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