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2. Yule - A Time of Rebirth

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Samhain Reflections

Samhain, has its roots in the ancient, pre-Christian Celtic festival of the dead. All Celts from the Isles and Ireland through most of Northern Europe, divided the year by four major holidays. According to their calendar, the year began on a day around November 1st on our present calendar. It marked the beginning of winter. During this time, cattle and sheep had to be moved to closer pastures and all livestock had to be secured for the winter months. Crops were harvested and stored. The date marked both an ending and a beginning in an eternal cycle.

The festival observed at this time was called Samhain (pronounced Sah-ween). It was the biggest and most significant holiday of the Celtic year. The Celts believed that at the time of Samhain, more so than any other time of the year, the ghosts of the dead were able to mingle with the living, because at Samhain the souls of those who had died during the year traveled into the otherworld. People gathered, lit bonfires in honor of the dead, had dumb feasts, and invited the ancestors, spirits, and deities to come for a celebration, and to commune with the living.

In the Craft of the Wise, it is also the time when the Goddess sleeps, the God rules, and is charged to watch over her while she sleeps until Yule. In some groups, whether they be clans or covens, from Samhain until Imbolc the High Priest wields the sword, and casts the circle of every ritual. It is also the traditional time when the "horns" of the God are given to the High Priest, even if he has had them until now, on this festival, he does NOT wear them until the High Priestess gives them back to him, with the clan, or coven sword.

The Dumb/Dun Feast, or Feast of the Dead is particularly effective during this season. In this feast, one prepares favorite foods, or foods that remind one of the departed loved one, places it on a feasting table with something that will tell others who it is for, and a meal is eaten in silence, where each participant eats a bit from each offering. There is also a plate on which each individual places a small amount of food from their offering for all of the ancestors to partake in. In our Dun Feast, we also placed small skulls with the names of the ancestors we were honoring around the plate, facing it as if it was a "table" that all the ancestors were participating. When all have finished eating, the High Priest, (or designee), gives a toast to all the honored guests, both living and dead, and all drink. Now, each individual speaks a bit about the ancestor they are honoring, usually beginning with the High Priestess. Once this is done, the plate and signs of the ancestors are taken out to the ritual site and placed on a WEST altar. After the ritual is over, the "signs" are buried in a particular location in or near the ritual circle.

Reflections

For me this year's Samhain celebration brought about strong remembrances of a part of my family that I have not honored specifically in many years. It began with a Vision that my HPS had where we were honoring a recently departed Jewish ancestor of mine, and on the previous night, I had a visitation from one of my Jewish ancestors that I have not seen in many a year. I reflected on both of these visions and realized that I had indeed NOT specifically honored this side of my family for a long time. So, that being said, I honored both of my maternal grandparents and even surprised myself during the Feast, by relaying some really funny memories from BOTH of these individuals. Each member who participated in this ritual gave heartfelt, honest, remembrances of these ancestors and came away with a feeling of peace and contentment.

A Plan for Action

As we turn another turn on the Wheel of the Year, it behooves us to remember all we have learned from our past. Each experience both good and not so good, adds to who we are today. Sometimes, these lessons lead to things that we do that are not in our own best interest. Examining them, and seeing them objectively, may help us to change our own patterns to more positive life giving way. It even assists us in becoming more peaceful, and attuned with ourselves, our path, our ancestors, and our relationship to the Universal Consciousness.

Keep these remembrances where they belong, in the past, learn from our decisions, and move forward ever closer to our Best Highest Self, after all, why else be alive?

Yule - A time for REBIRTH

Children were escorted from house to house with gifts of clove spiked apples and oranges which were laid in baskets of evergreen boughs and wheat stalks dusted with flour. The apples and oranges represented the sun, the boughs were symbolic of immortality, the wheat stalks portrayed the harvest, and the flour was accomplishment of triumph, light, and life. Holly, mistletoe, and ivy not only decorated the outside, but also the inside of homes. It was to extend invitation to Nature Sprites to come and join the celebration. A sprig of Holly was kept near the door all year long as a constant invitation for good fortune to pay visit to the residents.

The ceremonial Yule log was the highlight of the festival. In accordance to tradition, the log must either have been harvested from the householder's land, or given as a gift... it must never have been bought. Once dragged into the house and placed in the fireplace it was decorated in seasonal greenery, doused with cider or ale, and dusted with flour and fired by a piece of last years log, (held onto for just this purpose). The log would burn throughout the night, then smolder for 12 days after before being ceremonially put out.

In some modern groups a log with three candle holes, (such as adapted by Christians), uses pine or some other suitable log each hole holds red, green, and white (season), green, gold, and black (the Sun God), or white, red, and black (the Great Goddess). and further decorated with greenery, red and gold bows, rosebuds, cloves, and dust with flour.

Some of the Yule deities are all Newborn Gods, Sun Gods, Mother Goddesses, and Triple Goddesses.

Some interesting Facts

In old English tradition, Yule is called Modraniht, or Great mothers-night). It was an event held at New Years Day by the Anglo-Saxon paganism where a sacrifice is made. The event is attested by the medieval English historian Bede in chapter 13 of his 8th century Latin work De temporum ratione.... (www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Yule#encyclopedia).

In old Norse myth, there are Yule Beings, that frequent this night as well.

The Plan

Plan to celebrate Yule this year as a REBIRTH for yourself. Meditate on NEW BEGINNINGS, as the old has "died", to make room for the NEW.

Picture what you desire to accomplish next year and after entering a light meditative state, envision yourself as already having obtained this desire. See yourself living this NEW life. Then say an affirmation to yourself and your Higher Power/Consciousness along these lines.

I acknowledge that I have already obtained _______ (this desire) and thank my higher self and the Universal Consciousness for assistance in having this desire. So Mote it Be, or and so it is.

Enjoy Yule!!!

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