From my Book of Shadows.
The Wheel of
the Year is the cycle of seasons celebrated by a myriad of pagans,
spiritualists and druids throughout the world. The cycle is inclusive of eight
celebrations, known as Sabbats and as the wheel turns each Sabbat is recognised
and honoured with ritual, crafts, and a variety of seasonal enjoyments.
Revelry in
the seasons and their bounty is an ancient and beautiful act. The natural
cycles of nature change constantly and it’s nuances are brought to light at
these times and celebrated for what they truly are – magick.
Three of the
Sabbats celebrate Spring:
- Imbolc is it’s coming,
the childhood aspect of the year, when daylight is beginning to lengthen
and where we symbolically have one foot out of the dark.
- Ostara is the embodiment
and essence of Spring. The flowers are blooming, the sky is bluer and the
light and dark of the earth is equal. Fertility is a key feature of this
celebration.
- Beltane is the last of the Spring festivals. It is the rich lusciousness and the coming of Summer. The maiden aspect of the year, beginning to swelling and ripening with fertility.
The
Harvest Sabbats
The second
trilogy of Sabbats celebrates the harvests:
- Lammas is the
beginning of the Harvest festivals. As it falls in the warm summer months,
the berries cherries and fruits are plump and swollen, ready for picking
for a Lammas altar.
- When Mabon arrives and
the leaves are beginning to brown, the nights are once again equal and the
harvest is heavy with root vegetables, but strawberries, pears and
cranberries are ripe too.
- Samhain is most
popularly known as Hallowe’en and so the most famous of the harvest
festivals. There is therefore a most famous produce for this Sabbat – the
pumpkin – carved and lit up with candles, this bright orange beacon of
witchiness is a most welcome addition to the altar or hearth.
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