The Sun Returns: A Winter Solstice Ritual

Winter solstice rituals traditionally celebrate the rebirth of the sun. In a safe place outdoors, build a bonfire and create a solstice altar to the east of it. Place a small cauldron with a candle in it on the altar, and surround it with mistletoe, ivy, and holly. Participants should also wear crowns woven from these evergreens. If it is too cold or snowy where you live, you can gather indoors and form a semicircle either around the fireplace or around the altar.

Begin the ritual by holding hands around the fire. Hum softly, gradually building the hum to a shout. This shout represents the cries of the Goddess giving birth once again to the sun, and to the new year. The ritual leader says:

    All bow to the East! Hail to the newborn Sun, and to the Great

    Goddess who has brought him forth!

Everyone bows to honor the Sun God and the Mother Goddess. The ritual leader chants:

    Brigid,

    Diana,

    Morgan,

    Cerridwen,

    Heaven’s Queen,

    by the light of this moon

    in this dark night,

    teach us the mystery of rebirth.

The ritual leader lights the candle in the cauldron while everyone else remains perfectly still. Now is the time when the Goddess will reveal herself privately to each participant. If you are outdoors, listen and look carefully for a sign. Traditional omens are a sudden wind, shooting stars, the screeching of an owl, or the appearance of a deer. Even if you are indoors by the fire, the Goddess will still make herself known in your heart. When the time feels right, the ritual leader says:

    Queen of the Stars,

    Queen of the Moon,

    Queen of the Earth,

    Bringer of Fire,

    the Great Mother gives birth to this new year

    and we are her witnesses.

Everyone shouts:

    Blessed be!

Pass the lit cauldron to each participant so they can speak a blessing for the new year and the newly reborn sun. Place the cauldron with the candle back on the altar. The ritual leader closes the ritual with this final expression of gratitude to the Goddess:

    Blessed be to the Mother Goddess.

    Thank you for the sun that gives us life

    without beginning and without end

    everlasting in eternity.

    this ritual is now done!

A toast to the new sun should take place with hot cider or mead and warm festive foods.