Yule – The Winter Solstice in Australia.
Yule occurs traditionally on June 21 and is also known as the winter solstice. It is the day with the least amount of daylight hours for the year and for pagans it symbolizes the rebirth of the Sun.
The Goddess labours through the night birthing the Blessed Child, the Sun King. As Mother, She understands Her struggle through the greatest darkness can bring forth the brightest light. Weary from Her labour, the Goddess slumbers, resting until She bursts forth with new vigor and life as the light lengthens. The Sun King illuminates the world, bringing light, warmth and hope as He grows to His fullness with the approaching summer.
In the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice traditionally occurs on December 21 and this time of year has long been associated with Divine Birth. It is thought the Persian Sun God Mithra was born on December 25th, along with that other famous Son/Sun of God, Christ. When I think of Yule, it’s easy to think of the traditional symbols that accompany this time of year in the northern hemisphere like Christmas trees, open fires and picturesque images of snowy landscapes. Snow is a huge part of the season for our northern friends, particularly before the invention of modern heating and lighting. A long cold winter was a hard time for both people and animals, cooped up inside for months on end as snow fell outside. If you were lucky, your larder was full of root vegetables that had been harvested and carefully stored and you had enough firewood to keep yourself alive until the snow began to melt.
The winter solstice gave hope that eventually the light and warmth would return and soon the cold winter would depart. Yule in Australia however is very different. For one thing, there’s little snow, unless you’re living in the Australian Alps. There is a stillness in the air, and in the south of the continent frost and ice is common. Here in south east Queensland, there’s a perceptible change. The air is crisp and the sky is a sparkling clear azure blue. Nature is resting, yet she is also active. Cassowaries and wedge tail eagles are laying eggs. Cockatoo chicks are hatching and ringtail possums are breeding. Yellow flowers are in abundance at this time of year as the Goddess welcomes the birth of the Sun King. The banksia and tea tree are blossoming and bees are active on the xanthorrhoea spikes. The golden wattle blooms, and to me these tiny orbs remind us that we are a small speck in a vast universe. Within these three plants we see tiny suns, reminding us of the rebirth of the sun.
With the return of the sun, we see longer days and warmer weather. This is the time to recognise the gift that is darkness, and to welcome back the light. On the longest night of the year we stay up at night, burning gold and red candles and watching a bon fire as we welcome in the sun at dawn. This is a celebration, recognising the darkest time has passed and we now move back toward the light. Ring bells and sistrums and play your drums to make merry on this night. A Yule feast is a wonderful way to honour the birth of the Sun King, with hearty foods like roasts, soups and stews fit for this time of year. Winter fruit and veg is abundant with cauliflowers, cabbages, carrots, celery, fennel, broccoli, pumpkins, shallots, tamorillos, rhubarb, citrus, apples, lilly pilly and custard apples all in season now.
A Yule log is a great tradition honoured at this time and sitting next to an open fire sipping on mulled wine or spiced cider is wonderfully warming. Keep the tradition going from year to year by saving part of the log to start next year’s Yule fire or try your hand at a rolled Yule log cake if you can’t have a fire decorating your table with pine, rosemary, eucalypt, oranges and lemons.
Yule is a time of hope. A time to give thanks with gifts to those we love. You could also consider giving to charities who often struggle at this time of year with many people homeless and sleeping in the cold. Perhaps you would like to give back to the Earth by considering your carbon footprint or donating to an environmental cause. We trust that nature will provide for us and let go of our fear knowing that the light will shine again. The darkness cannot last forever and balance requires we move back towards the light.
This is a critical time for our planet, yet there is always hope that humankind can move out of the darkness and head back towards the light. Now is the time to look within and find that Divine spark that resides in all of us. Now more than ever we need to honour that spark and reconnect with our Mother – Earth. We can do better. We must be the light in the darkness that leads humankind from destruction of our planet to a healthier world for all the beings that reside on it. Each of us individually can make a difference to the world around us. This is hope.
In the words of Joni Mitchell, “We are stardust, we are golden and we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden”.
