| Back to Back Issues Page |
 |
|
Yule • Pagan Songbook • Change the World by Changing Yourself • [Silver Chalice Wiccan 'Zine #71] December 24, 2019 |
Table of ContentsEditor's Note Energy Fields & Astrology -- End of 2019, Early 2020 Energies Wicca Students Speak Out New Article - Change the World by Changing Yourself Sabbats & Esbats & Other Wiccan Rituals - Yule Quotes - on Change & Discomfort
Editor's NoteMerry Meet! Welcome to the Silver Chalice Wicca 'Zine!
As we wrap up 2019, my editor's note is again a video version. Turns out, maybe as a result of all of those 'Secrets of a Spiritual Life' videos, I enjoy doing video recordings. Click here to view today's Editor's Note:
Also, as we move into January, The Wicca School "A Year & A Day: 53 Weeks to Becoming a Wiccan" is starting the 2020 cohort for those of you that are interested in learning Wicca in alignment with the seasons (a few lessons before your dedication at Brigid/Imbolc), so if you've been sitting on the fence about joining, now is the perfect time to immerse yourself in Wicca. Sorry for not getting this 'Zine to you before Yule. The email server had a bit of a glitch this month, which we've now sorted out. So — Happy belated Yule, dear readers. Thank you, as always, for taking the time to read this 'zine. Wishing you brightest blessings,
Energy Fields & Astrology:
This week there will be a Partial Solar Eclipse with the New Moon, Wednesday December 25th at 9:13 PM PST (which translates to December 26th at 12:13 AM EST). This will help to shake free your limitations and refocus you onto something more expansive. You can honour this launch into the energies of 2020 by opening yourself to new possibilities and taking inventory of your life—what you want more of, what you want to let go of, who you want to be with. Looking ahead to January: there's a lunar eclipse in Cancer on January 10th, and then on January 12th there is a conjunction between Pluto & Saturn at 11:59AM EST (as well as Mercury, Ceres, around the 10th-13th). With this combination, you might feel that your foundations you've relied on to maintain your personal security are gone—you thought things were solid, but the circumstances of life have eroded the core structures in your world. Stay connected to your heart and grounded to your self during this time to help you maintain balance amongst these feelings.
Next year, Saturn is really running the show, so you will be propelled to go after your desires, set goals, and do your best. Also, due to Jupiter conjoining the south node of the moon in Capricorn, For those of you that noticed, in the past year or so, a feeling of needing to get real juxtaposed to past years' feeling of slow metaphorical plowing that seems like it should be done already - you've been tuned into the Pluto & Saturn placements in Capricorn. Also, FYI, in 2020 there are 3 Mercury retrograde periods - in March, July, and November. All of these are in water signs, so be forewarned of the emotional nature of these times. All in all, 2020 looks to be a potent year for change and actualization of your goals. Be mindful of what you want, and know that the Universe is supporting you in achieving it!
Next New Moon: Thursday December 26th @ 9:13am PST, 12:13am EST, and 5:13pm GMT
Wicca Students Speak Out:
"Over the years i have learned wicca from many different sources... books, internet, hearing and seeing things and of course my own ideas. My main reason for taking this course was to get deeper into wicca with everything in one place from one source and not scattered. I would 100% recommend this course to any wanting to follow the wiccan path and find true peace, love and calmness. Thank you so much for this course, yes it was intense and very hard to keep up but i have enough information to deepen my knowledge and practices. learning is a life long practise." - Adele B., Iceland "I took this course because I done a lot of reading, but needed more. I found this course to have a good pace of learning, Non Judgmental. I truly would recommend this class especially with its ease of use and self-paced." - C.D. "I took this course because I was seeking more knowledge about Wicca that I was unable to gain elsewhere. I read books but felt like I was still missing vital knowledge.
From these lessons, I gained knowledge and experiences that I feel would have been difficult to attain elsewhere. I loved the way the course was put together, I could really hear Erin's voice in the text, and I liked the adventures and the links to additional reading. " - Ginny W., Stockton Click here to see more feedback from students
New Article: Change the World by Changing YourselfSilver Chalice Exclusive!I realized earlier this year that I wanted to change or renovate my office, so it would feel less small, dark and cramped. Then, shortly after this thought, it occurred to me—what is it in myself that needs to be more expansive and more light? As you might know, we tend to want to change our external circumstances to match our desires more closely, to what makes us happy, what makes us comfortable, what makes life pleasant. And yet it it's such a great opportunity when something comes into our lives that doesn't match up. Those challenges when life doesn't go the way we wish it would, gives us an opportunity to look in ourselves and say, "Where is that happening in me that I can change?" In a way it's easier to change our internal circumstances than our outer circumstances, but we kind of think it's easier to change the outer circumstances. Or, maybe it's more that we prefer to change our outer circumstances. We don't like to change ourselves; we want to stay the same; we don't want to change too much. And where is that most prevalent? I think is it's in our bodies and ourselves and our self-image. The question is — What is it that needs to change in me, to adapt to circumstances? — instead of fighting circumstances which are pretty much irrevocable or being at war with reality. Take a moment to realize how many ways there are in your life that you are fighting circumstances. I think it's easier to see it in other people when they're resisting realty for instance or complaining about something or someone and you can see it's because they have that exact problem inside themselves that's just mirrored by the outside world. All of our life is a mirror of what we're experiencing, what's going on for us on deeper levels, so when we do change ourselves we suddenly find that things outside of us change. And sometimes, things that could not change even if we wanted to, suddenly shift. The things we thought we could never fix, such as in parents or spouse that used to drive us crazy and was intolerable, when we change ourselves, they change.
I've seen this over and over again with myself and with others. (So that's the motivation, for doing the internal changes, in case you were wondering).
Our biggest stumbling block is we (or, the Ego) identify with these things — and then if the things change, the ego is
threatened because it's no longer who it said it was, and then the ego says "who am I?"
When one's ego claims the problem that they don't want, then the Ego becomes identified with that problem and then it can't shift (or at least it's a lot more difficult). For instance, people will want to heal an issue but they'll claim it and say "my disease, my injury, my inability." As soon as you claim it with a 'my' you know that the ego is identified with that and making it a part of its consciousness or identity.
The ego wants to latch on to everything around and everything on the outside, and identify with it and claim it as a way of bolstering its own identity and existence.
So it becomes a lot easier to change things when we are loose with them. And the more we can let go of identifying or claiming problems, the lighter everything becomes.
Understand how your life can change completely just by letting go of
resistance and shifting what's inside when there's something outside of yourself or someone that you want to change or wish could be different. Look at how that is in you, where that is in you. And then start to create some space around that, to open up and be different.
When we allow for things to not be how our ego or mind say they should be, we open up the possibility for life to transform miraculously inside and out — health and external circumstances and relationships and everything.
See if you can identify those moments in your day where you're wishing your outside environment would be different, and look at how that might be a metaphor or reflection of what it is inside of yourself that could change or use evolution, a little bit of less resistance and more acceptance and flow.
Step into the flow of grace and allowing grace to flow through your life, transforming and uplifting everything.
Sabbats, Esbats, & Other Wiccan Rituals:
At Yule, the nights are at their longest, and the days are as short as they will get. The Sun rides on His lowest trail through the sky. This metaphor deepens as we discover the essence of Yule: the Journey to the Heart. Winter Solstice is the turning point on the Wheel of Dark and Light. Both are valued and necessary, Dark as the preparation for life and Light as life itself. We decorate with red and green — red for birth and green for the plant life to come, and abundance; with gold and silver — gold for the newborn Sun God and silver for the snows and the still-dominant Moon-lit nights. Both constriction and expansion are poised at Yule: life can't get more shut down and survive it, and the expansion is almost within reach! Can you feel the excitement and joy they would feel? Can you feel the intensity of gratitude that you'll survive another winter with your family and community?? THAT FEELING, that's what Yule is about! The Winter Solstice has 3 principal Energies...
(2)Gestation in the Cauldron/Chrysalis (3)The Birth of New Light Both of the Winter Sabbats (and Imbolc and Eostara as well) represent new beginnings... what differentiates the Winter Sabbats is the LEVEL that the beginnings take place on. Let's start with the Wiccan beginning of the year (and the rebirth process) — Samhain. At Samhain, the culmination of the previous year's growth is done, and the way is cleared to prepare for new life.
But this is only the very first sign of the change, with the Sun just hinting at the future warmth — more a seed of a beginning than a sprout.
5 main underlying Energies of the Winter Solstice
(2) Things Become Crystal Clear (3) Choices for the Future (4) Return to Love (5) Celebration of Hope Winter Solstice is a miniature version of what the Earth, and humanity, has been going through for decades — the transition from a time of darkness (contraction, struggle, suffering) to a time of light (expansion, ease, peace). At the Winter Solstice, the Sun God is reborn as a tiny infant, powerless and weak, dependent on the love and care of His Mother Goddess for life. At this Sabbat, He is pure innocence, love, and joy. So Sun Gods — Apollo, Ra, Mithra, and such — are invoked and honoured at Yule. In this season, the Goddess rules alone. This is the Goddess in Her role as Mother of all the Gods. She gives birth to the Sun God, and suckles Her infant child. At the same time, She's still gestating within Herself the Gods-to-be — the Horned God, the Green God.
Symbols & Decorations for the Season
Winter Solstice Magick Suggestions
This information about Yule is from parts of Lesson #46 & #47, "Yule: The Winter Solstice Sabbat" in A Year & A Day: 53 Weeks to Becoming a Wiccan.
Quotes: "In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer." "Even the strongest blizzards start with a single snowflake." "Kindness is like snow. It beautifies everything it covers."
"Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you."
|
| Back to Back Issues Page |
there will be a depth of consolidation and contracting which will focus aspirations and draw attention to the core purpose you wish to focus
on in 2020.
Yule is the beginning in terms of the Energy returning. At Yule, the light begins to return, setting the stage for future life to grow. After the long dark months, the Sun's impregnating rays begin to reach out once again to the Earth.
