(Setup: incense, bowls of salt and water, two candles (lit), unlit taper candle for each person, anointing oil, sun mask, veil, crystal (all on altar), holly and ivy decorations, old yule log in fireplace, fireplace matches, new yule log under altar)

(All celebrants are in the ritual space, meditating prior to the start of the ritual)

OPENING

" I exorcise thee, o creature of water, that thou cast out from thee all impurities and uncleanliness of the spirits of the world of phantasm, in the names of the Mother Goddess and the Horned God."

"Blessings on thee, o creature of salt. Let all malignity and hinderance be cast out hencefrom, and let all good enter herein. Wherefore do I bless thee, that thou mayest aid me, in the names of the Mother Goddess and the Horned God."

The Priest casts the circle:

" I conjure thee, o circle, that thou may be a meeting place of love and joy and truth, a shield against all evil and wickedness, a boundary between the world of men and the realms of the Mighty Ones, a rampart of protection that shall preserve and contain the power that we shall raise within thee. Wherefore do I bless and consecrate thee in the names of the Mother Goddess and the Horned God."

Priest anoints Priestess with oil. Priestess anoints Priest. Priest anoints a covener, who anoints the next celebrant, etc.

Covener 1 carries salt water around the circle, sprinkling, and then sprinkles celebrants.

INVOKING OF THE ELEMENTS

Covener 1 invokes the East:

      Guardians of the East, Powers of Air
      Winter gales, cold caress
      Sweep clean our minds
      Prepare us for the ideas of the new year
(All) Guardians of the East, Welcome!

      Guardians of the South, Powers of Fire
      Slumbering volcanos, hearth fires of winter
      Purify our hearts
      Prepare us for the challenges of the new year
(All) Guardians of the South, Welcome!

      Guardians of the West, Powers of Water
      Crystalline snowflakes, sparkling ice
      Let our emotions flow
      Prepare us for the feelings of the new year
(All) Guardians of the West, Welcome!

      Guardians of the North, Powers of Earth
      Snowcapped peaks, silence at the heart of midnight
      Grant us stability
      Prepare us for the tasks of the new year
(All) Guardians of the North, Welcome!

Priest invokes the Goddess:

     We call to thee, beautiful White Goddess,
     Most regal Queen of Winter,
     Whose glistening jewels glitter about us.
     Shining empress whose crown is of the arctic stars
     And whose mantle is the icy fire of the borealis,
     Be with us now!
     May we know thy cold and shining beauty
     And feel the warmth of thy love.
     Welcome!

     O ancient God of the Forest,
     Regal stag of seven tines
     Whose icy antlers sparkle in the sunlight.
     Mighty Hunter in the winter sky
     Whose horn sounds through our midnight dreams,
     Be with us now!
     May we know thy sharp joy
     And share the warmth of thy hearth fire.
     Welcome!

(Priestess takes up the Sun King mask and places it on Priest, and gives him the crystal)

Priestess: Our brother, ______, represents the Sun King for us tonight.
Let the energy we raise pass through him harmlessly and disperse into the earth.

Sun King: I am the sun of the old year, sinking now into darkness to my rest. Stay not my path, for it is ordained as the Wheel turns to Winter. But ere I depart to my sleep, I offer to perform one last service for thee. If there is anything with which you have finished in this cycle, be it emotions, habits, or workings, give these to me now, and I will take them with me to the Summerland, there to be returned to the cauldron of rebirth. Let any who have such come forward now.

ALL CHANT: The light was born, the light now dies.

(repeat as each celebrant who wishes may approach the Sun King, who is holding a crystal in his cupped hands. Visualize the work, emotion, etc. you are releasing, hold your hands over the crystal, and will the energy of the thing into it. Priestess goes last)

Priestess: The Wheel turns, the year is flown. Rest now, my son, in the dark of the night.

(Pushes Sun King by shoulders to the floor, and covers him with veil).

Covener 1: The sun is gone! The earth is cold!

Covener 2: How will we survive in this darkness?

Covener 1: Yet, did not the Sun King speak but of resting?

Covener 2: Yes, and of the Cauldron of Rebirth?

Covener 1: But when will he awaken? How long must we wait?

Priestess: The Sun King will be reborn through the Goddess. Let us aid his passage through her and back to the light by chanting and dancing.

(All gather in a circle around the sleeping Sun King, facing deosil. Each person places their right hand on the right shoulder of the person in front of them. All move deosil around him while chanting. On the last verse, all stop, face inward, raise their right arm forward and up, visualizing the release of energy upward.)

All Chant:

        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!

Priestess: Welcome, Lord. You who have died are now reborn. Lend us your light and warmth through the winter months as we await the spring.

(Sun King and Priestess move to altar and pick up unlit white candles)

Sun King: My thanks to you all for your care and devotion. To bring good fortune to your hearths for the new year, let us now light the Yule log and pass the flame to each of you. Once having burned with the Yule fire, these candles will contain the luck of the log for you to take home to your own hearths.

(All sing "Lord of the Dance" while the Sun King lights the log, then lights each candle. Priestess passes a candle to each celebrant. When all have a candle, Priestess and Sun King return to circle, Priest removes Sun King mask, and singing finishes on last chorus.)

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

(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

(Chorus)

(All extinguish candles, and sit in a circle. The new Yule log is brought out and placed in the center of the circle.)

CAKES AND WINE

Priest and Priestess consecrate cakes and wine, and all partake of them, sharing Yule songs.

CONSECRATION OF NEW YULE LOG

Priest: We toast the new year,

(pours a small libation onto the Yule log)

Priest: and in token of its promise we consecrate this sacred wood, as a focus for the energy through which we accomplish our tasks and manifest our desires during the next cycle.

(All will energy into the Yule log, with a wordless "om" sound. When the sound passes away, hands are put down, and all stand.)

DISMISSAL OF ELEMENTS

Covener 1:

		Guardians of the East,
		We thank you for your gift of clarity
		And for your presence in this circle
(All)	Hail and farewell!

		Guardians of the South,
		We thank you for your gift of purity
		And for your presence in this circle
(All)	Hail and farewell!

		Guardians of the West,
		We thank you for your gift of empathy
		And for your presence in this circle
(All)	Hail and farewell!

		Guardians of the North,
		We thank you for your gift of stability
		And for your presence in this circle
(All)	Hail and farewell!

Priest: The circle is open, but unbroken.

All: Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again!

The new Yule log may be kept under the coven altar during the year to absorb and direct energy towards the intentions, then burned at next Yule.

Sources:

Goddess invocation adapted from Finch, Ed, "Magical Rites From the Crystal Well"

"The Light was born ..." chant adapted from Starhawk, "Spiral Dance"

"Lord of the Dance" words adapted by Brian Reddington-Wilde from several folk versions

Element and God invocations, "The Death and Rebirth of the Sun King", Consecration of the Yule log by Arani.

(Kethera's personal note: I'm not sure why the quarters were dismissed in a deosil fashion, I have always been taught to dismiss quarters in a widdershins fashion. I would recommend continuing to do so even with this ritual if this is how you are used to dismissing them.)

Page created November 8th, 1997