picture from www.wiccan.com
The Wiccan religious calendar contains 21
days of ritual celebration. Containing 12 or 13 Full Moon celebrations, called
Esbats, and eight Sabbats or Days of power. There is a Full moon every 28 1/4
days.
The Full Moon celebrations or Esbats are held
on the night of the full moon. Some say they can be held three days before or
three days after the full moon, this depends on how you see it.
Yule (December
21st)
Also called
Winter Solstice. Celebrates the rebirth of the Sun God. Presents are exchanged
over the days starting at Yule and continuing though Twelth Night (January 6th)
The Goddess gives birth to a son, The God, at
Yule. The Winter Solstice has long been recognized as a time for divine births.
The Christians adopted this for their use in 237 C.E.
Yule is a time of the greatest darkness and
is the shortest day of the year. Since the God is also the Sun, this marks the
point of the year when the Sun is reborn as well.
Wiccans light fires and candles to welcome
the Sun's returning light. The Goddess, slumbering through the winter of her
labor, rests after her delivery.
To many Wiccans Yule is a reminder that the
result of death is rebirth.
Candlemas (February 1st/2nd)
Also called
Imbole. A time when winter is still on the land, but with the promise of Spring
and warmer weather, shown as flowers such as Snowdrops begin to appear.
Feast of Torches, Oimelc, Lupercalia, Feast
of Pan, Snowdrop Festival, Feast of the Waxing Light, and Brigid's day
Imbolc marks the recovery of the Goddess
after giving birth to the God. The lengthening periods of light awaken Her. The
God is a young, lusty boy, but His power is felt in the longer days. The warmth
fertilizes the Earth, the Goddess, causing seeds to germinate and sprout.
This is a time of purification after the
shut-in life of winter, through the renewing power of the Sun. It is also a
festival of light and of fertility, once marked by huge blazes, torches and fire
in every form. Fire here represents our own illumination and inspiration as much
as light and warmth.
Imbolc, is traditionally a time of
initiations into covens as well as self-dedication rituals.
Ostara
(March 21st)
Also called Spring Equinox. Ostara is a time to celebrate the Spring, although
not celebrated by all traditions.
Spring, Rites of Spring and Eostra's Day
Ostara marks the first day of true
spring. The energies of nature subtly shift from the sluggishness of winter to
the exuberant expansion of spring. The Goddess blankets the Earth with
fertility, bursting forth from Her sleep, as the God stretches and grows to
maturity. He walks the greening fields and delights in the abundance of nature.
On Ostara the hours of day and night are
equal. Light is overtaking darkness; the Goddess and God impel the wild
creatures of the Earth to reproduce. This is a time of beginnings, of action, of
planting spells for future gains, and of tending ritual gardens.
Beltaine (April 30th or May 1st)
Symbolic of
the Goddess and God's marriage, and is the second biggest festival on the Wiccan
calender.
Beltane marks the emergence of the young God
into manhood. Stirred by the energies at work in nature, He desires the Goddess.
They fall in love, lie among the grasses and blossoms, and unite. The Goddess
becomes pregnant of the God. The Wiccans celebrate the symbol of Her fertility
in ritual.
Beltane has long been marked with feasts and
rituals, May poles, supremely phallic symbol, were the focal point of old
English village rituals. Many people rise at dawn to gather flowers and green
branches from the fields and gardens, using them to decorate the May pole, their
homes and themselves.
The flowers and greenery symbolize the
Goddess; the May pole the God. Beltane marks the return of vitality, of passion
and hopes consummated.
Midsummer
(June 21st)
Also called
Summer Solstace. It is the longest day of the year, and crops and gardens are
planted. It is a time to get together and relax.
Midsummer is when the powers of nature reach
their highest point. The Earth is awash in the fertility of the Goddess and God.
In the past, bonfires were leapt to encourage
fertility, purification, health and love. The fire once again represents the
Sun, feted on this time of the longest daylight hours.
This is a classic time for magic of all
kinds.
Lughnasadh (August 1st)
Also called
Lammas. Celebrates the first fruits of the harvest
August Eve, Feast of Bread, and Harvest Home
Lughnasadh is the time of the first harvest,
when the plants of spring wither and drip their fruits or seeds for our use as
well as the ensure future crops, Mystically, so too does the God lose His
strength as the Sun rises farther in the South each day and the nights grow
longer. The Goddess watches in sorrow and joy as She realizes that the God is
dying, and yet lives on inside Her as Her child.
As summer passes, Wiccans remember its warmth
and bounty in the food we eat. Every meal is an act of attunement with nature,
and we are reminded that nothing in the universe is constant.
Mabon (September 21st)
Also called
Autumn Equinox. A day of balence as we have equal day and night. It symbolizes
the change from light time of year to the dark. It also a time of high energy
for the animal kingdom.
Mabon is the completion of the harvest begun
at Lughnasadh. Once again day and night are equal, poised as the God prepares to
leave His physical body and begin the great adventure into the unseen, toward
renewal and rebirth of the Goddess.
Nature declines, draws back its bounty,
readying for winter and its time of rest. The Goddess nods in the weakening Sun,
though fire burns within Her womb. She feels the presence of the God even as He
wanes.
Samhain (October 31st)
Also called
Halloween. The most important date on the Wiccan calender. The circle of the
seasons has returned to the begininng, and so begins another year! It is
symbolic as the time of the God's death, and marks a time when souls pass on to
the Summerlands. Magick is very strong and effective at this time.
Other Names:
November Eve, Feast
of the Dead, Feast of Apples, Hallows and All Hallows
Samhain, known to the
general public at Halloween, is a time of reflection, of looking back over the
last year. This is a night when Wiccans remember their ancesters and all those
who have gone before them. On this night the veil between the two worlds is at
its thinest, the world of the spirit and the living.
Samhain is when
Wiccans say farewell to the God. This is only a temporary farewell, for the God
is reborn again at Yule.
