Yule marks the beginning of the year for many pagans. It's when we celebrate the return of the sun, the turning of the wheel, the start of a new cycle. Symbolically the god is the Holly King, the child of the great mother, young and fresh to the world. As the days grow longer, the god symbol ages and and on the next holy day, Imbloc, he is represented as a toddler. I've always been interested in the myth behind the goddess and her consort. They are not actual deities to me but actually representations of the earth and the sun and the moon, and nature all around us, symbols to help us appreciate and recognize the changes that are going on around us. Not that I don't notice the seasonal changes, but even though I don't worship a god, I still hold onto the story. If I had kids, I'd tell them the story.
I mentioned Yule, and the rebirth of the god, representative of the sun. Imbloc, in February, the goddess is recovering from birth and the god is, as I said, a toddler. The sun is still making its comeback. I have written on my page for Imbloc to “burn yule greens” which is supposed to be kind of a final farewell to the winter, but I don't use any live plants in my house due to allergies, cats and an aversion to killing an entire tree for my entertainment. Also, I like to leave the lights on the tree, so we have a little 3' white tree that came pre-lit, with some earthy decorations (which are pretty easy to find lately).
After Imbloc is Ostara, which we celebrate with baskets of candy and little gifts. I usually want to dye eggs but never get around to it for one reason or another (mostly because I don't like eggs). Ostara is a celebration of reproduction, so common themes are eggs and bunnies. It takes place in March and usually coincides easily with the Christian Easter, so it's easy to find goodies for baskets (not to mention... baskets). However, this is not when the god and goddess mate. Beltane, in May, is when the sacred union between them is celebrated. It is also a fertility festival.
I haven't really seen any story to go with Litha, so I guess the goddess and the god are just enjoying the peak of the summer like the rest of us. On my Litha page, I've written that it's a good time to pick herbs and contact faeries.
Then come the harvests. The first is Lughnassadh, where symbolically the god impregnates the goddess, giving himself to the earth so that the crops can be harvested. On my Lughnassadh page I call it the “Feast of Bread”. Next is Mabon, also called Harvest Home or Thanksgiving, though this occurs in September. It is the wine harvest. In October we have Samhain, the last harvest celebration, where the god enters the summerland and we honor the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. For me this is not really a time for a feast so much as feeding the dead; we'd put a setting of bread, salt and beer out for the spirits and bury a pomegranate outside.
This year for Yule, I covered pine cones in peanut butter and bird seed, then a friend and I hung them on trees outside for the birds. There was a total lunar eclipse early that morning, but I was too tired to see the whole thing. We exchanged gifts and I made a brunch for several friends, using a recipe for apple scones I'd found on a website with recipes for Yule, but they were pretty bland. No Yule fire, no wassailing, no popcorn and fruit strings. I wanted to do more than we did, but at the last minute we ran out of money (bills... I hate them) and I had to make do. Though I'm still learning, and sometimes I get out of touch, there are moments where I really feel the connection I have with the earth and all of the energy around me. Even though this is more of a way of life than a religion for me, I know I am walking the right path and it makes me feel good to be a part of such an intense, amazing whole.
Sorry about the rambly first post, I promise they'll get better.
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