EVERETT — Rebirth. Renewal. Hope.
The winter solstice — a day of little daylight and the longest night of the year — also marks the moment when light returns to the world. The daylights grow longer, bringing the promise of life and prosperity.
For pagans, the seasonal shift is sacred.
“To celebrate in the pagan aspect is to celebrate with nature, to celebrate the cycles of life and rebirth,” said Tara Ball, 27, of Everett.
On Friday, a small group of pagans honored the solstice with a ritual in the basement of Moonflower Magicks in downtown Everett. The solstice, also referred to as “Yule,” is a time for pagans to celebrate the god and goddess, which embody the masculine and feminine elements of the universe.
The solstice is also a time to look inward, and to make promises for the coming year.
“I see Yule as kind of like New Year’s,” said Jeffrey Johannes, 23, who organized the short ritual. “It’s a time to put away old habits, old traits, that you need to let go.”
Johannes, who was raised in Shoreline, serves in the Navy and is a member of a pagan study group aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln. A few of his shipmates also attended Friday’s ceremony.
After more than an hour of preparation, the small group gathered around a small square table set up as an altar. On the altar were carefully arranged objects such as candles, sage, a chalice and a ceremonial dagger.
First, the group closed their circle, facing each direction, calling out to spirits and lighting candles. They placed a burning sprig of sage into an abalone shell and passed it around, allowing the smoke to purify their space.
A black candle was lit to symbolize traits that would be left behind. A white candle was lit to mark promises for the new year.
Beforehand, participants of the ritual wrote down their hopes on small slips of flash paper. One by one, the pagans stepped forward, touching their slips of paper to the white candle, stepping back as the slips vanished into a brief flash of flame.
The group passed around cookies and cider, then they reopened their circle to end the ritual.
Ball, who wore a black and green cloak, said the ritual was a type of prayer. When they ignited their slips of flash paper, they were giving their resolutions to the universe, she said.
“Prayer works; it doesn’t matter how you really do it,” she said.
Mike Hickey, 23, of Seattle, works at Moonflower Magicks. To him, the solstice is a moment to not only embrace the return of light, but also the darkness that has passed.
“We fear death, we fear age, we fear the loss of a job or a marriage,” he said. “But change is the fuel of evolution, change is a constant. I see this as a celebration of that in a spiritual way.”
Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.
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