The Wheel of the Year is the eight festivals of nature that witches and wiccans observe.  These festivals are called Sabbats.  The Wheel of the Year relates to the cycles of birth, death and rebirth, originating from many European pagan lore, especially the Celts.  I have read many versions of The Wheel, and this is my interpretation of The Wheel of the Year.

The start of the witches year is at Samhain (pronounced sow-een), which is May 1st.  This is the beginning of the Wheel as it turns, moving on and on.  It is fast approaching winter, and the Goddess, in the form of the Crone, descends into the Underworld to be with her consort, the God.  There, she joins with him in union, The Great Rite, in which a son is conceived, The Child of Light.  At the next festival, Yule, the child of Light is born, bringing with him the waxing year.  The days grow longer and the land begins to awaken.

The child grows stronger and stronger by day, and at the next festival, Imbolc, the Goddess (the Earth) appears as a Virgin.  This festival celebrates all things feminine as the Goddess awakens to her sexuality, and her potential to be a Mother and a Crone.  The next festival is Ostara, where the God awakens to his sexuality, and his potential to be a Father and an Old Man.  Between Ostara and the next festival, Beltaine, the Goddess and God start noticing eachother, and, as their sexuality grows, so does the awareness of their attraction to eachother.  At Beltaine, they join in sexual union, The Great Rite, and fertility and love is at great heights.  Yet at this union, a child is conceived, a son, The Child of Darkness.

At Litha, the nights are the shortest and the days are the longest, and the King and Queen rule the land.  They celebrate the birth of their child, yet the knowledge of his kingship boils in the mind of the King.  At Lammas, the child grows stronger, the bounties of nature are brought forth, and the King can feel his powers waning.  Lammas celebrates the first harvest, and the first signs of the coming winter.  In between Lammas and Mabon, the next festival, the son grows aware of his powers and challenges his father.  At Mabon they fight, but as they fight, they realise that they are one and the same, and that they are fighting eachother, the different aspects of themselves.  They resume fighting, yet lifting their guard, they they allow for the blows to hit and they are both killed, descending into the Underworld.  Realising they are one, they become one and becomes the God of the Underworld.  The Goddess morning for her lover and child, knowing that they are one and the same, descends into the Underworld at Samhain, to join with her King and become the Queen of the Underworld.  And so the wheel continues.
 

The Sabbats:
[Samhain] [Yule] [Imbolc] [Ostara] [Beltaine] [Litha] [Lammas] [Mabon]

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