The Wheel of the Year

This is the first celebration of Winter and the day in which the Celtic New Year begins. A time for both beginnings and endings, through death in Winter to rebirth in Spring. In ancient times people celebrated the Celtic Feast of the Dead to honor the memories of their ancestors. Witches today often share this custom by lifting the veil on this night of high psychic energy to contact their own ancestors. Spells are also performed to do away with old negative patterns or situations to make room for new life.

Yule is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year. The precise date will change year to year. The darkest time between Samhain and Yule draws to an end as the Goddess, Mother Earth, gives birth to the Sun again. It is a sabbat for fond memories, reflection on the interconnectedness of all and glory of knowing the Sun has been rebirthed and his rays of warmth will soon start to spill upon us. Yule is also known as Midwinter.

This is the holiday that sees the first promises of springtime. This is the time to acknowledge the Goddess in her Maiden form and recognize the promise of what she will become. This is a time for us to reflect on our own beginnings, what we want for the year ahead. In her maiden form she is the Goddess of fire and water. This is when the ancestors worked magic to call in the spring and celebrated it’s coming. This is a traditional time of Dedication and Initiation.

Also known as the Spring Equinox or the Vernal Equinox. This festival celebrates the start of Spring. Now we are beginning to truely see the flowers bloom, both on the ground and in our lives. At this time, the God begins courting the Goddess. This is a time for us to look at what we have accomplished thus far in the year. Ostara is the Sabbat of Balance. The days and nights are of equal length but the Sun God is gaining more power over the darkness of Winter. Ostara is also celebrated as the time of courtship of the God and Goddess in preparation for their consumation on Beltane. Witches typically plant the seeds that were annointed on Imbolc on this Spring Equinox. Ostara is also known as Eostre or Lady Day, from the germanic goddess Eostre.

As Samhain was the beginning of the cycle of Winter, Beltane marks the second major cycle of the year: Summer. This May Sabbat is a celebration of new life in all it's forms. This is the day God and Goddess are united in sacred marriage, their relationship consumated. This melding of God and Goddess symbolically fertilizes the animals and crops for the rest of the year. This is the traditional day of pagan handfastings which commonly lasts for a year and a day (which then can be continued for life). Jumping over broomsticks and dancing around the maypole typically entwining the red and white ribbons (symbols of the God and Goddess) are both symbols of fertility. Beltane is also known as May Day, Bealtaine, and Walpurgis.

Also known as Midsummer and the Summer Solsitce. Midsummer is the time when the Sun reaches the highest power, Mother Earth is glowing and holds the promise of a bountiful harvest. While steamy Midsummer marks the beginning of the Sun's dying strength the season itself is very lush. We see death even duing the highest time of life. The Sun, flowers and Earth are in full bloom. Hot Midsummer creates a fiery, mature, breathless passion. Midsummer is also known as Gathering Day.

Lughnasadh is a grain harvest festival. The Goddess is honored as the Mother who has given birth to bounty and abundance and the God as Father of Prosperity. This is the first harvest on the Wheel of the Year. The splendor of the bountiful cornucopia of wheat, fruits and vegatables is also reflected upon as it pertains to our lives. Lughnasadh is also known as Lammas. Lughnasadh is the festival of the Celtic God Lugh.

Mabon is the second harvest festival on the Wheel of the Year. Again day and night are equal, but here we see the dark overtaking the light, preparing us for winter. This Sabbat particularly celebrates the harvests of the vine, wine and apples as symbols of life renewed. Partaking of the fruits of this season as well as leaving apples upon burial cairns and graves as a token of honor are all common neopagan and Old Celt practices. There is a thankfulness for this abundance as well as a wish of the living to be be in touch with the dead which comes up in Samhain. Mabon is also known as Feast of Avalon and Wine Harvest.