Suggested
Items
• The Yule card (with a stand or prop to hold it up in
place)
• Seasonal greenery: pine bough, mistletoe, holly,
pinecones
• Yule log (make 3 cut-outs for candles in the top)
• Green candles
• A small basket for the reed doll
• Reed doll (make from raffia)
• Symbol of the sun
• Offering dish
• Seasonal decorations such as ornaments
Select an area where you
can set up the decorations. Use the Yule card as a
centerpiece. Set it on something to make it stand higher
than the surrounding decorations.
Start to decorate by
creating a horseshoe shape with the seasonal greenery,
starting from the front left and continuing around the
back of the card and around to the right front. Place
the Yule log in front of the card. Set three green
candles in the holes in the Yule log. Next, place the
basket with the doll in front of the Yule log. If you
don’t have an actual doll figure, place the sun symbol
in the basket. In front of the card place your offering
dish. Typically, offerings represent a connection at
this time of year with renewal and new hope for_ the
coming year. Add the rest of the objects you would like
to be a part of this seasonal altar using your own
imagination and creativity.
Suggested Meditation
Sit before your altar, take three slow breaths in and
exhale out. Focus your attention on the Yule card (the
winter solstice) and the seasonal décor on your altar.
Reflect on this next turning of the wheel. This is the
birth of the Child of Promise and the potential that
awaits you. It is the divine spark within, bringing the
promise of renewal, restoration, and rebirth. But for
now all of Nature has receded to conserve its energy for
the year ahead. Yule is the season when the Sun God
returns, bringing the new light to revitalize the earth
and all living things.
Imagine feeling relief at
the return of the light of the new dawn. The chill of
winter is in the air. The sun rises and shines upon the
snowy ground. The God and Goddess are present and he is
adorned with the seasonal symbols. The Goddess’ candle
glows as it symbolizes her presence as his consort. At
her feet is her cauldron of rebirth, which is burning
bright with the birthing fire of the new sun.
Kneeling before your
altar, you see the reed basket containing the Child of
Promise. You speak these words:
I call thee to
this sacred space,
by candle light I do embrace.
Give me moments to see,
and time to feel,
as I am part of Nature’s wheel.
Reflect on Yule as the
time to contemplate what the New Year may bring. Close
your eyes and visualize the winter’s rising sun on the
horizon. You feel the new light penetrating the cold
morning. It is time to draw within you and feel the
divine spark that is flickering with new promise.
Allow yourself time to consider this season of
conserving for the journey of the wheel ahead. Yule
brings thoughts of what is worth preserving and what new
actions you will take to bring renewal and restoration
to the potential of your life in the coming year. Write
your thoughts down.
Other items that might
help you celebrate this season:
