What it's All About:
It's that time of year again! While Yule isn't my personal celebration, I'll share my thoughts on it in this episode. This week, I explore the Spirit Guide, Cailleach, and discuss four Dream Symbols: Christmas, Christmas Card, Stocking, and Tree. You'll also hear a Yule story that ties it all together.
Songs Featured:
Links Mentioned:
Get in Touch Through Social Media:
Spirit Guide of the Week:
Cailleach
Dream Symbols:
Christmas
Christmas Card
Tree
Transcript:
(06:45)
Welcome to another episode of the Music from the Goddess’ Vault Podcast. I am your host, Midnight Starr. You just heard Yule (Praise the Mabon Child) by Cernunnos Rising.
Today, we’re taking a trip back to 2018 with the episode Oh My Goddess! It’s Yule Again!.
Before we jump back in, I’d love to know which classic episode you want me to revisit this January. You can vote in the Choose an Old Episode poll that’s linked in the show notes.
I’d really appreciate it if you could take a moment to fill out a short questionnaire about the topics you'd like to see explored on the show. I’m especially interested in your suggestions for future Spirit Guides and dream symbols. You can share your ideas through the link in the show notes or connect with me on social media—Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Blue Sky, or Mastodon. Don’t forget to check out my blog at goddessvault1.wixsite.com.
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Now, Looking back at Oh My Goddess! episode from 2018, I realize I didn't think to include links to my research at the time. A lot of what I shared was just my personal take on things. So, let’s jump right into the show!
(13:06)
Welcome to another episode of the Music from the Goddess' Vault podcast. I'm your host, Midnight Star. What you heard was On Midwinter's Day by Damh the Bard from his album The Cauldron Born.
Before I go on to this week's topic, I really appreciate you all liking and sharing this podcast on Facebook and Twitter. So, thanks to all of you for doing that. Please continue to spread the word about the show.
The topic of today's show? Well, it's not my favorite holiday, whether it is pagan, Christian, or secular. Today's episode is all about Yule.
I don't know about you, but in the past, I was always more excited about Samhain or Halloween. That's my Christmas or Yule. After October 31st, that's when things go downhill for me. Of course, I do get to experience winter here in Canada. I don't mind the snow, however. I don't like walking on ice or the cold that comes with it. And, of course, being an empath, I feel other people's stress when it comes to holidays, whether it be shopping for gifts, parties, or planning the holiday feast.
This year, a week before Samhain, I wasn't in the spirit, which is strange to me; I usually am. Plus, now I have to work on my own shadow self since I have anger issues that I need to deal with. I'll try to be in the best of spirits for this show and hopefully find new ways to talk about you.
First, here's Trobar de Morte with Yule: The End of Darkness.
(17:57)
Before I say anything more about Yule traditions, I have to address the newbie pagans out there. There's one teen newbie in our group who wanted to help organize our Yule ritual, and they had the idea of putting what they called a Christmas tree in the middle. Well, this teen doesn't know that Christmas is for Christians. It's a Christian word meaning Christ's mass. Besides, saying the word Christmas might be offensive to some pagans. Second, I know that not all covens will allow a newbie to organize a ritual until they have completed their training. This person has not.
Anyway, Yule, which is either on December 21st or 22nd, occurs during the winter solstice. Everyone knows that the winter solstice is the longest night of the year. Yule is the celebration of the return of the sun. I didn't know this, but the Talmud of Judaism has its own winter solstice celebration called Tekufat Tevet.
In China, the Dong Xi Festival is also celebrated on December 21st, where families get together and eat special foods.
Like the summer solstice, today's druids and pagans of England go to Stonehenge to celebrate the sunrise on Yule.
By the way, if you are a pagan who wants to do an all-Norse Yule ritual, please don't get hung up on which deity goes with which quarter. Just celebrate as the Vikings did back in the day. They had a Yule log burning for 12 days or longer, hence the famous holiday tune The Twelve Days of Christmas. They also told sagas around the campfire, feasted, acted out battles, and enjoyed other winter merriment. So forget about doing quarters for one ritual. And by the way, one of the gods that Santa was based on was Odin from Norse mythology.
Now, thinking about it, I wasn't going to play this song because I never believed in Santa Claus as a kid. But I'll do it for you, the listener. Here's Emerald Rose with Santa Claus is Pagan, Too.
(22:24)
It's time for the Spirit Guide of the Week.
This next spirit guide comes from Scotland and Ireland. It is the Celtic goddess Cailleach.
Or (inaudible), depending on which culture you want to follow.
She is the queen of winter and the bringer of storms.
She rules the dark days between Samhain and Beltane.
She's also known as Bera, and she has at least 50 foster kids (inaudible).
Cailleach is most often portrayed as the crone aspect of the Triple Goddess.
She's often described as a one-eyed woman with bad teeth and matted hair.
Cailleach is a Gaelic word meaning "wild one" or "old woman."
In some stories, she appears to the hero as an old woman. When he is kind to her, she turns into a beautiful young woman. She then rewards the hero with good deeds.
In other stories, she turns into a giant (inaudible) at the end of winter and stays like that until Beltane. That's when she comes back to life.
What you can offer Cailleach on your altar are the following: a statue of the temple goddess, gray rocks or crystals, antlers, and images of black cats and black anise.
That is it for now. Stay tuned for another Spirit Guide of the Week.
(33:10)
That was a song called Celtic Goddess Cailleach.
However, I do not want to mispronounce the name of the band, so I'll spell it out for you. It's R-U-A-I-D-H-R-L.
I don't know what else to tell you about Yule that you might not already know. A lot of the ways that Christians celebrate their Christmas came from various pagan traditions.
There is an episode of the show Adam Ruins Everything, which has been shared on Facebook, called The Drunken Pagan History of Christmas. Go watch it on YouTube; I highly recommend it. Adam talks about both Saturnalia and Yule, and the ways to celebrate Yule as a pagan. Since there are many different paths, you can celebrate Yule the way that you want.
First, you have to search online about the history of Yule so that you can figure out how to fit it into your own ritual. For me, the way that I want to celebrate Yule is with other pagans for a ritual other than that. Since I am an empath, I'm going to spend the rest of Yule all by myself and without any tree or anything else to decorate. I don't see the point in decorating my apartment with stuff that will only last a month, only to take it down again. So this year will be a perfect time for me to work on my shadow self.
That reminds me, a few years ago, the only Christmas songs that I wanted to sing were You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch by Boris Karloff, Merry Christmas, I Don't Want to Fight Tonight by the Ramones, and Fairytale of New York by The Pogues.
This year, the song of choice for me might be Christmas Dirt by Nellie McKay.
(40:36)
Here's a dream symbol to interpret.
For today, I'm going to interpret four dream symbols. I don't mean to offend any pagans, but these dream symbols are Christmas, Christmas card, Christmas stocking, and Christmas tree.
If you had a dream that takes place at Christmas, it symbolizes family, togetherness, celebration, reunion, peace, generosity, goodwill, and human kindness. Another way to interpret Christmas in your dream is that there will be a fresh start or a new beginning in your life.
If you see or send a Christmas card in your dream, it represents reaching out to loved ones and reconnecting with them, or it can mean forgiveness in your waking life.
If in your dreams you see a Christmas stocking, it's letting you know of a situation in your real life where you have expectations. Additionally, there's a need for acknowledgment and recognition, or it may indicate that you need to be more giving in your waking life.
Seeing a Christmas tree in your dreams symbolizes family, celebration, gathering, and relationships.
However, if your dream features a Christmas tree and it's already December, like it is now, the dream may be letting you know that you are experiencing demanding responsibilities and growing anxieties because of the holiday season.
That is it for this week's dream symbol. If you want a dream for me to interpret and maybe have the dream symbols featured, the contact information will be mentioned at the end of this show. So keep dreaming!
(40:53)
Here is another myth.
This next story I have been trying to find for two years. I had to ask a pagan Facebook group to help me out. And here it is. It's from pasos.com, and it's called "Your Story."
(50:03)
That was the Oak and Holy Kings by the Dolmen.
That brings this show to a close. I'm your host, Midnight Starr, and I have some thrilling news to share with you!
I'm excited to find out which classic episode you want to see come back this January! Don't forget to participate in my 'Choose an Old Episode for January Poll'! You can check it out in the show notes, on my blog, or on my Substack page.
I also have a brief questionnaire for you
I’d love to know what topics you want me to dive into on Music from the Goddess Vault! Whether it’s about Spirit Guides, dream symbols, or anything else, I’m open to your ideas. Feel free to reach out to me on social media (Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Blue Sky, Mastodon) or visit my blog at goddessvault1.wixsite.com/home.
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As we close out this episode, let's take a moment to enjoy this classic by Dar Williams: The Christians and the Pagans. Blessed Be!
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