At Your House
There are so many things you can do for Samhain!
Spook up your home with Halloween decorations,
carve weird pumpkins, hang “ghosts” (balloons cov-
ered with cheesecloth) from trees, and throw a cos-
tume party for your friends. One very special thing
you could do at this time is to make your altar up to
honor your ancestors. Get small photos of departed
grandparents or anyone you love and admire who is
no longer living. Frame them nicely, each with a little
label, and arrange them on your altar. Use a black altar
cloth and candles, black feathers, a small sand timer, a
pomegranate, and other items that symbolize death. If
you’ve collected any small animal skulls or bones,
you might display them here. It’s fun to make and
decorate traditional Mexican Day of the Dead sugar
skulls, and these can also be part of your ancestor
altar. Samhain is an especially good time to do divina-
tions and necromancy, connecting with the
Spirit World.Lesson 8. Yule
The Yule comes in with gladness
Though weather be unkind,
And banishes all sadness
From every heart and mind.
The Spruce and Pine and Holly
Are proof that life will last;
The Yule log burning brawly
Defies the icy blast.
—Leigh Ann HusseyYule (meaning “Wheel” in Norse) is the Fes-
tival of Winter Solstice, around December 21,
and the longest night of the year. This is one
of the most universally celebrated festivals,
and in Northern countries, the most important,
commemorating the birth of the infant Sun God
from the womb of Night. Yule is also known as the
Festival of Lights, for all the candles burned this
night. In ancient Rome it was called Natalis Solis
Invicti—“Birthday of the Unconquered Sun”—and
it took place during the longer festival of the
Saturnalia, the greatest festival of the year, from
which we get our New Year’s image of old Father Time
(Saturn) with his scythe. Yule is opposite to Litha,
and while the emphasis now is on the newborn Sun
God, Mother Earth is still honored as the Madonna
(mother with child on her lap).
Yule was the first Pagan festival to be Christian-
ized, in 354 CE, when the birthday of Jesus (originally
in late September) was officially moved to the Winter
Solstice and called Christmas. The many customs as-
sociated with Yuletide (candles, decorated trees, Yule
log, wreaths, pine bough decorations, gift-giving, was-
sail, and caroling, costumed mummers’ plays, mistle-toe, “decking the halls with boughs of holly,” etc.)
are all Pagan, and provide a rich store of material for
our contemporary celebrations. There is no record of
Christians decorating their homes with evergreens,
holly, ivy, and the “Christmas” tree before 1605. This
symbolized to the ancients the eternal life of Nature,
as these plants were the only remaining greenery dur-
ing Winter. These Pagan customs were forbidden to
Christians, but in 1644, they had become so wide-
spread that they were outlawed in England by an act
of Parliament.At Raven Haven
We hold our Yule celebration in a Great Hall, with
a large fireplace (for many years now, it’s been at Raven
Haven). We set up a big Yule Tree and hang it with
special decorations we’ve been collecting and making
for decades. Often I have climbed up into an oak tree
and cut down a big mistletoe ball,
decorating it with
foil ribbons
and hanging
it from the
rafters.
A ritual drama
may enact the
story of the first
Yule, when the Sun
went away and the
children had to go and
bring it back. Some of the
characters in our Yule ritual
may include the Wintery
Queen, the Queen of Night,
Father Winter, Father Time,
Lucia (a maiden with a crown
of candles), and always, of
course, the young Sun God. We
bring in the Yule log amid singing
and toasting. We have a big potluck
feast, drink athelbros (traditional
Scotts wassail), exchange gifts, and
share songs and stories around the
fire, holding vigil until the dawn. We
maintain that somebody has to stay up all night to
make sure the Sun comes up in the morning...At Your House
Since Yule is the original version of Christmas,
practically anything you might do for Christmas is
appropriate for Yule as well. Make a wreath for your
front door, and decorate your house with string lights.
“Deck the halls with boughs of holly,” pine, ivy, and
mistletoe. Set up a Yule tree, and decorate it with spe-
cial magickal symbols, amulets, and hand-made talis-
mans (blown-out eggshells are great to paint and deco-
rate). Citrus fruits to represent the Sun are also tradi-194 Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard
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