From the Dark into the Light
As we come upon the Winter Solstice holiday, we take time to ponder how we feel about the light and the dark. After all, Yule celebrates both the longest night of the year, AND the birth of the Sun God to the Mother Goddess. In many cultures, especially those to the North, beacons are lit on Yule night to chase away the confusion and soon to be obscurity of darkness and encourage the return of the Sun. There is feasting and celebration. Gifts are exchanged in there hopes that bonds will be strengthened between friends and family. The bright, joyful colors of green, gold and red abound, and there is laughing and merriment. Many will stay up the whole night, sitting round bonfires that are lit to welcome back the sun with the dawn of the solstice day. For me, DAGAZ expresses this perfectly. This is the dawn/day rune. It looks like an X with lines drawn in on the sides, or two sideways triangles facing in with tips touching, like a mirror image. In the Northern European/Scandinavi