Yule is also known as Yule Tide, Mid Winter, Christmas, Xmas, Festival of Sol, Pagan New Year.
Yule is the Winter Solstice and it’s a good time for reflection, resolutions and renewals. Yule is a good time for giving loved ones and friends giving gifts, it’s a great time to send acts of kindness out into the world and good will.
At Yule time Wiccans and other witches hold rituals to celebrate the balance of light and dark, the warmth from the healing rituals bs warmth back to our world; which brings us all a little closer together. We also host parties and celebrate in many other ways like host parties, visit with our families or have big meals with all the family together.
Yule was here long before Christmas. The Egyptians celebrated Yule over 4,000 years ago. They worshiped and did rituals to honor the return of the sun. After the Egyptians were celebrating Yule began to catch on in other places across the lands. The Persians began to celebrate Yule after that and eventually all over Pagans were doing rituals to bring back the sun on Mid Winter and in celebration of Yul...
“Wicca is closer to the law of Karma and its consequences. If you harm nature, the nature will harm you. If you do good to nature, it will promote your well being and happiness” (The History And Background Of Wicca). In today’s society, people have started understanding witchcraft and practicing it as a religion of Nature. Wiccans understand that nature is a superior entity and humans are simply one of the many parts of nature, both seen and unseen. Who is a witch? Ordinarily you cannot tell who is a witch, but “Wiccans come from all walks of life. They are doctors and nurses, teachers and soccer moms, writers and firefighters, waitresses and computer programmers,” they are normal human beings with a different belief system (Basic Principles and Concepts of Wicca). Wiccan’s are known for celebrating Sabbaths and performing rites and rituals, as is custom in almost all religions. The eight holy Sabbaths witches celebrate are: Samhain, Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Lammas, and Mabon. Samhain means "End of Summer", and is the third and final Harvest, it is usually celebrated on October thirty-first because the Veil between worlds is lifted. Yule is also known as the winter solstice, the dates vary from December twentieth to December twenty-third. Imbolc means in the belly of the Mother “because that is where seeds are beginning to stir as it is Spring,” it is celebrated February first or second to bless the seeds and consecrate agricultural tools (The History And Background Of Wicca). Ostara is the Spring or Vernal Equinox, its is celebrated when the midpoint of day and night is in perfect balanced. Beltane is also known as Roodmas or May day, because it is celebrated on May first to honor the coming of Summer. Litha is the Summer Solstice, it
What images come to mind when you think of witches? Many people immediately imagine a black pointy hat, bubbling cauldron, green warty skin, and Halloween. Usually the image that comes to mind is something scary and evil. Real witches do exist. Most modern witches go by the label Wiccan now. Wiccans practice Wicca, which is a nature-based religion with many different branches or denominations. The basic tenant of all Wicca is called the Three Fold Law. The Three Fold Law states that whatever you do will come back to you times three, good or bad, so do not cause harm or, in other words, “harm none”. It is kind of like the concept of karma in one lifetime. There is debate over how old the religion actually is with some saying that it is an ancient religion that pre-dates Christianity and some saying it is more modern, starting in the 1950’s with Gerald Gardener. Regardless of how old the religion is, Hollywood’s portrayal of witches often does have some kernel of truth, albeit sometimes it is hard to find.
Defined by Margot Adler, writer for Reader’s Companion to U.S. Women’s History, “Wicca is the term commonly used to describe several different traditions of contemporary Paganism—an earth-centered religion that reveres nature; celebrates seasonal and lunar cycles; and worships a goddess, or many goddesses, or sometimes a goddess and a god” (637-638). It is a religion that focuses on worshipping an earth god or goddess, using their power and the earth’s elements for good. For a misunderstood religion it has much history behind it and a deep core belief system.
They believe that the Goddess is imminent in the world around us. Goddess permeates every living thing, and most of them define rocks, soil, water, air, fire, and the plant as living things. " The God of Wicca is the Horned God, the ancient God of Fertility: the God of the forest, flock, and field and also of the hunt. " He is Lord of Life, and the Giver of Life, yet he is also Lord of Death and Resurrection. http://www.interlog.com/spawn/gods.html Wicca is considered to be a radical faith in spite of significant numbers of goddess devotees who are extremely conservative in their lifestyles and the tenets they hold.
Of all religious holidays that have been adopted by secularists, one of the most popular would be Christmas, originally meant to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. With the exact date of Jesus' birth unknown during ancient times, Christmas was initially assigned to January 6th, but was changed to December 25th under the influence of the winter solstice (Nothaft 903). Peculiarly however, is the universal celebration of Christmas al...
She also represents death, which is necessary for rebirth. The Wiccan God is a horned God, and the sun is his symbol. He is also the lord of the underworld who tends souls until they are reborn (Sabin, 2011, p 235). Wiccans pray to the Goddess and God (Sabin, 2011, p233). These Gods created witches for the soul purpose to help heal.
The controversies that surround Wicca start with its exact origin. There are some who believe that it has its origins in Witchcraft due to the similarities between the two. Witchcraft itself is a Pagan practice [polytheistic and non-Christian, Muslim and Jewish in origin] that began with the Celts around 700 B.C. As the movie The Burning Times depicts, the region during this time period was primarily a rural culture so the Celtic traditions were based completely on Nature. Their months were even named after trees and their festivals revolved around the solstices and equinoxes (Steiger). A polytheistic religion, they worshiped a host of female and male deities and are most notably associated with the concept of Goddess worship, a strong belief in the divinity of the female (Burning Times). These paganistic beliefs and rituals gradually over the centuries combined with other European religious practices, such as magic, potions, and ointments for healing, to form what we call in modern times Witchcraft. Groups who did not hav...
Christmas was originally supposed to be a celebration of the birthday of Jesus Christ. Modern historians suggest that Christ was actually born sometime in April, but that is hardly the point; the point is that a day on which to celebrate his birth and life was needed, and so one was chosen. During the season surrounding this holiday -- especially since it coincided with that of other, similar holidays -- it was thought right to honor Jesus by acting as he did, i.e., in a kind, generous, and forgiving manner. Out of this sprung the custom of giving gifts to loved ones on this holiday.
Wicca, like many fellow Pagan traditions, focuses on the beliefs of the deities that all share a different, yet common purpose in the universe-to keep balance and harmony in the world. Wicca, unlike other religions, categorizes the divine; honoring the Goddess in form of the Triple Goddess of sometimes referred to as the Patron Goddess, whose aspects are the Maiden, Mother, Crone; representing the three phases of the moon: Waxing, Waning, Full Moon, and Dark Moon (Morrison, 2001). In form of the Maiden, as stated by M...
For hundreds of years, Wicca and witchcraft has been considered the practice of the Devil. In result, many witches throughout those hundreds of years have been tortured, burned, hanged, and killed outright. Although the “witches” from the infamous Salem Witch Trials were not actual witches, it is the thought that counts. The assumption that witchcraft involves summoning the devil and sacrificing animals is extremely inaccurate, as well as a little insulting. Wicca and witchcraft has been misunderstood throughout the time it has existed, and it is actually a very beautiful practice.
Christmas is a holiday celebrated by most of the world. Christianity is very popular in the US and Hispanic cultures. In the US, Christmas is celebrated with going to Church on Christmas Eve, spending time with their families, and many other things. People also reenact the nativity scene, sing Christmas carols, and do
First, Wicca, the formal organization of witchcraft, is a mystery religion. Each practitioner is considered a witch, and practitioner of The Craft, which contains several different beliefs concerning theology and divinity depending on an individual because of their freedom to study what they seek. Members may choose to be solitary, or part of a coven, which is a group of Wiccans that share beliefs and conduct rituals together. Though different groups of Wicca may differ in certain viewpoints, there are few unambiguous attributes of the religion. These explain that “deity is inspiring, and immanent; Humans are a part of nature; Divinity is manifested in all things and is the central part of nature; God and Goddess images are recognized as higher forms of divinity.” (Church and School of Wicca). The main rule that the Wiccans abide by is the Wiccan Rede, which preaches: “An ye harm none, do what ye will.” (Church and School of Wicca). Magic plays a huge part in the Wiccan religion, with spells, rituals, ceremonies, healings, and divination, etc., among the fundamental practices.
Its beliefs about gender, ethics, sacred text and its origins all contribute to making Wicca an inclusive and appealing religion to be a member of. Wiccans are more than their misconceptions, they defy their short and messy history, and are unified despite the varying practices within their covens. The belief that they are connected to each other, to the elements, and to nature brings the together and makes their community and their religion powerful. Tony Robbins once said, “Beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy. Human beings have the awesome ability to take any experience of their lives and create a meaning that disempowers them or one that can literally save their lives”.
The pagan religion is based off respect for nature, they believe in the natural forces of the world and live by them, the wheel of the year assists in this. many poeple are unaware of how many traditiomns they celebrate that arose from pagan celebrations. Symbolism is abundant in the pagan culture, most common seen is the ankh and the pentacle.
Although it was never celebrated in biblical times, Christmas is celebrated in local churches here in Visalia, California in praise of the fact that God loved us so much; he sent his one and only son to earth. He was wholey god and wholey man. Whereas we have succumbed to the temptations of this earth, Jesus was able to overcome all temptations and live a sinless life. He was then crucified as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. One cannot understand why we celebrate the birth of Christ without seeing the other end of his life. He was crucified for our sins and resurrected.