The Winter Solstice
Jason Rath
The Winter Solstice is the time of year when all things are barren and the Goddess wears the white robe of snow. We had a glimpse of the Goddess in Her death aspect at Samhain. We saw "the white barrenness of Her dress" as She stood facing the North—the place of Winter. It was premature to view the Goddess in Her crone aspect during Samhain. At the same time, it was necessary for us to anticipate the Goddess in Her death role, which she now takes.
During the Winter Solstice the Goddess is in Her Crone aspect and represents the darkness of Winter. She is the Lady pictured in the "World" or "Universe" card in the tarot. She gives life as well as takes it, for She is the maker of all forms. During the Winter Solstice She tests the forms which She and the God have created. The Sun King aspect is born on this day. He shall grow strong, bringing life to the earth through His Lady.
The Winter Solstice is also the beginning of the New Year in many solar traditions. On this day the Goddess gives birth to the Waxing King. He and the Goddess shall embrace and She will call forth Spring. But now the Waning God must die to become the Waxing God. The Winter Solstice is a time of darkness—sometimes Winter appears cruel—but soon the Sun King carries the breath of life and brings new promise to the earth.
Solitary Yule Rite
Your altar should face west. Place your tools on the corners of your altar corresponding to their Elements (Wand, South; Cup, West; Athame, East; Pentacle, North). Also have a small bowl of salt and water, a cup of wine and a plate of bread. Have figures or candles representing the God and Goddess. You can use a purple or silver candle to represent the Goddess and the Moon and a yellow or gold candle to represent the Horned God and the Sun. Place a large candle or cauldron with a small fire in the south of the Circle.
Winter Solstice Incense:
1 part Pine
1 part Cedar
1 part Myrrh
Opening the Temple:
Pick up your bowl of water and hold it high above your purple (Moon) candle while you say:
Na tay-ah de La-may ge na oh!
Meaning, "Blessed is the blood of the Goddess." Set the bowl water upon the altar. Trace the symbol of Taurus (the circle crowned with the crescent moon) over the plate of salt and say:
E ya natas oh bal-da al ve roh!
Meaning, "I bless and purify this creature of Earth!" Sprinkle a little salt into the bowl of water. Walk deosil (clockwise) around your Circle liberally sprinkling salt water and saying:
I cleanse and purify this Circle with Water, the Blood of Life. So mote it be!
Return to your altar and replace the cup. Light your incense and hold your censer high above your yellow (Sun) candle, saying:
Ra ba ah gel-lo sa!
Meaning, "Blessed is the Fire of God!" Walk deosil around your Circle swaying the censer and saying:
I consecrate and cleanse this Circle with the Fire of the heat of day! So mote it be!
Return to your altar and replace the censer. Anoint your third eye (with pure olive oil in the Nascian tradition). Pick up your dagger (if present) and trace a white circle three times about the Temple area, saying:
I trace this Circle as a boundary between the realms of Man and the hidden places of the Gods. Truth hides this Temple, and Cernunnos and Aradia guard it. Here I practice my rites of magick and worship in safety and with great power. I am assured by the presence of the Great Goddess Aradia, my Mother, and the Horned God Cernunnos, my Father!
Invoke the God and Goddess and light the God and Goddess candles. Evoke the four Quarters, beginning with the East. Use your wand, which symbolizes the vigor and will of the Horned God, to evoke the Elementals. (The wand here is oak with a pinecone at the tip. The pinecone should be painted red with gold trim. You may carve or paint symbols on the wand if you desire.) Remember that magickal words or symbols of power are not used to call the Elementals during Sabbats. These days are set aside to worship the Old Gods and rejoice with them. Magickal workings are not to be performed at Sabbats except when such aid is necessary.
Invocation to the East:
Come spirits of the East! Help me build this magick Circle. Yes, come sylphs of Air. Aid and protect this sacred rite. I call thee forth to assist me in my worship and growth. Come ye forces of Air! Fill this [light yellow candle] candle with thy Elemental essence. Let it serve as a symbol of your presence and intelligence. So mote it be!
Invocation to the South:
Come spirits of the South! Help me build this magick Circle. Yes, come salamanders of Fire. Aid and protect this sacred rite. I call thee forth to assist me in my worship and growth. Come ye forces of Fire! Fill this [light red candle] candle with thy Elemental essence. Let it serve as a symbol of your presence and intelligence. So mote it be!
Invocation to the West:
Come spirits of the West! Help me build this magick Circle. Yes, come undines of Water. Aid and protect this sacred rite. I call thee forth to assist me in my worship and growth. Come ye forces of Water! Fill this [light blue candle] candle with thy Elemental essence. Let it serve as a symbol of your presence and intelligence. So mote it be!
Invocation to the North:
Come spirits of the North! Help me build this magick Circle. Yes, come gnomes of Earth. Aid and protect this sacred rite. I call thee forth to assist me in my worship and growth. Come ye forces of Water! Fill this [light green candle] candle with thy Elemental essence. Let it serve as a symbol of your presence and intelligence. So mote it be!
Light the candle or fire in the south. Visualize the Goddess as Crone in white in the north. The Waning King stands in the northwest. Watch the weak God walk to the Goddess in the North. See the two embracing each other and proclaim:
Winter is here and all the fires of Summer have been taken inside. Oh, I shall cultivate my inner flame and let its protective rays shine within me as the sun in the sky.
At this time my Lady Aradia is as a woman of age—the Crone with great understanding. Tonight She shall tear apart the inconsistency and conflict in my body and mind. The old must die so that the young may flourish. My Lady Aradia is gentle, yet firm, and Her consort, the Waning King, grows weak. She is `round me as the arms of a mother holding a child. And Cernunnos holds me as the fires within my vessel grow and unite in realization with the fires of the stars.
She comes, when I call Her, to the open fields—a Woman of mysteries. Most know my Lady as a crone, a mother, and a virgin. But in Her temple I shall learn the answers to Her divine riddles. She carries a Child much like myself close to Her breasts. And She nurtures and cares for me as I rest. My Lady Aradia keeps safe this world with gentle authority, for She receives and pulls as my Lord Cernunnos gives and thrusts. It is cold and the valleys are filled with snow. Where is the Sun King? Where is my Lord? He is growing in strength and soon He will be here.
Tonight Aradia embraces my Lord, the Waning King, and He fertilizes Her so that She is no longer barren. He holds Her as She holds Him. But He must fall, for the Sun King must emerge. He must be born this day. How long He has been gone? Bring Him back, oh Goddess in white, for the Earth lies barren, we need His strength. I call the Lord of the Waxing year. Yes, may the light that burns within me burn without me as well. Yes, light the fires about the earth. They will call for my Lord.
See the Goddess stand away from the Waning King and turn to the north. See the Waning God fall and disappear. Then, seemingly from nowhere, the Sun King appears in all His glory. See the Goddess embrace Him and kiss Him. Directly the Goddess dies and transforms into Her maiden aspect. She stands and faces northeast. The child Sun King is happy and He stands close to Aradia. Then say:
Oh Lady of the Night, all can see Your beauty in the Moonlight. You are the Goddess of birth, giving all that I see. My Lord, the Horned One, wax you will, fertilizing the seed of Aradia. Dance through the spaces of time, like a lover within the bliss of warmth. In a time so bitter as this, remember that Aradia can see and feel for all those who suffer, for She is with them. No one may come or go without Her permission, for She is the giver of life—and all things return unto Her.
Some fall now, and in their remains new life must root. So in the soiled ruins of chaos within myself, new qualities shall take root. Yes, Aradia is manifest in every passive thing. She is manifest as the Moon, or as the receptive ebb penetrating all life. And my Lord Cernunnos, the Horned One, is in every dynamic thing.
Together my Lady and Lord turn the Wheel of the Year, bringing change both within and without me. Yes, I have walked through the Womb of Death. And in the Sea of Darkness, my lantern within shines upon my pathway. Now I emerge and signal the Sun King. He rises and darkness is no more.
Aradia is the earth and all things upon it, for She is the offspring of Herself. She has taken a garment of snow, and the snow has covered the earth. But She has taken off the garment of death and so the snows shall melt. From the white death shall flow the waters of life. Soon Cernunnos shall come to Her and fertilize Her. The valleys of the Earth will be made green. The Sun King is born and the Waning King dies. The year turns and the fires are lit, beckoning the Sun. He does come with great speed. Yes, the harshness of Winter now fades. Soon the cold breeze will blow no more. So mote it be!
The Great Rite:
Raise your cup of wine and say:
Blessed be this sacred wine, this Womb and Cup of Life. May it fill my soul, giving me strength of heart and knowledge of my Lady Aradia's secret ways. So mote it be!
Set down your ritual cup in the center of your altar. Pick up your ritual dagger and say:
This dagger is a symbol of the phallus and the God. May the wisdom of the Great God Cernunnos guide and teach me every day. So mote it be!
Take the dagger in both hands and pierce the wine. Feel what you have done and meditate on its meaning for a moment. Then say:
De vel na arla hana! [The veil is parted!] As the Man is to the Woman, so this blade is to the grail! Together the God and Goddess create and destroy. In unity they are my Lord and my Lady. In the name of the Great Spirit Zellayah, they knit together all things. I bless and consecrate this wine. So mote it be!
At this point you may give prayers or dance to the Old Gods. Take a moment to meditate on the Winter Solstice rite and what it means to you. Also, do some scrying or trance work with the fire in the south. Make a toast to the Old Gods with wine and bread. Then dismiss the Elementals at the four Quarters beginning with the East.
Dismissing the Elementals of the East:
Oh sylphs of peaceful winds, I thank thee for coming here to aid my work. Return now to thy place of dwelling. Be there peace between us now and forever, and come when I call thee forth again! So mote it be!
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Yule
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Dismissing the Elementals of the South:
Oh salamanders of warmth and light, I thank thee for coming here to aid my work. Return now to thy place of dwelling. Be there peace between us now and forever, and come when I call thee forth again! So mote it be!
Dismissing the Elementals of the West:
Oh undines of flux, I thank thee for coming here to aid my work. Return now to thy place of dwelling. Be there peace between us now and forever, and come when I call thee forth again! So mote it be!
Dismissing the Elementals of the North:
Oh gnomes of gemstone foundations, I thank thee for coming here to aid my work. Return now to thy place of dwelling. Be there peace between us now and forever, and come when I call thee forth again! So mote it be!
This concludes the Winter Solstice rite. Merry meet! Merry part! Merry meet again! | 
