The Wheel of The Year: A Beginner's Guide to Celebrating the Traditional Pagan Festivals of the Seasons

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Johnson, Anthony (2008). Solving Stonehenge: The New Key to an Ancient Enigma. Thames & Hudson. pp.252–253. ISBN 978-0-500-05155-9. If you’re a witch, Samhain (pronounced sow-wen or saw-wain) marks the beginning of the new year, which is why it’s one of the most important holidays witches and Wiccans. It is also the third and final harvest. In Roman traditions additional festivities take place during the six days leading up to Midwinter. [17] May Day is also celebrated by decorated and dancing around the maypole (representing the male aspect). And, it’s believed that, like at Samhain, the veil between the living and the spirit world is thinner. For Wiccans, this Sabbat is also a holiday of love and romance and when the God and Goddess come together. The History of Litha, the Pagan Summer Solstice Celebration. (2020). Retrieved 6 August 2020, from https://www.learnreligions.com/history-of-summer-solstice-holiday-litha-2562244

This taking on of power by the God as the Sun King and the end of his youthful days running in the greenwood represents the strength and power of the sun over the summer months, though pagans also remember that the God’s path is downhill now (the shortening of days until Yule). Crossroads, W. (2015). Lammas: Where Did It Come From?. Retrieved 6 August 2020, from https://www.patheos.com/blogs/energymagic/2015/07/lammas-where-did-it-come-from/ Masculine and feminine energy join together and work in harmony. This is a season of maturity, connection, commitment, and time for making the most of the abundant fertile energy available to us. Traditionally, grains such as wheat and corn are central to Lughnasadh celebrations. Rituals may include the baking of bread or the crafting of corn dolls as symbolic offerings. Additionally, games, music, and dancing are common features of Lughnasadh festivities, reflecting the joyous spirit of the harvest season.

10 o’clock on the Pagan Wheel of the Year: Samhain (Winter Nights, Halloween, Hallows, Hallowtide, Shadow Fest, Allantide, Third Harvest, Harvest Home, Geimredh, Day of the Dead, Spirit Night, Candle Night, November Eve, Nutcrack Night, Ancestor Night and Apple Fest)

Due to early Wicca's influence on modern paganism and the syncretic adoption of Anglo-Saxon and Celtic motifs, the most commonly used English festival names for the Wheel of the Year tend to be the Celtic ones introduced by Gardner and the mostly Germanic-derived names introduced by Kelly, regardless whether the celebrations are based on those cultures. Personal Empowerment: Pagan traditions, encourage a personal relationship with the divine, which is always present in nature. This relationship gives one a sense of connection to something larger than oneself. Pagans believe in the existence of multiple divine beings, each with their own unique attributes, powers, and characteristics. The dieties honored at pagan holidays are significant mytholgical gods and goddesses that have influence over the natural world. Key Characteristics of Paganism In many traditions of modern pagan cosmology, all things are considered to be cyclical, with time as a perpetual cycle of growth and retreat tied to the Sun's annual death and rebirth. This cycle is also viewed as a micro- and macrocosm of other life cycles in an immeasurable series of cycles composing the Universe. The days that fall on the landmarks of the yearly cycle traditionally mark the beginnings and middles of the four seasons. They are regarded with significance and host to major communal festivals. These eight festivals are the most common times for community celebrations. [2] [12] [13] Needless to say, it’s also a good opportunity to start preparing and storing food for the winter. If you practice spellwork, you can prepare spiritually as well, namely by casting protection and inner strength spells. Samhain or All Hallow’s Eve – October 31st-November 1st

If for pagans the spring equinox represents a sexual union, the autumn equinox is a mystical one. Reincarnation and the spiral of life are strong themes too: seed and grain, life and death, womb and tomb. Through understanding these mysteries of nature, the God reaches a state of mystical enlightenment and enters the underworld. Here the God dwells with the Goddess, now the ‘hag’, the queen of the underworld. Samhain The earth is ripe and fertile, ready for us to plant new seeds of intentions for the coming year, to nourish and tend to them between now and the harvest.

The 8 Wiccan Sabbats

Our KS2 All About Pagan Festivals PowerPoint finishes with four engaging discussion prompts designed to help children recall what they’ve just learned about by talking it through with a partner. More activities to learn about Pagan festivals and Paganism So what actually happens in a magical ritual? The author Dennis Wheatley has a lot to answer for as far as popular expectations go, and so does the late wicca high priest Alex Sanders: the latter was well known for summoning the tabloids. An erudite and charismatic man, the founder of Alexandrian wicca was nonetheless a relentless publicist with a showman's natural flair, and a tendency to promote the craft in the most photogenic manner possible in the late 60s and early 70s. Many historians postulate that ancient pagans marked the passing of time by celebrating certain solar events. On top of that, some of their celebrations were a way to mark events that had agricultural significance. Even so, we can’t say that the seasonal festivals we’re about to discuss ever existed in their current forms. So how did we get to the Wheel of the Year we observe today? Raven Grimassi (2000). Encyclopedia of Wicca & Witchcraft. St Paul, Minnesota: Llewellyn Worldwide. p.219. ISBN 9781567182576.

The ancient pagan peoples of Europe differed in the festivals they celebrated. In the British Isles, the Anglo-Saxons primarily celebrated the four solstices and equinoxes, while Insular Celtic peoples primarily celebrated the four midpoints between these. [4] [ need quotation to verify] The four Celtic festivals were known to the Gaels as Beltane (1 May), Lughnasadh (1 August), Samhain (1 November) and Imbolc (1 February). Imbolc falls on February 1st or 2nd in the Northern Hemisphere. Also known as Candlemas in some Christian traditions, Imbolc marks the halfway point between the winter solstice (Yule) and the spring equinox ( Ostara). Ostara, celebrated on the vernal equinox, typically falls between March 20th and 23rd in the Northern Hemisphere. As one of the eight major festivals in the pagan Wheel of the Year, Ostara holds great significance for pagans and neo-pagans alike. Mabon, celebrated on the autumn equinox, falls between September 20th and 23rd in the Northern Hemisphere. Named after the Welsh god Mabon ap Modron, this holiday marks the second harvest of the year, when day and night are in perfect balance before the descent into winter's darkness. Well, believe it or not, the Wiccan Sabbats are a result of decades, if not centuries, of modern interpretations of ancient rites. In fact, some pretty famous scholars unknowingly participated in the creation of the Wiccan Wheel of the Year. Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm, c. 1837. This work is in the public domain.Kelly, Aidan. About Naming Ostara, Litha, and Mabon. Including Paganism. Patheos. Accessed 8 May 2019. Where do you want to focus your energy over the next few months and beyond? What seeds do you wish to plant? And what do you need to support you through the creation? Ostara (Spring Equinox) – 20th-23rd March

The phrase 'Wheel of the Year' was in use by the mid-1960s to describe this yearly cycle of eight holidays. [8] Prominent Wiccan Aidan Kelly gave names to the Wiccan summer solstice (Litha) and equinox holidays (Ostara and Mabon) in 1974, which were then promoted by Timothy Zell through his Green Egg magazine. [9] Popularization of these names happened gradually; in her 1978 book Witchcraft For Tomorrow, influential Wiccan author Doreen Valiente did not use Kelly's holiday names, instead simply identifying the solstices and equinoxes ("Lesser Sabbats") by their seasons. [10] Valiente identified the four "Greater Sabbats", or fire festivals, by the names Candlemas, May Eve, Lammas, and Hallowe'en, though she also identified their Gaelic counterparts Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasa, and Samhain. [11] One thing that I find compelling about Bede’s work is that he generally minimized his coverage of paganism. For this reason, it would be against Bede’s character to invent goddesses like Eostre / Ostara. The sun has returned, the trees are sprouting leaves, and crocus flowers are blooming. It’s the beginning of a new agricultural year, with lighter, longer, and warmer days greeting us. This is the earth waking up again after her long winter hibernation. The significance of Litha lies in its connection to the power of the sun and the energy of life. Pagans rejoice in the abundance of the Earth, the blossoming of flowers, and the ripening of fruits and crops. It's a time to honor the fertility of the land and the growth of nature. Roberts, Brian K. (1987). The Making of the English Village: A Study in Historical Geography. Longman Scientific & Technical. ISBN 978-0-582-30143-6 . Retrieved 14 December 2015. Time out of time', when the barriers between this world and the next were down, the dead returned from the grave, and gods and strangers from the underworld walked abroad was a twice- yearly reality, on dates Christianised as All Hallows' Eve and All Hallows' Day.Decorating eggs and gathering flowers are common ways to honor the pagan holiday of Ostara. Rituals and ceremonies focus on expressing gratitude to the Earth and its cycles while embracing the potential for personal growth and transformation. Beltane ~ pagan holidays Beltane ~ May Day The reversal of the Sun's ebbing presence in the sky symbolizes the rebirth of the solar god and presages the return of fertile seasons. [ citation needed] From Germanic to Roman tradition, this is the most important time of celebration. [16] [17] The Modern Guide to Witchcraft: Your Complete Guide to Witches, Covens, and Spells by Skye Alexander Horns, R. (2014). The Ancient Nature of Midsummer. Retrieved 6 August 2020, from https://www.patheos.com/blogs/panmankey/2014/06/the-ancient-nature-of-midsummer/ It’s a wonderful time to remember loved ones who have passed and honor the dead. But it’s also a time when your intuition will be heightened; through tuning into what cannot be seen but can be felt or known.