To form the Circle, each person takes the left hand of the person to the left with the right hand and greets her/him:
I welcome you to the Solstice Eve Circle.
Opening - From the Revels:
And so the shortest day came
And the year died
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing
To drive the dark away
Let's all proclaim together--Welcome Yule, WELCOME YULE!!!
Calling Directions
East
Spirit of the East, Power of Air!
With your gifts of light and clarity
We hail you and invite you
To join our Circle
This Solstice Eve.
By the Air that is Her breath
Send forth your light
And bless us with your Presence!
South
Spirit of the South, Power of Fire!
With your gifts of passion and love
We hail you and invite you
To join our Circle
This Solstice Eve.
By the fire that is Her spirit
Send forth your flame
And bless us with your Presence!
West
Spirit of the West, Power of Water!
With your gifts of depth and feeling
We hail you and invite you
To join our Circle
This Solstice Eve.
By the waters of Her living womb
Send forth your flow
And bless us with your Presence!
North
Spirit of the North, Power of Earth!
With your gifts of substance and life
We hail you and invite you
To join our Circle
This Solstice Eve.
By the earth that is Her body
Send forth your strength
And bless us with your Presence!
Invocation of the Goddess
We invoke you, Great Mother, to be with us this night.
We ask you to guard and to bless our Solstice circle.
We ask, too, for your guidance in helping us keep our hearts
open and joyful, to those in our community,
to people all over the world, to all of creation.
We ask this in a good way.
Blessed Be.
SING: (Sung to) Silent Night
Holy night, longest night
We have gathered to the light.
We have called for the Goddess near
To bless this circle we hold so dear.
We're children of the Earth
The Season for rebirth
Holy night, longest night
We have watched the Sun's waning light.
These inward days soon will pass
And bring the bright New Year at last
We're children of the Earth
The Season for rebirth
Holy night, longest night
We will keep the fires bright
And Mother Goddess will bear the new Sun (son)
The fruit from the seeds we have sown will come
We're children of the Earth
The Season for rebirth
Reading 1: (Two readers)
Reader 1: The Winter Solstice is the time of people's rebirth from darkness.
Reader 2: The old old sun dies and the Goddess rebirths the new sun with the new year.
Reader 1: Persephone leaves Hecate in the underworld and is reborn to Demeter.
Reader 2: Yemaya creates the world anew again from her fertile womb.
Reader 1: Light comes from darkness, growth comes from barrenness.
Reader 2: Spring comes from the depths of Winter.
All: We are here to bring light to the world.
Reading 2
birth watch night of sun
from darkness light
west becomes the east
freezing becomes fire
Goddess Mother Moon
she births the sun
she births the earth
she labors for
the sea and sky
death is granted life
so mote it be.
Reading 3
circle closes
circle opens
and the oak fire strikes
bright the earth and sun
bright the newborn sea
bright the infant stars
her glowing earth
winter set aside
with new year naming
everything she touches changes
as above us so below.
SING
Light is Returning
Light is returning,
Even tho' this is the darkest hour
No one can hold
Back the dawn.
Let's keep it burning
Let's keep the light of hope alive
Make safe our journey
Through the storm
One planet turning
Circle on her path around the sun
Earth Mother is calling
Her children home.
Responsive Reading
1. What is this night?
(All)It is the eve of the Winter Solstice-the first night of Yule.
2. What is the shape of this night?
A. It is the longest night of the year.
3. Where is the sun on this night?
A. The sun is at the lowest and most southern point in the sky.
4. What is the element that rules this night?
A. Tonight the darkness reaches the limit of its power over light.
5. After this night of power, what is the element that will wane?
A. From this night forward, the darkness will wane and the light will grow.
6. What is the meaning of this night?
A. This night and the twelve nights which follow fall in the space between one year and another, the border where the worlds overlap. All that happens is mightier than at any other time of the year.
7. What do we do over these thirteen nights of Yule?
A. The world holds its breath waiting for the infant sun to be born.
8. How do we bring back the light?
A. The fires and lights of Yule call the sun back from its southern journey.
9. When will we see this light?
A. Thirteen nights from now at the New Year we will see the waning of the dark.
10. How have we prepared for the new light?
A. We have spent the dark months looking inward and being quiet. We have felt the Great Goddess, in her Crone aspect.
11. What shall we do now?
A. We shall let go of those things which do not affirm life and love and send them with the old sun to the womb of the Earth to be born again as positive energies for us in the New Year.
12. On what does our faith rest in this cold winter season when the earth's bounty seems frozen?
A. We survive, we endure, and we prosper because we depend on each other. We to share in the careful stores from all our harvests, which gives us physical, emotional, and spiritual sustenance. We keep the fires burning and to affirm our support and love for one another.
13. Do we depend only on each other?
A. No, we are interdependent with all of creation. We admire the animals and plants who thrive in winter. We honor them and give them rest. We remember to feed the wild creatures of the forest.
SING Lord of the Dance (tune aka Simple Gifts)
I danced in the morning when the world was begun
I danced with the moon and the stars and the sun
I was called from the darkness by the song of the earth
I joined in the singing and She gave me birth
Chorus:
Dance, dance, wherever you may be
I am the Lord of the Dance said He
And I'll lead you all wherever you may be
And I'll lead you all in the dance said He
I sleep in the kernel and I dance on the rain
I dance in the sun and through the waving grain
And when you cut me down do not think I am gone
For I am the dance and I still go on. (Chorus)
We dance ever slower as the leaves fall and spin
And the sound of the horn is the wailing of the wind
And the call of the hunter as he rides cross the plain
While the whole earth sleeps til the spring comes again.
Repeat Chorus
The sun is in the southlands but the days lengthen fast
And soon we will sing for the winter that is past
I'll live in you if you live in me
I am the Lord of the Dance said He
Consecration of Symbols
The symbols we use in this season affirm our connection and dependence on Mother Earth and the inherent connection to Spirit it brings us.
The ivy honors the Winter King and Queen, whose sacred tree is the Holly. The Druids have given us mistletoe for decorative and magical purposes; mistletoe grows atop the sacred oak -- the point nearest the sun. We welcome the spirit of Mistletoe and of Holly and Ivy to our altar tonight.
Various traditions revere trees--evergreens, especially -- for their ability to stay green in the winter. We decorate them with all manner of lights and creatures to ensure the light's return and to celebrate the bounty of the year that is passing. The Yule tree is the center of the holy feast, the means of making the offering to the goddesses, gods, and ghosts as well as itself being a mighty spirit to whom offerings may be given. We welcome the spirit of this Tree to our circle tonight.
Many fire-customs are important at Yule-time. The best-known of these is, of course, the Yule-log, which must burn the whole night through with someone keeping Yule-watch over it. Pieces of the Yule-log are then kept through the year and thought to bring good luck; one year's Yule-log should be kindled with a piece of the last. This fire in the darkest night embodies the ever-living fire of the clan and the soul, the ever-springing hope of the worlds. We welcome the spirit of this Yule log to our altar tonight.
Yule Consecration
Of all the high feasts of our forebears, Yule is by far the highest, the holiest, and the most fraught with might. During the thirteen nights of Yule, all the worlds meet in the Middle: the godesses, gods, and the dead walk freely, trolls and elfs come into the homes of humans, and those folk who are closest to the Otherworld may leave their human selves altogether to become the riders of the Wild Hunt, or werewolves, or the embodiments of various of the wights that wander the earth at Yule-tide. Modern society has tamed the symbols; however the holiness and strength of this season prevails.
Tonight on the Eve of the Winter Solstice, the Sun King has reached the end of his reign and bids us farewell. The sun of the old year sinks now into darkness and to rest. We are not frightened of this dark for it is necessary for the Wheel of the Year to turn to Winter and then to Spring. Those things which we have finished in this cycle, be it emotions, habits, or workings, we give up now to the Sun King who will take them to the Summerland, there to be returned to the cauldron of rebirth.
(Light log in fireplace)
Now let flame of Yule flare forth this night
through death and darkness deep.
To all far-farers and folk of earth,
As a beacon -- its brightness burns,
As a blessing -- it blazes forth.
If you wish, please take your bark and put in it that which is over for you or that which you wish transformed and come to throw it on the Yule fire as you wish during our chant.
The Sun King will be reborn this night through the Goddess. Let us aid his passage through her and back to the light by chanting together:
The night is dark, the sun is gone,
Yet we know the wheel turns on.
Through midnight's hour, solid dark,
Within our hearts remains a spark.
Queen of Heaven, Mother of all,
Hear us as our voices call.
Send your fire back to Earth
As we will the Sun's rebirth.
The night is dark, the sun is gone,
Yet we know the wheel turns on.
Through midnight's hour, solid dark,
Within our hearts remains a spark.
Who will light the sacred fire,
Bringing back our heart's desire?
Sacred fire, kindled bright,
Leads us back into the light.
The night is dark, the sun is gone,
Yet we know the wheel turns on.
Through midnight's hour, solid dark,
Within our hearts remains a spark.
As the flames around us glow,
So may love within us grow.
Waken Sun King, be reborn!
Bring us light this Yuletide morn!
Lighting Candles of Blessing
We have rid ourselves of the burdens and obstacles which hold us back and weigh us down. Let us now light our candles in the world and speak our blessings, reflections, words of wisdom we wish to share with this Solstice circle.
(Go around circle lighting the votives - each person stepping to center, picking a candle, lighting it, holding it while s/he speaks and then setting it down again)
Thanks and Devocations
Thanking of Goddess
Great Goddess, Mother Earth. Your presence had
held us, protected us, guided us,
and blessed us this night in our celebration
of the Sun's return.
We thank for your many blessings, for your
grace and goodness,
for your beauty and wisdom.
Stay if you will, go if you must.
Blessed Be.
Thanking of Directions
North
Spirit of the North, Power of Earth!
Your presence with us this night has anchored
and strengthened us.
We thank you for your many blessings.
Stay if you will, go if you must.
Blessed Be.
West
Spirit of the West, Power of Water!
Your presence this night has soothed and
cradled us
and connected us to our first home--the sea.
We thank you for your many blessings.
Stay if you will, go if you must.
Blessed Be.
South
Spirit of the South, Power of Fire!
Your presence this night has opened our hearts
to life and to love
We thank you for your many blessings.
Stay if you will, go if you must.
Blessed Be.
East
Spirit of the East, Power of Air!
Your presence this night has brought the first
stirrings of the new sun.
We thank you for your many blessings.
Stay if you will, go if you must.
Blessed Be.
Benediction (All say)
May the spirit of Yule
Remain with us all
For the whole next year.
May our obstacles and snares vanish
May our seeds take root and flourish
May we be blessed by spirit
Each and every one
The circle is open, but not unbroken.
Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again.
Blessed Be!
SING: Deck the Halls (while snake dancing through the house)
Deck the halls with boughs of holly
fa la la la la la la la la
'Tis the season to be jolly
Don we now our gay apparel
Troll the ancient Yuletide carol
See the blazing yule before us
Strike the harp and join the chorus
Follow me in merry measure
While I tell of Yuletide treasure
Fast away the old year passes
Hail the new, ye lads and lasses
Sing we joyous all together
Heedless of the wind and weather
