The winter is a time of rest and sleep. Animals all over the world hibernate at this time. The cold winter nights creep quickly toward the day, and frozen nights keep all huddled tightly in their beds. And yet at this time of year was one of the greatest ancient festivals: Saturnalia, which lasted from December 17 to the 23rd.

Saturnalia was a celebration of the god Saturn, and with it came parties, gifts, and carnivals. In modern times, this has become our holiday season, with Christmas and Yule. However, we can still join in the activities of Saturnalia and rejoice in the gifts of this god of plenty, wealth, and agriculture, amongst many other things.

Create a Saturnalia altar in your home to bring in the wealth and abundance of the season. It doesn’t have to be a huge, elaborate altar; it can be anything from a particular corner of a room to a shelf with just a few symbolic items on it.

On your Saturnalia altar, place a red candle, some gold coins, a packet of seeds, and some olive oil. If you can find a small statue or image of the god Saturn, that would be great, but it’s fine without. The very fact that you are acknowledging his festival will suffice. In front of your altar, stand or kneel and hold out your hands in a receiving pose, with palms up, and say:

Here in my room, now upon the shelf,

Saturnalia gifts, I grant myself.

Lord of plenty and of wealth,

Send me lots of money and health.

If you like, you can light the candle while you say your spell, but never leave a candle unattended and always remember to extinguish it. If you perform this spell every year and every night of Saturnalia, it will become a tradition.