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Keeping Vigil

For keeping faith in the longest dark

Before You Begin

Light a candle or fire before sunset. This is your vigil flame. It burns through the longest night.

The Rite

  1. Sit with the dark. Do not fill the silence. Do not rush toward the light. Just stay.

  2. Name what you’re carrying through. What have you held all year? Speak it to the flame.

  3. Wait for the turn. At midnight, say: The dark has reached its depth. From here, the light returns.

  4. Keep the flame until morning. When the sun rises, blow it out. You made it through.

Notes

Yule is the longest night. The sun reaches its lowest point and stands still. Yule asks you to keep vigil—not to celebrate, not to pretend. Just to stay. The turn will come.

A fuller version of this rite, with correspondences, lore, and invocation, is available as a printable card in the shop.