Friday, December 1, 2023

Voryuul Suggested Meditations


(9. Yuuling (sunset December)-21. Yuuling (sunset December 20)

Voryuul Topic #3


PLEASE NOTE: I am not kidding when I say that Voryuul meditations can be a blunt force against one's complacency. Many of these meditations can stir up confusion, regret, grief, or worse. Before undertaking these meditations, please know your own limits. Do not go tearing scabs off of healing wounds. Despite what pop culture might tell you, some wounds are best left covered and healed over. The goal of these meditations is to learn more about your shadow self and to learn how not to fear the shadier sides of yourself. This is about achieving a balance of the whole of yourself, which is, in and of itself, a lifelong journey.


Should you begin to feel depressed or distraught, DISCONTINUE all meditations immediately and contact a friend, a family member, Distelfink or other clergy member, a Braucher[in] or Hex, or an appropriate helpline. Do not suffer alone. Although these meditations can be tough, they are not intended to break you down or to weaken you.


Please do not begin these meditations until Voryuul begins, but do look them over so that you can familiarize yourself with them and declare your boundaries to yourself.


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Friday, December 8: 

Voryuul Night 1 (begins sunset local time)

EDITED Meditation Topic (combined 1 and 2): What did I learn in the past year? Who am I these days? Am I happy? Am I content?

Voryuul/Lutzelfraaslaaf Observance (Bristol/Online; 18:30 PM)  

Bristol Buggy Pull (after Voryuul Observance)


Saturday, December 9: 

Voryuul Night 2 (begins sunset local time; Parade kicks off)

Parade of Spirits (Philadelphia, PA; 16:00 PM)

NEW Meditation Topic: What do I do when the whole is --less than-- the sum of its parts? How do I recognize when all the effort I am putting into various projects in my life is resulting in the totality of my daily life being diminished by stress, exhaustion, incongruent relationships, lack of opportunity, procrastination, etc.? 


Sunday, December 10:

Voryuul Night 3 (begins sunset local time)

Meditation Topic: Am I stuck in a rut? If there was one thing I could change in my life, what would that be? Why? How? To what end?


Monday, December 11:

Voryuul Night 4 (begins sunset local time)

Meditation Topic: What are my true motivators? What are the real causes of my actions? 


Tuesday, December 12: 

Voryuul Night 5 and Lutzelfraaslaaf (begin sunset local time). This is an auspicious time to make donations to food banks or shelters, and we this is a primary time for handing out sock and underwear donations directly.

Meditation Topic: Mindset and relationship around giving and generosity; why do I — or don’t I — give to others or accept things that I need?


Wednesday, December 13: 

Voryuul Night 6 (begins sunset local time)

Meditation Topic: What do I do when I win the battle but lose the war. How can I recognize situations in which the cost to get what I need or want is too high?


Thursday, December 14: 

Voryuul Night 7 (begins sunset local time)

Meditation Topic: How do I find balance and contentment between what I want and what is available?


Friday, December 15: 

Voryuul Night 8 (begins sunset local time)

Meditation Topic: How can I leverage the shadowy aspects of myself? What positive things do useless hopes and wishful thinking bring to me?


Saturday, December 16: 

Voryuul Night 9 (begins sunset local time)

Meditation Topic: Status of open projects: What is worth finishing? What is weighing me down?


Sunday, December 17: 

Voryuul Night 10 (begins sunset local time)

Meditation Topic: Were there patterns of behavior that have served me and/or others well? What behaviors or actions were detrimental and should not be engaged in again?


Monday, December 18: 

Voryuul Night 11 (begins sunset local time)

Meditation Topic: How am I affected by the company I choose to keep? How can I affect the world around me? 


Tuesday, December 19:

Voryuul Night 12 (begins sunset local time)

Meditation Topic: What can I do differently in the new year that will take me out of my comfort zone?


Wednesday, December 20:

Voryuul Ends at sunset local time.

Yuul Night 1 (begins sunset local time)

Functional Voryuul


Voryuul Topic #2


It is very easy to get lost in all of the Voryuul topics, particularly when it coms to the Geischderschtrutz/Parade of Spirits. Thus, this post describes the most basic functions of Voryuul.


Please bear in mind that Voryuul, as a distinct observance, is relatively new, though it is drawn from very old traditions. On the cycle of life, death, and rebirth, Voryuul is the time between death and rebirth. It is the time we do not remember, the mystical time when our divinity is awaiting the formation of a new soul construct before being reborn. The light from the last life is fading, and the darkest of times is yet to come.


Voryuul really pretty much starts when Allelieweziel ends (sunset on November 11), but, as a discrete observance, it begins on the night of December 8 (which is December 9 by Urglaawe lunar reckoning). That night, we light twelve candles, engage in a meditation, and then snuff out one. Suggested meditations are listed in a Voryuul Topic #3 post and will be linked to in the first Comment below this post.


On the second night, we light eleven candles, and then blow out one. Each night through the 19th, we light one fewer candle and blow out one more. This brings us up to the night of the 20th, which is the beginning of Yuul and the rebirth, when the last candle is blown out and then, after a period in the darkness, is relit to represent the return of light.


There is a lot more going on within the Voryuul nights, but this is the basic process. It helps us to focus ourselves on what is working for us -- and what is not working for us. Many of us base New Year's Resolutions (a very Heathen topic that we will cover as the time draws nigh).


Voryuul can be rough. Answering to the meditations honestly can bring about a lot of churning emotions and uncertainties. It is a time of introspective exploration that can lead to unpleasant conclusions or unhappiness. There is a fine line between confronting/embracing the realities about ourselves and falling into despair. These introspections are not required, so only engage in them if you feel you are ready to deal with the answers.


If you begin to feel despondent or desperate, please cease the meditations and reach out to one of Distelfink Sippschaft's clergy (all of whom are also empowered practitioners of Braucherei and Hexerei): Michelle A Jones, Ralph Victoria Young, Larry L Goble Jr., Silvera Moon, Stacey Lynne Stewart or me for some spiritual advisement or call an external agency or text 988 from your cell phone or 1-888-784-2433 from a landline.

Es Umdenk - The Mindshift


Voryuul Topic #1


Voryuul's onset is still a few days away, and now might be a good time to talk about one of the more complicated concepts within Urglaawe (and, quite possibly, within all of Heathenry): Es Umdenk. 


Quite literally, this is a shift in ideas, or, as is often colloquially said in English, "the mindshift."


We often speak about the Umdenk when one converts from monotheism (particularly Christianity) to Heathenry. Within the Urglaawe community, this shift was first expressed by my kinsman, Daniel Riegel, prior to his passing in 2011. He described the mindshift in the context of embracing the dark half of the year, which was consistent with many others’ experiences of recognizing the totality of the self, shadow and all. This recognition of our whole being is not the same as accepting ourselves “as is” and not striving to be better. Instead, it is using the totality of ourselves in order to become the best we can be.


There is a tendency in our society (particularly in the Deitscherei) to pretend the shadowy sides of ourselves do not exist. We bury them deeply, and we are ashamed of them. This attitude is pervasive in some Plain sectarian communities, and it is rooted in Christian orthodoxy. Shadow sides are generally viewed as being “evil” or profane. Orthodoxy, meaning that one is required to believe a certain way, trumps orthopraxy, meaning that one is required only to practice the same way within a group. Orthodoxy leads to dogma, and dogma leads to suppression of variant ideas.


One of the more common beliefs within Urglaawe is that the deities want for us to be at the end of this cosmic cycle where they were at the beginning of it. To achieve this, we have to grow as a race of beings. Such growth, particularly an evolution of consciousness, is very difficult when the largest religions in the world actively attempt to limit questioning and independent thought.


Maintaining perspectives from Christianity while practicing Heathenry can result in confusion. Our relationships to the deities and to our ancestors differ from that of the Christian understanding. Our relationship to the world around us differs. It is difficult to wrap one’s head around the idea that there may be multiple “truths” or that our deities have individual personalities that may lead them even into conflict with each other.


And, at the risk of offending some readers of this post, the “lore” is not Gospel, and to treat the myths as such can lead one to a state of cognitive dissonance in which the baggage of orthodoxy remains even though the trappings of the religion have changed. Germanic Heathenry has never (at least within the period in which history has been written down) been monolithic. Different tribes knew different deities in different ways… and that is wonderful!

Ditching the mindset of Christianity is critical. We are not “fallen.” We do not need an intercessor to remove the stain of sin. We have the ability and responsibility to improve ourselves, yes, but we do so to create a better future for ourselves and for our descendants, not because we have a bill to pay from the past.


For those who are planning to undergo the Voryuul meditations beginning at sunset on December 8, use the time between now and then to think about your own conversion (if applicable). Is there baggage you can free yourself from during the upcoming darkest nights?


We have recently seen an uptick in people joining our group because they were interested in our "Unbaptism" information. For me, the "Unbaptism" was an integral part of my mindshift. I had to close out old business in order to make a cleaner break with the ghosts of my religious past. We live in a society dominated by Christianity, and it is going to be nigh impossible to completely remove its influences from our lives (and, since a great many people whom I love are Christians, I want to keep them living long, happy, and healthy lives).


However, we can strive to remove the toxicity of the "only one way" mindset, and we can work with our deities, our ancestors/forebears, and (most importantly) our communities and selves to make the world a better place for ourselves and for those to come.


(Voryuul begins at sunset on December 8, which begins 9. Yuuling on the Urglaawe lunar calendar, and runs until sunset on December 20, which begins December 21 - Yuul - on the Urglaawe calendar.)


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VORYUUL ADVISEMENT


Voryuul is an exploration of the self that can lead to unpleasant conclusions or unhappiness. There is a fine line between confronting/embracing the realities about ourselves and falling into despair. These introspections are not required, so only engage in them if you feel you are ready to deal with the answers.


If you begin to feel despondent or desperate, please cease the meditations and reach out to one of Distelfink Sippschaft's clergy (all of whom are also empowered practitioners of Braucherei and Hexerei): Michelle A Jones, Ralph Victoria Young, Larry L Goble Jr., Silvera Moon, Stacey Lynne Stewart or me for some spiritual advisement or call an external agency or text 988 from your cell phone or 1-888-784-2433 from a landline.


Talk a friend!


Talk to a loved one!


Do not go it alone.