This non-binary witch suggests you plan to celebrate Yule and take advantage of this highly potent time for magick! Yule is a high Wiccan/Pagan Holiday. For most of us, we believe this time of year holds great power for manifesting things like Rebirth, new beginnings, aiming our light in a certain direction, harvesting the best of ourselves, and increasing our awareness of the cycles of nature. Your intentions are important in any magick, but at Yule its extra potent time to pay attention to what you want to shed and what you want to bring into your life. Yule is the stillness of the longest night and then the next day becoming just a little more light in the day. Each day into the Yule holiday is a bit more light and you can add potency to your intentions with how you prepare, how long you celebrate, and if you cast magick with others. I found that the Yule Log was enough out of the Christmas routine to be special as magick yet not so strange for when I was in the broom closet.

I am hoping you will fall in love with having a Yule Log, just as I did. You will discover that having a yule log through most of December and then into early spring helps bring you to the light and adds potency to your magick. It supports your growth through the rest of the winter, constantly reminding you of your wishes. The intention here is the most important. As with any magick you want to be sure that your mind and your energy is focused on your intention. I find that having as much clarity around that intention is the most helpful in manifesting your vision. There are many ways to clarify your intention from writing it down, putting together visuals, and talking it over with someone you love and trust. I am sure there are other ways, too. Since its such an important part of the magick I try to provide a lot of time for me to think about it. So I like to have my Yule Log set up about a week or more before the actual Yule Ritual. I don’t light the main rainbow candles though, until the Yule Ritual. You can decide what works best for you, remember adapt any instructions I offer to suit your lifestyle, personal needs, broom closet status, or family needs. There is no right/wrong ways to do this, most important is your intention with your actions.

After the Yule Ritual you can let the candles burn down that night or you can choose to do a little each night. One tradition offers you to celebrate Yule for 11nights (12 Days of Yule) or three nights. I suggest trying the way that calls to you most, it often depends on your intentions. If you intend to change your habits and shed self sabotage behavior, I would highly suggest the entire 12 Days of Yule, stay committed to the ritual of lighting the candles and your new habits. If your magick is more like you want to shed your social anxiety and make new friends, do the 3 Day Yule. I find that focusing on anxiety, makes it worse! If you schedule an activity a day that supports you finding new friends, 3 days should do it. You are welcome to ask for suggestions by commenting on this post or blog. (contact Divine Androgyne Directly)

After you have completed the ritual and focused your intention and wishes into the natural wood that the log is made out of, then it is time to release the magick. You can slowly undecorate the log or all at once, depends on how your focus and intention works. Be sure to remove anything that cannot be burnned without hurting the environment, anyone around the fire, or the fire container itself. You could burn it in your own fire pit or wood stove, if you have one. Other options could be to attend someone’s Spring ritual and ask to burn it in their fire, burn it in a park that allows BBQ, you might want to be sure no one is around during that time. Early morning could prove to be fruitful for this scenario, you can wait till whichever Spring Holiday calls to you. Some traditions wait till Imbolc, Ostara, or Beltaine. I like to wait till Beltaine, personally, but I encourage you to explore each of these holidays if you have a choice. Again, this may depend on the intentions, what’s available to you, and what feels good in your gut. You can focus on your three big wishes until Beltaine and then release the magick when you burn the log. You could even plan a fun camping trip where you plan to burn the log on or around the Beltaine holiday. There are many factors to influence your choice.

NOW LET’S MAKE OUR YULE LOG!

Completed Yule Log, Ready for YULE Ritual

SUPPLIES:

  • Yule Log (split or round) that fits in your space and says YES!
  • Local fallen greenery Decorations (Pine, Holly, Eucalyptus, Etc)
  • 3 Taper Candles (Rainbow, Gold, Red, Green)
  • Fabric or Stand for Yule Log to Rest on
  • Lights/Tinsel/Bows
  • Other Decorations on or around log
  • Marker/Pencil
  • Drill with appropriate Drill Bit, friend with a drill, hammer/screwdriver
  • Extra Candle to melt wax that stabilizes taper candles

When choosing the log be sure to choose something that can comfortably fit on your table or in a yule log holder (rare but great find at a thrift store). You want to choose wood that is from your area. Get into the outdoors! Yes its cold, but the idea here is to connect you to nature. So bundle up and take a walk on a sunny morning. The sun goes down earlier and earlier as we approach Yule, the days get shorter and shorter. Go soak up a bit of Vitamin D in the sunshine until you find the perfect log, it will improve your mood. When you hold it in your hands simply close your eyes and sense if its willing to be part of your magick. This becomes easier in time but many of us will get a confirmation of the ‘yes’ like chicken skin or a tingle in our center or feel of a hand on our shoulder. (many other sensations as well) These are indications that our soul, our body, is saying YES! If you don’t get this feeling at first, don’t worry just follow what’s in your heart. In the coming year we will dive deeper into harvesting your YES!

Pine Log from our Firewood Pile, stripped of its bark to show the carvings of the insects

Once you find your log you might want to clean it up. Take off the bark or anything else that might bring in insects or make a mess. Do this responsibly and leave any natural materials among the trees or in nature so that they may decompose. One VERY IMPORTANT concept to hold while preparing for any magick is that you never hurt the environment. You want to do all you can to respect and honor nature, what its giving you, and the relationship between humans and nature. Understand that whatever energy you put in collecting this will imprint your magick.

Once you have cleaned the log up you want to add three holes on top to hold your candles, taper candles. So first find how the log will sit naturally on the table or in a holder if you have one. You can also use fabric underneath to support the log. Once you figure out where is the top and how it will sit I encourage you to mark your hole placements with a marker or pencil. Measure how big the holes are for the candles, I find that tracing them is the most effective. Then you can either use your own drill, get a friend to drill it for you or even use a screwdriver and a hammer to chip the hole out of the top. The best holes are drilled of course but chipping one away with a screwdriver can get you through this in a pinch.

This is a great drill bit if you have it, otherwise a normal one will work

Be sure to have your three taper candles available as well as candles you can melt and use the wax. These three taper candles I suggest are either rainbow, white, red, green or gold. I use rainbow because I like to honor the moment the sun peaks through the cold wet sky and creates a rainbow. The rainbow represents the birth of the sun after darkness as well as diversity of the queer community as a whole. Maybe you find/make non-binary candles! Whatever calls to you! You will also need to have your decorations available. I encourage you to walk near pine trees for greens that have fallen, pine cones or maybe trimming off the lowest of the branches. Of course you want to touch the tree or the offering on the ground first, I use my right hand, to sense if its okay to use for your magick. Close your eyes and sense if this piece is okay to use for your magick and hopefully you will get your YES! Collecting fresh pine on a winter day can be very therapeutic, I find that connecting with the trees and the sleeping forest is soothing to my soul. You may also collect Holly, bushes with red berries, or other natural greenery that is available to you. Work at gathering just enough, not too much.

Mark your holes before you drill

In our culture we are taught to value MORE, but in witchcraft/wicca/paganism there is the value to being in balance with nature. So only taking what we need is a value, instead of taking all that is available. Since there is a value in not wasting, I also think there is a place for decorations you obtained 2nd hand. Meaning you got them from a yard sale, thrift shop or someone gifted them to you. Re-using decorations year after year also holds big value in magick. You can also use things like orange slices with cloves stuck in the skin or other items that are seasonal like poinsettia. Just be aware of your impact and how obtaining these items effects the planet earth. You can also add tinsel, bows and lights!

If you can attach some of the greenery with a staple gun, glue gun or some other form of creative attachment the yule log will serve you longer. Once you add the decorations that need to be attached, you can position the log still. Once its stable you want try to place the candles. Often times the hole isn’t quite right. If the holes are a little big, line the holes with wet wax, put the candles in (while its still wet) and hold them in place. Add to the support of the candle by dripping hot wax from your extra candle into the hole and around the edge where the candle touches the wood. If the holes are too small simply carve down and melt down the bottom of the candle until it does fit. You will need to at least melt the exterior layer of the bottom, place it and hold it until it cools. Have a friend or family member nearby help you make it straight like in this picture. Do this with all 3 candles.

What else shall I add, what is waiting to be used?

During your entire process you want to focus on simply creating the space. You don’t need to focus on your wishes yet if your not ready, you can simply focus on elevating the magick in the items you created. Your items will take in the energy you put into them. So if you find yourself getting frustrated by the craft simply put it down till another time. If you must keep it secret it will become apparent to you how to do that. Sometimes hiding things like this in plain sight is the easiest. Regardless of your circumstances the energy you focus into the item is the most important part of the process. Notice your thoughts and try to keep them focussed on the task at hand. If your mind wanders, no worries, your not the only one, simply bring it back as soon as you notice. So if your drilling holes or attaching greenery constantly bring yourself back to the intention of creating a magickal item for Yule magick.

I find that to help with this focus, music can be very helpful. Listening to whatever helps you focus would be my recommendation and there are also some great wiccan and pagan bands out there. Explore what calls to you, so many choices here. I find that listening to music while I am decorating really helps set my mood and helps keep me focused. Once I have set the candles in the log, attached the greenery I suggest adding anything else until you feel it pleases you when you look at it. This could change over the next 24-48 hrs.

You will find that placing this in center of your living space really helps you stay present with the Yule holiday. Its an easy time to get distracted with many activities so leaving it at the center of a living space, if that is possible for you, is the best choice. As I mentioned you can also wrap it up and tuck it away if your practicing in the bloom closet or tuck it away in a corner to blend with all the other holiday decorations. However works for you, remember this is YOUR personal magick. This is about your Yule experience.

My partner made the 3 Astrologers out of pinecones and reusable stuff

Once your Yule Log is all set up I invite you to wait on lighting the candles until the actual Yule ritual. If your joining the Divine Androgyne community online for the community Yule event that would add magick to your ritual. As a community that supports each other in our intentions and wishes you will find that this greatly adds to your magick, in most magickal workings. So when you practice with people that are supportive, understanding and generally on the same page then you find that the magick has more potency – because other witches and magick people have added their energy. When we are in a public ritual like this we hear each other’s magick, because speaking our intention outloud adds to the overall energy. When other’s are present and willing to add their energy you find that this is also an overall boost to your magick. When we do it online like this we keep our own personal bubbles and are able to support each other, adding the magick and quickness of lightening and artificial intelligence to the overall energy of the magickal working. The internet is just a reflection of lightning, the 5th element, watch out for my ‘Improving your relationship with Technology course’ in January of 2021.

There is only a $1 charge to attend the Divine Androgyne ritual. I find that for magick to manifest you must create energy exchanges for all parts that are given from another human or animal or plant, otherwise the magick loses potency. We do this by being sure we are honorable to the natural materials we collect, we will return the ashes to the earth when we burn this, therefore that is the exchange for the natural items. Regarding the ritual itself being offered by Divine Androgyne we offer $1 for the energy of preparation and focus to lead the magick. To be sure that we are inclusive, if you can’t pay money, there are often other ways to offer support. For Divine Androgyne I always offer another option, not just money, I never want money to come in the way. I hope to see you at Yule, get your tickets now!

Inclusive Yule Ritual
Divine Androgyne offers inclusive rituals to honor the Wiccan/Pagan Holidays

Be sure to countdown with us on Social media with little bits of Yule wisdom tied into every post.

Daily YULE inspired wisdom as we countdown to Yule!