You will need : a bowl of salt water, holly and mistletoe. A yule log is optional.


Place the holly on the altar and have the mistletoe ready but not on the altar. when you are ready, invite the Goddeess into your circle and cast your circle. After this say:
Blessed Be the season of Yule.
BBlessed be the young Virgin
Goddess who gives to Her people
tonight a newborn God.
Blessed be the newborn God.

Remove the holly from your altar and replace it with the mistletoe (the symbol of the Oak King). Say:
Blessed be the King of the Waxing Year.
I pray you will guide your
children safely through the
season of warmth and light.

Take you Goddess and God candle into your nands. Say:
Tonight Goddess and God are reunited.
Tonight life begins anew
and light begins to anew.
Blessed be the one light.
Blessed be the divine force of creation.

Touch the candle flames to each other. Replace them closer together on the altar. If you have a Yule log, now is the time to light it. You will need a white, red, and black candle. Place the candles in the log. Light the white and say:
Blessed be the Virgin, innocent and fresh.

Light the red candle and say:
Blessed be the Mother, fertile and loving.

Light the black candle and say:
Blessed be the Crone, powerful and wise.

Go to the bowl of water and say:,
Blessed be the Triple Goddess.

Place your fingers into the bowl and annoint your feet, belly and head. This is a blessing of the triple Goddess. If you wish, you may add words as you annoint yourself. Then spend time meditating or whatever you like. Open the circle when you are finished.

From "The Wiccan Book of Ceremonies and Rituals" 
by Patricia Telesco

Ritual for Winter Solstice

PREPARATIONS:
If it's physical feasible, fast and pray for 
three days beforehand.
This allows you to enter the new year's cycle 
purified in body and
spirit.  Also consider a ritual bath with 
cinnamon, mint, and rose
petals to improve psychic awareness.

Decorate the sacred space with gold and silver 
spheres to represent
the returning sun, and wreaths to symbolize the 
turning Wheel.  Have
oak shavings ready as a base for your incense.  
Add any other
personally meaningful herbs to this mixture and 
start burning it
before the invocation to help prepare the sacred 
space.  Finally, put
your sun candle from earlier in the year at the 
southern point of the
circle.


THE ALTER:
Cover the table with a pale green cloth - the 
color of early sprouts,
which represent continuance.  Add red berries for 
life's blood;
holly; ivy; and pine branches as a symbol of 
longevity.  The pine
also welcomes sylvan spirits to your circle.

Have a Yule log at the center point, placing 
there your God and
Goddess candles.  Always keep part of the candles 
or the log itself
for future years; this brings good luck, life, 
health, and
providence.


INVOCATION:
Light the Goddess candle in the Yule log, then 
move to the northern
point of your circle.  This is the quarter 
traditionally ascribed to
the season of winter.

North:  Ancient Mother, I look for your opulence, 
but tonight naught
but barren trees decorate the land.  In this 
restful moment, let my
spirit find healing.

East:  Ancient Brother, I listen for your winds, 
but tonight they are
still.  In this quiet darkness, help me find 
inspiration.

South:  Ancient Father, I look for your fires, 
but tonight the embers
only begin to glow more brightly.  May this 
gentle warmth temper my
spirit.

West:  Ancient Sister, I seek your glistening 
tears, but tonight they
are frozen.  Beneath this cool blanket, let my 
emotions find
stability.

Center:  Ancient Ones, I seek your face, but 
tonight darkness
surrounds.  Help me find your spark within to 
guide my path.


MEDITATION AND VISUALIZATION
Winter Solstice is an excellent time to undergo a 
vision quest to
find your magical name, a totem animal, a mantra, 
or other empowering
insights.  This meditation is meant to accent 
that quest by opening
your awareness to the power within and without 
all things.

Begin in a standing position.  Center yourself 
and breathe deeply.
Slowly take off your mundane clothes, likewise 
removing the "world"
with each.  Wrap a blanket around yourself for 
warmth, but remain
naked for the meditation.  You need no trappings 
to discover personal
power.

Sit and close your eyes.  Let any remaining 
tension drain away, then
begin listening to the sound of silence.  Smell 
the aromas of oak and
herb.  Feel the latent energy of everything 
around you and the magic
you've placed there.  Know it is your own.

Listen to your breath and your heartbeat.  Sense 
the pulse and ebb
within as the same energy without. Listen 
closely, does it whisper a
message to you?  Does it whisper a name?  Do you 
hear the cry of an
animal?  Do you hear words that fill you with 
energy?  Linger in this
place between Earth and stars until you receive a 
message.  Then
return to normal levels of awareness, and write 
of the experience in
your journal.


THE RITUAL:
  Turn toward the northern part of your circle.  
Think of things that
you want to banish, such as bad habits.  Say: "I 
call to the
darkness.  Come embrace my ____________ (fill in 
with your negative
characteristics).  Take them to yourself.  I 
release them.  As the
sun climbs in the sky, take these things with you 
in retreat, never
to return to me again."

Turn to the south of the circle, light the sun 
candle, and repeat
this chant.  Let it naturally grow to fill the 
entire space with
positive vibrations:
Strong sun, returning sun,
the light burns as the Wheel turns
Strong sun, returning sun;
the shadows fade; by magic bade
strong sun, returning sun;
the shadows flee, the magic is free!

Return to the altar now and light the God candle, 
using the Goddess
candle as a fire source (symbolic of the womb).

Say: "Sun Father, your journey has left you 
weary.  May this light
give you strength to reach toward the heavens 
again with warmth and
brilliance.

After so saying, go through your home and light 
all its candles,
lamps, flashlights, or decorative lights to 
represent the sun's
return.


OTHER ACTIVITIES
Make symbolic decorations for the tree.  The 
traditional pastime of
stringing popcorn and cranberries can symbolize 
continued providence,
for example.  Or bundle scraps of yellow cloth 
with brightly colored
ribbons, tying in wishes as you go.

Another customary activity in rural communities 
is the blessing of
fruit-bearing trees.  If you don't have a fruit 
tree nearby, use any
indoor plant as a substitute.  Sprinkle it with 
wassail mixed with
the ash from your incense.  This helps manifest a 
productive year.

Finally, make predictions for the coming year 
based on the weather.
Folklore says a white Christmas brings 
prosperity, while a green one
precedes a bad year for crops; when the sun 
shines through fruit
trees on the Winter Solstice, it foreshadows 
abundance.


CLOSING THE CIRCLE
  West:  Spirit of the West, thank you for 
cleansing body, mind, and
spirit.  As you go from this place, likewise 
purify Earth.

South:  Spirit of the South, thank you for this 
warmth of body, mind,
and spirit.  As you go from this place, likewise 
generate love on
Earth.

East:  Spirit of the East, thank you for this 
stillness of body,
mind, and spirit.  As you go from this place, 
likewise bring peace to
Earth.

North:  Spirit of the North, thank you for 
healing me in body, mind,
and spirit.  As you go from this place, likewise 
heal Earth.

Center:  Ancient Ones, thank you for the turning 
Wheel that
enlightens body, mind, and spirit.  As you go 
from this place,
likewise edify Earth.

POSTRITUAL FOODS
Go with your traditional holiday foods, which for 
me include many
that have solar symbolism.  Cookies are round 
like the sun, eggnog is
golden and fertile, gingerbread is hot and spicy, 
and fruitcake bears
red and orange highlights.  As a side, try a 
little flaming brandy to
warm you up!

© 1997