Our family performs this ritual together to celebrate Yule.

We celebrate the return of the Sun King, and His rebirth, after the longest night of the year.

We are not early risers so we usually celebrate around noon, depending on the exact time that the solstice begins as it varies each year.

This year it begins at 8:14 pm EST, Saturday December the 21st.

Standing outside if possible, otherwise in a space that is sacred or special to us, we place a candle in each of the four directions, beginning with the East. Once placed, we walk from candle to candle creating a sacred circle. Rather than using athames, we direct energy out of our finger tips, focusing towards the ground, asking that our circle be cast in light and love.

As we light each candle we discuss what is sacred and beautiful about the element associated with that particular direction.

We light the East candle which represents air, thanking the Goddess and the God for the air we breathe, the wind that blows and the beauty of clouds.

Walking deosil (clockwise) we light the South candle which represents fire. We are thankful for cooked food, lit candles and warmth.

The West candle represents water. Rain that is cleansing, water to drink and puddles to splash in are a few of our blessings from water.

North represents earth. As we light this candle we share our love of Mother Earth and all the blessings we receive from Her. Food, shelter, flowers, sandboxes and the beach.

We continue back to the East to complete our circle. We then light the God and the Goddess candles, which are on our altar in the center of our circle. We talk about what is masculine and what is feminine. Action, movement, building, aggression, protection are some of the masculine, yang qualities. Nurturing, growth, gentleness and birth are some of the feminine, yin qualities.

Then we share about the Sun. Focusing on the rebirth of Sun King, we talk about all that He gives to us. Sunlight to grow our food, warmth on our faces, hot summer days and light to read by. As loudly as we can, we begin singing "Happy Birthday to the Sun" and at the end of the song we throw popcorn into the air. Of course, if we have been celebrating inside we go outside to do this part. Feeding the birds with our popcorn confetti is an important part of our Yule ritual.

We also hang pine cones covered in peanut butter and seeds for the birds from all the trees in our yard and call to them to celebrate this blessed day with us.

When we're done, we burn the Yule log in our fireplace or outside in the fire pit, thanking the God and the Goddess for participating in our ritual and again telling them how much we cherish their presence in our lives.

We then walk widdershins (counter-clockwise) around our circle and close it. Often we leave the candles burning and allow them to burn down, rather than blowing them out. It is, for us, a sign of completion and signifies a readiness for us to receive the new light the next day, from the reborn Sun King.

I hope the sharing of our ritual assists you in creating your own. The most wonderful part about Wicca is that everyone can be eclectic and follow their own beat, their own intuitive impulses, as long as we are harming none, we may do as we will.

In light, Aleesha Stephenson

By Aleesha Stephenson