#happy yule log

[anotherartboy]

🎄MERRY CHRISTMAS!🌟

Thank you for the gift of your support! My Christmas wish is for you all to stay warm & cozy, and to enjoy good food, gifts, and company.

Happy Holidays from Pioneer’s! 🎁❤️

[spookysalem13]

Yule Herbs 🌿

[arianwen44]

Happy Yuletide all! 🎄🔥🐺

[moodboard-d]

[siseliestudio]

a sweet yule log cake 🎄✨️

[first-saturn-return]

Yule, or the Winter Solstice, is a moment of divine birth. In the middle of darkness, light and life emerge to bring new beginnings.

[tessawinterbourne]

DECEMBER 1ST

[divergent-paths]

Another year down, man does time go by fast!

Thank you everyone who has been following along with this blog, no matter when you joined in, I love you all very much. <3

[herbalgrimoire]

Yule coloring page

from Llewellyn’s Witch’s Coloring Book

[bewitched-moonlight]

🎄 Blessed Yule, witches 🎄

Winter solstice

As the winter solstice, Yule represents the darkest and longest night of the year, symbolizing the triumph of light over darkness. Witches view Yule as a time of introspection, renewal, and spiritual rebirth.

In essence, Yule serves as a spiritual reminder of the cyclical nature of life, death, and rebirth, encouraging everyone to align themselves with the rhythms of the natural world and find spiritual meaning in the changing seasons.

Rituals to celebrate

🕯️ Light a candle or burn a Yule log to reflect on the warmth and hope that light brings during the dark season.

🌲 Decorate your altar and your home with evergreen branches, holly, mistletoe, and other symbols of life and continuity.

❄️ Take a silent walk in nature to connect with the winter landscape.

🎁 Engage in acts of kindness or community service to share the abundance in your life.

🍲 Prepare a Yule feast and share with loved ones.

--

More ideas to celebrate Yule Yule Tarot spread

[ana-the-bot]

[witchthewriter]

𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐘𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐝𝐞!

I hope everyone is content, with their loved ones and safe.

My heart goes out to all those who cannot have that. I haven't spoken a lot about politics on my blog but I want everyone to know that I am Pro-Palestine, that Black Lives Matter and everyone should have a roof over their head and food on the table. There are many problems in the world, pointedly in Congo and Yemen.

I want to take the time to keep these people in my thoughts and hopefully bring awareness.

I'm also sending love to those who don't feel comfortable with their family right now. Who are in their rooms because it's all too much. I want you to know that you've got this. It will get better.

[smudgingpumpkins]

Yule

The Winter Solstice

When is Yule?

Being one of the oldest winter celebrations in the world, it occurs on the day of the winter solstice, which falls on December 21st, 2024. Other times it will fall on the 22nd or 23rd.

What does Yule mean?

"Yule" is a celebration of the darkest day or longest night of the year, where one awaits the return of the sun. It is a liminal period; a time of reflection and introspection, and a time of expressing gratitude.

Who does Yule celebrate?

One might worship sun or wintertime gods and goddesses. This includes "Old Mother Winter" (Frau Holle), Germanic Goddess of winter, death, and regeneration; Frigga, Norse Goddess of love, marriage, and motherhood (who sacralized mistletoe); Cailleach, Greek Goddess of cold and wind; Skadi, Norse Goddess of winter, mountains, and skiing; and Demeter, Greek Goddess of agriculture who refused to let anything grow in the winter season.

YULE TRADITIONS

Utilize gemstones that will cleanse and renew your sacred space for the upcoming year, such as selenite, black tourmaline, tanzanite, amethyst, and clear quartz.

Work with wintery spices and flowers that promote healing and longevity, like cinnamon, cloves, ivy, saffron, and poinsettias. These are traditional "holiday cheer" flora that can be used, gifted, and appreciated regardless of religion/spirituality. Spices like cinnamon and cloves are also antioxidants/analgesics that help fight off pain and infections - so load up your hot cocoa!

Enjoy the comfort of warm, hearty foods to prepare for dark and cold days, like porridges, root vegetable stews, and bread. If you eat meat, enjoy smoked salmon, ham, or duck as a good source of protein and warmth.

Decorate and dress yourself in elegant greens, whites, silver, and gold.

Incorporate animal imagery (e.g., figurines, photographs, drawings, et cetera) of goats and boars - traditional animals of sacrifice - and reindeer and cats, clever animals associated with magic, with the latter representing punishment and reward.

YULE ACTIVITIES

Sip on a hot drink. Peppermint tea, hot cocoa, warm cider, spiced chocolate, anything you desire!

Take a ritual bath. Add mint leaves, citrus peels, a dash of cinnamon, a bit of balsam essential oil, and powdered milk to your bath.

Burn candles. Objects aflame represent gratitude for the sun and its warmth, so relax underneath the candlelight.

Decorate an evergreen tree. Traditionally a pagan custom, adorn a real or artificial tree with soft lights, pinecones, candles, fruits, and other ornaments.

Decorate and burn a yule log. Make the yule log(s) 12 days before, and burn it for 12 days starting on the evening of the solstice. Carve in runes and adorn it with mistletoe and holly!

Wassail. Drink from a wassail bowl or cup, dance around, carol, and merry-make! Traditionally performed in an orchard with a large gathering, you are free to just simply enjoy yourself and perform wherever you see fit. This is usually done on the final night of Yule.

Give gifts. Preferably handmade or locally made . . . or at least a meaningful purchase . . . exchange gifts with your loved ones.

Make a Yule altar. Center it with a yule log (before the burning) and icons of a yuletide god/goddess of your choice. Decorate around with candles, holly, mistletoe, poinsettias, dried fruits, and green and silver decor.

Get creative with recipes! Carlota Santos, who is the author of Magika, has a recipe for a chocolaty sponge cake. Here is the recipe down below!

[moonlit-clary-sage]

Made a Yule cake!!! 🎄🌰🍊

[first-saturn-return]

Yule vs Christmas

The Yule holiday in Wicca occurs when the Winter Solstice arrives.

And the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere happens when the Sun reaches zero degrees of Capricorn.

Yule and the Winter Solstice fall around the 21st of December when the Sun enters Capricorn. Since days will be longer, the solar God is reborn. This date presages the return of fertile and sunny times.

Any similarity with the date Christmas is celebrated is definitely NOT a coincidence. Historians argue that the Catholic church assimilated the birth of the Sun for pagans with the birth of Jesus to add more people to the Catholic faith.

You can implement some pagan holiday traditions on this date. Click here to read about them: https://firstsaturnreturn.substack.com/p/yule-and-the-winter-solstice

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

Christmas Music, Wintery Scenes, Yule Log