Priest:
"Sunna sinks down into the dark sea;
Wolf and wind howl outside the walls.
Now Holda shakes out her snowy bed;
now are life-fires hid in yew-light.
From Giant's hall, shadow-black,
Skis Odin's grey steed
Leads ghosts on the wind
Trolls fare from cliffs-halls
Harry from rock-caves
The etins arising from ice and stone.
Ye who would watch this night, ward ye well."
Priestess:
"Come swiftly in my children, as the day is darkening! Come to the hearth, heart of our hold! Kin folk all, I call you round."
(Priestess takes yarn from altar and strings it round sunwise around the folk, saying as she does:)
"Freya weave the web of frith,(Priestess lays skein on altar, ties end of yarn on skein.)
Priestess:
"Grandmothers, I call ur-mothers dear,
Priest:
"Now the year's work is done.
Child:
"Now the year's work is done.
(Priestess fills horn/cup with beer and lifts it high, and says:)
"Hallowed women of the home,
Priestess passes horn/cup around people.
After horn comes back, Priestess pours leftover in bowl, traces outward spiral around bowl.
Priestess calls each person, gives them a whack, and says:
"That was for the year's woe - may it wane in the year to come."
Then gives them a gift and says:
"This is for the year's weal - may it wax in the year to come."
Priestess pours milk into kitchen bowl.
Tell each person to dip a finger into the bowl of milk and say:
"To the mothers."
When all have done this, get everyone to place their gift on the Yule tree, then to rejoin the circle.
Priestess:
"Now you shall bring forth your gift."
After all have placed their gifts on the tree, or while they are doing it, Priest says:
"Thanks to all who have brought a gift for the land."
Priestess:
"Gather round, kindred, around the hearth, and heed the words of your father."
Priest:
"These verses are from the Havamal, the word of the High One."
"Young and alone on a long road,
A kind word need not cost much,
The price of praise can be cheap;
With half a loaf and an empty cup,
I found myself a friend.
A man should be loyal through life to friends,
And return gift for gift.
Laugh when they laugh,
But with lies repay
A false foe who lies.
To a false friend the footpath winds
Though his house be on the highway.
To a sure friend there is a shortcut,
Though he live a long way off.
If you know a friend you can fully trust,
Go often to his house.
Grass and brambles grow quickly
Upon the untrodden track.
Cherish those near you, never be
The first to break with a friend;
Care eats him who can no longer
Open his heart to another.
Affection is mutual when men can open
All their heart to each other,
He whose words are always fair
Is untrue and not to be trusted.
The coward believes he will live forever
If he holds back in battle,
But in old age he shall have no peace
Though spears have spared his limbs.
A wayfarer should not walk unarmed
But have his weapons to hand:
He knows not when he may need a spear,
Or what menace meet on the road.
Cattle die, kindred die,
Every man is mortal:
But a good name never dies
Of one who has done well.
Mock not the traveller met on the road,
Nor maliciously laugh at the guest:
Scoff not a guest nor to the gate chase them,
But relieve the lonely and wretched.
The sitters in the hall seldom know
The kin of a new-comer;
The best man is marred by faults,
The worst is not without worth.
The wise one has spoken words in the hall,
Needful for men to know,
Unneedful for trolls to know.
Hail to the High One,
Hail to the knower,
Joy to him who has understood,
Delight to those who have listened."
As the last of the Havamel is read, Priestess unwinds the binding skein and concludes the ritual with a remembrance.
"As the skein was unwound, each of you were bound to your sibling. Made to realize your connections. One pulling the weft changes the design and unravels the plan. As one moves, another is pulled. There is no one strand that does not affect the whole. You are responsible for your actions and how they affect those around you. At the unweaving of the skein, you find again the necessary autonomy to grow - the uniqueness that makes your part of the eternal weave relevant. Go into this Mother Night with knowledge of your distinct connectedness and prepare for the Yule to come."
"Go in peace."