Yule is a time of spiritual beginnings. Jul, or Yule, is an old Anglo-Saxon word meaning "wheel." The winter solstice is the turning point in the natural cycle of the year; this darkest night in all the year is followed by a day that will dawn just a little bit earlier.
Lisa Hutchins, Winter Solstice, 1997
In ones and twos the Circle sisters arrived at the house on the evening of Winter Solstice. They swept through the door, bringing gusts of cold air with them, and amid laughter and greetings, divested themselves of coats and cloaks.
“Yule greetings, Gladwyn!”
“Merry meet, Gladwyn, thank you for being our hostess tonight!”
“The logs burning in your fireplace smell wonderful, Gladwyn,” Rhiannon said. “What are they?”
“Apple logs. We had to cut down the old apple tree in the backyard—it was at the end of its life,” Gladwyn said. “So sad. It was like an old friend.”
“Oh, look at the Yule tree!” Arielle exclaimed. In one corner of the room stood a freshly cut Fraser fir, hung with oranges stuck with cloves, small red apples, and pinecones painted gold and silver.
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“Isn’t it exciting? Winter begins tonight!” Gladwyn looked around, beaming, at the Circle sisters assembled in the room.
“I hate winter,” complained Coventina, the youngest. Her bright brown eyes peered from beneath her short auburn hair as she surveyed the others. “Darkness makes me feel depressed. I’m never quite myself until the Wheel turns and it’s Ostara again.”
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