Winter Solstice 1999 CO1

 

Yule, GreenSong Grove, 1999

Welcome & Anoint

The light of the Sun is an inner light
 

Grounding

(Three continuous Oms to connect, warm vocal chords)

(Ground: silver down, gold up)

 

Cast Circle 

I do now conjure this to be a circle of protection, of power, and strength and love.  Be it a space between the visible and invisible worlds where we may look upon the faces of our Gods and see in them a reflection of our own divinity.  As we celebrate the Sun’s return,  I call upon His twelve faces, each a mirror in which we see ourselves. 

 

May the dynamic spirit of Aries be with us, grounded in Taurean persistence with the quick mental powers of Gemini as we, the Children of the Moon stand surrounded in our Mother’s love.  Let our circle sparkle with the creativity  and splendor of Leo, yet direct its energy with Virgoan precision.  Bring Libran balance to all polarities, and may the passion of Scorpio allow us to soar as the Eagle, with the enthusiasm of the Archer yet with the practical ability of Capricorn to get the job done.  In the spirit of Aquarius may we seek Universal truth as with true Piscean mysticism we merge with the Lord and Lady in perfect love and perfect trust.  As it is willed, So mote it be.
 

Invoke Goddess

HP - Light white candle on Yule log:    I come to you as the Maiden, young and free, fresh as springtime, belonging to no one, happy with the sheer joy of life.  Yet within me a yearning stirred, to create and share, and so I become...
 
Light red candle:    The Mother-full, rich abundant.  I bring forth the fruit of my creativity, I nurture, preserve, love and am fulfilled.  Yet in the circle of life contains death and so I become...
 
Light black candle:    The crone, ancient wise one, Lady of Darkness, Mother of Sorrows. We Three-in-One bring forth light each year that is sacrificed  at Samhain and is and reborn tonight, ushering in a new millennium.
 
HPS:    We honor rebirth as we meet tonight to celebrate the yearly rebirth of the Sun.  The never-ending cycle of birth, death, rebirth reminds us that all things have their time and their seasons., of letting go and making way for new beginnings. I now call upon the God.  Return from the shadows O Lord of Light!  The Wheel has turned. We call you back to warm us, to charge the seeds of Spring within us. Come Forth in your splendor and brilliance.
 
HP:    I hear you Lady. I greet you with joy and with the first light of new possibilities that were only dreams when last we met to turn the wheel.

Workings

HP:    Everyone relax, focus on your breath. Now remember what you want to bring into your lives this year and see it as a color.  For instance, if you are looking for more prosperity in your life, that could be visualized as green, a new car as red for motion, relationships as pink.  Utilize your knowledge of the chakras or let your imagination soar.  There are no wrong colors.  After you have done this, visualize your color starting at your feet and moving up through your body.  Feel it going up your torso, into your stomach, your chest, your throat, into your head and now visualize it going out the crown of your head, higher and higher until it merges with all the colors of everyone here and weaves itself into a circle of multicolored light. 

I want you to see the light getting stronger and starting to spin clockwise. Feel it, hold the vision in your mind, see it and let it go.  Let the circle of light spiral off, sending our desires to the universe.
 

Living Between Two Worlds, the Priestess and Pastor

HPS: All the old ways, especially the dualistic, we-have-all-the answers ways, whether Christian or Pagan, are changing as they mix and match in the collective mind and in my depths as well.  I suspect that I am but a microcosm of the greater revolution in consciousness, as reflected in my need to move beyond tribalism, both Christian and Pagan. I may be experiencing what the planet needs, a way to hold together more than one perspective on the truth. Fur and feather, scale and skin, leaf and mountain blend as the web of life is being re-spun, and Mystery looms large on the horizon.  Shining One! Child of light and love! Winter-born King! Once again I am caught in that magical moment between the worlds.  In this season when Pagans, Christians, Jews and untold others celebrate the festival of the returning light, I reflect on my own rich spiritual practice.  

HPS:    Although I’m not much into the “biggest buying season of the year” neither am I a “let’s reclaim the Pagan holiday those nasty Christians stole”. I find that there is enough of the Spirit to go around for all of those who honor the cycles of the soul.  So, in my own way, I seek to keep the meaning of the season.  Mostly I love the glitz of this winter holiday. I put on my gold embroidered robe, decorate a tree with hundreds of twinkling lights, ignite the candles on the altar and do lots of sympathetic magick to lure the light back into being.  I feel connected to the energy that runs through all of the traditions.  It really doesn’t matter to me if it’s at a Pagan altar on a mountain or in a sun-dappled Christian chapel.  That’s what so special about honoring all these holy days that fit together as spokes on the great wheel of the Divine.  Christmas trees, Yule logs, Hanukkah bushes, everyone inherently understands that we need the promise of greenness, of new life, in the midst of winter.  As the poet Robert Frost put so eloquently, “We dance around in a ring and suppose.  But the Secret sits in the middle and knows.” Blessed be the Secret in all its diversity.  May we come to know it in all its fullness! Let us now join together for a spiral dance!

Close circle

Feast

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