84 lines
5.2 KiB
Plaintext
84 lines
5.2 KiB
Plaintext
The Yule Story
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By Lady Galadriel
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Also known as Mithras (for the Persian Sun God), Saturnalia (for the
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Roman God of sowing and husbandry) and The Great Day of the Cauldron
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(from Druid Legend). It is the celebration of the return, or rebirth,
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of the Sun God, the Lord of Life. The celebrations were traditionally
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performed with the utmost solemnity, yet also with the highest
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rejoicing, for they reslove the paradox of Death and Rebirth. It
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represents the redmption of the world from Death and Darkness, as such
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it is a celebration of hope and joy amidst the gloom of winter.
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The word Yule can be traced to the Celtic word `Hioul" which means
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wheel. This festival is an important point in the turning of the wheel
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of the year. Wreaths were made to symbolize this wheel, combining solar
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significance with tree-god significance. In ancient times Celts
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venerated trees as earthly representatives of the Gods, and it was felt
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that nothing short of the sacrifice of a mighty tree-god would cause
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the receeding sun to take pity on them and return. The burning of the
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Yule log was thought, thru sympathetic magick, to increase the
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brightness and strength of the Sun, and would therefore bring good
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luck. Passerbys would tip their hat or nod in salutation to the log. It
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is traditional to cut the log from oak or from a slow-burning fruit
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tree. The fire was lit from a piece of the previous uears Yule log,
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which had been saved for this purpose. It was believed that this peice
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of the old log was a charm against fire, because it would refuse to
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burn until it was time to light its successor. A wish was also made
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while pouring wine over the burning log. It was believed to be bad luck
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if the log burned out before the 12 days of Yuletide were over. The
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ashes from the fire were spread in the fields to bring fertiluity to
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the next crop.
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The Wassail bowl is another favored part of Yule celebrations. A large
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bowl or pot was filled with wassail, a mixture of cider and spices, and
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warmed over the Yule fire. The meaning of the word wassail is to be
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`hale or hearty', and was the reason for the many toasts and
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salutations made from the bowl. It was also common for a porcession to
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go to the nearest orchard and wassail the trees, thus blessing them and
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encouraging them to bear a good yeild in the coming season. Libations
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of wassail were also poured over the roots of the trees, and cider
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drenched cakes were left in the forks of the older trees as an offering
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to the trees spirit. Mistletoe is a regeneration symbol, considered to
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be the Essence of Life due to the resemblance of the juice of the
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berries to male semen. It was often gathered at this time. Evergreen
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boughs are also symbols of renewal. Evergreens were decorated to show
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honor to the tree spirits. The lights on modern trees were the candles
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of old, and represent the newly born sun god. Trees were not cut down
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and brought indoors.
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The Sacred Seed of Life, having been nurtured by the foster mother
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Tailltiu, sprang forth from her breast, and was born. As the Wyrrd had
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foretold, here was the Child of Promise, son of the Gods and of the
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Earth. This baby was the Sun God, born in the Rule of Darkness, by the
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magick of the Gods. He was destined to grow in strength and knowledge.
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It was his task to bring back life and warmth to the land, and to wrest
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the power from the Lord of Darkness. To appease Cernunnos, who is at
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the peak of his strength, the people made sacrifices of roasted boar.
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To distract Callieach, the Wise Ones, or Witches invoked her to teach
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them of her mysteries. To aid the new-born Sun God the Celts felled a
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giant oak tree, and burned the log as a sac4ifice, that the sun would
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gain strength from it, and grow.
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Despite the powers of Cernunnos and Cailleach, the signs of new life
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were still upon the land. The sacred seeds which had fallen onto the
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barren branches of the winter-dead trees had come to life, and thus
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became the Mistletoe, which could be seen hanging from the oaks in the
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forests. Upon the land these sacred seeds had grown into the sweet
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smelling evergreens, and thus they were decreed to be a part of the
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celebration.
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In honor of this magickal birth the people decorated the evrgreens with
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candles and other symbols of life. The Druids told of Hu-Gadarn, the
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first druid, who had fled from the Atlalntean flood with his family on
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this day on the Ark, " The Great Cauldron" in which they brought the
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Essence of Life, and the knowledge of magick into the world. They would
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also tell tales of the Killing of the Wren, and of the Battle between
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the Oak King and the Holly King. Thru out the land the people rejoiced,
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and their was light in the midst of the darkness.
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Blessed Be
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Lady Galadriel
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Origin: CrystaLink - Astralite/Atlanta, GA! 1:133/520 |