Happy Yule!

Early this morning, the sun reached the southernmost celestial latitude it's capable of attaining. Here in the north, we had the shortest day of the year. Today is the day of the greatest darkness – the winter solstice.

At the apparent triumph of darkness, the tables turn. After today, the light will begin to increase and the days will grow longer. The darkness has done its worst, and will lose its grip from this day forward. It won't be obvious for days yet, but the light has come back.

Many cultures have celebrations of light during this time, and Wicca is no exception. As the neopagan movement has rifled through the pockets of many different cultures, it's taken pieces from all over the world. In fairly short order, we've assembled a pretty coherent whole.

Yule is a pretty busy time of year. This is the day the course of the sun reverses. From a time of increasing darkness, we move to a time of growing light. Yule is the day the light is reborn.

The Holly King, representing the dark aspect of the God, has ruled since the summer solstice. He now loses in ritual combat to the Oak King, and gives his life to the light aspect of the God, who reigns as Lord of the waxing year. We move from a time of decrease to a time of growth, and all of nature comes round to this new course. Now is the time we plant the seeds for those things we wish to bring into our lives in the coming year. In short, this is the time for making resolutions for the new year.

A law of magic which seems to show up everywhere I've looked states that magic happens in the places between. The shores, places where land and sea meet, are places of power. Mountain tops, where earth meets sky, are also powerful spots. Times are also magical. Twilight and dawn are times of magic – they are between day and night, not quite either.

The changes of the seasons are also times of magic. During the time of change, we are between one time of year and the next, and the rules are held in abeyance. Eclipses are considered times of power, and so are times between one year and the next.

You can break a cycle at any point, and any number of days have been selected as New Year's Day. (There is, or at least used to be, a night club that celebrated New Year's Day every day of the year, since every day is just as valid a day as any other for this celebration.) But some days have their own built-in features which set them apart. Although the official Wiccan new year falls at Samhain, the Yule festival is a compelling choice for a number of reasons.

Everything comes together at Yule.

I've mentioned the God, but the Goddess is emphasized here as at no other time.

In the waning year, the Goddess takes on the aspect of the Crone – the woman who has passed the time of childbearing, and taken on the duty of advisor to the family, the tribe, the village, or the world. She will hold this aspect until the light is reborn at Yule.

After Yule, the Goddess takes on the aspect of the Maiden – the virgin not yet capable of bearing children. She presides over the growth of all in the world.

During Yule itself, the Light – and the Lord – is reborn. Birth requires a bearer and it is the Goddess as Mother who gives birth to the new Lord and the light. At Yule, the Goddess takes on all three of her aspects of being, and all three facets of Her are available to Her children.

During this time of year, we are encouraged to reflect on the year that has ended, and look forward to the year that is to come. Here, in the time between the years, where the lives of the Lord and the Lady reach a crossroad, we have enormous latitude. We have the power to chart our own course at all times, but in the magical times and places, the range of choices is even greater.

It is said that every intentional act is a magical act. In the coming year, let us work our magic for good.