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Yule
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Yule it's now December the long nights are silent...snow on the ground and even falling from the air and those of the human species who have homes and are in their right minds are snugly ensconced indoors. In December there comes a day where the forces of nature seem to hang suspended holding their breath waiting for something to happen ---this day falls on or about the 21st of December. The word "solstice" translates out to "sun still" and for three days on or about the solstices in Winter and Summer the sun does exactly that--- it moves neither north or south in its track across the sky. The Winter Solstice is the shortest day and longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere the apparent "victory" of the night over the day ... but hope still exists as the sun rises the next day and from the Winter Solstice forward the Sun gains strength as if its power ---its very self has been reborn. The ancient and modern religions have built whole mythologies and tales around this event for example the Egyptians had the "resurrection of Osiris" to the Iranians and early Iraqis it was "the birth of baby Mithras" (miraculously on the 25th of December no less) ...the Christians have the Birth of Christ and modern day and Ancient pagans have the birth of various representatives of the "sun god" such as Lugh or Llew in the UK. The celebration of Yule is fundamentally a celebration of the movements of the bodies in the heavens. the Earth reaches a point in its orbit where because of its axial tilt the sun appears to reverse course in the sky and moves north in its daily track over time Humans have created their own reasons for this over time Anciently--the people of the earth feared this time because they did not know that the sun would ALWAYS return and that spring WOULD come again and that warmth would come back. They developed all sorts of rituals to welcome the sun back or to beg for its return from what they considered "the underworld" and when it did there was rejoicing. we have developed symbols for this holiday over the centuries...For example the baby sun god is known in parts of Europe as the "Holly King" holly being an evergreen plant and therefore symbolizing the hope for immortality and the red berry recalling the heat of the reborn sun. The old pagan origin song "deck the halls" was written in celebration of this symbolism. the coming of Christianity added a whole new twist to the Mythos surrounding the Solstice. Their "baby sun god" Jesus drew whole cloth from everything before it to create their religion. For example the reborn Osiris , the God Mithras and several other Middle Eastern and Celtic<b> gods </font></b>share a birthday with the Newborn baby Jesus and several of the circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus are drawn from older<b> gods </font></b>and cultures... for example the "three wise men" or "three kings" and the "new star in the heavens" and the virgin birth stories are all drawn from either astrological sources or from the prevailing Israeli, Roman and Mesopotamian culture from which Christianity drew its roots. To explain ... ALL the Solstice related<b> gods </font></b>have this fact in common ...they are born of a virgin ...well ...Near the Solstice the sun is in the astrological house of Virgo (the Virgin) (and the sun sign is in transition from Sagittarius to Capricorn) ...in Hebrew the the House of Virgo was known also as the "House of Bread" and that is what "Beth Lehem" literally means in Hebrew...So Bethlehem is not so much a town as an alignment of astrological bodies that the ancients noticed and made up a couple of stories about that involved an explanation of the movements of the sun and earth. and the seasons. the "Three Kings" or "Three Magi" or Three Wise Men and the "new star" announcing Jesus' birth (and several of the other Solsitice oriented gods)....The Three Kings" are an acient name for the three stars that make up the constellation of Orion the Hunter's Belt and the " New Star" that points the way to where the Newborn King (jesus) lies in the manger is Sirius ...otherwise known as "the Star" ... On the night before the Winter Solstice the Three Kings and Sirius line up to point to the exact spot on the horizon where the Solstice sun will rise (be reborn) Capitalist Economics have provided the final twist the Solstice celebration, Jesus, peace and good will have all been shredded and then burned in the name of a all consuming drive to go SHOP and thereby line the pockets of those who own the gift shops in the strip malls that have now pervaded every last corner of the Christian world. Yule or Christmas is fundamentally a Celebration of the rebirth of the power that gives rise to spring and eventually summer--- the "Newborn Light" of the sun may yours be wonderful this year |
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