The 8 Wiccan Sabbaths
![](wheelofyear.gif)
October 31 -- November Eve -- Samhain
Consider this the eve of the
New Year (as day begins with sundown, so the year begins with
the first day of Winter). It is one night when the barriers
between the worlds of life and death are uncertain, allowing the
ancestors to walk among the living, welcomed and feasted by
their kin, bestowing the Other world's blessings. We may focus
within ourselves to look "through the glass darkly", developing
our divination and psychic skills.
December 21 -- Winter Solstice --
Yule
The sun is at its nadir, the
year's longest night. We internalize and synthesize the
outward-directed activities of the previous summer months. Some
covens hold a Festival of Light to commemorate the Goddess as
Mother giving birth to the Sun God. Others celebrate the victory
of the Lord of Light over the Lord of Darkness as the turning
point from which the days will lengthen. The name "Yule" derives
from the Norse word for "wheel", and many of our customs (like
those of the Christian holiday) derive from Norse and Celtic
Pagan practices (the Yule log, the tree, the custom of
Wassailing, etc).
January 31 -- February Eve -- Imbolc
(Oimelc) or Brigid
As the days' lengthening
becomes perceptible, many candles are lit to hasten the warming
of the earth and emphasize the reviving of life. "Imbolc" is
from Old Irish, and may mean "in the belly", and Oimelc, "ewe's
milk", as this is the lambing time. It is the holiday of the
Celtic Fire Goddess Brigid, whose threefold nature rules smith
craft, poetry/inspiration, and healing. Brigid's fire is a
symbolic transformation offering healing, visions, and
tempering. Februum is a Latin word meaning purification --
naming the month of cleansing. The thaw releases waters (Brigid
is also a goddess of holy wells) -- all that was hindered is let
flow at this season.
March 21 -- Vernal Equinox -- Ostara
Day and night are equal as
Spring begins to enliven the environment with new growth and
more newborn animals. Many people feel "reborn" after the long
nights and coldness of winter. The Germanic Goddess Ostara or
Eostre (Goddess of the Dawn), after whom Easter is named, is the
tutelary deity of this holiday. It is she, as herald of the sun,
who announces the triumphal return of life to the earth. Witches
in the Greek tradition celebrate the return from Hades of
Demeter's daughter Persephone; Witches in the Celtic tradition
see in the blossoms the passing of Olwen, in whose footprints
flowers bloom. The enigmatic egg, laid by the regenerating snake
or the heavenly bird, is a powerful symbol of the emergence of
life out of apparent death or absence of life.
April 30 -- May Eve -- Beltane
As the weather heats up and the
plant world burgeons, an exuberant mood prevails. Folk dance
around the Maypole, emblem of fertility (the name "May" comes
from a Norse word meaning "to shoot out new growth"). May 1st
was the midpoint of a five-day Roman festival to Flora, Goddess
of Flowers. The name "Beltaine" means "Bel's Fires"; in Celtic
lands, cattle were driven between bonfires to bless them, and
people leaped the fires for luck. The association in Germany of
May Eve with Witches' gatherings is a memory of pre-Christian
tradition. "Wild" water (dew, flowing streams or ocean water) is
collected as a basis for healing drinks and potions for the year
to come.
June 21 -- Summer Solstice -- Litha
or Midsummer
On this day, the noon of the
year and the longest day, light and life are abundant. We focus
outward, experiencing the joys of plenty, tasting the first
fruits of the season. In some traditions the sacred marriage of
the Goddess and God is celebrated (in others, this is attributed
to the springtime holidays). Rhea, the Mountain Mother of Crete,
has breathed out all creation. It is also the festival of the
Chinese Goddess of Light, Li.
Aug 1 -- August Eve -- Lughnasadh or
Lammas
This festival has two aspects.
First, it is one of the Celtic fire festivals, honouring the
Celtic culture-bringer and Solar God Lugh (Lleu to the Welsh,
Lugus to the Gauls). In Ireland, races and games were held in
his name and that of his mother, Tailtiu (these may have been
funeral games). The second aspect is Lammas, the Saxon Feast of
Bread, at which the first of the grain harvest is consumed in
ritual loaves. These aspects are not too dissimilar, as the
shamanic death and transformation of Lleu can be compared to
that of the Barley God, known from the folksong "John
Barleycorn". This time is also sacred to the Greek Goddess of
the Moon and the Hunt, Artemis.
September 21 -- Autumnal Equinox --
Mabon
This day sees light and dark in
balance again, before the descent to the dark times. A harvest
festival is held, thanking the Goddess for giving us enough
sustenance to feed us through the winter. Harvest festivals of
many types still occur today in farming country, and
Thanksgiving is an echo of these.
|