A Feast for the Winter Solstice

Today is the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. The Weather Channel explains in more detail:

Typically around Dec. 21 or 22 – though on rare occasions, it can be as early as Dec. 20 or as late as Dec. 23 – the sun is directly overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5 degrees south latitude).

That precise instant in time – in 2018, at 5:23 p.m. EST on Dec. 21 – is the solstice.

While there are myriad ways of celebrating this occasion, some of which you can read about at the links below, we of Thelema celebrate with a feast of the times.

But ye, o my people, rise up & awake!
Let the rituals be rightly performed with joy & beauty!
There are rituals of the elements and feasts of the times.
A feast for the first night of the Prophet and his Bride!
A feast for the three days of the writing of the Book of the Law.
A feast for Tahuti and the child of the Prophet— secret, O Prophet!
A feast for the Supreme Ritual, and a feast for the Equinox of the Gods.
A feast for fire and a feast for water; a feast for life and a greater feast for death!
A feast every day in your hearts in the joy of my rapture!
A feast every night unto Nu, and the pleasure of uttermost delight!
Aye! feast! rejoice! there is no dread hereafter. There is the dissolution, and eternal ecstasy in the kisses of Nu. [Liber AL, II:34-44.]

Following Hadrian offers a menu and recipes for a Saturnalia Feast. The cooking methods and ingredients are easily adaptable for today’s kitchens.

Want to learn more about the Winter Solstice?

• Winter Solstice 2018: Witches Offer a Look Into Their Yule Rituals
• Native Americans celebrate the winter solstice
• Winter Solstice Celebrations From Around The World
• Dying Gods with Birthdays Around the Winter Solstice
• The Winter Solstice Arrives Today; Here’s What That Means
• Meteorological Versus Astronomical Seasons