Spells, Witchcraft, Magick Spells & Rituals

Yule: The Simple Facts

Of the contested origins of the word Yule, one factually unlikely connection is to the Old Norse hjól, or wheel, to identify the moment when the wheel of the year is at its lowpoint and ready to rise again. Linguists suggest Jól has been inherited by Germanic languages from a pre-Indo-European substrate language and either borrowed into Old English from Old Norse or directly inherited from Proto-Germanic.

A more likely origin for the term Yule can be traced via the Old English/Anglo-Saxon term "Géol", which is strongly connected with the word for yellow - "geol". One may see the evolution of this word for yellow throughout the Germanic and Scandinavian countries: German "gelb", Norwegian "gul", Danish "gul", Gaelic 'geal', Dutch "geel", Swedish "gul", Frisian "giel", even Italian "giallo", Lithuanian "geltonas" and Romanian "galben". The Old English Géol became the Middle English "Yole" and finally modern Yule, whereas the word geol or geolu evolved to become modern yellow. This same gradual divergence of terms also occurred in the other languages mentioned. All of these terms ultimately stem from the Indo-European root "ghel-" meaning "to shine". Since the Yule festival is native to the northern European lands, where midwinter is a time of short days and little light, it is a strong possibility the original sense of Yule as a midwinter festival had much to do with "bringing back the sun" and creating bright, shining, gold or yellow sun- and fire-themed decorations and festivities. Another connection may be to the brightness of the sunlight glaring off the white snow, or simply the bright glare of the sun itself as it rides low on the horizon. Therefore, likely meanings may be "Shining Time", "Bright Time" or "Golden Time".

In the Scandinavian Germanic languages, the term Jul covers both Yule and Christmas, and is also occasionally used to denote other holidays in December, e.g., "jødisk jul" or "judisk jul" (tr. "Jewish Yule") for Hanukkah. The word "jul" has also been borrowed into the neighboring Finnic languages, most notably to Finnish and Estonian (where it has been modified to "joulu" and "jõul" , respectively, and denotes Christmas in modern usage), although the Finnic languages have a linguistic origin different from Germanic languages. In Old English, geóla originally referred to the month of December. The meaning later narrowed to mean Christmas with the coming of Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England.

Here are a few key points about Yule:

The Terms of Yule: the Winter Solstice, Yuletide (Teutonic), Alban Arthan (Caledonii)

Yule is a living ancestor of the Christian Christmas celebration. The colors of the season, red and green, also are of Pagan origin, as is the custom of exchanging gifts.

Yule is a celebration of the rebirth of the sun.

Pagan families would bring a live tree into the home so the wood spirits would have a place to keep warm during the cold winter months. Bells were hung in the limbs so you could tell when a spirit was present. The Yule tree is perhaps the most common tradition still in existence. Garlands of popcorn, dried rosebuds, and cinnamon sticks are traditional decorations for the tree. Food and treats were hung on the branches for the spirits to eat and a five-pointed star, the pentagram, symbol of the five elements, was placed atop the tree.

A lesser known tradition is the burning of the Yule log. Magical symbols are carved into the log prior to it being set ablaze on the evening before Yule, to be burned until morning. A solar festival, Yule is celebrated by fire and the use of a Yule log. A piece of the log is saved and kept throughout the year to protect the home. piece is used to light the next year's log.

The God who died at Samhain is born from the virgin Goddess. This is the time of the new year when the Goddess turns the Wheel of the Year to its beginning point. This is the shortest day of the year and it celebrates the return of the God as seen in the lengthening of daylight. Here, on the longest night of the year, the Goddess gives birth to the Sun Child and hope for new light is reborn.

Yule is a time of awakening to new goals and leaving old regrets behind.