Yule/Winter Solstice Wishing Ritual for the New Year

The time is here, Yule/Winter Solstice, and of course that Christian Holiday best known as Christmas. This time of year can be incredibly Magickal, with snow and rain. It can also be gloomy and stressful as you frantically get your last minute shopping done.

We aren't going to go through all the correspondence as you can Pinterest or google those things., and if your a seasoned practitioner just looking for Ritual inspo then again I am not going to bore you with the small stuff.

I wrote this ritual back in 2007/08 during the "market crash" when times were tough, jobs were hard to find, and prices of food skyrocketed, sound familiar? When I wrote this ritual I was young, jobless, living on credit cards to get by, I needed a job, prosperity for the new year, and something to make me happier. I do this Yule ritual every few years when the world is chaotic and money gets tight. If you're a Witchy single mama then you my dear have found the perfect ritual this year.. Lets begin!!!

List of Items & Tools:

Candles: 1 gold, 1 green, 1 red, 1 white chime or tea lights

Note: Always set the tone for a ritual by surrounding yourself with candles around your Magickal space, but outside your circle as you're using the above candles inside your circle/magical space.

Crystals:

• Bloodstone

• Clear quartz

• Emerald

• Garnet

• Ruby

Incorporate any or all of the above crystals into your ritual, whatever feels right to you.

Herbs N' Such:

• Apple Blossoms/dried apple peel

• Dried Orange Peel

• 3 Cinnamon sticks

• Nutmeg

• 5 whole cloves

• dried or powdered ginger

• 3 whole (not broken) Bay Leaves

Tools

• Fireproof Dish

• permanent marker (black or red)

• New year journal/pen and notebook paper

Oils:

• Yule/Winter Oil blend

OR

• Cinnamon

• orange

• Pine

• Wintergreen

Incense:

White Sage ( to cleanse your space and/or set the mood)

Clove

Pine

Orange

The choice is yours

The Setup:

• Cleanse your space & gather all your items into your "circle" (drawn or invisible)

• If you're making a pentacle or you have an already made mat with one, set your chime and/or tea light candles in their corresponding points.

• Using your fireproof dish, mix your ingredients (not the 3 bay leaves) with your dominant hand, asking each one for its help and visualize each doing its job.

• Then anoint each of your candles with your Yule/winter oil or whichever oil you choose to use. (if using a single essential oil or any, make sure to dilute it.)

• You may grind down your herbs and roll or sprinkle the remaining mixture on your candles once anointed with oil.

• Witchy Note: For major rituals I like to wear my Magickal, witchy clothes and/or jewelry for this purpose. It helps put you in the mood, powerful and of course extra Magickal. The choice is yours!

• Once your space is ready, make sure you won't be bothered by kids, your man/women, dogs, cats, etc. You need total isolation.

• If you opted to order spell/ritual material, make sure you have it. Of course its always better to write your own but as a beginner its always a bit safer to find words that resonate with you, and there are a million options out there on Pinterest, google, Witchy websites, Etsy, and books..

• Turn on any music that helps you during magickal times.

• Light your incense and while the scent wafts around your space, meditate on your 3 wishes, visualize what they; look, smell, taste, feel, etc like. Do this for 5-10 mins.

• Have your bay leaves fanned out in front of you, along with your pen.

• Take 3 deep breaths and begin

• Light each of your magickal chime/tea candles (this is the time to call the quarters, deities, spirit guides, or just speak to the universe if you're more of a secular witch.) calling on them with each candle you light. Making sure you know the correct correspondences.

The Ritual:

1. On each bay leaf write your three wishes, remember to write them as if they've already happened, making sure to say thank you to the universe after writing each.

2. Hold each one between your hands, when finished writing. Closing your eyes and visualizing these wishes coming true, picture what it would look like, smell like, sound like, etc.

3. After you've done this, anoint each leaf with your Magickal oil. Then fan them in front of you. Smelling the oil and the fanning is a way of bringing in the energy of each.

4. After doing this, burn each bay leaf while visualizing again each wish coming true. Burn them till they are ash, and let that ash fall atop your herbal mixture.

5. After burning the last one, slide over your journal and pen.

6. Now, write down in your journal/notebook, the actionable steps you will need to take to make your wishes a reality, then picture yourself living these wishes.

7. Once finished writing, stay in this space while the candles burn down, or you may snuff them out and discard them in a running river/steam, or crossroads if you follow Hekate. If you do stay while they burn out, do a visualization meditation while holding crystals in each hand.

8. When finished, thank any deities, quarters, spirit guides for joining you, So mote it be, and let them go.

9. Before closing your circle, take a moment to give deep gratitude and thanks for all your blessings, for all the lessons learned in the past year and for all the lessons you'll learn in the New Year.

10. Close your circle anyway you see fit.

11. Take your mixture/ashes, blessing it with prosperity and happiness into the New Year. Clean your space, and take your mixture to either all four corners of your house or take a small pinch and put it in the soil of a healthy house plant.

12. If you can, take a pinch to each corner of your home (outside) as you throw , lay, or dust along the home; say an incantation such as:

"Bless our home with prosperity into the New Year, no struggles, steady money flow, and happiness only in this home. As I will it, So mote it be!!!"

You can of course say your own words or you may borrow this one or others.

If using house plants, make sure you have a little ash from the bay leaves, along with a little of the mixture, pinch a little above the roots while reciting an incantation.

• Take any remaining mixture and throw it to the wind or a running stream of any kind nearby, as you do so thank you for all your wishes coming true!!!

Conclusion

As always, you do not have to follow this ritual verbatim, you can change, eliminate, add, etc. whatever feels right to you. Never do any Magick if it doesn't resonate with you. I think many new Witches forget that. For example my most recent student's homework most weeks was to change what I gave her into something that fully resonated with her. Never let any Witch or Magickal person say you can't change spells, rituals, incantation, etc. they're wrong.

I hope this ritual helps guide you to a path of happiness and prosperity into the New Year. The world has become an incredibly crazy place this last year, so stay safe, stay vigilant, and most of all stay Witchy....

XoXo,

Nova Ravenswood