{"id":10528,"date":"2014-12-01T01:10:44","date_gmt":"2014-12-01T06:10:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=10908"},"modified":"2014-11-30T18:45:18","modified_gmt":"2014-11-30T23:45:18","slug":"spellcrafting-spells-rituals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2014\/12\/01\/spellcrafting-spells-rituals\/","title":{"rendered":"Spellcrafting: Spells & Rituals"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018Solstice night\u2019<\/span><\/strong><\/span>
\nMerry meet!<\/span>
\nYule is one of my favorite sabbats because it signals the return of the light. I put up a Yule tree and decorate it with symbols of nature and the Goddess. Sometimes that stays on lit night, but more often I choose to spend the night with the light of just one candle. <\/span>
\nMy tradition has been to sit in sacred space, in silence, throughout the night. I do as little contemplating as possible, preferring to sit with the darkness, become one with the vast stillness, touch the mystery, listen to the deep silence, count my blessings, meditate, journey to visit the crones and read inspirational passages.<\/span>
\nI sometimes drift into a light sleep, but the candle never goes out. As morning approaches, I step outside to greet the sun, comfortable with the darkness, but renewed in the promise that it does not last forever.<\/span>
\nI also attend a solstice gathering typically scheduled for the night or two before Yule. We arrive and depart in silence, meditate, pray for peace, offer healing and honor the Holy darkness by sitting in it in silence and letting it envelope us. Before we open the circle, we sing a pagan version of \u201cSilent Night\u201d that I have come to think of as \u201cSolstice Night.\u201d The words are below. Perhaps it will find a place in your Yule celebration.<\/span>
\nMerry part.<\/span>
\nAnd merry meet again.<\/span><\/p>\n

Silent Night<\/span><\/em>
\nSilent Night, Solstice Night<\/span><\/em>
\nAll is calm, all is bright<\/span><\/em>
\nNature slumbers in forest and glen<\/span><\/em>
\n\u2019til the springtime She wakens again<\/span><\/em>
\nSleeping spirits grow strong<\/span><\/em>
\nSleeping spirits grow strong<\/span><\/em>
\nSilent Night, Solstice Night<\/span><\/em>
\nSilver moon, shining bright<\/span><\/em>
\nSnowfall blankets the slumbering earth<\/span><\/em>
\nYule fires welcome the Sun’s rebirth<\/span><\/em>
\nHark, the Light is reborn<\/span><\/em>
\nHark, the Light is reborn<\/span><\/em>
\nSilent Night, Solstice Night<\/span><\/em>
\nQuiet rest, \u2019til the light<\/span><\/em>
\nTurning ever the rolling wheel<\/span><\/em>
\nBrings the Winter to comfort and heal<\/span><\/em>
\nRest your spirit in peace<\/span><\/em>
\nRest your spirit in peace<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018Solstice night\u2019 Merry meet! Yule is one of my favorite sabbats because it signals the return of the light. I put up a Yule tree and decorate it with symbols of nature and the Goddess. Sometimes that stays on lit night, but more often I choose to spend the night with the light of just one candle. My tradition has been to sit in sacred space, in silence, throughout the night. I do as little contemplating as possible, preferring to sit with the darkness, become one with the vast stillness, touch the mystery, listen to the deep silence, count my blessings, meditate, journey to visit the crones and read inspirational passages. I sometimes drift into a light sleep, but the candle never goes out. As morning approaches, I step outside to greet the sun, comfortable with the darkness, but renewed in the promise that it does not last forever. I also attend a solstice gathering typically scheduled for the night or two before Yule. We arrive and depart in silence, meditate, pray for peace, offer healing and honor the Holy darkness by sitting in it in silence and letting it envelope us. Before we open the circle, we sing a pagan version of \u201cSilent Night\u201d that I have come to think of as \u201cSolstice Night.\u201d The words are below. Perhaps it will find a place in your Yule celebration. Merry part. And merry meet again. Silent Night Silent Night, Solstice Night All is calm, all is bright Nature slumbers in forest and glen \u2019til the springtime She wakens again Sleeping spirits grow strong Sleeping spirits grow strong Silent Night, Solstice Night Silver moon, shining bright Snowfall blankets the slumbering earth Yule fires welcome the Sun’s rebirth Hark, the Light is reborn Hark, the Light is reborn Silent Night, Solstice Night Quiet rest, \u2019til the light Turning ever the rolling wheel Brings the Winter to comfort and heal Rest your spirit in peace Rest your spirit in peace<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":210,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/210"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10528\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}