Here is a quiz that was recommended to me from a friend of mine - Mr. Kelly. He took the quiz, I took the quiz and a few others took it. Whether you know anything about the Tarot deck or not, it's a fun and interesting quiz. Why not check it out and see what your result is? It's a short quiz, about five minutes long, unless you procrastinate on the answers, then it will be longer. If you take it, post your result so we all can view it.
I'll go first.
My result is: You are the Hanged Man. You are contradictory, a paradox. You frequently sacrifice yourself, but come out ahead because of your choice. Opposites control your life. You attract friends, but can confuse or disturb them. You are The Hanged Man, sacrifice yourself and come out the victor. (Hmm, not sure I agree with the contradictory part).
Ready to take the quiz? Click here to start.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
A little history about Yule time.
One of the four minor Sabbats, Yule celebrates the rebirth of the Sun, the Sun God, and honors the Horned God. Yule is the longest night of the year, when balance is suspended and then gives way to the coming light. It is a time to look on the past year's achievements and to celebrate with family and friends.
In ancient times, the Winter Solstice corresponded with the Roman Saturnalia (Dec. 17-24), pagan fertility rites, and various rites of Sun worship. This day is the official first day of winter. The Goddess gives birth to the Sun Child and hope for new light is born. The origins of most of the Christian Christmas traditions come from the Pagan Yule celebration, such as the Christmas tree, the colors red and green and gift giving. Yule is also known as the Winter Solstice, Midwinter, Alban Arthan, Finn's Day, Festival of Sol, Yuletide, Great Day of the Cauldron, and Festival of Growth. At the Winter Solstice, the two God-themes of the year's cycle coincide. Yule, which according to the Venerable Bede, comes from the Norse Iul meaning "whee,l" marks the vanquishing of the Holly King (Dionysus), God of the Waning Year, by the Oak King (Apollo), God of the Waxing Year. The Goddess, who was Death-in-Life at Midsummer, now shows her Life-in-Death aspect; for although at this season she is the "leperous-white lady," the Queen of the cold Darkness, yet this is her moment for giving birth to the Child of Promise, the Son-Lover who will re-fertilize her and bring back light and warmth to her kingdom.
An extraordinarily persistent version of the Holly King/Oak King theme at the Winter Solstice is the ritual hunting and killing of the wren - a folklore tradition found as far apart in time and space as ancient Greece and Rome and today's British Isles. The wren, "little king" of the Waning Year, is killed by his counterpart, the robin redbreast, who finds him hiding in a ivy bush (or sometimes in Ireland in a holly bush, as befits the Holly King). The robin's tree is the birch, which follows the Winter Solstice in the Celtic Tree calendar. In the acted-out ritual, men hunted and killed the wren with birch rods.
As for traditions, the modern personification of the Christmas Spirit known as Santa Claus was, at one time, the pagan God of Yule. To the Scandinavians, Woden was once known as "Christ on the Wheel", an ancient Norse title for the Sun God who was reborn at the time of the Winter Solstice. St. Nicholas, in early folklore, rode not a reindeer, but a white horse through the sky - like Woden.
The burning of the Yule Log stems from the old custom of the Yule Bonfire that was burned to give life and power to the Sun, which was thought to be reborn at the Winter Solstice. In later times, the outdoor bonfire custom was replaced by the indoor burning of log and red candles etched with carvings of solar designs and other magickal symbols. As the Oak Tree was considered to be the Cosmic Tree of Life by the ancient Druids, the Yule Log is traditionally Oak. Some Wiccan traditions use a Pine Yule Log to symbolize the dying God Dionysus. Mistletoe was considered very magickal by the Druids, who called it the "Golden Bough." They believed it possessed great healing powers and gave mortal men access to the underworld. The living plant, which is actually a parasitic shrub with leathery evergreen leaves and waxy white berries, was, at one time, thought of as the genitalia of the great God Zeus, whose sacred tree is the Oak. The phallic significance of mistletoe stems from the idea that its white berries were drops of the God's Divine Semen in contrast to the red berries of the Holly, which were equated with the Sacred Menstrual Blood of the Goddess. The life-giving essence, which mistletoe suggests, provides a symbolic divine substance and a sense of immortality to those who hang it at Yuletide. In ancient times, ecstatic sexual orgies frequently accompanied the rites of the Oak King. In modern times, however, the custom of kissing under the mistletoe is all that remains.
The relatively modern tradition of decorating the Christmas tree is a custom that evolved from the silver fir and pine groves associated with the Great Mother Goddess. The lights and ornaments hung on the tree as decoration are actually symbols of the Sun, Moon, and Stars as they appear in the Cosmic Tree of Life. They also represent departed souls who are remembered at the end of the year. Sacred presents (which evolved into modern day Christmas gifts) were also hung on the tree as offerings to various deities such as Dionysus.
There is an ancient Egyptian ritual involving Isis and Osiris, and his brother/enemy Set, who kills Osiris and is driven away by the shaking of Isis' sistrum, to bring about Osiris' rebirth. For the festival, people decorated the outside of their houses with oil-lamps that burned all night. At midnight, the priests emerged from an inner shrine crying, "The Virgin has brought forth! The light is waxing!" and showing the image of a baby to the worshipers. Osiris and Horus, his son/other-self, represent at the same time the solar and vegetation God-aspects; Horus is both the Sun reborn (the Greeks identified him with Apollo) and "Lord of the Crops." The lamps burning all night on the eve on Midwinter survive in Ireland and elsewhere, as the single candle burning in the window on Christmas Eve, lit by the youngest in the house, and as the modern lights that are strung on the outside of houses. Placing cakes in the boughs of the oldest apple trees in the orchard and pouring on cider, as a libation was an old pagan Yuletide custom practiced in England, and known as "Wassailing the Orchard Trees." It was said that the cider was a substitute for the human or animal blood offered in primitive times as part of a Winter Solstice Fertility Rite. After offering a toast to the health of the apple trees and giving thanks to them for producing fruit, the farmers would then enjoin the trees to continue producing abundance.
Some Customs:
**Dreams
One ancient belief is that dreams during the Twelve Nights will predict the events in one's life for the coming year. An interesting activity would be to keep a log/journal of one's dreams for each of the Twelve Nights.
**Gift Giving
The tradition of gift giving goes back to Heathen times when gifts were exchanged throughout the Yuletide and not only on one day of the tide. Therefore, it is fitting that Heathens do this as well. Gifts need not be expensive. Handmade gifts are often better than something purchased at a store. Ideal gifts are those relating to our religion, books, ritual gear, art, tapes, and of course drinking horns.
**Holly, Ivy, and Yule Decor
At Yuletide, the Elder Heathens decorated their homes with ivy, holly, and boughs of evergreens. Ribbons were also used and the entire home covered with garlands and wreaths. Modern Heathen should do - not less, in an attempt to capture the Yuletide spirit.
Below are three of the more common house decorations.
1) Yule Tree: The tradition of the Yule tree comes from Germany. Originally, it is believed the trees were decorated outside and gifts left for the land wights. This custom can still be observed in other parts of Northern Europe. With Christianity, the trees were brought inside to hide from the church. Modern Heathen trees can be decorated with Heathen symbols as well as the commercial lights, glitter, and ornaments. If one wants, they can decorate a tree outside instead - as the Heathens of old did.
2) Yule Wreaths: Modern tradition uses a Yule wreath at the Mothers' Night symbol as an oath ring. This wreath is oathed upon, as well as wished upon, and then burned at the Twelfth Night blot. Therefore, these wreaths are best made out of natural substances such as cedar branches. Other wreaths can be used as decorations around the house.
3) Lights: In the more northern countries, Lucy Day, which was a festival of lights, is celebrated and seems an ancient holiday in connection with Yule. Candles, torches, and other forms of light were left burning to light up the night skies. Today, we can use electric lights for the same purpose.
A few other interesting tidbits:
Morris Dancing
**Morris dancing, particularly the variety consisting of swordplay, also took place during the Yuletide. Morris dancing to quote Linetwigle of the Ealdriht in her paper, Dance in Northern Tradition consisted of "stamping, leaping and hopping, rapping of swords or planting rods against the ground (these denoting a connection to fertility of the land), and the wearing of bells, plus a plethora of regional variations." Morris dancing also consisted of blackening of the faces (as did mumming and hoodening) to either scare off evil spirits, or to mock the Wild Hunt.
**Mumming
Something more practical for Heathens (then Morris Dancing) is mumming. Mummer plays take place in all of England, usually in pubs. All of the plays consist of five to twelve cast members and follow the same basic plot. 1) A hero returns from a distant land. 2) The hero is challenged and killed. 3) A doctor is called and revives the hero. 4) All hostilities are ceased. Some see this as a ritual re-enactment of the birth and death of a sun god. This is highly unlikely, as Heathen lore seems to have preserved no myths of this particular type. More likely, the plays were for entertainment value alone, and, if anything, to celebrate the healing powers of the gods, particularly Woden as a healer, and to educate that Yuletide is a time for kinship and wishes that come true. Day 8, of the Yule rites presented here, consists of a Mummer Play.
Sword Dancing
**Another form of dance performed at Yuletide, besides the Morris Dances, were the Sword Dances. These were (at one time) performed with the long sword and seem to be quite ancient. Most of the dances consist of a procession and the clashing and leaping of swords, as well as the formation of various patterns with the swords. Often, the dance ends with a mock death and revival by a "doctor" as with the Mummer Plays.
**Wassailing
The wassailing of Victorian times resembled caroling more then it did its earlier counterpart, and is the form most are familiar with. Ancient wassailing consisted of making the drink wassail, originally mulled ale, curds, apples, and sometimes nuts. A group of wassailers would then go out with bowls filled with wassail from house to house and wassail the apple and cherry trees with songs and loud noises to ensure a good crop from the orchards the next year. A few wassailing songs survive, but these seem to be of a later variety.
**Yule Log
The Yule log has not survived into modern celebrations for the most part, and for most modern Heathens would be difficult to do without a fireplace or wood burning stove. You may therefore wish to set up a symbolic Yule log. You can carve it with wishes for the New Year, garland it, do what you wish. If you have a place you can burn it outside during Yuletide, you may wish to do so. Traditionally, the Yule log was brought in on Mothers' Night, it was then set ablaze and hoped to burn all Twelve Nights (remember this log was nearly an entire tree to be burned in the long pits of a long house). Different areas had different customs concerning the Yule log. Everywhere the log was garlanded and decorated with ribbons before the procession to the longhouse. The procession was, as most processions during the holidays, a joyous one. Once burning, no one could squint in the presence of the log, nor were barefooted women allowed around it. In Yorkshire, England, they practiced what is called mumping or gooding. Children would go begging and singing from house to house as the log was brought in. In other areas, the children were allowed to wassail the log the first night and drink to it.
Hope you enjoyed this little trip through history. Brightest Blessings, and safe happy holidays to all!!!!!!!!
In ancient times, the Winter Solstice corresponded with the Roman Saturnalia (Dec. 17-24), pagan fertility rites, and various rites of Sun worship. This day is the official first day of winter. The Goddess gives birth to the Sun Child and hope for new light is born. The origins of most of the Christian Christmas traditions come from the Pagan Yule celebration, such as the Christmas tree, the colors red and green and gift giving. Yule is also known as the Winter Solstice, Midwinter, Alban Arthan, Finn's Day, Festival of Sol, Yuletide, Great Day of the Cauldron, and Festival of Growth. At the Winter Solstice, the two God-themes of the year's cycle coincide. Yule, which according to the Venerable Bede, comes from the Norse Iul meaning "whee,l" marks the vanquishing of the Holly King (Dionysus), God of the Waning Year, by the Oak King (Apollo), God of the Waxing Year. The Goddess, who was Death-in-Life at Midsummer, now shows her Life-in-Death aspect; for although at this season she is the "leperous-white lady," the Queen of the cold Darkness, yet this is her moment for giving birth to the Child of Promise, the Son-Lover who will re-fertilize her and bring back light and warmth to her kingdom.
An extraordinarily persistent version of the Holly King/Oak King theme at the Winter Solstice is the ritual hunting and killing of the wren - a folklore tradition found as far apart in time and space as ancient Greece and Rome and today's British Isles. The wren, "little king" of the Waning Year, is killed by his counterpart, the robin redbreast, who finds him hiding in a ivy bush (or sometimes in Ireland in a holly bush, as befits the Holly King). The robin's tree is the birch, which follows the Winter Solstice in the Celtic Tree calendar. In the acted-out ritual, men hunted and killed the wren with birch rods.
As for traditions, the modern personification of the Christmas Spirit known as Santa Claus was, at one time, the pagan God of Yule. To the Scandinavians, Woden was once known as "Christ on the Wheel", an ancient Norse title for the Sun God who was reborn at the time of the Winter Solstice. St. Nicholas, in early folklore, rode not a reindeer, but a white horse through the sky - like Woden.
The burning of the Yule Log stems from the old custom of the Yule Bonfire that was burned to give life and power to the Sun, which was thought to be reborn at the Winter Solstice. In later times, the outdoor bonfire custom was replaced by the indoor burning of log and red candles etched with carvings of solar designs and other magickal symbols. As the Oak Tree was considered to be the Cosmic Tree of Life by the ancient Druids, the Yule Log is traditionally Oak. Some Wiccan traditions use a Pine Yule Log to symbolize the dying God Dionysus. Mistletoe was considered very magickal by the Druids, who called it the "Golden Bough." They believed it possessed great healing powers and gave mortal men access to the underworld. The living plant, which is actually a parasitic shrub with leathery evergreen leaves and waxy white berries, was, at one time, thought of as the genitalia of the great God Zeus, whose sacred tree is the Oak. The phallic significance of mistletoe stems from the idea that its white berries were drops of the God's Divine Semen in contrast to the red berries of the Holly, which were equated with the Sacred Menstrual Blood of the Goddess. The life-giving essence, which mistletoe suggests, provides a symbolic divine substance and a sense of immortality to those who hang it at Yuletide. In ancient times, ecstatic sexual orgies frequently accompanied the rites of the Oak King. In modern times, however, the custom of kissing under the mistletoe is all that remains.
The relatively modern tradition of decorating the Christmas tree is a custom that evolved from the silver fir and pine groves associated with the Great Mother Goddess. The lights and ornaments hung on the tree as decoration are actually symbols of the Sun, Moon, and Stars as they appear in the Cosmic Tree of Life. They also represent departed souls who are remembered at the end of the year. Sacred presents (which evolved into modern day Christmas gifts) were also hung on the tree as offerings to various deities such as Dionysus.
There is an ancient Egyptian ritual involving Isis and Osiris, and his brother/enemy Set, who kills Osiris and is driven away by the shaking of Isis' sistrum, to bring about Osiris' rebirth. For the festival, people decorated the outside of their houses with oil-lamps that burned all night. At midnight, the priests emerged from an inner shrine crying, "The Virgin has brought forth! The light is waxing!" and showing the image of a baby to the worshipers. Osiris and Horus, his son/other-self, represent at the same time the solar and vegetation God-aspects; Horus is both the Sun reborn (the Greeks identified him with Apollo) and "Lord of the Crops." The lamps burning all night on the eve on Midwinter survive in Ireland and elsewhere, as the single candle burning in the window on Christmas Eve, lit by the youngest in the house, and as the modern lights that are strung on the outside of houses. Placing cakes in the boughs of the oldest apple trees in the orchard and pouring on cider, as a libation was an old pagan Yuletide custom practiced in England, and known as "Wassailing the Orchard Trees." It was said that the cider was a substitute for the human or animal blood offered in primitive times as part of a Winter Solstice Fertility Rite. After offering a toast to the health of the apple trees and giving thanks to them for producing fruit, the farmers would then enjoin the trees to continue producing abundance.
Some Customs:
**Dreams
One ancient belief is that dreams during the Twelve Nights will predict the events in one's life for the coming year. An interesting activity would be to keep a log/journal of one's dreams for each of the Twelve Nights.
**Gift Giving
The tradition of gift giving goes back to Heathen times when gifts were exchanged throughout the Yuletide and not only on one day of the tide. Therefore, it is fitting that Heathens do this as well. Gifts need not be expensive. Handmade gifts are often better than something purchased at a store. Ideal gifts are those relating to our religion, books, ritual gear, art, tapes, and of course drinking horns.
**Holly, Ivy, and Yule Decor
At Yuletide, the Elder Heathens decorated their homes with ivy, holly, and boughs of evergreens. Ribbons were also used and the entire home covered with garlands and wreaths. Modern Heathen should do - not less, in an attempt to capture the Yuletide spirit.
Below are three of the more common house decorations.
1) Yule Tree: The tradition of the Yule tree comes from Germany. Originally, it is believed the trees were decorated outside and gifts left for the land wights. This custom can still be observed in other parts of Northern Europe. With Christianity, the trees were brought inside to hide from the church. Modern Heathen trees can be decorated with Heathen symbols as well as the commercial lights, glitter, and ornaments. If one wants, they can decorate a tree outside instead - as the Heathens of old did.
2) Yule Wreaths: Modern tradition uses a Yule wreath at the Mothers' Night symbol as an oath ring. This wreath is oathed upon, as well as wished upon, and then burned at the Twelfth Night blot. Therefore, these wreaths are best made out of natural substances such as cedar branches. Other wreaths can be used as decorations around the house.
3) Lights: In the more northern countries, Lucy Day, which was a festival of lights, is celebrated and seems an ancient holiday in connection with Yule. Candles, torches, and other forms of light were left burning to light up the night skies. Today, we can use electric lights for the same purpose.
A few other interesting tidbits:
Morris Dancing
**Morris dancing, particularly the variety consisting of swordplay, also took place during the Yuletide. Morris dancing to quote Linetwigle of the Ealdriht in her paper, Dance in Northern Tradition consisted of "stamping, leaping and hopping, rapping of swords or planting rods against the ground (these denoting a connection to fertility of the land), and the wearing of bells, plus a plethora of regional variations." Morris dancing also consisted of blackening of the faces (as did mumming and hoodening) to either scare off evil spirits, or to mock the Wild Hunt.
**Mumming
Something more practical for Heathens (then Morris Dancing) is mumming. Mummer plays take place in all of England, usually in pubs. All of the plays consist of five to twelve cast members and follow the same basic plot. 1) A hero returns from a distant land. 2) The hero is challenged and killed. 3) A doctor is called and revives the hero. 4) All hostilities are ceased. Some see this as a ritual re-enactment of the birth and death of a sun god. This is highly unlikely, as Heathen lore seems to have preserved no myths of this particular type. More likely, the plays were for entertainment value alone, and, if anything, to celebrate the healing powers of the gods, particularly Woden as a healer, and to educate that Yuletide is a time for kinship and wishes that come true. Day 8, of the Yule rites presented here, consists of a Mummer Play.
Sword Dancing
**Another form of dance performed at Yuletide, besides the Morris Dances, were the Sword Dances. These were (at one time) performed with the long sword and seem to be quite ancient. Most of the dances consist of a procession and the clashing and leaping of swords, as well as the formation of various patterns with the swords. Often, the dance ends with a mock death and revival by a "doctor" as with the Mummer Plays.
**Wassailing
The wassailing of Victorian times resembled caroling more then it did its earlier counterpart, and is the form most are familiar with. Ancient wassailing consisted of making the drink wassail, originally mulled ale, curds, apples, and sometimes nuts. A group of wassailers would then go out with bowls filled with wassail from house to house and wassail the apple and cherry trees with songs and loud noises to ensure a good crop from the orchards the next year. A few wassailing songs survive, but these seem to be of a later variety.
**Yule Log
The Yule log has not survived into modern celebrations for the most part, and for most modern Heathens would be difficult to do without a fireplace or wood burning stove. You may therefore wish to set up a symbolic Yule log. You can carve it with wishes for the New Year, garland it, do what you wish. If you have a place you can burn it outside during Yuletide, you may wish to do so. Traditionally, the Yule log was brought in on Mothers' Night, it was then set ablaze and hoped to burn all Twelve Nights (remember this log was nearly an entire tree to be burned in the long pits of a long house). Different areas had different customs concerning the Yule log. Everywhere the log was garlanded and decorated with ribbons before the procession to the longhouse. The procession was, as most processions during the holidays, a joyous one. Once burning, no one could squint in the presence of the log, nor were barefooted women allowed around it. In Yorkshire, England, they practiced what is called mumping or gooding. Children would go begging and singing from house to house as the log was brought in. In other areas, the children were allowed to wassail the log the first night and drink to it.
Hope you enjoyed this little trip through history. Brightest Blessings, and safe happy holidays to all!!!!!!!!
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