Yule 1999 Newsletter Seasonal Variations

There are four seasons in SE Qld, but very different to the one's in Southern Australia, or Northern Europe. First, rainfall. The rainiest months for Brisbane are Jan-March; the driest are July-Sep. This compares to Sydney or Melbourne where the average rainfall is very similar throughout the year, and Perth where winter (May-August) are the rainiest. Second, heat. It is very hot and sticky in Brisbane Dec-Feb, and quite temperate in winter. i.e. the most horrid season is summer, with heat, drought and fires. By February 1, we are eagerly expecting the wet season (if it has not already begun), which is even more pronounced the more northerly you go.

In winter, the days are mild, albeit with some terrific winds - the Season of air. By August 1, the flowering season has returned (about 1 month earlier than in Sydney). So we see the Summer as Fire, and the season that most resembles imbalance - except that fire regenerates the bushland, and the harvest takes place in December. So at Litha we honour the triumphant Sun king, but by Lughnassadh, he has outstayed His welcome, and he gives up his procreative power to replenish the earth and let Autumn, the season of Water to begin. By Mabon, the fruit harvest is beginning, and the Sun King is slain by his Dark counterpart, the lord of the Underworld and Darkness and Night. This Lord beds, and at Samhain weds the Goddess who descends to the Underworld to unravel the Mystery of Death. At Yule, The Sun God is born anew, while the God and Goddess of the Underworld celebrate their triumph at the height of winter - and in Brisbane, it is truly beautiful, and so we can see the 'good' side of the Dark. Winter is the season of winds and therefore air. Imbolc truly arrives with a fanfare of bush flowers, and blossom everywhere; the Goddess returns to the upper world with her Son. At Ostara, the Sun God slays the ageing Dark Lord, and beds the Goddess with a riot of colour and lust. At Beltane the God and Goddess celebrate the heirogamos, sacred marriage between Earth and Sky, Sun and Moon, male and female. Thus ends Spring, the season of Earth. Finally we return to Litha, the triumph of the sunning, and also the birth of the new dark Lord. Thus at the Equinoxes, the God slays the other half of Himself, as the light or dark overtakes the other; then beds the Goddess, impregnating Her with Himself. At the Solstices, the Light or Dark God is reborn, while the other celebrates their time of triumph. I guess this is a combination letter on our Sabbat cycle as well as the seasons.

For further details see my web page on the Sabbats: http://www.oocities.org/Athens/Delphi/1882/session8.html

Chancellor of the Temple of PanGaia
Secretary of Church of All Worlds, Australia
President, Pagan Festivals Association, Inc

Web Page: http://www.oocities.org/Athens/Delphi/1882/
Email: q.walker@mailbox.uq.edu.au

(Reprinted with the permission of Quenten Walker, the Queensland Co-ordinator of the Pagan Alliance)