the nights reached their longest.
Now, the darkness retreats
and the light returns.
The ever-spinning Wheel turns
towards the sun once more.
If you want to include cannabis in your ritual, enjoy it now. You can use your ruby in zoisite pipe to enjoy an uplifting smoke, as the stone will help you convert any lingering bad energy from the previous year into positive energy ahead. Our Yule strain recommendation is Blue Dream. If you smoke a joint or blunt instead of from your pipe, you may wish to light it from an altar candle to draw the energy into you. Once you have enjoyed your herb, settle in to meditate on the return of the sun.
Ask yourself what the return of the light means to you. How is your life different in the light and dark halves of the year? Does your body feel different? Are there mental changes? What does the turning of the Wheel mean for you?
As you meditate on these questions, you may want to chant. You can say:
The Wheel turns
The sun returns
When you have finished the ritual, it’s the perfect time to ground yourself with some food and drink. Milk and cookies? Eggnog and fruitcake? It’s up to you!