Welcoming the Light: Crafting Yule Logs for the Solstice

Welcoming the Light

An Invitation to Create, Bless, and Celebrate the returning light of the Earth

As the Wheel of the Year turns toward its longest night, we gather to honor the Winter Solstice — a moment of pause, reflection, and quiet magic. In this liminal space, the world holds its breath, and the promise of returning light begins. This is a time to welcome the warmth, growth, and hope that the sun’s return brings.

We come together in circle, sharing presence, creativity, and intention. This is a day of hands-on creation, ritual, and reflection, where each participant is invited to engage with the season in her own way.

Creating Light for the Solstice

As the day unfolds, we honor the returning sun through acts of quiet creation. Each gesture is both personal and shared, a way to touch the rhythm of darkness and light.

Yule Log Crafting
Start by selecting your full-sized Yule log. Then, gather evergreens, vibrant berries, flowing ribbons, and meaningful symbolic objects to adorn it in your own creative and artful way. Each element carries meaning — a prayer, a hope, a remembrance — and as you weave them into your log, you join your intention with the energy of the circle. Bring your own clippings or charms, or draw from the communal collection, allowing your creation to reflect both your inner light and the shared magic of the day.

Candle Dressing
Select a taper candle as a vessel for your heart’s intention. Dress it gently with herbs, oils, or adornments, breathing your hopes and blessings into the flame it will carry. Place it on or within your Yule log, honoring the sun’s return and the light you nurture within yourself. This act, quiet and deliberate, becomes a bridge between reflection and illumination, between what has passed and what is yet to come.

Charm Creation
Create a small jar or pouch to hold your intentions, a talisman for the season. Layer herbs, stones, or small tokens as symbols of gratitude, desire, or remembrance. These charms carry the energy and intention cultivated today into your home, your heart, and the months ahead — a private beacon of the sun’s rebirth and your ongoing journey through the turning year.

Through log, candle, and charm, each participant leaves a piece of herself in the circle, carrying the returning light forward, sacred and alive.

Potluck Brunch

A shared meal nurtures body and spirit. Participants are invited to bring a vegan or vegetarian dish to share, but the focus is on presence and connection. Together, we enjoy food, conversation, and the warmth of community.

The Winter Solstice and Yule

In modern Yule and Winter Solstice celebrations, the Yule log remains a cherished tradition, rooted in ancient pagan and European customs. Crafted from wood, evergreens, and symbolic objects, these logs are ceremonially lit to honor the returning sun and to carry intentions through the winter months. This practice draws from diverse cultural traditions—Norse, Celtic, and Germanic rituals, among others—which have long marked this pivotal time with feasts, offerings, and ceremonies, honoring the profound cycles of death and rebirth, darkness and light. The logs we create together become vessels of reflection, gratitude, and hope, holding the energy of the season and the intentions of those who gather in circle.

Bring What Inspires You

While all materials are provided, participants are encouraged to bring their own greens, herbs, or charms to personalize their Yule logs or share with the circle. Each item adds unique energy, intention, and beauty to the gathering.

A Reflective Day

This is a space for slowing down, for tending your own inner flame, and for honoring the season with care. The day moves from hands-on crafting to candle dressing, from personal reflection to shared ritual, allowing the returning light to be welcomed fully — in heart, home, and circle.

Participants are invited to dress for comfort and for the season. Gentle music, sacred objects, herbal tea, and a warm hearth welcome you to this day of reflection and creation.

What’s Included

Your experience is designed to honor the Winter Solstice and the turning of the year, supporting reflection, creation, and connection:

• All materials for your Yule log, candles, and charm jar/bag, chosen to help you mark the returning light and infuse your intentions into the season.

• Seasonal herbal tea throughout the day, offering warmth, pause, and quiet reflection as you move from one ritual to the next.

• A blessing card to carry home, a tangible reminder of the intentions, gratitude, and light cultivated during the gathering.

• Thoughtfully curated communal collection of herbs, dried fruits, greens, and charms, with the invitation to bring your own treasures to share or incorporate into your creations.

Each element is offered as a guide, allowing you to fully engage with the rhythm of the Winter Solstice — from darkness to light, from reflection to celebration.

$125.00 investment