Yule Ideas
On one of the mailing lists I check randomly, someone had posted requesting ideas for Yule “to recognize the gods, honor my ancestors, reflect on each month in the past year, make oaths, and celebrate”. I offered the following suggestions:
*You could pick 12 candles, one for each month of the year. Light one per day, and reflect on that month in the current year—what that month gave you to celebrate and what it gave you to release; also, reflect on what you want to see/do/create in that month for the coming year.
*As you reflect, you can write in your journal/grimoire/random paper about things that stood out (whether positive, negative, or neutral).
*You can use these daily writings to help set your priorities for the coming year, and figure out what oaths (if any) you want to make for 2024, which I would recommend doing in a separate ritual after Yule ends, since you will not finish the reflection until the last night of Yule.
*You could pick a different ancestor / set of ancestors, and/or a different deity/set of deities to honor each day as well. Or alternate between ancestors and deities.
*If you like to dress your candles, you can use any fragrance that appeals to you and makes sense for you. You could choose the oil based on the month—for example, a floral scent for May to acknowledge the May flowers resulting from April showers; winter months could have pine, snow, an “Alpine Mist”-type blend, etc. I’m partial to Bayberry for December, but that’s a personal association.
*You could carve runes into the candles—the name of the month, name(s) of ancestors or deities, runes representing things that happened this past year or that you want to happen next year.
I hope you find these ideas useful and inspiring!
