I hope everyone got the chance to enjoy last night's Total Lunar Eclipse. This is the first time since 1374 that the total lunar eclipse has been on the Winter Solstice. I unfortunately didn't really get to see it because there was too much cloud cover, but I caught a glimpse of the beautiful red moon around 2 am. Today was the beginning of Yule, which lasts for 13 days. Yule is celebrated with the spreading of the warmth throughout the community. This is done by lighting personal hearths with torches that were lit with a sacred fire that is kept burning throughout the winter. This represents that we are all connected and equal and that our souls all come from the same source. Yule is also celebrated with communal feasts. Yule celebrates the death and re-birth of the sun from the mother earth. So the return of light and the hope for a brighter year. During this time we sacrifice a Boar, if we do not spill the blood of the Boar it is said that the Mother Goddess will not have the strength to give birth to the sun.
The food is put away for the winter,
the crops are set aside to feed us,
the cattle are come down from their fields,
and the sheep are in from the pasture.
The land is cold, the sea is stormy, the sky is gray.
The nights are dark, but we have our family,
kin and clan around the hearth,
staying warm in the midst of darkness,
our spirit and love a flame
a beacon burning brightly
in the night.
~Celtic prayer for Yule
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