How to Perform a Winter Solstice Ritual

Around December 22, Pagans celebrate the Winter Solstice, or Yule, which is the longest night and the shortest day. Nights grow shorter until the Summer Solstice around June 22. The Yule ritual celebrates balance and change. Call in the sun's warmth during winter with this suggested ritual.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Evergreen leaves
• Yule tree
• Red, green, yellow or gold candle
• Red or green robe, dress or shirt
• Circular-shaped cookies
• Winter squash
• Cider with cinnamon sticks
• Paper and red pen

1. Get away from the marketing blitz of Christmas. Take a drive through the country where blankets of snow cover the fields undisturbed. Appreciate the cooler weather wherever you are. Pick up some holly, mistletoe or other evergreens to decorate your altar.
2. Decide where you lack balance in your life. The Winter Solstice ritual is an ideal time to ask the goddess and god to show you the way. Reflect on the interconnectedness of all nature, human beings everywhere with the animals, the waterways, the land and everything that grows from the ground.
3. Set up a Yule tree with handmade decorations. Red and green are appropriate for the Winter Solstice ritual, but consider using a gold or yellow candle as a symbol of the sun's heat and light. Wear a red or green robe, dress or shirt.
4. Bake or buy cookies in a round shape to represent the sun. Baked winter squash with butter and cinnamon is an appropriate vegetable for the Winter Solstice ritual. Drink cider with cinnamon sticks in the mug.
5. Make ready your altar, set it up next to your Yule tree and cast your ritual circle. Meditate on where there's a need for balance, both in your personal life or globally. Write down your concerns. After your ritual, make concrete plans to do something about what you've written.

Tips & Warnings

• Use a Bonsai tree in your Winter Solstice ritual if you don't want to use a Christmas tree, or draw a decorated tree and prop the picture up on your altar.
• Restrict your choice of Christmas cookies to a round shape to avoid introducing elements into your Yule ritual that belong to Christianity.