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| The Horned One rules |
| When the Wheel has turned to Yule, light the log |
| Yule is the time of the Oak King. On Yule (Winter Solstice) the Oak King wins the battle over the Holly King. The Holly king being symbolized by the rest period of the Earth (Summer Solstice to Winter Solstice) when the Holly King rules. Winter Solstice is the darkest day of the year, it is the last day of the Sun's journey away from the Earth. The Sun now will continue to come in closer to the earth, and the days will grow longer. On Litha (Midsummer) the brightest day of the year the Oak and Holly King battle again. This time the Holly King wins, and we have six months when the days grow shorter, and the rest period begins. Yule's Oak King is the King of work and growth, for without work and growth there would be no crops and no food for life. His bird is the Robin, the bird of springtime and the growing season. It is the Oak King's face that we see in Santa Claus, with rosy cheeks and happy smile. The time of growth is here! The Holly King is the King of rest after work. He is the needed rest after the planting season when we reap what we and the Oak King have planted. The bird of the Holly King is the wren. In the UK there is a very old Pagan custom that is still carried on in some villages today. Every St. Stephan's Day (Dec. 26th) there would be a killing of the wren to symbolize the end of the Holly King's reign. Every Midsummer (Litha) and Midwinter (Yule) the two come into battle, with the other, losing and going into rest. Neither one is bad. Both are needed for work and rest are the balance of the Earth and life. . |
| The Horned God is the symbol of fertility and fruitfulness. We ( Pagans) see the Horned God in the stag and other horned animals of the hunt. The Horned God like a good father gives us the skins and flesh of the the stag for our sustanance. The ancients equated the horned animals of the hunt with the loving father who provides for his children, it was the first idea of the likenesss of God who lives in the heavens and provides for us. Yule is the time of the return of fertility to the land. |
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| The Yule Oak King by Nancy Venus Welcome Now Oh Great Oak King As the bells of Yuletide ring The robin has a song to sing As the night turns more to day The Holly King has gone away The wren, no longer will he stay Now there's growth instead of rest Unto thy name we give our best Through you the land becomes alive You help all creatures to survive Here's to you Oh Great Oak King To you our homage do we bring Upon this season's Yuletide bough While Freyja rides upon her sow Hail to thee Oh Great Oak King Were grateful for the life you bring. |
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