Rebirth of the Light

I have lost track, is it three or four real snows that we have had so far this season?  Regardless, the message is clear.  It is that ‘Winger is coming’ but instead, Winter is here.  For many of us, there is a pang of sadness as the warm days leave us for a period.  Others of us are energized by the season.  But either way, Yule is drawing near and will soon be upon us.

Ironically, Yule, the Winter Solstice, the official first day of winter, is a celebration of hope and renewal.  Even though winter will rage on for a few months, the Holly King begins to wane now and the Oak King rises again.  The god that was sacrificed at Samhain,  is conceived again at Yule, the spark is planted within the goddess and begins every so subtly to grow.  The rituals of Yule invoke the return of the sun.  Yes, even though the harshness of winter is just beginning, its onset is a celebration of the hope and promise of the coming spring.  The cycle of the seasons repeats itself.

Many things in our lives are cyclical too.  And like the approach of Yule, the coming of hard times only begins with the promise of hope again.  At the end of our years, when we finally journey to the Summerland, it is only with the hope and promise of rebirth.  As we are growing up and leave home and our family and the love that is there, it is with the hope and promise that we will have our own home, filled with love and family.  The end of any great adventure comes with the possibility of new adventures in the future.

Over the past year or so, WiCoM has passed through its own time of darkness.  Through this period of trial, the church has waned.  But, within this ordeal was the buried promise of renewal and rising again.

There is a difference between a Coven and a Church.  Covens are private and limited in membership. Solitaries too,  work mostly on their own.  A Church is public and open to all.  Covens serve the needs only of its members.  A Church servers the needs of the community.  The purpose of a Coven is to serve its members.  A Solitaire works for herself.  But the labor of the Church is for all of the community, all of its members.  The work of the Church is the work of all of our Wills, and the nourishing and betterment of all of its members.

And in these dark times when large sections of our society openly show hatred and unacceptance of those who are different – in race, national origin, sexual orientation and even religious belief- it is ever more important that we Wiccans and Pagans come together in the solidarity of community.  Our Wills united together provide protection and nurturing for all.

So, as we come together to celebrate Yule and the promise of Spring that it contains, let us also come together to celebrate our community.  Let us be proud that we are Wiccans, Pagans, Heathens and more and celebrate our solidarity.  Let us unite our wills and plant, once again, the seeds of hope and the promise of return.

Come join us then, in our ritual to call the return of the Sun and light.  Let us summon back this light into the cold world around us.  Let us call this light back into the Wiccan, Pagan, Heathen community in the Twin Cities.  Let us call back the light of hope to our nation as a whole.  Let us join together in solidarity knowing that though harsh times are upon us, the hope and promise of renewal are but a seed within.

Blessed Be

The Green Man

Magika Oneira

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