GaiasWheelYule06

The Turning of the Wheel Excerpts from Pagan Net News Yule is the celebration of the return of the Sun. It is the time of the winter solstice, when the nights are at their longest. After the moment of the solstice, the days begin to grow in strength again, and the tide in the struggle between light and dark begins to turn. To Wiccans and Pagans of most traditions, the Sun represents the male aspect of Deity. His death and rebirth on the Winter Solstice is viewed as the death of the old solar year and the birth of the new. This eternal struggle is symbolized in some traditions by the battle between the Oak King (God of the Waxing Year or the Divine Child) and the Holly King (God of the Waning Year or the Dark Lord). At Yule, the Oak King vanquishes the Holly King. At Litha, or Summer Solstice (when the days begin to grow shorter), the Holly King is victorious over the Oak King.

Yule symbols and themes have long been a part of our Pagan past which stretches far behind us, our parents, or even great grandparents. These traditions and others were carried over to America by the immigrants and settlers of the New World. Christmas (also know as Yule-day) is a good example of a purely Pagan festival, adopted by the Christian religion for its own purposes. History shows us that long before the fourth century, when many Christians began to observe Christmas on the 25th of December, the Pagans celebrated the birth of the son of the Babylonian Queen of Heaven. Yuletide (Norse) lasts from December 20th through December 31st. It begins on “Mother Night” and ends twelve days later on “Yule Night”; hence the “Twelve Days of Christmas” tradition.

The Norse word for Yule means “Wheel.” In ancient Chaldee, the word yule meant “infant” or “little child.” The concept of the Old Father Time and the Baby New Year have these same Pagan overtones as well. Each are views of the old being replaced by the new, the ever recurring cycle of life.

Some of our Yule customs originated in ancient Babylon. The Yule candles stem from the rites held on the eve of the Babylonian God’s festival. It was one of the distinguishing peculiarities of his worship to have lighted wax candles on the altars. The first Christmas trees are often thought to have been firs, although this tradition was also followed by the early Egyptians, who used a palm tree (symbol of victory). It’s green presence in winter reminds us of rebirth, the continuation of life’s cycle. Some early legends depict the tree as a symbol of the new born God, Baal-berith (Lord of the Tree). His appearance of rebirth at Yule shows his victory over death. In early Rome, the 25th of December was observed as the birthday of the unconquered Sun, the day when the victorious god reappeared on earth in the form of a tree.

Time has changed some of the traditions, and hidden others through its passage; yet they remain. To express the holiday with wild abandon, great feasts and rejoicing has always been done. It is noted in 230 a.d. “how much more faithful are the heathens to their religion, who take special care to adopt no solemnity from the Christians.”

So the Wheel turns toward Imbolg, know that this is a time of the year to be joyful and express your feelings through kind actions or the exchange of gifts. Whether it be rites of Saturnalia, Feasts, The Yule Sabbat, Hannakuh, or Christmas that you honor, each of us is following the traditions and customs of a Pagan Past. All celebrants, no matter what their name of the season, feel its joy and festivity.

The Holly and the Ivy

The Holly and the Ivy

When they are both full grown

Of all the trees that are in the wood

The Holly bears the crown

Oh, the rising of the Sun and

the running of the deer

The turning of the winter season

Sweet singing all may hear.

The Holly bears a berry

As red as any blood

And the ivy grows upon the rock

Evergreen throughout the wood.

Oh, the rising of the Sun and

the running of the deer

The hand upon the harp string

Sweet singing in the choir

The Holly bears a blossom

White as the lily's flower

And the Goddess bears the Sun again

To bring us strength and power

Oh, the rising of the Sun and the running of the deer

The playing of the merry pipes

Sweet singing in the shire

The Holly bears a prickle

As sharp as any thorn

And the Goddess in her ivy gown

Greets the winter sun each morn

Oh, the rising of the Sun and

the running of the deer

The playing of the merry organ

Sweet singing in the choir

The Holly ever bears a bark

Bitter as any gall

And the ivy weaves within our lives

Like the Goddess in us all

Oh, the rising of the Sun and the running of the deer

The turning of the winter season

Sweet singing all may hear

"First in my prayer, before all other deities,

I call upon Gaia, Primeval Prophetess The Greek great earth mother."

~Aeschylus~

How Things Began

In the beginning only formless chaos existed in a shapeless primordial soup. As chaos began to settle and take form, this form became Gaea, The Earth, who existed before time began. Time later became one of her offspring. In the timeless expanse before creation, she was all that existed.

Longing for love, Gaea created a son, Uranus, the heaven. The mating of heaven and Earth released Gaea’s creative force, which then produced other offspring. Because of Uranus’s jealousy, Gaea hid them from him.

Eventually, her son Cronos killed Uranus, and in the ensuing rain that fell on the Earth Mother Gaea, the “Erinyes,” giants, ash tree nymphs, and the “Meliae,” who are our human ancestors, sprang to life.

Great Goddess, I pray you Help me feel a boundless love for all the world In all its height and depth and broad extent

Love unrestrained, without hate or fear Thank you, Lady, for living here on Earth is life divine. May every creature abound in well being, love, and peace.

Today and every day, I am the peace, calm, and harmony of the Mother Earth’s lush green valleys. I am the flow of her clear, rushing rivers and streams. I am the wisdom of her trees standing firm. I am the strength of her stones. I am her snowcapped peaks of spirit. I am the mystery of the unknown yet to be discovered and born. I am, indeed, a child of the Goddess

Gaia, the beautiful, rose up,

Broad blossomed, she that is the steadfast base

Of all things. And fair Gaia first bore The starry Heaven, equal to herself,

To cover her on all sides and to be

A home forever for the blessed Gods.

Julbock (Christmas Goat)

The Julbock or Yule-goat is a ubiquitous symbol of the winter holidays in Scandinavian countries. A throwback to Pre-Christian times, the Julbock is a

Pagan Yule symbol that was gradually absorbed into Christian holiday customs.

In the Norse pagan religion, the goat was the conveyence of the gods- early

images of Odin in a goat-drawn cart are eerily similar to modern depictions of Santa Claus. As Christianity became the norm, the Yule-goat remained popular as a trickster figure, a stand-in for the devil who accompanied the elf Tomten, and later, St Nick, on gift-giving missions. It became customary for men of the villages to dress up as the julbock and play pranks on the unsuspecting.

Today, the Julbock is most often represented in modern times by a straw figurine of a goat, traditionally made from the last grain of the harvest,

bundled in red ribbons and kept as a token of hope for the New Year.

The Julbock of Bishop Hill

The town of Bishop Hill, Illinois, celebrates Christmas the really old-fashioned way, with a seven-foot tall, prank playing goat known as the

Julbock, or "Yule goat," an ancient pagan Scandinavian gift-giver. Played by an anonymous resident, Bishop Hill's Julbock is a merrymaking prankster who preys on fellow residents. the Julbock is still a feature in Scandinavian

holiday decorating; straw figurines representing the impish goat is ubiquitous in Sweden at Christmastime.