We held our Yule ritual tonight. It was supposed to be Friday night, but yesterday was too rainy for an outdoor ritual.
We started in the ritual meadow. We had the metal altar set up. Given our Norse theme for this event, we called Realms from Yggdrasil instead of calling quarters. We cast the circle with mead, for the Aesir, though we usually don't use alcohol in our rituals. The attempt to light the bonfire failed utterly, despite using tiki oil and firestarters, so all that burned was the paper and cardboard.
Then we walked a circle around the Midwinter Grove to bless it. My partner Doug recited the story of how it came to be. Next we dug a hole and planted the
Colorado blue spruce tree. Once in the ground, it's about knee-high, and I think it came in a gallon pot. Later on, I'll want to spread composted manure around it, throw down a little fertilizer, cover with ground cloth, and then mulch.
Finally we returned to the ritual meadow. We shared cakes and ale. Despite the heavy cloud cover, the moon peeked through briefly. Then we released the Realms and opened the circle. It was a beautiful ritual tonight. :D
( Read more... )