(author unknown)
A group of little Faeries huddled in their home deep under the roots of a giant oak tree. They were safe and snug in their tiny underground cave lined with dandelion fluff, bird feathers, and dried moss. Outside, the wind blew cold and the snow fell softly down to cover the ground. "I saw the Sun King today," the faerie named Rose said as she pulled her mossy cloak tighter about her. "He looked so old and tired as he walked off through the forest. What is wrong with him? The great oak said he's dying" answered Daffodil. "Dying? Oh, what will we do now?" Little Meadow Grass started to cry "If the sun King dies, our little plant friends will not grow. The Birds will not come and sing again. Everything will be winter for ever!" Lilac, Dandelion and Elder Blossom tried to comfort their friend, but they were all very sad. As they huddled together, there was a knock on the tiny door.
"Open up, Faeries," called out a loud voice. "Why are you hiding instead of joining us in our Solstice celebration?" Rose opened the door and the little gnome Brown Knobby pushed inside, shaking the glistening snowflakes off his brown coat and hat.
"We are too sad to celebrate," Daffodil said wiping her eyes, "the Sun King is dying, haven't you heard?" "He is dead you silly Faeries." Brown Knobby's round dark eyes sparkled with laughter. "now hurry, or we'll be late for the celebration!" "How can you be happy and laughing?!" Elder Blossom stamped her little foot and frowned at the gnome. "If the Sun King IS dead, it will be winter always. We will never see the Sun again!"
"Silly little child-Faeries." Brown Knobby grabbed Dandelion by the hand and pulled her to her feet. "There is a secret to the Winter Solstice. Don't you want to know what it is?"
The Faeries looked at him in surprise. "Secret?" they all said. "What secret? We are only new little Faeries, you silly gnome. We've never been to a Solstice celebration before."
"Come and see. Come and see. Get your capes and come with me." Brown Knobby danced and jigged around the room. "Hurry, Hurry, don't be slow! To the sacred oak grove through the snow!" He danced out of the door and disappeared. "What did that gnome mean?" Rose asked as she gathered up her cloak of dried rose petals held together with cobwebs and lined with goose down. "I don't know, but the Lady lives in the sacred grove." Meadow Grass pulled on her hat. "Perhaps if we go to see the Goddess, She can explain what Brown Knobby was talking about".
The Faeries left their snug little home and trudged off through the snow toward the sacred oak grove. The forest was dark with only the light of the Moon shining down through the thick fir branches and bare limbs of maple and hawthorn. It was very difficult for them to get through the snow because they were very, very small. As they waded through the wet snow and shivered in the cold wind, they met a fox. "Where are you going, Faeries?" the fox asked. "To the sacred grove," they answered, they were cold and shivering. "Climb on my back and I will take you there swiftly." The fox knelt down so the Faeries could climb up. Then he raced off through the dark.
"Listen!" Lilac said as they neared the grove of sacred trees. "Someone is singing happy songs. A LOT of someones." The beautiful music carried over the cold, still, moonlit air. It was the most beautiful music the Faeries had ever heard. The fox carried the Faeries right to the edge of the stone altar in the center of the grove, then knelt down. "Look!" said Elder Blossom as they slid to the snow covered ground. "There is the Maiden and the Mother and the OLD Wise One, And many other Little People." "They are all smiling and happy," said Lilac as she looked around at all the creatures. "All the animals are here too," whispered Dandelion. "why are they all looking at the Mother?"
The Faeries moved closer to the three Ladies seated on the altar stone. The Mother held a bundle close in Her arms, smiling down at it. The Maiden reached down and took the Faeries gently in her Hands. She held them close to the Mother so they could see what She held. "A Baby!" the Faeries cried. " A new little Baby! Look how he glows!" "He is the newborn Sun King," said the Maiden smiling. "But Brown Knobby and the old oak tree said the Sun King was dead," the Faeries answered her. "How can this little baby be the Sun King?" "That is the secret of the Winter Solstice." The Old Wise One touched the baby's cheek with her wrinkled hand. "Every year the Sun King must come to the sacred grove during the darkest days of winter where he dies. I take his spirit to the Mother who gives him new life again. This is the way for all creatures, not just the Sun King." " You mean everything lives and dies and lives again? the Faeries looked down in wonder at the baby Sun King, nestled in the arms of the Mother. " Yes Little Ones," answered the Old Wise One. "There is never an end to life. This is the great mystical secret of the Winter Solstice." The Faeries laughed because they were so happy. "I think the little Sun King should have gifts," said Rose. "I will show him where the wild roses bloom in the early summer."
"And, I will teach him to call the birds and listen to the songs of the wind," exclaimed Dandelion. "When he is older and stronger, " said the Mother, "then the flowers will bloom at his touch, the birds will return to sing their songs, and the air will be warm from his breath, and winter will be gone for a time. Then the Sun King will run and play with you in the forest." The little Faeries sang to the Baby Sun King, songs of the coming spring, the sweet smelling flowers, the bumbling bees, and all the secrets of the forest. And all the creatures within the sacred grove sang with them. Then the fox took them back to their snug home under the roots of the giant oak tree where they dreamed wonderful dreams, waiting for the warmth of spring and the fun they would have with the little Sun King.
A very long time ago in a land far away lived a elderly woodcutter and his wife amidst a grand forest. The woodcutter had a good life chopping firewood from the surrounding forest to sell to the nearby town for food and money for him and his wife. Until one day when the tree he was cutting fell the wrong way and he was very badly injured and unable to continue working. Which soon made life very hard for them as there was no longer any money for food or any other necessity that they needed. What money that the good wife could find she would use on medicines for her husband to make him more comfortable. The good wife struggled to feed her husband and herself from her garden until winter made it impossible to continue growing food and their stores of food were soon gone. But, still she tried to find ways to make money for food by helping others by doing small chores, and by gathering roots in the forest to stipend her meager food that she could buy. She continued working hard until one day when the good wife discovered an abundance of pinecones scattered around the many pine trees throughout the forest amidst the winter snow.
She realized that even though she could not carry, cut or bring enough large pieces of wood to sell to the town that people would buy pinecones for kindling for their fireplaces. So each day she would load up a bag with an apple and a small sandwich for her lunch so that she could make a trip into the grand forest to search for pinecones.
One day after she had gathered a apron full of pine cones and her back was sore from bending she decided to sit down underneath a huge oak tree to eat her lunch and to gather her strength for the long walk home. She had just pulled out her apple and sandwich when she realized that she was no longer alone. Looking up she found a very small, strangely dressed little man standing before her.
Noticing that he seemed to be hungry she asked him if he would like her apple from her lunch. He quickly nodded and took the apple from her open palm and within a wink the apple was eaten. Thinking to herself that someone who would eat something so quickly must be in more strife than her little family she offered him her sandwich as well. She knew that giving him all her food would make her very hungry as this was all the food that she could spare for herself that day, but she could not allow anyone to go hungry. The little man took the sandwich with a grateful smile and quickly ate the sandwich with much relish and enjoyment. The good wife watched his enjoyment of her offering with a kind smile even though her empty stomach grumbled with hunger. As soon as the little man finished his little meal he picked off each crumb and each morsel of food off of his clothing and ate them.
He then licked his hands of all the tasty apple nectar and sighed with contentment patting his now full stomach. He then sat down beside the good wife and looked at her apron filled to spilling of gathered pinecones. He smiled at the good wife and touched the apron with one tiny hand and said.. "Good wife I thank thee for the wonderful food you gave with such a giving heart and without asking for anything in return. I have a gift for thee in your apron, however, do not look within your apron until you are home again with your husband." Then with a wink and a lilting giggle the little man bounded away deeper into the forest. The good wife smiled and shook her head thinking that the little man must be "touched in the head" and got up and started her long journey home. She was curious at what gift he had put into her apron as she knew that he hadn't placed anything in with the pinecones, but decided to do as he said and not look until she was home with her husband.
Once she arrived home she went to her husband's bedside and quickly told him about her adventure in the forest with the strange little man. He was very upset with his wife as he had warned her of the dangers of the forest and to speak to a strange man was worth his worry. But, his good wife just smiled and touched his hand and told him that she knew of his worries and that she had been careful. Shaking her head she smiled and told him of his promise of a gift as she reached into her apron and pulled out a pinecone. The woodcutter gasped in amazement at the pinecone that his wife held in her shocked grasp for instead of a pinecone of wood she held a pinecone made out of solid silver. Quickly she stood up and emptied her apron onto her husband's bed and looked in amazement at the large pile of silver pinecones. With one kind gesture of giving food to someone less fortunate than herself the good wife had gained enough treasure to allow her and her husband to live very comfortably for the rest of their days amidst the forest that they both loved. Thus it is taught in the three fold law that what you do in kindness without expectations of gain you receive bounty back three fold more.
Blessed Yule to you and yours!
by Kathryn Dyer ©1991
Once upon a time there was a little girl named Meagan. She lived in a house that had lots of woods behind it. She lived with her Mommy and daddy, her big brother Corwin and her beautiful cat named Starweaver. Meagan loved to watch Starweaver play with the snow in the winter. He would try to catch the flakes as they came down from the sky. Sometimes he would get mad when the flakes would melt and then his tail would start swishing from side to side. Meagan's parents told her not to mess with Starweaver when his tail was swishing like that.
"When Star swishes his tail back and forth it means that he is mad or frustrated," said her father Michael, "and playing with him would be like someone teasing you when you're mad or don't feel good." Meagan could sure understand that! "What does frustrated mean Daddy?" she asked. "Frustrated is how you feel when you are trying very hard to do something and it won't work right. Like when you were learning how to dress yourself and you couldn't get your head through the neck of a shirt." explained Michael. Meagan knew just how that felt and she promised never to bother the cat when his tail swished.
But today Starweaver wasn't swishing his tail. He was following Meagan and Corwin into the woods and chasing shadows. Meagan and Corwin had gone down the path into the woods to gather green fir branches, mistletoe and holly. It was Christmas time and they were helping to decorate the house. Later they would go with their parents to pick out a live tree to decorate and then plant in the Circle behind the house. Meagan's family was Pagan, but they also celebrated Christmas when Santa Claus came. Meagan's mother Elizabeth told her that many people would celebrate a God's birthday at the middle of the winter or the Yule Solstice. Meagan knew that the Yule Solstice was the longest night of the year. Of course, many Christians celebrated the birthday of Jesus at Christmas. But before there were Christians some people would celebrate the birthday of Mithras, one of the old Gods, or some of the other Solar Gods. Solar means that the God is in charge of the Sun and Light. Meagan could see how the sun would be very important in the cold of winter.
Meagan's family celebrated two holidays in the winter. They would celebrate Christmas, which her mother said was Santa Claus's birthday and they would celebrate the beginning of winter, which they called the Yule Solstice. Meagan thought that Santa Claus must be a very nice person to give other people presents on his birthday so she and Corwin always left him a piece of cake and some eggnog to drink. Meagan and Corwin picked lots of branches to decorate the house with. They tried to get fallen branches when they could but when they had to take them off a live plant they would ask the plant first and then thank it when they were done. Meagan had some crystals in her pocket to leave for the plants as a thank-you present. Corwin used the scissors when they had to cut something because he was older and Meagan's safety scissors might hurt the plant more. Corwin was always very careful not to cut more than they needed. They put all their branches into baskets that Elizabeth's mother Nana had made. "Don't let Starweaver eat anything!" said Corwin, "Many plants can make cats and people sick." Meagan held her basket up higher. She didn't want Star to get sick! Corwin told her that soon she would get to go on walks with their father into the woods to learn about which plants were safe to eat and which were not. "Yes," said Meagan, "and then maybe Cindy's mom will show me how to make medicines!" Cindy was Meagan's best friend and her mother was an herbalist. Cindy's mother Anna made medicine, incense, make-up and lots of other things with all kinds of plants and flowers. Sometimes Meagan would go with her mother when Elizabeth went to trade herbs with Anna. Then she and Cindy would have fun smelling all the herbs in Anna's workshop.
Soon Meagan's house was full of decorations. They made popcorn and cranberry strings to decorate the tree. Each year Meagan and Corwin would make a special ornament to put on the tree. This year Nana helped them make ornaments out of clay. Nana put the ornaments in her kiln, which is a kind of oven, so that they would get hard. Meagan loved her Nana very much. She always brought Meagan a surprise when she cam to visit. One time she had brought a little black kitten that grew up to be Starweaver! One time Meagan asked Nana if she was a Pagan too. Nana said, "Oh, I'm half of one and a dozen of the other". Meagan couldn't talk about it to her other grandparents. Her daddy's parents Gramma Lee and Granpa Scott were very Christian and always asked where the children were going to Sunday school. Meagan had been to Sunday school a few times with Cindy because her parents wanted her to know about all religions. But she didn't tell Gramma Lee and Granpa Scott about the time she went to the Jewish temple or talked to her parents' Buddhist friend. She knew that they wouldn't understand and shedidn't want to make them feel bad.
It seemed like no time at all before it was the night before Yule Solstice. Meagan's family had found a dead tree in the woods to use for a Yule log. They decorated it with greenery after Michael carved little suns onto it. When it was ready they put it in the fireplace and put the piece of Yule log they had saved from last year on top of it. This year Jeremy, the Coven's High Priest, had to work on the Solstice so the Coven had decided to hold their ritual on the next Saturday. Meagan was excited, they would celebrate three days this year!
That night, Meagan's family had a big dinner and Nana came to stay the night. Elizabeth had talked to Cindy's mother Anna and she let Cindy come to spend the night too! Sonn Elizabeth lit the Yule log and many candles around the room. Cindy and Meagan lay on the rug in front of the fire while Michael played his harp. They sang some songs that people in their Coven had written about the Yule. Cindy didn't know very many of the songs they sang but she tried to sing them anyway. This made Meagan giggle and so Cindy started to tickle her. They had a great tickle fight until Nana said that they were too close to the fire even if it had a screen.
Cindy and Meagan got to stay up past their bedtime and even got to have a cookie before they went to bed. They promised each other to meet after Santa came to play with their new toys. Meagan could hardly wait for Santa to get there! On Christmas Eve she and Corwin left out some coconut cake and eggnog for Santa. They left him a note wishing him a happy birthday and thanking him in advance for anything he might leave for them if he thought that they had been good. Meagan had tried to be good all year but it was very hard for her to go to sleep that night. She kept thinking that she heard reindeer on the roof.
The next morning Meagan got up and brushed her teeth. She could hardly wait to go downstairs but she had to wait until her parents and Nana were ready. Because Corwin was old enough he had gone down to the kitchen to heat water for tea and coffee. Meagan's mother and Nana would only drink herb tea but Michael said he had to jump-start his mornings, which always made Elizabeth laugh and tease him. Once they got downstairs Corwin and Meagan rushed to see what Santa had left them while their parent's took pictures. After they were done, the whole family exchanged presents. Then it was time to visit Gramma Lee and Granpa Scott. It wasn't until the next day that Meagan had time to play with Cindy.
Since the Coven had chosen to meet on Saturday they decided to have a party all day. People began arriving early in the morning. Some of them had brought gifts for Meagan and her family who also had gifts for them. Meagan had made Jeremy a plate with a pentagram and runes around it spelling out his name with the clay her Nana had brought to make the Christmas decorations with. "Thank you so much Meagan!" said Jeremy, "I will put this on my altar at home and every time I see it I will think of you." Meagan felt very happy that Jeremy liked her present. Everyone had a good time. They all played games and sang songs. Michael played his harp. Corwin had gotten a new recorder for Christmas and played it for everyone. Sometimes people would stop for a little bit and go for a walk in the woods. Not everyone had woods behind their house like Meagan's family did.
It was getting to be time for the Circle to gather. Everyone took turns taking quick showers and baths to purify themselves. Meagan and Corwin helped decorate the Circle with greens and candles before it was their turn. They took their baths and put on their robes. The Coven was starting to gather in the Circle. There was a bonfire ready to light and two unlit candles waiting on the Altar. They would light the bonfire and the candles to help light the Horned Lord's way through the dark months of winter. Robert blew a Horn and the ceremony started. When it came time for Cakes and Ale they passed out some special cookies that Nana had made for them. "I may not come worship with you," Nana said, "but I respect what you do and I would like to share a little part of it with you."
All too soon the ritual was over. Meagan was going to help clean up the Circle but her mother saw her yawning and sent her to bed. "Don't worry Meagan," said Elizabeth, "the grown-ups are going to stay up until the bonfire goes out and we'll clean up then. Go brush your teeth and get ready for bed and one of us will come tuck you in, in a minute, O.K.?" "O.K. Momma," yawned Meagan, "it's all been so much fun this week, I just can't stay awake any longer." When Michael came up to tuck Meagan in she was already sound asleep and dreaming about the wonderful week she had had.
