Yule
The snow falls slow in a hush without ending
Soft as a secret the night will not share
The world sleeps folded in shadow and quiet
The spark of potential filling the air-
Though nothing seems living…. life yet lingers there
The fire burns low, but never extinguished
The coal glowing deep where the eyes cannot see
A quiet defiance, held under the silence
A seed of the Sun in its latency
Awaiting its hour to rise and be free
So tend to the flame and honour the turning
For even in stillness the wheel does not cease
And deep in the dark where the cold feels the coldest
The promise of light grows steady in peace
And brings with suns rising our eternal release
Imbolc
Snow lies in silence, a veil drawn unbroken
Yet under its hush something stirs in the deep
The earth holds a breath that is almost awakening
A promise half-dreaming that will not stay asleep
Beneath frozen soil ancient rhythms are turning
The pulse of the land beats steady and sure
For what has been resting is not truly lifeless
But gathers its strength to awaken once more
So cleanse all with smoke and with water made sacred
Let all that is stagnant be carried away
Make room in the spirit, in hearth, and in dwelling
For light that grows stronger with each passing day
Sing of renewal that asks us for tending
Sing of the path that is patiently trod
For every small flame that we guard through the winter
Becomes in its season the flames of the gods
Ostara
A soft silken light on the meadow
The last of the frost slipping free
The scent of the thaw in the morning
New green at the base of the tree
The burst of the buds on the branches
The surge of the sap in the vein
The rise of the heart’s own intention
To grow through both pleasure and pain
The stir of the seeds in the furrow
The stir of the wings in the air
The stir of the Maiden awakening
As she weaves fresh blooms in her hair
Bright-painted eggs in the grasses
The quicksilver dart of the hare
The world feels the shift into balance
As life spills its breath everywhere
Beltane
The air is thick with the scent of the blossoms
A sweetness that clings to skin and to breath
The fields burst open in color and motion
A wild declaration of life over death
That rises unbidden, untamed in its depth
The fires are lit as the twilight is deepening
Flames answering pulse in body and ground
The crackle and roar of heat in the darkness
Echoed in rhythm and thrust and in sound
As dancers and lovers go spinning around
So move round the circle and leap round the fire
As spirit and earth and sky all align
For in this hour of eternal desire
The mortal and the holy do both intertwine
And by their joining we are all made divine
Litha
Sun stands stock still like a forge blazing in the heavens
The colours of fields and flowers woven out of its light
Where sea meets sky a heat haze hangs on the horizon
Teasing with glimpses of faeries flying just out of sight
The sun rises strong, but knows its’ strength’s fading
The Horned One accepts His own death with His crown
For from now on till rebirth, the Sun God is waning
To the life of the land the life of the God has been bound
So jump the bonfire and burn away evil
Carry a torch in procession and bless land and home
Gather the garlands and deck all with flowers
Celebrate beauty for its sake alone
Sing of Midsummer's wonder in play and in pageant
Sing of the eternally conquering light
But never forget that the longest day’s laughter
Always lead us back into the darkest of night
Lughnasadh
The corn is cut with a crescent blade
As summers strength begins to fade
The god fulfills the pact he made
For his sacrifice to end his reign
The scythe that brought the harvest in
Cuts his neck and cleaves his skin
Yet he offers it with a willing grin
For by his death does life remain
His blood seeps thick into the ground
From his hands falls a golden crown
His fate to the fate of the crops is bound
As his strength is passed into the grain
Sun-King once, now ghostly pale
We send him off with a mourning wail
Yet too with joy, for his fate entails
That like the seeds he shall rise again
Mabon
Blood, red upon the leaves of brown
And red leaves lie upon the ground
A crown of oak and berries wound
Upon His head held high and proud
His feet, firm upon the hallowed road
His cloak cast over the glades and fields
It’s shadow causing life to yield
And strength within the seeds to seal
And like the power that He wields
Be kept safe deep within the earth’s abode
Balance never does last overlong
Winter’s silence gives to summer’s song
And summer yields when winter’s strong
The Old God rules now and not the young
Yet the Young God shall be reborn from old
Samhain
A Cheshire smile made of moonlight
The sound of bones beating the drums
The hiss of the winds in the willows
The fading light of the weakening sun
The wail of the ghosts of the Fallen
The wail of the Goddess who mourns
The wail of the Horned One who's offered
Merge with the call of the Wild Hunt's horn
Jack o lantern lights flicker in darkness
The smell of rotting leaves fill the night
The veil is torn all asunder
Giving glances and glimpses of Sight
The dead and the gone walk among us
Those who we honour and grieve
We revel in the grace of the darkness
During this All Hallowed Eve
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