Yule Ritual for
The Great Conjunction 2020
Note: you can still do this ritual anytime for the next few weeks … especially on New Year’s Day!

Transmissions From The Lilith Zone: Astrology News by Sarolta
©2020. Sarolta Gabriella DeFaltay

Yuletide Greetings, Fellow Travelers!
I am truly honored to offer this piece to you today, since Yule 2020 is a significantly potent Sabbat.

The Great Conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter occurs on this sacred holiday, marking the end of a 200-year cycle in earth signs, and heralding the start of a 200-year era in the air element.

Indeed, the Wheel Turns.

I offer this article as a reference source for you to create your own ritual(s) to celebrate this pivotal time; I lam taking the time around Yuletide into the New Year as a week of reflection and ritual to integrate the new energies with intention; I hope this writing inspires and ignites the magical fires within!

Warm Solstice Blessings!
-Sarolta

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Winter Solstice / Yule Ritual for The Great Conjunction 2020
[exact Monday, December 21st, 2020 at 5.02 am est]

The Yuletide season is upon us; as the nights grow longer and days darken, we have an opportunity to review and complete the current cycle. The word “Yule” comes from the Norse word Iul meaning “wheel”, and represents the “turning of the wheel”.

Rituals of purification have been traditional in many cultures just before the Winter Solstice, to prepare the body, mind, and spirit for conscious rebirth into awareness and focus.

The Winter Solstice marks the time in our annual cycle when the Sun is “reborn” again, and darkness is dispelled: now begins the waxing phase of the year!

For this reason, I often celebrate the return of the light by honoring the Sun Goddess of many pantheons; to celebrate the symbolic rebirth of the year, goddesses of midwifery and childbirth may be called upon, such as Juno Lucina.

“Lucina” is a title meaning “bringer-of-light”; many pagan traditions honored Juno Lucina at the winter solstice during Her festival of lights, at a time when candle light was seen as a symbol of the sacred feminine.

SUN GODDESSES

Amaterasu: Japanese sun goddess; order, purity, justice; “Queen of Heaven”

Bastet: Egyptian Cat Goddess; beneficent powers of the Sun; joy, music, dancing

Hsi-Ho (Xihe): Chinese; “Mother of the Suns”

Juno Lucina: Roman; birth and midwifery

Sapas: Phoenician; “Torch of the Gods”

Sekhmet: “The Powerful” Egyptian Lion-Headed Goddess; the destructive power of the Sun

Uelanuhi: Cherokee Sun Goddess; “Apportioner”: divides time into units

Wurusemu: Hittite solar Goddess; Mother of Deities; Bestower of Sovereignty

Yhi: Australian Aboriginal Goddess; solar deity of light and creation

YULETIDE HERBAL LORE
Bay Laurel: write wishes on bay leaves and burn in yule fire (or add to incense).

Blessed Thistle: Use in incense or ritual cup to invoke the newly born Sun.

Chamomile: To invoke solar energy; use in incense, ritual bath, or cup.

Frankincense: Solar incense for purity and strength; use in oil to anoint candles.

Holly: Decorate the altar for protection and devotion in the coming year.

Hyssop: Spiritual bathing, clarity, washing ritual items and temple space.

Ivy: Fidelity, valor, victory; Yule altar decorations to burn at Imbolg/Candlemas.

Juniper: Purification, potency, love, psychic powers; use berries in Yule incense; decorate altar with branches.

Mistletoe: Protection, love, fertility; altar decorations burned at Imbolg/Candlemas.

Oak: Health, healing, and potency; Wood often used as “Yule Log”.

Rosemary: Empowers memory, love, and loyalty; use in ritual bath or cup to invoke the Sun’s energies.

These herbs can be utilized in ritual by making an incense, or anointing candles with essential oil. They can be sewn into a charm bag and consecrated (dedicated to a single purpose), and worn when needed.

NOTE: You don’t need all of these ingredients - just use what you have on hand! Imagination and intention are much more important than getting all of the “right” ingredients. Use your intuition to feel what you need! Also, this is a seasonal ritual, so it's not restricted to an exact time or date.

RITUAL BATH

Bay leaves, Blessed Thistle, Chamomile, Hyssop, Rosemary.

Place any or all herbs in cheesecloth and tie well; run under tap. You can also make a strong “solar tea” from the herbs, and strain into the bath. Light orange or gold candles anointed with frankincense oil and imagine a golden glow in your bath, surrounding you. Bathe in the herbs and solar energy, clearing away anything that you are ready to release. Anoint your body with oil and adorn yourself, since you are invoking the divine and you will want to be dressed appropriately. After your bath, bring your candles to your ritual space, and place on the altar.

THE ALTAR

Decorate with an abundance of evergreens, to welcome the nature spirits to the festivities. Keep the greenery on the altar for protection, or scatter around your home, or save them until Imbolg, when they can be burned to honor Brigid at her fire ritual.

You need three candles: Navy blue or black (for Saturn), royal blue or purple (for Jupiter), and electric blue (for Aquarius).

Note: these are just suggestions. You can use other colors if you find them more fitting; 3 white candles would work as well.

RITUAL

If you are familiar with casting a circle then you can call in the directions in alignment with your tradition.

Clear the ritual space by first going counter-clockwise, fumigating with incense or salt water. Ask out loud that all negativity be banished from your space! You can clear your own energy field by burning protective herbs and fanning them toward yourself; from my experience, it is best to work with local herbs that are attuned to the nature spirits of your location instead of buying herbs from other areas of the world.

When your ritual space feels clear, visualize a circle being created as you walk around the ritual space in a clockwise motion; the circle is formed so that the energies you raise during your ritual will be concentrated within that “container.”

For that purpose, I usually “charge” objects that I can wear, like amulets and jewelry, during my rituals, so that I can carry the ritual intent with me when I wear them out into the world.

INCENSE

Bay, Blessed Thistle, Cedar, Frankincense, Juniper, Rosemary. Bring any or all of the herbs into your ritual circle and add each herb, one at a time, while grinding by hand with a mortar and pestle and focusing on the properties of each herb as it is added. Once your incense is prepared, burn some on a charcoal as you focus on your intent.

CANDLES

The black candle represents Saturn, who is about discipline, “adulting”, mastery, limits, credentials, and patience.
- What new habits are you ready to commit to?
- What area of your life are you ready to master?
Create an affirmation to support your intention, and write it down on a small piece of paper; place it under your candle, anoint it with oils, and imagine your intention being released to the universe as you light your candle.

Repeat with the following:

The royal purple candle represents Jupiter, planet of growth, expansion, philosophy, higher learning, and generosity.
- What are the big philosophical questions you are contemplating now?
- What philosophical ideals are you ready to embrace in order to expand your worldview?
Create an affirmation to support your intent; write down your goal and repeat the process as before.

The electric blue candle represents the sign of Aquarius, the sign of forward-thinking structures, revolutionary idealism; practical humanitarianism.
- How would you add to reimagine the world at this new emerging era?
- What vision are you committed to co-creating within your inner world, projecting outward to all of creation?

Create an affirmation and repeat the process as before and then light your candle.

At this point I like to create some kind of amulet bag (see herbs, above); add stones, herbs, or other materia —anything that is symbolic of your intention—and hold the bag over the smoldering incense to consecrate.

Burn the candles all the way down, or burn them a little every day for 3 days, letting them burn all the way down on the third day.

After the candles have burned down, you can add the affirmations you have written to your amulet bag, or bury them outside in a special place.

You can keep the amulet bag with you on your altar, or wear it around your neck when you want to connect more readily with the intentions of your ritual as you interact with the inner and outer worlds.

Many Blessings of Yule - to Empower you in the New Era!
Blessed Be!

- excerpted and edited from “Magical Astrology Guide for the Year 2004: Candle Meditations and Seasonal Rituals for the Magical Practitioner” by Sarolta Gabriella DeFaltay.

©Sarolta Gabriella DeFaltay. All Rights Reserved.

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