Yule: Rituals, Recipes & Lore for the Winter Solstice

227 Pages·2015·5.129 MB·English

by  Susan Pesznecker

yule

Llewellyn’s Sabbat Essentials
yule
Rituals, Recipes & Lore for the Winter Solstice
Llewellyn Publications
Woodbury, Minnesota
Yule: Rituals, Recipes & Lore for the Winter Solstice © 2015 by Susan Pesznecker.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner
whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn
Publications, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles
and reviews.
First Edition
First Printing, 2015
Book design: Donna Burch-Brown
Cover art by: i Stockphoto.com/18232461/© Electric_Crayon;
iStockphoto.com/11042471/©Adyna;
Shutterstock/162597791/©Kovalevska;
Shutterstock/116499046/©Viktoria
Interior illustrations: Mickie Mueller
Llewellyn Publications is a registered trademark of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data (Pending)
ISBN: 978-0-7387-4451-3
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responsibility concerning private business transactions between our authors and the
public.
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Llewellyn Publications
A Division of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.
2143 Wooddale Drive
Woodbury, MN 55125-2989
www.llewellyn.com
Printed in the United States of America
Contents
Series Introduction . . . 1
Old Ways . . . 13
New Ways . . . 41
Spells and Divination . . . 71
Recipes and Crafts . . . 103
Prayers and Invocations . . . 143
Rituals of Celebration . . . 161
Correspondences for Yule . . . 191
Further Reading . . . 209
Bibliography . . . 211
Index . . . 217

L
lewellyn’s Sabbat Essentials provides instruction and
inspiration for honoring each of the modern witch’s sabbats.
Packed with spells, rituals, meditations, history, lore, invoca-
tions, divination, recipes, crafts, and more, each book in this
eight-volume series explores both the old and new ways of
celebrating the seasonal rites that act as cornerstones in the
witch’s year.
There are eight sabbats, or holidays, celebrated by Wiccans
and many other Neopagans (modern Pagans) today. Together,
these eight sacred days make up what’s known as the Wheel of
1
the Year, or the sabbat cycle, with each sabbat corresponding to
an important turning point in nature’s annual journey through
the seasons.
Devoting our attention to the Wheel of the Year allows us
to better attune ourselves to the energetic cycles of nature and
listen to what each season is whispering (or shouting!) to us,
rather than working against the natural tides. What better time
to start new projects than as the earth reawakens after a long
winter, and suddenly everything is blooming and growing and
shooting up out of the ground again? And what better time to
meditate and plan ahead than during the introspective slumber
of winter? With Llewellyn’s Sabbat Essentials, you’ll learn how
to focus on the spiritual aspects of the Wheel of the Year, how
to move through it and with it in harmony, and how to cele-
brate your own ongoing growth and achievements. This may
be your first book on Wicca, Witchcraft, or Paganism, or your
newest addition to a bookcase or e-reader already crammed
with magickal wisdom. In either case, we hope you will find
something of value here to take with you on your journey.
Take a Trip Through the Wheel of the Year
The eight sabbats each mark an important point in nature’s an-
nual cycles. They are depicted as eight evenly spaced spokes on
a wheel representing the year as a whole; the dates on which
they fall are nearly evenly spaced on the calendar, as well.
2
introduction