While it may be mostly Pagans and Wiccans who celebrate the Yule holiday, nearly all cultures and faiths have some sort of winter solstice celebration or festival. Because of the theme of endless birth, life, death, and rebirth, the time of the solstice is often associated with deity and other legendary figures. No matter which path you follow, chances are good that one of your gods or goddesses has a winter solstice connection: Deities of the Winter Solstice

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Yule is approaching fast... hard to believe it's in just two weeks! Have you gotten your altar set up yet? If you haven't, now's a good time to do it. Take a few minutes to decorate with seasonal themes. Here are some ideas on what to include: Setting Up Your Yule Altar.

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Z. Budapest has a great piece on her blog today about the different views of witches on a global level. She talks about attending the musical Wicked, which not only makes it okay to be different, but also celebrates the fact that women can put friendship ahead of the love of The Handsome Prince, which seems to be an end goal in so many tales. The flip side of the fun and empowerment of Wicked, however, is the darker side of the human race -- countries such as Africa where women and children are murdered, tortured and raped as part of their day to day existance.

Z calls out for not only women, but men to stand up for injustices around the globe, saying. "Pagans must get involved in politics." She goes on to say, "Without our spells and money, change is slow and generations of mothers are wiped out... The Goddess is alive in the lucky West, but she is barely alive in Africa."

Definitely some food for thought, and something to consider as we're spending hundreds of dollars on lights to string around our homes this month or toys for the kiddies. Meanwhile, on the far side of the world some woman is scrabbling in the dust for firewood, living in fear of rape and mutilation in a society that will later shun her for being a victim. While I hate to put too depressing a point on it, the piece does rather put things in perspective, and remind us how blessed many of us truly are.

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The ancients knew that the winter solstice was the longest night of the year -- and that meant that the sun was beginning its long journey back towards earth. It was a time of celebration, and for rejoicing in the knowledge that soon, the warm days of spring would return, and the dormant earth would come back to life. On this one day, the sun stands still in the sky, and everyone on earth knows that change is coming. You can perform this ritual to celebrate the return of the sun: Welcome Back the Sun

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