Let's celebrate the end of chaos and the return of light by partying for a week straight, offering sacrifices to the god Saturn, and breaking social conventions!
I've never really liked Saturnalia, but that's a post for another day. the main thing is that I didn't get it—why are we celebrating Saturn? the guy who ate his kids??
my partner's parents are visiting and a bit of their conversation with their mom stood out to me. we were driving through a rapidly gentrifying part of town. "change is good," their mom said. "not really, not always," they said in return, "I think change is a morally neutral thing."
Saturn is all about change. he keeps time moving forward. time is needed to bring fruit to ripeness, but it is also what brings us to death. even the deathless gods cannot escape being pulled into the maw of time. change isn't good. but it isn't bad either.
now, in the darkest of winter, perhaps we need the reminder that time moves forward. we won't be stuck in the darkness forever. perhaps that's why Saturnalia was a time of upending social norms. change comes for us all, rich and poor. there's nothing we can do about it, so we may as well have fun with it.
I didn't celebrate Saturnalia this year, but I did light a candle for Saturn on the 23rd, the traditional end of the festival. I'm learning to come to terms with change and I could use all the help I can get.
I celebrated Yule with a Solstice Saturnalia ritual. 🪐🕯️ I invited Krampus because I see him as an aspect of Saturn. 🥰😈 I might post the ritual I did later on. 🤘🖤
🎵 “The Bells” by Phil Ochs is a song version of the poem by Edgar Allan Poe. 💀 It’s also great for holidays! 🎄