Yule
Witches - we did it! 💜
Hello, my lovely.
Happy Yule to you, darling - we made it. In fact, I’m so proud of us all.
Everyone I’ve spoken to recently has remarked on “what a flipping year it’s been.” 2025 has asked quite a lot of us, so I think we’re all feeling a little battered, bruised and ready to lie face-down in front of a flaming yule log. I - in the true winter spirit of slowing down - will be joining you!
Now, here we are at the blessed time of the winter solstice - the “divine void” of rest and creation before everything begins again in spring. On Sunday 21st December, the Pagan festival of Yule, the darkest night of the year invites us to step into the womb-like blackness, ready for the renewal of longer days.
From this point onwards, the light is returning. The days begin to stretch and the Sun allows us a few extra moments of his glimmer each day. It is a small glimmer, but it is one of hope after a tricky year.
This is the festival of hearth magick, tasty comfort food, and squeezing our loved ones tight. But it’s also a time of slapping ourselves on the back and saying a huge well done for making it through to the solstice - the turning point of the year. Treat yourself to doing absolutely nothing over the festive period (just as the chilly world intended).
And don’t forget to listen to all the cosy wonders of Yule in episode 6 of The Divine Void Podcast!
In this Yule edition of The Green Witch, you’ll find:
practical and spiritual ways to celebrate the festival of Yule
events, podcasts and a magickal gift guide
the weirdest Yule traditions that will make you say, “Wait… what?”
Have a truly gorgeous Yule, my love. May 2026 bring you the world.
Jennifer x
P.S. This newsletter is a few days late as I’ve been on bedrest! Doctor’s orders - but feeling much better now. Thanks for bearing with me and I hope you enjoy this read.
A very special gift for you
Lovely reader: I just wanted to say THANK YOU!
I can’t believe The Green Witch now has over 6,000 subscribers ❤️ What a year! I’m speechless, and honestly so grateful to every single one of you. You make it possible for me to write what I love and share the healing power and beauty of witchcraft with the world. To celebrate, I’m offering 20% off annual paid memberships until 31st December. I hope you enjoy yours!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
How to celebrate Yule
Sure, there’ll be chocolate, but there’ll also be magick! This year, I’ll be celebrating by:
creating a Yule altar. Usually I would get the witchy spirit going in my conservatory - but it’s not the time of year to be shivering in a glass room! I’ll be bringing my altar into the living room and dressing it in rich reds, golds and dark greens. I’ve never been successful at making an orange-slice garland, but I’ll try again this year so I can drape it across my altar. You might want to place a yule log (traditionally an oak branch or trunk) in front of the space and decorate it with pine cones, candles and crystals. I would recommend sunstone to welcome back the light, as well as stones that represent joy and family, such as garnet and rose quartz.
bringing the outside in. I’ve just got back from a four-day trip to Germany - the home of the Christmas Tree. But people all over the world have been bringing in evergreens at the solstice for centuries: holly for protection and pine for cleansing (as well as the joy of seeing nature indoors when all outdoors is bare). But, be careful! There are some superstitions about when to remove these from the home - scroll down to the bottom to get the age-old advice.
baking intentions into yuletide food. This stunning plum pudding (above) is on the cards. But while you’re making your annual roast dinner, hold your hands over the food and say, “May all who eat this food be filled with peace and love today and over the coming year.” Visualise white light coming down through the crown of your head, touching your heart and then flowing out through your hands into the food. Consider it blessed. If you do decide to make a plum or Xmas pud, go traditional and place a blessed silver coin inside so that anyone who gets that slice has an incredible 12 months ahead.
welcoming back the light. Oh, we’ve all been waiting for this day, haven’t we? I, for one, am incredibly excited about the coming of longer days. My plan is to head out to the garden at sunrise (8.22am where I am in the UK) and raise my hands up to greet the sun. I will thank it out loud for its blessings and feel its light on my face as a renewal. The slate is wiped clear.
remembering that this is not quite the time for making New Year’s resolutions. I’ll be waiting until spring to write my list and perform a ritual of hope for 2026-27. This is a time for resting - it’s taken me a long time to realise that and not run to the schedule of the Julian calendar. But, this year, I’m honouring it (with more than a few mince pies by my side). Don’t feel pressured into making big life changes at the darkest and most restful point of the year.
slow, intentional creation. On the same note as the above, I’ll be delving into the crafting cupboard. While my own creations might not be exactly gift-worthy, there are plenty of homemade ways to decorate your home without the panoply of plastic that ends up in landfill each year. A friend of mine recently made these festive paper chains and I’ll be making these delicious-smelling pomanders again for protection against sickness in my home. You can also try my yuletide simmer pot from last year.
going offline. There’s been a lot of discourse recently about how the festive period isn’t what it used to be: the new set of neon-bright lights to outdo your neighbour, the pressure to take endless selfies with a £12 gluhwein at the Christmas Markets, and the panopticon that is Elf on the Shelf - this isn’t how I remember the holidays of my youth. Things used to be softer, less visible to all and more genuinely joyful. I really enjoyed this article called “A Return to Analog: Is 2026 the Year We Go Offline?” by Caitlin Gemmell, which reminds us of the small joys of not always doing something for “the Gram”, and the feel of tangible media beneath our fingers. I think this very much applies to the festive period and is something I am going to try my best to honour by switching off my phone and being present with my family and cat.
For a closer look at the festival of Yule, pick up a copy of my book, The Wheel: A Witch’s Path Back to the Ancient Self. How will you be celebrating the solstice?
Looking ahead to Imbolc
Imbolc at Blackwell’s Oxford
Oxford: these witches are baaaack!
Join Laura Derbyshire and I at Blackwell’s Oxford, where we’ll be sharing all our knowledge on the Pagan fire festival of Imbolc. Find out the ancient history, daffodil lore and ways to celebrate the first budding inklings of spring 🌱
Our Samhain event very nearly sold out, so don’t forget to get your free ticket fast! See you there on Saturday 31st January at 3.00 pm.
A gift guide for the witch in your life
Looking for the perfect gifts for your magickal loved ones? I know a few… 👀
For your best friend:
The Wheel or a yearly subscription to The Green Witch (with 20% off until 31st Dec 2025)
For someone who needs to know everything will be OK:
The Witch’s Survival Guide or a Distance Reiki voucher
For the reader who likes their coffee black and their books even darker:
The Black Air
For the big-hearted child (aged 9-12) who loves a happy ending:
The Second-Hand Boy
Yule lore for the not-so-easily spooked
We might think of Samhain as the most chilling festival on the Wheel of the Year, but did you know that Yule has its own creepy customs that might raise a few eyebrows?
Recently, I was absolutely delighted to receive a copy of Yule: Traditional Magic, Recipes, and Tales for the Winter Solstice from Wyrd Books. This little volume is stashed full of folklore, traditional customs and stories related to the solstice. I couldn’t put it down and would absolutely recommend!
As I was reading, I noticed that a lot of the old customs were related to death, disease and bad luck. Surely not, at the jolliest time of year?
But we have to remember that our ancestors relied so heavily on the land and weather around them just to survive the winter - something which we are more removed from in the modern day. Death was closer to the door, and winter brought it right to the threshold.
Here are the most morbid customs I found in this book:
Ill-luck: To fail to remove Christmas greens from the church before Candlemas Day is unlucky. Death will visit the household in whose pew (when the green is finally taken down) any twig or leaf may be left and found.
Yule log omens: On Christmas Eve the Yule-log is laid on, and if possible kept burning two or three days. A piece of it was usually kept to light the next year’s log with, and to guard the household from harm. If it will not light, or does not burn out, it bodes mischief.
Supper table superstition: If thirteen sit at table, the one who rises first will not live throughout the year. If thirteen sit at table, the last one who sits down will not die that year.
A sign of death: Our English forbears used to have a tradition that when roses and violets flourish late in the Autumn it is a sign that a pestilence will ravage during the ensuing year. This was possibly the origin of the belief, which now exists, that a mild, damp Winter is not as healthful as a colder season. There was an old saying, that ‘A green Christmas maketh a fat graveyard.’
Find more Yule traditions and customs on our latest episode of The Divine Void Podcast.
I'll see you on the next turn of the Wheel: Imbolc will be here on Sunday 1st February 2026. Watch out for your newsletter a few days before. See you then!
Thank you so much for reading! I really appreciate your ongoing support and feedback on my Substack. If you want to share some love or wish to support me, you can upgrade your newsletter subscription below ⬇️
This is a lovely compendium of ways to celebrate and honour Yule. 2025 was indeed a year not to forget but try to understand, my wife of 38 years passed away. I'm left feeling at times id be better off dead. The only present I'll be getting is a food parcel from the foodbank. Money is so tight now. As a druid I'll be honouring the Goddess but as Rhiannon knows my heart is broken this Yule
Both yours and Jennifer's comments mean so much thank you xx