Yule Ritual
Life has gotten away from me recently, there just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything done. Preparations for the family Christmas are in full swing, but I will be taking some time for myself to celebrate the beginning of Yule.
Due to the imminent arrival of small humans and my office/craft space being inhabited by a teenager for the next week, my Yule alter will be set in my bedroom – not sure how my partner will feel about this, but he does bring me feathers and pinecones and such so I’m guessing he will be okay.
As always, a night of rituals calls for ritual bath. My Yule bath will consist of magnesium salts, epsom salts, Himalayan salt, rosemary, thyme, calendula, lavender and juniper berries with some frankincense essential oil. I will perform a short grounding mediation then rub from my head to my feet while saying, “I release all negative energy and everything that no longer serves my higher good.” As the steam rises from the bath, I envision it carrying the negativity away.
After this lovely cleansing bath (which I am absolutely not going to fall asleep in), I’ll set my alter with an orange candle, pinecones, pomander balls, holly and ivy. I tend to work intuitively with crystal, but I’m likely to include bloodstone, black obsidian and clear quartz, if not more.
This Yule, I will be performing my Yule Manifestation Ritual – there are many variations of this ritual, this is just the way I do it and it really is quite simple.
I write 13 things that I would like to manifest in the coming year in present tense on 13 pieces of paper, for example ‘I have confidence and am capable of anything I put my mind to‘ (I also write them down in my notes app on my phone, because my memory is rubbish). Each piece of paper is then folded up and placed in a jar. Every night during Yule, I will take one piece of paper at random and burn it with the flame from my Yule candle while saying,
“The wish upon this paper burns bright.
Give it to me when the time is right.
As above, so below.
So mote it be.”
At the end of the 12 nights of Yule, there will be one piece of paper left – and that is the one I am responsible for.
Some people will start this ritual on Christmas Day and run it through the 12 days of Christmas while others choose to do it starting on New Years Day – it really is personal preference and also when it best fits into your life. If you’ve not got time to perform anything too fiddly, you can spend ten minutes connecting to the Yule energy and just let yourself ‘be’.
Whatever you choose to do, I hope you have a wonderful Yule.
Blessed be x
