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Ritual For Yule In Solitary or As A Group

ritual for yule in solitary or as a group

In this magical time of the year, why not host a celebration ceremony in your place for you and your loved ones? I have covered all the details about the rituals for Yule in solitary or as a group.

You can choose some of them or do all of them.

Also, decide to do it as a group or alone.

You can adapt; however, you will feel meaningful for yourself and your loved ones.

Make your intention, invite, be present and enjoy.

May the magic for the Yule be with you!

Fireside Celebration Ritual for Yule

If you have a fireplace inside your home or outside (according to the weather), organizing a fireside celebration ritual is a great way to make most of the Yule time.

Plan ahead:

  • What food will you prepare? Will people bring any food or drinks?
  • What is the music of your choice? Live or recorded? Any playlist? Drums?
  • Who you will invite, make a list.
  • Tell people beforehand what to bring.

Open the circle for the Ritual for Yule

Opening the circle is very important for rituals.

Once everybody is together, make an authentic welcome. It must come from your heart.

Then let people know about your intention, why you wanted to make this party, and why is vital for you to come together at this particular time of the year.

Creating a Yule altar all together

You can let people know to bring one object that they love. If possible, they are related to the work with light, the birth of the Sun, and embracing the darkness.

If they can not find anything related to the theme, whatever their intuition says is ok.

Let them know that with these objects that everybody brings, they will create a Yule altar all together, and then they will give this object as a gift to another person.

So they should choose an object they appreciate, and still, they are ready to let go.

At the beginning of the celebration, you can gather in the place you have already decided as a location for this altar.

Better if it is located in a centric place, people will see or even better if they can go around.

Make this place beautiful.

You can put some candles, nice runners and table cloths in the place.

With some relaxing music, you can invite people to name and show the object they want to put on the Yule altar.

They will write their name on a small piece of paper and put it with their object on the Yule altar.

Once everybody puts those objects to the altar, you can also make some offerings for the nature spirits, seeds, evergreens, etc.

Remind people that you will come to this place again for gift giving.

Ritual for Yule storytelling

You can tell people to bring stories with them. These stories can be about Yule, the darkest night of the year, the rebirth of the Sun, etc.

While having dinner, you can make a storytelling night.

Yule game: “Let’s know each other better”

You can prepare a spot with two chairs in the party with some intriguing questions. Then, near that spot, you can write the instructions.

During the party, people will sit there and get the questions (you can see some questions below to use) in the list or the cards and ask each other these questions.

While answering these questions will help them to know each other better.

These questions are called appreciative questions.

The appreciative questions exhibit four qualities:

  1. Substance: the question elicits a chunky answer, a story, not a one or two-word answer;
  2. Genuine curiosity: you don’t already know the answer to the question, and you want to learn about it;
  3. Integrity: the question is something you’d be willing to answer yourself;
  4. Positivity: the question draws upon and evokes a positive feeling; it’s the difference between ‘What’s a problem you have?’ vs. ‘What strengths have you drawn upon to face challenges?’

Some examples of appreciative questions are related to the concept of Yule are;

  • What has been your best Yule experience (or winter solstice/Christmas)?
  • Can you share a lesson that you have learned during this year?
  • What is your wish for the upcoming year?
  • When was your first kiss?
  • What do you want to let go of so that the borning Sun can bring you the new?
  • What is the story of your name?
  • Can you tell me the story of a celebration that you remember fondly?
  • What are you grateful for at this moment in your life?

You can also do this “Let’s know us better” game as a group around the fireplace.

Yule gift-giving

Take your place around the altar. Remind people that Yule is about letting go so that the light can enter our lives.

Those things that we want to let go of may create suffering for us. Still remember that every emotion, every lesson, each person that comes into our life is for a reason. Once we take the lesson, we can let go with surrender.

So today, we will let go of those objects that we appreciate so that they can light the sacred space of our loved ones.

The invitation is to do the gift-giving gently, slowly, and in silence.

First, people will go around the altar and look at those objects. Then, when they feel connected to anything, they will look to the name near the thing and find that person.

No rush. Connection is the ley here. If the object owner is still going around the altar, wait.

Then once everybody chooses their objects, people will gather in groups of two.

The ex-owner of the object will explain to the new owner of the object the story of their object on the altar and why it was special for them.

Be aware; listen carefully. It is one of those magical times when life can give you signs hidden in the stories.

Ritual for Yule music and dance

All our ancestors knew how important music and dance were to be tuned with nature and for harmony.

A celebration can not miss music and dance. So invite these two incredible sources of harmony to your Yule celebration.

Fire Ritual by Susan Pesznecker

This ritual is from the book Yule: Rituals, Recipes & Lore for the Winter Solstice of Susan Pesznecker.

She recommends doing this ritual alone, but you can also do this as a group. It is beautiful in both ways.

Fire Ritual Preparations

Before the ritual, take small pieces of paper and on them, write anything you would like to “let go” of during the ritual.

The light is returning: what bits of “darkness” do you wish to offer to the fire and the returning Sun?

The Fire Ritual

After dark, proceed to the ritual site, using as little light as possible.

Be silent as you walk.

When you reach the site, repeat the following from Victor Hugo:

“It seemed to be a necessary ritual that he/she should prepare himself/herself for sleep by meditating under the solemnity of the night sky… a mysterious transaction between the infinity of the soul and the infinity of the universe.”

Victor Hugo

Begin by facing east. It’s customary, but not required, to raise your hands to the element or direction as you speak.

In your own words—which you may write out in advance or speak spontaneously at the moment—speak to and welcome the air element.

You might comment on the vanishing of air, lightness of being, awakening, and transformation.

Pause for a moment; listen, feel, and open yourself to the east, and consider what gifts it brings into your life.

Here is a sample directional elemental call for the east:

Element of the east,

place of air, the breath of life, that which we cannot see

but which fills us with life and infuses us with inspiration,

be with us now.

Turn to your right to face the south.

Repeat the same welcome, this time mentioning the fire passions, the weight and life itself, the warmth of the hearth fire, and the return of the life-giving Sun.

Here is a sample directional elemental call for the south:

Element of the south,

place of fire, the heat of heart’s blood,

that which courses through us,

filling us with passion

and infusing us with life-giving heat,

be with us now.

Turn to the right again, facing west. Repeat the same welcome, this time mentioning the restless, transformative shape-shifting of water into winter ice and snow and the way it wanders, always seeking new paths.

Here is a sample directional elemental call for the west:

Element of the west,

place of water, shape-shifting,

that which constantly moves and transforms,

nurturing creativity and gifting us with fresh vision,

be with us now.

Finally, turn to the north, the direction given to the earth element, and winter.

Speak of challenges, endings and beginnings, death and birth, and eternity. Mention the gifts of the Earth and the hope they will be given again in the common year.

Here is a sample directional elemental call for the east:

Element of the north,

place of grounding, place of birth,

fierce winter land of ice and cold,

endings and beginnings, always calling us home, be with us now.

Pause, now, settle into your chair, and fold your arms around your chest.

Make yourself as small as possible. Focus on feeling the darkness and cold.

If you wish to pray or meditate at this point.

You may also use this time to invite your chosen deities to join you in the ritual space. (And remember: always invite—never demand.)

Please stand up, turn to your fire pit, and light the fire (or its substitute) when ready.

As the fire begins to burn, circle it, sunwise (deosil), repeating this chant:

Yuletide wisdom,

Yuletide cheer,

winter’s spirit,

welcome here!

You may also choose to sing a winter carol or use a different chant if you wish.

Continue circling and singing, ringing your bell as you do.

When the fire (or you!) seems to reach its peak, stop, and focus for a moment on feeling its warmth and how different the heated energy feels compared to the cold sojourn in your chair.

Feel your warmth and imagine your life’s blood coursing through your veins.

Lift your arms first to the fire and then to the sky.

While you were in your chair, folded up into a ball, you were like the cold, sleeping Earth.

Now you are the returning Sun, boundless in heat and energy!

Taking your scrolls, toss them into the fire one by one, saying with each:

I release these to the return of the light!

As you do, think hard about what you’re letting go of, visualize the separation, and think about what this means to you.

If you have invited deities to the fire, now would be an excellent time to commune with them and do whatever work needs to be done.

Before the fire begins to die down, pick up your divination tool of choice and do a quick reading.

As the fire begins to subside, take a seat in your chair and enjoy your cakes and ale with a sense of peaceful gratitude.

Sit by the fire until it has faded to coals. (If using candles, sit for as long as you wish.)

Complete your ritual with a statement of thanks or gratitude.

“Release” the elements, working counterclockwise (widdershins) from north to west to south to east, thanking the forces at each point.

Here is a sample directional elemental call for release:

Element of the [name the direction],

I am grateful for your presence here.

Please go in peace, as will I.

Ideally, don’t throw water on your fire—it should burn out naturally. But, please do not leave it unattended!

If using candles, pinch them out with a wet finger or use a candle snuffer—never blow them out.

Enjoy the Winter Solstice sunrise.

If you can, Yule time is excellent to enjoy the Sunrise. You can make your celebration continue until the Sunrise for those who can appreciate its magical beauty.

Close the circle of Ritual for Yule

A ritual has its opening and closing. So you can close your Yule celebration with a Yule prayer.

I am giving you an example below:

As we approach the year’s longest night,

I ask you, (insert deity or element),

to be with me/and my loved ones

and safeguard us through the hours.

May we be blessed in community,

bountiful in the feast,

and rich in the Earth’s gifts

as we welcome the return of the light.

Conclusion

Yule is such a magical time of the year.

I hope this blog post will help you to feel this magic. So listen to your intuition, make a ritual for Yule and welcome the Sun.

You can do it alone or even better with friends. You can use all the suggestions or choose those that you feel like.

So plan, invite those loved ones and enjoy the magic with a ritual for Yule.

You can also be interested in these articles below,

How To Celebrate The Winter Solstice?

Rituals for Yule: Yule Bath Ritual and Yule Log

Rituals for Winter Solstice

Christmas and Its Traditions’ History

Christmas Alone: Maybe It is Time to Discover What is Christmas for You

Below is a Pinterest friendly photo…. so you can pin it to your Rituals Board!

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