December 2014 Yule: Renew Your Inner LightThe Winter Solstice/Yule, the longest night of the year, falls in the northern hemisphere on December 21, 2014. During this Dark Night of the Soul, you can draw upon ancient and modern traditions to bring forth your inner light and coax sunlight back into the wintry sky. Chase Away Your Inner DarknessLight and dark like good and evil spar unendingly in cyclical battles. As the nights grow longer and the Winter Solstice approaches, darkness reaches it full power. Allow it a moment of victory. Extinguish all candles and turn off all the lights in your room or home. Shift your thoughts inward. Meditate on your losses. Who among your loved ones died this year? What grudges or resentments do you nurse? What habit or relationship do you endure, though it does not serve your highest good? What are you willing to release? Identify the darkness you do not wish to carry into the next year. Then ignite a candlewick, burn a Yule log, and/or turn on your house lights. Do so with the intention that you will shed the darkness within you. Write what you wish to release on a slip of paper ¾ flash paper if possible ¾ and burn it in the fire. To enhance candlelight, place the candle(s) beside a mirror or bowl of water. Sprinkle gold glitter to represent the return of the sun. Bring Forth the Rebirth of the SunOn the Winter Solstice/Yule a new cycle begins. The Goddess, in her role as the Great Mother, gives birth to the Sun, the Divine Child. The Wheel of the Year turns from death to life. Dance, drum, sing, and feast to encourage the sun’s return. You can also:
Lighten your mind, body, and spirit during the Winter Solstice by casting aside the darkness within. Brighten your spirit through merrymaking. Then reach into history’s rich past and adopt a Yule tradition that celebrates renewal, the beginning of a new cycle, and the return of the sun. ©Ariella Moon 2014 |