My Yuletide Celebration
I have been starting to explore Pagan traditions and I was very excited to learn more about Yuletide. I decided that instead of binging on a bunch of knowledge before Yuletide, that I would learn day-by-day while I was practicing. I started my Yuletide celebration on the Winter Solstice, though others choose to start celebrating at different times.
Since the Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, I dried orange slices and hung them over the entryways of my apartment and bedroom. Dried orange slices are symbols used to bring brightness and sunshine over the longest night of the year. The apartment also smelled bright and fresh all day, which was an added plus!
As I have been embracing living as a witch, I have come to the realization that my practice does not need to be picture perfect and that I do not need to purchase new things to be a “good witch.”
The First Day of Yuletide was suddenly upon us, and I didn’t have a Yule log! EEK! But instead of panicking and trying to go and buy something, or foraging in the snow for a log that would fit my purpose, I turned to what I had on hand.
I had been drying my leftover sage and thyme from our Thanksgiving dinner and instead of tossing the stems, I opted to gather them on a pretty gold tray and have them serve as my Yule “log.” In my mind they were imbued with the festive Thanksgiving vibes, full of my family’s love, good intentions, and grateful thoughts. What a perfect sentiment to bring to my first Yuletide altar!
My altar thus started with my Yule log and a beeswax candle that was lit daily when I sat within the sacred ritual space that I was creating. Each day of Yuletide, I lit the candle, burned Palo Santo to cleanse my energy and the energy of the space, reflected on the intention/ theme of the day, and my partner and I chose an object to place on the altar that coincided with the day’s theme.
I was told by a friend about another fun Yuletide tradition. You start by writing thirteen wishes or goals down on little pieces of paper. I chose to place these in a mason jar on my altar for safekeeping. Each day of Yuletide, you choose one out randomly (without peaking at what the wish is) and burn it. It is said that if you choose to focus on and work towards the wish that is left over after the twelve days, then all of the other wishes will come true as well.
It became very obvious as I was brainstorming that you need to be careful what you wish for! I thought this was very powerful because if you are choosing to make wishes or resolutions, but would not want it to be the one that was left over that you actually have to work on, why are you wishing for it? It was more difficult to come up with thirteen things that I was hoping to come true and that I felt I had the strength to work on.
While on average I spent only 5-20 minutes with my altar each day, I felt that the time was well spent. The space was calming and it was very centering to celebrate wise and well ancestors, goddesses, and my own journey. It was beautiful to step aside from the daily hustle-and-bustle and realize that while I am but a speck in the vast universe, everything is connected and my intention to bridge the gap is a powerful force.
It was quite potent to sit with the magic of the season and with my own power. It was shocking how electric sitting in ritual space was (pun intended) and it was fulfilling to create that space each day, even for a short period. My Yuletide journey highlighted how important my Craft is to me and strengthened my motivation to come back to myself- and to the mysterious ether- consistently and with reverent intention.
-SunnyCelly