HERMETIC YULE
Happy Holiday Greetings! The tradition in my family is pretty average for the mid-Atlantic states in America. We put up a tree, hold a family get together on Dec. 24th, stuff ourselves silly with food, and open presents on Christmas morning. Our tradition is fairly average for the culture but, still a good time.
As a hermeticist, I also contemplate the astronomical significance of the 21st of December. The 21st being the winter solstice and the Earth has reached its maximum southern tilt causing, for us in the Northern Hemisphere, the shortest day of the year. Every day following the solstice grows in length of sunlit hours. It is said that the astronomical solstice event on the 21st is like the "birth" of the Sun or Sol for the coming annual cycle. Since Sol is identified with the psycho-planetary force of the Self, we could ascribe this time of year as a rebirth of ourselves.
For a majority of us the cycle of; birth, life, death, rebirth, and reincarnation/ascension as it relates to the cycle of the human shell, is a common contemplation . If someone were to restrict the cycle to only that understanding relating to the "human shell" , they would surely miss out on all of the beautiful metaphors of the cycle that deserve attention. The annual observation of the Yule shrinks the metaphor of the "life" cycle's time frame down to just a solar year. This implies that the cycle is not restricted by time and is only regulated by the manner in which it is observed.
LESSER RITUAL OF THE PENTAGRAM
FOR THE YULE SEASON.
Difficulty in mechanics and contemplation - Zelator Grade
The Lesser Ritual of the pentagram is a versatile ritual, meaning that I have heard and seen its use for a multitude of different intents. Some of which were; the banishing of negative thoughts, the banishing of heavy elements from a ritual space, and banishing elements from a sphere of sensation or aura. But, in the rendition below the intent is somewhat different than all of the above.
The intent of the lesser ritual below is to give honor and gratitude to the recent life events of the practitioner that have displayed or are displaying the Solar "Yule" cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth. In my opinion, this makes this style of the ritual functional, resourceful and (most importantly) current or relevant to the practitioner. Therefore the ritual's intent revolves and evolves from contemplation of any recent life event that reflects a "life cycle" of its own no matter how seemingly mundane. For clarity, these are not major life events that happened a year or more ago which may deserve the honor of a Greater Ritual of the Pentagram or an entirely different ceremony but, these are the everyday events or current trials of mundane life.
A GENERAL OUTLINE OF WHAT ITEMS REMAIN UNCHANGED AND THOSE ITEMS WHICH HAVE CHANGED OR SHIFTED FOCUS / INTENT IN THE LESSER RITUAL.
1. Qabbalistic Cross - Remains unchanged.
2. The mechanics of the entire ritual (ie. tracings, motions, vibrations, projections and etc.)- Remains unchanged.
3. However, after tracing the Earth banishing pentagram in any cardinal direction say aloud a statement of gratitude for the psycho-emotional characteristic of the element that was experienced in the recent life event.
For example: After tracing the banishing pentagram in the East (quadrangle of the element of air which stands for healing, thought and intelligence) you could say something to the effect of, "Thank you for the ability I had to analyze events for their true meaning as they took place.".
Then, finish the procedure with the normal projection, vibration and the sign of silence. The implication is that you are grateful for the elemental attribute that was experienced during the recent event however, the event has passed and this form of analysis is no longer needed at this time.
Do this for the rest of the directions; For example - South /passion, protection, will; West / love, understanding, intuition and North / the experience and the light of the divine during its time.
For example: After tracing the banishing pentagram in the East (quadrangle of the element of air which stands for healing, thought and intelligence) you could say something to the effect of, "Thank you for the ability I had to analyze events for their true meaning as they took place.".
Then, finish the procedure with the normal projection, vibration and the sign of silence. The implication is that you are grateful for the elemental attribute that was experienced during the recent event however, the event has passed and this form of analysis is no longer needed at this time.
Do this for the rest of the directions; For example - South /passion, protection, will; West / love, understanding, intuition and North / the experience and the light of the divine during its time.
4. When evoking the Arch Angels, the mechanics also stay the same but the focus is directed towards the arch angels' divine attributes associated with their offices as they are called forth. These archangel archetypes, forces, powers and/or entities are with you at all times. They were there during the subject life event of focus and they will be there to help you move forward through other experiences in the future.
For example: Before calling forth Raphael, try to comprehend and understand how that noble aspect of the Divine was present during the recent event or trial and how it will continue to help you in coming days whether or not you consciously call upon it or not. In this case, my understanding of the Arch Angel Raphael is that it is charged with healing and wisdom, so my focus would be on how my situation was healed or wisdom was gained afterward or, how it caused healing or wisdom in my life and/or in others.
5. The identification of yourself with the symbolism of the pentagrams and the six figured star within the middle column remain unchanged as well as does the follow up qabbalistic cross.
Hope you found the above helpful, maybe even useful. As always, take what you can use from the above and discard the rest.
Happy Holidays!
In LVX,
In LVX,
LiS
