A Simple Yule/Solstice Ritual

We moved here for many reasons.

One of the things that drew me was the desire to watch the wheel of the year turn from this particular spot on the earth.

I have been in motion most of my life.

We moved a lot when I was a kid and I continued the pattern into adulthood. Shifting. Moving. Exploring. Happiest in motion, to tell the truth. Nothing so wonderful and calming as the sound of wheels on pavement, the sway of a train or the dip and rise of a slow boat to… somewhere else.

It has been good for me – this motion. It has carried me to places I never dreamed of.

It has also been good for me to come here. To stop here for a time. On this river. With these people.

I am so blessed to be here.

I can feel my energy returning. I was … depleted for stretch. After the book came out. After the surgery.

This place is helping me heal.

We let go of the oddest things when we get tired. Some of us let go of the very things that will help carry us through. I’m not sure why we do that.

The good news is that we can reclaim these things when we wake up and realize that they have slipped away.

One of the things I find myself reclaiming this year is – the desire to mark the turning of the wheel with small rituals. I fell out of the habit somewhere along the line. Didn’t have “the right space” or “couldn’t find the time.” Whatever my reasons… I miss the rituals and I’ve decided to… begin again.

I will mark the winter solstice with a simple Yule ritual to welcome back the sun and to mark my personal exit of 2012 and welcome 2013.

The core of the ritual can be adapted to any belief system and range from the simple to the elaborate.  You can cast a circle and call the directions to enter your sacred space – or you can just sit and breathe and centre yourself. You can do it outside, in a special room, or at your kitchen table. All you really need is quiet, a pen and paper, a candle (make it yellow if you like but anything will do), a match or lighter to light the candle and a fire proof bowl/container to burn the paper in.

At its heart this ritual is a way to mark the return of the sun by releasing… a habit, a mindset, or something that we feel has been holding us back or hurting us in the past year and welcoming in something new.  Invoking a new intention perhaps.  It can be as wide sweeping as say, letting go of FEAR and welcoming ABUNDANCE.  You can write two words or two thousand – whatever works for you.

Here it is in a nutshell.  You can also grab a pdf version here.

A Simple Yule/Solstice Ritual
To mark the Returning of the Sun
Release/Replenish

o      Enter the sacred
o      Connect to the divine
o      Light a candle to welcome the returning sun
o      Write down what you would like to release 
from the past year
o      Write down what you would like to welcome in 
for the coming year
o      Take some time to hold this knowledge within 
your body and feel the shift
‚     - from emptying out and letting go 
of that which you would like to move on from
‚     -  to replenishing and welcoming 
something new in
o      Burn the paper – releasing the old and sending 
your intention for the new year out into the  world
o      Ground yourself and the power raised
o      Return to the everyday

I send you bright blessings for the holiday season and wishes for a fabulous 2013.

Be well, my friends.

Go easy -p