Ring Solstice Bells

Yule is a great holiday. On the one hand you have all the solar aspects: Sol Invictus, triumph of the Oak King over the Holly King, and a general building of anticipation as days progressively get longer and lighter from this point. On the other hand is the celebration of the Dark and shelter from the cold: gathering around a Yule Log, feasting and visiting family, long nights spent in reflection, and of course inviting the nature spirits in from the cold by lighting a tree in your home.

My good friend Dugpanath would remind me that the darkest night is also the best night to embrace the clarity (or madness) of darkness. The day illuminates what is closest and most familiar to us, but it is only in the dark of night that the most distant stars can be seen. Perhaps it is this ability of the dark to mask what is close and allow us to see what is distant that gave rise to taking a holiday from the norm. In many cases this is a complete overturning of social convention as with the Lord of Misrule, who is also known as the Abbot of Unreason, the Prince des Scots or the Boy Bishop in various times and places.

However you view it, even if its just a simple acknowledgement of the axial tilt of the earth, take a few moments tonight to clear the mind, reflect in the silence, peer into the dark, and prepare for the coming of the light.

Merry Yule.

Jason