Gypsy Yule Yule Ceremony Yes, this is it -- the long-awaited uncorrupted Yule ceremony from Gypsy's coven in Colorado. Intro It is cold outside, and maybe within us, we feel chilled by the prospect of several more months of winter to come. Its barely begun. It is the time of snow and wind and darkness, of the sun far, far away to the South. There is no fruit on the vine, for even the vine has died away. The flowers sleep, the trees are bare, and we wait. We wait. {Pause} Pull around you the cloak of darkness to keep you warm through the cold months -- the cloak of darkness that is the womb of the Great Mother. Cleansing Fire and air, this charge I lay No phantom in thy presence stay Not in complete accord with me And as I will, so mote it be. Water and earth, where thou art cast No spell nor adverse purpose last Not in complete accord with me And as I will, so mote it be. Casting (chant)(Written by Kiva)We are the earth We are the womb Come rising sun Lead us from the tomb Quarters E: Hail, Guardians of the Watchtowers of the East, Spirits of Air, Powers of Thought. We ask you to join us tonight, lend your essence to this rite, and protect our circle from all peril approaching from the east. S: Hail, Guardians of the Watchtowers of the South, Spirits of Fire, Powers of Will. We ask you to join us tonight, lend your essence to this rite, and protect our circle from all peril approaching from the south. W: Hail, Guardians of the Watchtowers of the West, Spirits of Water, Powers of Emotion. We ask you to join us tonight, lend your essence to this rite, and protect our circle from all peril approaching from the west. N: Hail, Guardians of the Watchtowers of the North, Spirits of Earth, Powers of Stability. We ask you to join us tonight, lend your essence to this rite, and protect our circle from all peril approaching from the north. C: Hail., Guardians of the Watchtowers of the Center, Spirits above and below, Powers of Identity. We ask you to join us tonight, lend your essence to this rite, and protect our circle from all peril approaching from within. We are goddess. Invoke the Lady & Lord Lady: You, who are the beauty of the green earth, and the white Moon among the stars, and the mystery of the waters, and the desire of the heart of man, we call to you. Arise and come unto us. For you are the soul of nature, who gives life to the universe. Lord: You, who are the freedom of the wild things, the bright Sun that lights the day, and the mystery of forest, we call to you. Arise and come unto us. For you are the body of nature, who gives life to the universe. INVOCATION TO FREE WOMEN (by Ruth Barrett?) It wasnt very long ago In the early morning I dreamt of women wild and free Of slavery unknowing I awoke, I awoke To distant voices fading The vision of what might have been Dissolved in slumbers waning Hecate, Hecate, wise one of the crossroads Guide our path through darkest night, to the truth within us It wasnt very long ago My senses can remember They tore the baby from the breast And then refused to feed her Crying, crying Through countless wars and plunder They took our Goddess and our lives Our bodies torn asunder Kali, oh Kali, Queen of storms and rages Pierce through lies of mind and heart as we bring the changes. We have come and we were born To do our own myth-making To turn the tied and end the tears Long centuries of waiting Turn again, turn again Turn again the stories That rendered us invisible In historys pale glories Gaia, oh Gaia, mother of the living Heal our bodies and our souls, grant us new beginnings We have come together To move in one direction To stop the raping of the world And give the earth protection Rising, rising The sacred women soul In us the present, and the past, The future we unfold. The song, "Invocation to Free Women," speaks to all of us.In many ways, we, as witches, are enslaved within this culture, kept down, held back, viewed suspiciously still. Yule, with its tales of darkness giving way to light, of the Great Mother Goddess birthing her son, the sun, of the wheel turning, turning...these stories tell us light comes again. Here and now, we are the present enfolded in the past within us, and unfolding the future through our lives as we live them. May our lives, those of us in the modern Craft of the Wise, be as Yule -- a turning for the Craft -- from the dark of the average publics ignorance of us to the light of a spring when we can finally live in true peace in the world. So mote it be!