Posted By Hearthsidecuups on January 5, 2010
Opening: “This is the night of the solstice, the longest night of the year. Where darkness triumphs; yet, gives way and brings us into the light. The breath of nature is suspended: all waits while within the Cauldron, the Holly King is transformed into the young Oak King. We watch for the coming of dawn, when the Great Mother again gives birth to the Divine Sun, who is bringer of hope and the promise of light. This is the stillness behind motion, when time itself stops; the center is also the circumference of all. We are awake in the night. Help use turn the wheel once more bringing us out of the darkness and into the light.
cast circle:
Quarter calls
East: Hail to the guardians of the east powers of air I call upon you to guide us in this circle, protecting us from any and all harm. Hail and welcome.
South: Hail to The guardians of the south powers of fire I call upon you to guide us in this circle protecting us from any and all harm. Hail and welcome.
west: Hail to the guardians of the west powers of water I call upon you to guide us in this circle protecting us from any and all harm. Hail and welcome.
North: Hail to the guardians of the north the powers of earth I call upon you to guide us in this circle protecting us from any and all harm. Hail and welcome.
charge the Goddess candle: I charge this candle in the name of the Goddess. Asking you to be with us this night bringing your nurturing guidance into this new year. Hail and welcome.
charge the God candle: I charge this candle in the name of the god. Asking you to be with us this night bringing your strength and light into this new year. Hail and welcome.
Meditation
The Holly King has died he has run the course and completed the cycle; and so like him some of our habits and traits have outlived their usefulness.
This is a time for shedding what is no longer needed.
Please take a few moments to consider what you would like to leave behind as you go into the coming year.
(Pause)
As the holly king dies away these old ways will fade into memory.
(pause)
In the beginning we came from the darkness of the womb. There we were created, nourished and prepared for our birth into the light. Within us, we still carry that fertile darkness. There we hold the seeds of hopes and dreams to come. There we nourish our hopes for love, joy and peace for all. We shield these tender roots until they are strong enough to come forth and flourish. Spend a little time now tending these creations to come. Name them, nurture them for they will grow with you and bloom in the coming year.
(pause)
As the sun strengthens above, so will our new ways grow.
(Pause )
Now after all that seriousness I think its time to have a little fun will everyone join Mia and the children in singing some carols
Sing Deck the halls
Story for children
We all know that Yule is at the end of December. When the night and the day are equal to each other. But the story really starts much earlier. In fact over a month earlier. For in August the Harvest Lord laid down his sword of power and went away to Summerland to rest. Well the Goddess missed her husband so much that she began to grow old just with the grief alone and that is why we have Winter. The time when the Earth grows barren and cold.
“Well the Goddess because of her sadness after a time, left us also and went on a journey to Summerland to try and find him. Now she doesn’t die now, she only goes on a quest. But she is gone so long that at Samhain her body passes on and when she is found frozen in the forest two weeks later a wake is held for her in the Holly King’s drinking hall.
“It took over a week for all the faeries and other mourners to come. For they came from all corners of Creation. But there was one unexpected guest, an old woman. She was so old that she almost looked like a walking skeleton. So of course everyone there was mean to her because they were afraid.
“Yet when she greeted the Holly King, calling him her Son, everyone realized with much fright that this was the Goddess returned to them. The very Goddess whose death, they were there to mourn.
“So angry was she, that she was treated so poorly, the Goddess passed a prophecy to the Holly King. That she had within her the Oak King, soon to be reborn. And for rebuking her, the Holly King would pass to Summerland upon the birth of that child.
“Now this scared the Holly King that he decided to lock the old Crone away in the top room of the tallest tower in all of the world. Then he walled up the doors and all but one of the windows so that she is trapped within the room at the top of this tower. The window he left open so that he could have the birds fly food to her.
“He did this hoping that he could escape the doom that was foretold to him. But the Crone knew that the birth of her child was her only hope of escape. The Crone then wove magick and took the light and warmth from the Sun, and passed it to her son. So that in just four weeks, she gave birth to the Oak King. Who ever after was also given the name of the Sun King. For he was born fully grown and glowing with a golden light so bright that it caused the dying of the Sun to be reversed.
“But the birth was hard on the old Crone, so hard that she slipped into a sleep very near to Death. The Sun King in his anger thinking that his mother was dead, flew out the lone window as a large golden eagle. All across the Earth he hunted the Holly King, Lord of the Wintertime. Finally cornering him at the shores of a great ocean.
“And when he found him he threw his magickal spear at him and destroyed him. The spear hit the Holly King so hard that his body just vanished. But don’t worry, for the Holly King simply reappeared in Summerland. When he got there he found the Crone in one of her other aspects, the Young Maiden.
“She spoke to him of prophecy and the Wheel of the Year. She spoke of the new cycle that had been made in the last year. That the events of the last year would repeat themselves forever and ever.
“And although the Holly King had passed away now, he now knew that he would return just past the height of Summer to take the Sun King’s place again.
This is why the Holly King, as Santa Claus, brings us gifts every year to make up for the Winter that he brings with him. But he only brings presents to good little boys and girls because he wants us to learn to not be mean like he was to the Crone on that first night that he met her so long ago.
bless cakes and ale
Release the quarters
East: hail to the guardians of the east we thank you for joining us this night stay if you will go if you must hail and farewell
South: hail to the guardians of the south we thank you for joining us this night stay if you will go if you must hail and farewell
West: Hail to the guardians of the west we thank you for joining us this night stay if you will go if you must hail and farewell
North: Hail to the guardians of the north we thank you for joining us this night stay if you will go if you must hail and farewell
goddess candle: Great mother we thank you for being with us this night; we thank you for granting us your guidance in this coming year. We bid you hail and farewell
god candle: Great father we thank you for being with us this night; we thank you for granting us your strength in this coming year we bid you hail and farewell
open circle: this circle is open but the energy remains unbroken and sent into the cosmos to do our bidding and to this we say merry met merry part and merry met again. Tis done
Category: General Chatter |
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