When Yule arrives in December in the Northern Hemisphere or in June in the South– one of the most well-known aspects of the season is specific scents and smells. Yule traditions trigger memories and recollections of the Yule season and blessings. Aromas of mulled spices, pine needles, frankincense or cinnamon are reminders of the wintertime holidays.
Fill your home with Yule blessings this season, from smudging with sticks to setting up an altar. 🔮✨ Click To TweetMyth and Ritual for the Old Norse Yule Blessings
What was the Yule concerned with as a religious celebration? As a matter of fact, we do not know exactly. Yet as I will show in this little article, Yule includes many mythological features that may illuminate what our ancestors were up to during Yule. What they actually may have celebrated: the Rebirth of the Sun Goddess, the liberation from the Rule of Death and the Powers of the Underworld, the celebration of Thor, who is to protect us from these powers, and the celebration of the ancestral Mothers who will guide us through the time of darkness into the new Sun cycle. (Source)
Yule Traditions: How to Make DIY Smudge Sticks Today
To make a seasonal smudge stick, you bundle herbs together, tie them with string, and allow them to dry out, ready to be burned later.
Plants such as evergreen juniper, pine, fir, balsam, and cedar can be mixed with other scents you find appealing. One of the best combinations is rosemary, pine, fir, and juniper.
Trim your clippings down to a length between 10 and 25 centimetres. They can be as long as you wish. Put some branches together, and wind the string tightly around them. Tie a knot when you reach the end, and leave a loop to hang them for drying for a few weeks. Once they’re ready, burn them according to Yule traditions during Yule rituals and ceremonies, or use them to clean your sacred space.
Having trouble with blessing your home this Yule? 🤔 Here's how to use smudge sticks and create a Yule altar. 🔥 Click To TweetYule Blessings and Purification Ritual
Create a purification spell or ritual not only with yourself but mainly with others. As you do this, everyone can come bringing good intentions and positive energy.
Light a white candle in the middle of your circle, and as everyone’s standing, before they are seated, smudge everyone. Smudge the bottom of their feet to ensure they connect well to Mother Earth.
Get as many people involved in this as you can. The more, the merrier. Make sure you use a Yule smudge with some pine or pine scent. It could be herbs resin, smudge wands or just insense. Make sure that you do smudge everyone from head to toe.
As you do smudge it, each person says a blessing to them and make sure they respond by opening themselves to receiving the blessings and opening themselves to purification. Standing or sitting, holding hands and going clockwise, let everyone speak out, something they are grateful for. Repeat this pattern while going in a circle until it ends.
Then everyone should quietly sit for a simple meditation with holiday or seasonal music to lift the spirits. Close the circle going counterclockwise, and everyone says thank you.
Read more about Wiccan Yule Decorations & Winter Solstice Altar and Pagan Winter Solstice Traditions and Customs
Create a sacred space for Yule with smudging sticks and blessings of joy and abundance. 💛Click To Tweet