Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

YULE (aka 'Yuletide')

In Wicca, the Sabbat festival (held on 21 December in the Northern Hemisphere and June 21 in the Southern Hemisphere) that marks the Winter Solstice and in which the most common thematic focus is the birth of the new Sun God to the Mother Goddess. In some. Wiccan Covens it focuses on a passing of power from the Holly King to the Oak King, adopted from a myth from English folklore.

In Wicca the occasion marks the turning point in the depth of winter when the world may look forward to the miracle of genesis in the spring. In recognition of the promise of renewal of the natural world, evergreen boughs are cut and brought in to the house. This parallels the decorating of fir trees for Christmas, a practice which has its roots firmly in Pagan Traditions and which owes nothing to the Christian nativity story. The practice is more likely to have derived from a Mesopotamian rite, than from the north European notion of the world tree, Yggdrasil, although it is claimed that the Norsemen revered the Yule log as a symbol of the world ash tree and began the practice of lighting a Yule log which was then kept burning through the period of festivities.

Yule derives from a Celtic festival, also observed in Norse and Anglo-Saxon Traditions, the archaic, title of which is Geola (pronounced Yula) and meaning 'yoke', literally the circle of the year completed. The word would also seem to have etymological links with the Norse hweol meaning wheel.

The origin of the association between mistletoe and Yule also lies in Norse tradition since it was the weapon that Loki used, through the innocent agency of the blind god, Hod, to slaughter (Othin's favourite son, Balder, in mid-winter. Balder was not, as has been errroneously claimed by some Neo-Pagan authors, reborn at Yule since such regenesis of a dying god formed no part of the Norse religious tradition.

see also: ASATRU

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc