Yule Time Begins

It’s That Time of Year Again

The winter solstice, also known as midwinter, is an astronomical phenomenon marking the day with the shortest period of daylight and the longest night of the year. It occurs when one of the Earth’s poles has its maximum tilt away from the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere.

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, the solstice occurs on December 21st and marks the start of the Winter holiday for Pagans. The Solstice is known as Midwinter, Yule for Pagans, the Longest Night, and Jól for the Norse.

Yule for Pagans, is a 12 day celebration that honors the Goddess in all 3 of her forms, Maiden, Mother, and Crone. And the rebirth of the God, in the form of the Sun. Each one of these representations of the Divine is honored and observed for a 3 day period beginning with the Maiden. The Mother Goddess comes next, followed by the Sun God, and ending with the Crone.

This year of 2018, Pagans will also enjoy a special occurrence of a Full Moon (read more at Space.com) AND a meteor shower during the Yuletide celebrations. The Ursid meteor shower is active each year around the December solstice. This year’s peak morning is probably December 22. Even under the full moon light, you should be able to see a little bit of the meteors. So if you’re up before sunrise, look up and check it out. (read more at EarthSky.org).

If you want to incorporate Mother Moon’s energy into your holiday rituals, consider this:
The Full Moon is best used for banishing unwanted influences in your life. Think of it as ‘shining a light’ on issues or challenges. It can also be a good time for creating protection magik and performing divination. You can use this time for releasing old patterns or issues, and open the door for healing by giving energy to positive patterns you’ll put in place. Full Moon magik can be conjured during the 3 days prior to the rise of the Full Moon, the night of the Full Moon and during the 3 days after. – from Working with the Moon on PagansPath.com

Mother Moon’s energy will be available during the first 3 days of Yule during the observance of the Maiden. For many this is a time to align with the Maiden Goddess and go within to discern where your soul “needs”you to be vs. where your physical brain/heart “wants” you to be.

And this full moon energy continues under the next set of 3 days of Yule, during the observance of the Mother. At this time, align your soul with the greater Divine Creation of the Mother Goddess, to focus on what you “need” to create in your life to carry your soul forward on its spiritual mission.

Whatever your chosen path is, we hope you have a marvelous and joyful holiday season. Merry Yule!

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