Pagan Events Over Yule and the Winter Solstice

Here are some of the pagan events and open rituals taking place in London and other parts of Southern England over the Winter Solstice and Yule:

Sunday 16 December; Treadwells Social Sunday: A chance to socialise with a cup of tea and learn the skill of scrying. Short lessons at 2pm and 4pm. Venue: Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Shop open from noon. Free social event. info@treadwells-london.com http://www.treadwells-london.com/

Sunday 16 December; Dawn of the Oak. Pagan moot on the third Sunday of each month. Venue: Upstairs at The Castle, 34-35 Cowcross Road, Farringdon, London EC1M 6DB (near Farringdon tube). Time: 3pm-6pm. For more details contact peter@dawnoftheoak.co.uk, or Eugenie eugenie@dawnoftheoak.co.uk.

Sunday 16 December; Alban Arthuan on Primrose Hill - the second in a series of eight rituals celebrated throughout the Celtic year on the Sunday nearest the appropriate date under the Aegis of the Loose Association of Druids. Gather in the Hawthorne Grove at Primrose Hill, London, between 12.30pm and 12.45pm to prepare the site ready for a prompt 1pm start. Nearest tube: Chalk Farm. Bring a small contribution of food and drink to share. All are welcome. For more details, see the facebook pages: https://www.facebook.com/events/383505208385118/ or https://www.facebook.com/LooseAssociationOfDruidsOfPrimroseHill

Monday 17 December; Croydon Crows. PF moot held every 3rd Monday of each month at the Skylark pub, South End, South Croydon from 8pm onwards.

Monday 17 December; Saturnalia at pagan forum Secret Chiefs. Venue: Devereux public house, 20 Devereux Court, off Essex Street, London WC2R 3JJ. Meet from 7.30pm, event starts at 8.30pm. Admission £2. http://secretchiefslondon.wordpress.com/

Monday 17 December; Winter Solstice Celebration. A magical Yule ritual at Alternatives, St. James's Church, 197 Piccadilly, London, W1J 9LL. Time: 7pm to 8.30pm. Tickets £10/5 concs. To book tickets and for more info visit the Alternatives website: http://www.alternatives.org.uk/Site/Talks.aspx

Wednesday 19 December; Atlantis Bookshop Presents... (also known as The Moot with No Name). Venue: The Cartoonist on Shoe Lane, just off Fleet Street, London. Meet from 7.30pm, event starts at 8pm. Admission £5. http://www.theatlantisbookshopevents.com/page2.htm

Thursday 20 December; PFL Yule Open Ritual by Pagan Threads. Venue: Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, Holborn London. Time: 8pm start. Entrance: £6/£5 PF members. Please bring seasonal food and drinks to share at feast after ritual. For more details, visit http://london.paganfed.org/

Friday 21 December; Free open access at Stonehenge from about 7.30am until 9am. The site will close at 9am and re-open to paying visitors at 9.30am. The exact time of the Winter Solstice is 11.11am on 21 December, but pagan groups normally the dawn of the Winter Solstice at Stonehenge. For more details, visit http://www.visit-stonehenge.com/

Friday 21 December; Winter Solstice at Chalice Well World Peace Garden, in Glastonbury. Gathering at the Well Head at 12pm for celebration and meditation until 12.30pm, then gather around the fire on the lower lawn for quiet conversation. Free admission from 10am until noon, then normal price admission. For more details about Chalice Well, visit the website http://www.chalicewell.org.uk/

Friday 21 December, 3 Magic Words - European Film Premiere at Odeon Leicester Square, London. Film screening followed by a panel discussion including Dolores Cannon, Michael Perlin and Maura Hoffman, then a World Peace Prayer. Watkins estoreric bookshop will be having a stall at the event. Start time 7.30pm. This will be followed an after party from 11pm to 2am. For more details and tickets, visit http://www.3magicwordslondonpremiere.com/

Friday 21 December; Saturnalia and Tales of Winter Magic at Butser Ancient Farm, Chalton Lane, Chalton, Hants. From 1pm to 5pm. For more details, call 02392 598838 or visit http://www.butser.org.uk/

Friday 21 December; Yule ritual at Brighton Arts Club, 43 Providence Place, Brighton BN1 4GE, doors open at 7.30pm, event begins 8pm. Tickets cost £10 which includes a free welcome drink as well as the ritual. For details on how to book, visit https://alternativexmas.eventbrite.co.uk/

Saturday 22 December; Outdoor Yule (Mid-Winter Solstice) Open Ritual in Croydon, South London. A special ritual to mark the end of one Mayan cycle and beginning of another followed by a feast with home made bread, mulled wine and some woodland cooking. Meet at Coombe Lane tram stop in Croydon by 2pm to be collected for a short walk to the ritual site. For more details: http://www.pflondon.org/html/open_rituals.html#H-open-rituals

Saturday 22 December; Druidic ceremony to celebrate the Winter Solstice (Alban Arthan) at Avebury stone circle in Wiltshire. Meet at the Red Lion pub from Noon for ceremony around 2pm. The ritual should end at 3.30pm, then back to the pub. Overnight camping is allowed in the overflow car park on Friday 21 December.

Sunday, 23 December; Anderida Gorsedd Winter Solstice open ritual at the Long Man of Wilmington, Sussex. Meet near the car park between 1.30pm and 2pm for a walk up to the chalk hill figure at 2pm. Afterwards back to the Giants Rest pub in Wilmington for a social drink together.

Sunday, 23 December; Solstice. Yule and Christmas Vigil to honour The Goose and the outcast dead of Cross Bones Graveyard, followed by carol singing and other seasonal songs. Gather from 6.45pm in Redcross Way outside the Memorial Gates, SE1, opposite the Boot and Flogger, just north of the junction with Union Street. Nearest tubes Borough or London Bridge, 5 minutes walk away. The event is free. http://www.crossbones.org.uk/

Sunday 23 December; Winter Solstice Celebration to Honour the Ancestors. Wheel of the Year ritual drawing from Celtic earth/pagan traditions at Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel, 3 Pilgrim's Place, London NW3 1NG. Time: 7pm. Tel: 020 7433 3267.