Tryskelion Yule, 1998
Just prior to entering Circle, house owners read Yule House Blessing:Owner 1:
Hail the sun! Hail the sun!Blessed is he! Blessed is he!
Hail the sun! Hail the sun!
Blessed is he! Blessed is he!
Prosperity be upon this dwelling,
On all that we have heard and seen,
On the bare bright floor flags,
On the shapely standing stone staves,
Hail the sun! Hail the sun!
Blessed is he! Blessed is he!
Bless this house and all that it contains,
From rafter to stone to beam;
Shielded by the Goddess from pall to cover,
Be the healing of all herein,
Hail the sun! Hail the sun!
Blessed is he! Blessed is he!
Owner 2:
May we be in lasting possession of this house,May we be healthy about the hearth,
Many be the ties and stakes in this homestead.
Fair Ones dwelling on this foundation,
Hail the sun! Hail the sun!
Blessed is he! Blessed is he!
Offer to the Sun King from found to cover,
Every stave and stone and beam;
Offer again both rods and cloth,
Be health to all who dwell herein,
Every generation for aye!
Hail the sun! Hail the sun!
Blessed is he! Blessed is he!
Toast to the Old Gods
Quarter Invocations
Priestess - Goddess Invocation:
As above, so below..As the universe, so the soul,
As without, so within.
Blessed and gracious Lady,
We watch for the coming of Dawn on Solstice Night,
When the Holy Mother gives birth to the Divine Child,
The Sun God, the bringer of life and the promise of Summer.
With this rite, we call the Sun from the womb of night.
Sister, Mother, Grandmother,
Blessed Lady known by a Thousand Names!
We do invoke and adore thee!
Blessed be!
God Invocation:
Priestess:
This is the night of the solstice, the longest night of the year. For now darkness triumphs. But soon shall it give way and change to light. The breath of nature is suspended: all await in silence within Cerridwen's Cauldron, as the Dark King is transformed into the Infant Light.
And so at Solstice we watch for the coming of dawn, when the Great Mother again gives birth to the Divine Child Sun, who is bringer of hope and the promise of summer. This is the stillness behind motion, when time itself stops. We are now awake in the night. But with this Rite, we turn the Wheel to bring the light. We call the sun from the womb of night!
All Chant:
Blessed be the darknessBlessed be the blanket of longest night.
Priestess: Blessed Be!
Crone, looking into the dark cauldron, says:
I sorrow not, though the world is wrapped in sleep.I sorrow not, though the icy winds blast.
I sorrow not, though the snow falls hard and deep.
I sorrow not, for this too shall pass.
At this time do we know the dark of the year.
The season of fertile life is past, and all is cold.
Emptiness and bleakness are all about.
In darkness do we join to wait out this night,
For the womb of the dark holds the birth of the light.
As the Priest lights the cauldron, the HPS says:
The darkness of this season shall soon be broken,And new life be born once again!
Priestess lights a single candle and says:
On this longest night, we renew and rebirth our body and spirit. It is appropriate, then, that we review what we have learned in the past year, and state what we wish to change in the coming year. After you have shared your lesson in your place of darkness, meditate on the light of the candle, saying:
In darkness do I learn and heal.
By this fire, my way to change I seal.
Priestess :
We recognize the Winter Solstice as a celebration of the Dark. We know that the dark is not to be feared, for it is in the dark that we meet and know ourselves. But in the dark of the night, this call we send forth with all our might... Bring back the light!
Priest then leads chant:
Lord of Life
Seed of Light
Flame that warms the coldest night.
Bring to us the waxing light!
Be with us this Solstice Night!
Priest :
Let us help bring back the light! Fill the room with warmth and light!
After all the candles and the Solstice lights are lit, the Priest says:
All Hail the Sun King! Blessings to the newborn Sun!
All :
All Hail the Sun King! Blessings to the newborn Sun!
Ritual of the Cakes and Ale
Priestess raises the chalice and says:
Holy Mother of birth and transformation,
Bless this wine and infuse it with your love.
By Your many names,
do I bless and consecrate this wine.
(Wine is shared around the circle)
Priest raises the plate of cakes and says:
Light the Yule Log (?) Quarters devocationGod/Goddess devocations.
Grounding/Blessing
Open Circle
Feast
Close ritual.
