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Saturday, 18 January 2014

The Wheel of the Year - Quick Reference

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.

The Spring Sabbats
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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