Celebrating Yule & the Winter Solstice: reflecting on renewal and hope
Yule and the winter solstice: celebrating coming together and the return of the sun. Reflections, journal prompts and a playlist
When? 20th - 25th December
Direction/Element: North and the element of Earth: the physical world, balance, regeneration
Themes: the return of the sun, lighting the darkness, hope
Today I’ll be sharing some reflections around Yule and the Winter Solstice. This is the moment in the year when we celebrate the rebirth of the sun after the longest night. It is a celebration of renewal and hope and a turning point that reminds us that brighter, longer days are on their way, even there is still some winter left to navigate.
If you’re new here, I’m Laura. I’m a counsellor, nature therapist, somatic therapist and nature-based practitioner and a space holder. My work holding spaces for others is rooted in Earth based spirituality, Paganism and ecotherapy.
At Samhain, the last festival we celebrated on The Wheel of The Year, we honoured our descent into darkness. By the time of the Solstice we have journeyed all the way into the depths of that darkness, where we find ourselves at the threshold of the longest night. For a short time the sun appears to pause in the sky rising in the same place on the horizon for several days. This is a moment of balance, of liminality and the point where light and dark meet.
The foundations of Yule and the Winter Solstice
As well as the turning seasons, The Wheel of the Year is shaped by the four sacred directions and their elements. Yule takes place in the depths of winter and is associated with the direction of the North and the element of Earth.
North is stillness, rest and endurance, where we connect with the land lying fallow, and the resilience of our physical being. Earth grounds, shelters and sustains us.
Yule is the promise of return: of the sun, of growth and of the life-force that has been hiding beneath the surface. The traditions of Yule, from evergreens to candles and fires, are ways of honouring the spark of light and life in the darkest of times.
Archetypal energies connected to Yule include the Sun and rebirth, with deities like the newborn Sun God appearing in many Pagan traditions. In Celtic lore, the Oak King is reborn at this time, triumphing over the Holly King as the days begin to lengthen. These myths remind us of hope, renewal and the cyclical return of life and warmth.
The archetypes of The Child or The Star also resonate with this season. The Child archetype represents innocence, renewal and the rebirth of potential within us. The Star symbolises the spark of life, transformation, guidance and the turning of time. Whether you connect with The Child or The Light-Bearer, the archetypal energy of this season reminds us of the enduring promise of light returning.
For a full list of pagan holidays and pagan festivities check out my post about The Wheel of the Year.
Yule and Alban Arthan
In many Druidic traditions, the Winter Solstice is known as Alban Arthan, which translates as The Light of Arthur. Within this lore, the figure of Arthur, whose name is linked to the ancient word for bear and to the Pole Star, is a symbolic representation of steadfastness through the dark, guiding us until the sun’s light returns. Some traditions also tell of the rebirth of the Sun Child at this time. This imagery of the returning light, born anew from the womb of the darkness, highlights the cycles of death and rebirth that the Solstice represents.
For our ancestors these weren’t just stories but essential truths. The return of the sun was literally a matter of survival. Winter meant scarcity, cold and long nights of uncertainty. To endure, people depended on the success of the harvest, stored food and the careful management of resources until spring arrived again. Against this backdrop, it makes perfect sense that so many of the festivals of autumn and winter centred around fire, the living symbol of the sun. Fire was warmth, protection, community and life itself. Flames in the darkness were not just practical but also represent the divine spark that endures even in the hardest of times.
This Solstice, then, is a threshold moment. It invites us to honour the natural cycle of life, death, and rebirth. As the longest night stretches onwards, we’re reminded of the fragility of existence and the inevitability of endings. And then, with the first sunrise after Solstice, the wheel turns again. Light begins its slow return, reminding us of renewal, resilience and the promise of the beginnings that exist within every ending.
The connection between Yule and Christmas
Many of the traditions we associate with Christmas today have deep roots in the ancient celebrations of Yule. As Christianity spread across Europe, the birth of Jesus, honoured by Christians as the light of the world, came to be celebrated in midwinter, aligning his story with the Solstice’s powerful symbolism of light returning in darkness. Earlier Christian communities had marked this holy day in spring but over time the festival shifted to absorb and reframe the existing pagan solstice traditions.
The echoes of those ancestral practices are all around us. When we bring evergreens like holly, ivy, fir or mistletoe into our homes, we are continuing an ancient tradition. These plants remain vibrant and green throughout the harshest winter and remind us of life’s endurance and the promise of renewal. When we decorate with lights, hang candles in windows or string fairy lights around our trees, we are connecting to an innate desire to keep the darkness away.
And this theme of bringing light into the dark is not unique to European pagan or Christian tradition. Across the world, festivals exist that focus on embracing light in times of darkness.
Winter and Yule solstice journal prompts and other resources to support you
I hope you’ve enjoyed my reflections about Winter Solstice and Yule. To support you to explore your connection to light and darkness during this time of year, I’m sharing some prompts that you might want to reflect on, as well as some resources to explore.
What is your personal relationship with light during this season?
How do you embrace darkness in the colder months?
Are there any expectations or beliefs surrounding this time of year that no longer serve you?
What self-care practices do you employ to nurture yourself during the darker and colder months?
How can you make of yourself a light?
Reflective: an end of year reflection workbook - For many years now, as we approach the end of a year, I've shut myself away from the world for a while, to light a candle and reflect on the year’s ending. I make this an intentionally gentle process, I take time to reflect, to be with my experiences over the past year, as a way of integrating them rather than rushing to make sense of them. I created Reflective, a workbook with reflective prompts and somatic invitations, to support you to do the same. This is a no-cost resource for free and paid Patreon members.
Leaning Into Darkness is a 60 minute audio-guided somatic journey that invites you to step into and explore darkness as a space that you can inhabit. Through embodiment, sense exploration and presence, you’ll explore your relationship with the night and what what it feels like to surrender to the dark. This is available to paid Patreon members or to buy for a one-off fee from my website.
Somatically Calling in The Directions - In this audio-guided embodiment practice, you’ll be guided through calling in and honouring the directions and elements. This is one of the oldest gestures of reverence and it appears in spiritual traditions across cultures. It’s an act that places us in right relationship with the world around us. We turn to the East, South, West and North, acknowledging the living elements that surround and sustain us. Earth connects us to our body and the ground beneath us; Air clears the mind and brings inspiration; Fire fuels our passion and will; and Water opens the flow of emotion and intuition. These four together create balance. along with the fifth element, spirit (also known as ether or akasha) which flows through everything. This is a no-cost resource for free and paid Patreon members.
You can also explore the below curated playlist, which is full of beautiful winter solstice songs for reflection, journaling, breath work and ceremony practices.
