The Modern Merlin’s Corner-December 2024: Saturnalia, Yule and Winter Celebrations

IO Saturnalia! I hope my readers are having a joyful and blessed Saturnalia and start of the holiday season. Before getting into the subject of this month’s column, I want to take a moment to address some changes coming in 2025 to this column. Rest assured, I will still be contributing this column to our publication, but I will be re-defining it in some ways, excluding certain subject areas, as they will be touched on by other columns I will be writing, and add in other subject areas into this one. This column will still remain fairly eclectic, but I will be expanding it to include more on the subjects listed below. The list below is not extensive, but an idea of some topics I plan to cover in the coming year:

1. Ceremonial Magick, Thelema, Golden Dawn, Occultism
2. Left Hand Path & Right Hand Path
3. Traditional Witchcraft
4. Deity work, theurgy and developing relationships with deities, with some focus on certain deities as I see fit. These deities will be from a wide range of cultures, pantheons and belief systems
5. Work with spirits/Necromancy
6. Spells, Rituals, Meditations
7. I may throw in a couple of fiction pieces here and there, as well as the occasional anecdotal story from experience

Again, this is by no means all inclusive of what I’ll be writing on, but these practices and subjects do tend to overlap. I only include this because I want my readers to be aware of some (hopefully fun) changes coming to this column, but also because I’m excited to start writing on more subjects! I also plan to include more rituals with instructions, etc. Aside from that, there is also a new design I’ve opted for to use with this column each month, so that readers will be able to easily identify the column. I hope you enjoy this entry into my column, as well as the exciting things to come!

---

IO Saturnalia!

I love Saturnalia. I mean, it’s the original yuletide party, and many of our current traditions during this time of year stem from this tradition. Wreaths, garland, partying, gift giving and themes of love, joy and freedom all come from Saturnalia. Saturnalia on the surface seems to just be the ancient Roman excuse to party, but it’s much deeper than that. Understanding the Roman perception of this holiday is paramount in understanding it in a modern lens, for modern Pagans.

Saturnalia celebrates the Roman elder God and Titan, Saturn, or Saturnus. His statue was bound at the feet each year in his temple, and each year around the 17th of December, they would cut his bindings, and set him on a lavish couch with offerings of food, wine and fruit. In the Roman mythos, there was a time when the Gods roamed the Earth with humans, before the regimented, organized structures of (then) modern Roman society had been imposed. This epoch in Roman history was referred to as a Golden Age, and Saturnus was the father of this Golden Age. He was connected to agriculture, sewing, fertility, wisdom, time and justice. With his scythe he would cut away all that was dead, or unjust. When his children, the Olympians, started to be born, we all know what Saturn did, and how that all played out (largely sourced from Greek mythological themes). However, in the Roman tradition, Saturnus (Greek Cronus) was left unbound for a whole week, to allow the sewing of seeds before the cold winter weather truly set in, and also allowing for a time of relaxation, role reversal, merry making and a grand party. The association of orgies and the like with Saturnalia is not unfounded, as the Romans were known to have polyamorous beliefs in some regards, and there was less taboo associated with such acts, especially in relation to Saturnalia and Lupercalia. Saturnalia also features the reversal of societal roles-something that can be recreated fairly easily, albeit with some changes.

Saturnalia for the Modern Pagan

Saturnalia in the original contexts is not sustainable in today’s world; first off, we no longer perform sacrifice in the original means; rather, offerings are left instead of live slaughter of animals. Also, orgies are mostly unattainable, and not desirable for many (no judgement here on anyone’s preferences). However, the themes of merry making, gift giving and general joy, peace and happiness are attainable, and also allow us to blend in a little more with mainstream society during this time. Saturnalia has allowed me, along with ancestral traditions of Yule, to have reason to be merry in a time of year that I honestly dread every year. I incorporate the role-reversal aspect in my home life, where I do things decidedly backwards, or simply do things merely on an intuitive level, lessening any structure in my day. It’s a time to cut loose and relax a bit after a long and hard year at work.

Saturnalia is easily celebrated for the modern Pagan; you can decorate your walls with garland, and put a wreath on your door. You can light green, red, white and brown candles, all colors associated with Saturnalia. Burn scents and herbs like Cedar, Chamomile, Pine, Cinnamon, Clove, Ginger. Work with plant allies such as mistletoe, holly and ivy. Incorporate these colors, plants and the like into your altar decorations for Saturnalia. As Saturnalia was traditionally a week long celebration, you could incorporate Yule into this as well, as Saturnalia tends to “peak” on Yule/The Winter Solstice. Perfectly ending right around Christmas time, Saturnalia and Yuletide provide the pagan a comfy holiday to celebrate their own unique spiritual beliefs, while also seeing similarities with the dominant christian traditions (largely influenced by pagan traditions). The development of this practice has been a large part of my “Pagan Reclamation” which you can learn more about in my most recent editorial piece here.

---

The Modern Merlin’s Saturnalia and Yule Traditions and Practices

Given the themes of regeneration, rebirth, sewing and sustenance that are inherent within Saturnalia, I have developed a system of days to celebrate both Saturnalia and Yule/Solstice, modeled after the popular advent calendars we see during this time. The exception is, this takes on more of a “7 days of Yuletide” Calendar style. It’s limited in scope, making it easily adaptable to any tradition or cosmology, but nonetheless valuable. I hope that my readers find value in it and are able to incorporate it into their spiritual practices at this time of year. At the end, even though it is past the traditional 7 day mark, I include Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, as many of us still celebrate with family on those days. These have been included in hopes of sparking an idea within some of you to incorporate our pagan identity into the holiday season, finding a deeper meaning behind the illusory material focus we have as a society.

These are only ideas, and you don’t have to follow my system! I also understand that this could be seen as controversial to some, as I’ve taken inspiration from the Christian “Advent Calendars” that flood the market each year. However, this calendar focuses on truly spiritual ideas and themes, and there’s very little material aspects present, aside from ritual action. While I won’t give my rituals in this column, as they’re highly personal to me, I hope that you find ways to incorporate these ideas into existing practices, or find inspiration to celebrate Saturnalia with me! Those looking for more Winter magick ideas can find more in my last column entry here.

The Modern Merlin’s Saturnalia and Solstice Celebration Calendar

Day 1: December 17th

• Hail and Welcome to Saturnus and Rhea
• Giving of thanks for the previous year’s blessings
• A rite or statement of release of that which no longer serves as offering to Saturnus to be cut away with his scythe
• Offering of libations and incense to Saturnus
• Lighting of the Saturnalia Lamp (a 7-day candle in any color of Saturnalia-especially brown or green that is to stay lit the length of the festival)
• Recitation of hymns and prayers to Saturnus and Rhea
• Request of cleansing of purification

Day 2: December 18th

• A statement of your shortcomings in the previous year to Saturnus. You may ask his counsel or help here.
• A rite of release for those shortcomings to Saturnus
• Offering of libations, incense and candle flame
• Request of healing and protection

Day 3: December 19th

• A statement of your intentions for spiritual growth in the coming year. This needs to be realistic, as Lord Saturnus is the ultimate pragmatist!
• A request for blessings on all your endeavors in the coming year, known or unknown
• Offering of libations, incense, candle flame and sacred music
• Recitation of hymns of praise to Saturnus
• Request of blessings of abundance, prosperity and perseverance

Day 4: December 20th

• A night of silent contemplation of the blessings in your life

Day 5: December 21st-Yule/Winter Solstice

• Offerings to the ancestors and spirits
• Offerings to all divinities
• Remembrance of life, death and transformation
• A day to contemplate our spiritual relationships, especially with non-corporeal beings

Days 6-8: December 22nd-23rd

• Donation to charitable causes
• Volunteer work in your community
• Community outreach
• Developing a pagan community with those in your area

December 24th-25th: Christmas Eve & Christmas

• Time spent with family and loved ones
• Gratitude practices
• Ancestral traditions
• Honoring the ancestors

Please note that while I’ve excluded a feast/dinner and celebration section for each day, I do indeed feast and celebrate each day of the festivities. 

~Wishing you all a lovely Saturnalia and Yuletide Season! May your troubles be less, your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come through your door~

-The Modern Merlin

 

***

Author Bio:

The Modern Merlin has been a Polytheist and Animist Pagan, Witch, Sorcerer, Wizard, Druid, Mystic, Ceremonial Magician, Occultist, Shaman, Seer and Soothsayer for 15 years, worshipping and casting magick with deities and spirits from many cultures, including Ancient Greece, Rome, Norse & Germanic, Celtic, Egyptian, Sumerian, as well as many Faeries, Nymphs, Dryads, Ancestors and other nature and land spirits and spirits of place. He is a Priest of Hecate, Diana, Hades, Lilith and Persephone. He has experience in the Left and Right Hand Paths, working with both hands as needed. He currently practices Necromancy and Deathwalking, as well as Traditional Witchcraft, Druidry, Hellenism and Ceremonial Magick, incorporating all of them into a cohesive practice, with some shamanic touches. He studies and practices Astrology as well as Tarot and other forms of divination such as Runes, Palmistry and Ogham. He has also been investigating the paranormal for over 10 years and has a keen interest in researching various mythologies, cosmologies and folklore from around the world. He is the Co-Editor of PaganPages.Org and he has a personal blog where he shares Astrological, Pagan, and other magickal wisdom for free! He gives readings and other spiritual services on his Facebook Page, The Modern Merlin, as well other free informational posts for everyone to see!