Ah, Yule. What a holiday, what a party, what a blast!
Yule is a paradox. On the darkest night, we set the room ablaze with light. On the solemn occasion of the renewal of hope, we elect a Lord of Misrule. Fortunately, Pagans are good at paradox.
As it turned out, this year I embodied all of that paradox in my body and mind, as High Priestess. The Clan* gathered for Yule this year at a hunting lodge rented for the night, and until about ten days before, I was just another guest. But when the HPS & HP turned out to be unavailable, Dave and I were asked to step in.
Got there, and Oh. My. Gods. I wanted to leave. Pure chaos. The madness of small children, the noise of assembling dinnerage, the jockeying for oven position, the inability to find spoons. It was seriously too much. Fortunately, I had driven seventy miles and was responsible for the ceremony, and couldn’t leave, so I dealt. Then O. & Dave & some of the other guys started drumming, and that hit the spot. I got up and danced and really found my center, really got into a place where I could manage my own energy and enjoy where I was and who I was with. Dancing always does it for me.
Paradox. Cast the circle hard and tight and serious. Celebrate the silence and the darkness. Midwife the Goddess through the birth of the Sun. At the same time, sing, dance, drum, and have all the men give campaign speeches for the coveted position of Lord of Misrule. (After the circle, the women elected Arthur, and he did some hardcore misruling, including starting a seltzer fight, bless him.) More drumming and dancing; raising a joyful noise such as to place the sun in the sky. And go figure, after the circle, Santa showed up.
Glad Yule everyone. May the newborn light drive out your darkness, shed light upon your shadows, and guide you from winter to spring. Blessed be.
*The Clan is a cluster of related Wiccan groups in the tristate (NY/NJ/CT) area, including Anahata, Candlewood, Crystal Grove, and Warwick Valley Pagan Way, as well as affiliated individuals who are former members of these groups or of Clan groups now defunct (Acorn Garden, Circle Web, and Prima Vera) and our friends and family who choose to participate.
