Yule: To Embrace the Night

It’s time for Yule!

Wikipedia says: “Yule was [and still is!] an indigenous midwinter festival celebrated by the Germanic peoples, absorbed into celebrations surrounding Christmas over time with Christianization. The earliest references to it are in the form of month names, where the Yule-tide period lasts around two months, falling along the end of the calendar year between what is now mid-November and early January.” Neopaganism has taken Yule to begin right at the winter solstice and run from there for twelve days.

Hope you have your own Yule log to provide heat and light for those long winter nights (in the northern hemisphere, that is); the days will soon shift to longer again, but it will take some time, even more than than the twelve days of Yule, to see the sun high in the sky again.

Winter Solstice

The Winter Solstice is a celebration of the sun’s return, but also of the victory of surviving those fears in the darkness. Long ago, the night of nature was the challenge for us to walk through, live through, to get to the light of the sun’s rebirth on the other side. And our ancestors relied on their own strength and stamina, as well as the collective support of their tribe to make it through the time of nature’s darkness. Today, we can banish that outer darkness so easily, with the flip of a light switch. We have incredible power over the night as our lights blaze out from every window to fade out the stars with their glow.

But for those who choose to contemplate life’s meaning beyond the physical comforts that we have created, there are other nights to pass through. Most of us have faced the darkness of illness, emotional anguish, death of loved ones, our own fears of death, or of life, for that matter. In order to discover the light that shines within each one of us, we must often pass through inner passages of doubt and despair, letting go of all our preconceptions and expectations. But let us not go entirely alone into those times of darkness; instead let’s take each other’s hands and walk through the valley of the shadow together. Our combined courage and love will keep hope alive for each one of us. A long, heart-to-heart talk, a supportive hug, a hot meal, a loving smile, a burning Yule log, all of these and more will keep us warm in times of darkness.

A bit of my verse on the subject of the journey into the night. Read on and then we’ll set up a spread for finding a new direction.

To Embrace the Night

It’s time to capture your lost courage, true
Don’t run away so fast, my friend
Close your eyes and let the dark enfold you
Time to embrace the night

Watch the piercing stars when the twilight dims
It’s ok to be blinded by the spirit-light
Feel your fear and let it go on the wind
Reach to embrace the night

Open your ears to the whisper of God
Listen, listen with all your heart
As She runs that melody right through your blood
Time to embrace the night

In the deep of the valley of shadow
When solitude looms overhead
Be caressed by the unseen hands of love
Reach to embrace the night

No matter how long the night’s duration
No matter how lonely your soul
Dawn will awaken your inspiration
Beyond the reach of night

So, light up your sweet soul, my friend
Time once more to embrace the night

New Star Spread

And now for the fun do-it-yourself Tarot part. My New Star spread for this Yule/Solstice time involves looking to the night for guidance.

Question: What new direction should I take in the new year for the greatest happiness (you can also get more specific by asking about creative projects, work/career, relationships, health, etc.)?

1 – North Star – Your current direction

2 – Dark matter – What’s hiding your new guiding star from you

3 – New lenses – What attitudes/skills you need to apply to see through the dark

4 – Power source – What sources of support you have to follow your new direction

5 – New Star – Your new direction, visible

6 – Chaos clarifier – Toss a card out randomly and see which card/star it comes closest to, and add that influence to your new direction. (With thanks to Arwen Lynch for her great idea (see comments) to add this card to the mix, and to Ania M who came up with Chaos concept. 🙂

If you try this one out, you are welcome to share the results and your opinion of the spread’s usefulness in the comments.