Lynn Smythe
Pagan Nature Festivals
October 31st 2007 00:24
Wheel of the Year
The wheel of the year, as shown in the diagram above, celebrates the eight nature festivals of the year. These festivals, also known as the sabbats or the eight holy days of witchcraft, are a time to celebrate the changing of the seasons. They are nature based celebrations of life, death, birth, and fertility.
The cross quarter days, which are the major sabbats of the year, celebrate the four agricultural harvests of the year namely Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh, and Samhain. The dates of the cross quarter days are the same every year.
The quarter days which are solar festivals are considered to be the lesser sabbats of the year namely Ostara, Litha, Mabon, and Yule. The quarter days occur on the spring and autumn equinoxes and the summer and winter solstices. The dates of the quarter days vary from year to year, consult a good reference book such as one of the yearly farmer’s almanac to obtain the exact dates of the equinoxes and solstices.
The following section lists some of the traditions and celebrations that have traditionally been associated with each particular festival.
Imbolc - February 2nd, this festival marked the beginning of lambing season. In modern times this festival has evolved into Groundhog Day. Imbolc has traditionally been one of the best times of year for the initiation of a new witch but any time that is meaningful can also be used such as during the full moon of the month you were born in or on your actual birthday.
This is the time of year when spring cleaning projects are conducted as a thorough cleansing of your house can be seen as a way to purify your personal home environment. It is also a good time of year to plan and design new gardens in anticipation of the reawakening of mother nature as evident in the first flush of green growth that occurs every spring. Go through any new gardening catalogs that you may have at this time of year to plan what kinds of new plants and seeds you are going to plant in your garden during the upcoming year.
Ostara - occurs between March 20th and 23rd - spring equinox, the length of the day and night are equal, a time for the sowing of crops. Eostre was the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring. Some of the symbols associated with this festival include eggs, rabbits, and hot crossed buns. Painted and decorated eggs were a symbol of life and fertility. Witches were believed to be able to turn into rabbits while at the sabbats in order to go undetected throughout the countryside.
Hot crossed buns symbolized a cross within a circle which was an astrological symbol of the earth, the four directions, the four elements, the four seasons and was considered to be a magical talisman. Ostara has evolved into our modern holiday Easter. Easter is celebrated on the Sunday closest to the first full moon occurring after the spring equinox.
Beltane - May 1st - May day - the beginning of summer, festival of life, a fertility festival for crops and animals. This festival has traditionally been associated with fertility and healing along with emotional and physical health.
One form of celebration that was common to this festival was to dance around a colorfully decorated May pole. The May pole was an ancient phallic symbol of fertility. Brightly decorated baskets full of fresh flowers, flower arrangements, and small bouquets or tussie mussies are also used as aids to celebrating this festival.
Litha - occurs between June 20th and 23rd - summer solstice, midsummer day, longest day of the year, a time for the growing of crops. This festival has traditionally been associated with love, health, purification, and dedication. Litha’s association with love may be why June weddings are so popular with brides.
Litha is the best time of year to harvest St. John’s wort and is a good time for practicing magic. Gather St. John’s wort at midday to tap into the plants healing abilities or as an alternative harvest the plant at midnight to tap into it’s magical powers. To ensure a fertile growing season for all your crops build a bonfire in which magical herbs such as lavender, mugwort and St. John’s wort are burned. The smoke from this magical fire can be used to ensure fertility to your livestock and crops. People were even known to jump through these fires or the smoke produced from the fires to ensure their own fertility.
Lughnasadh - August 1st - first harvest, sacrifice of the corn king. This festival was traditionally associated with transformation.
This is the time of year to celebrate the ripening of the grains. In ancient times bread was a staple food source and a necessary part of the daily diet. Help celebrate this festival by baking homemade loaves of bread in honor of the Celtic sun god Lugh whom this festival is named after.
Mabon - occurs between September 20th and 23rd - autumn equinox - final harvest, the length of the day and night are equal, a time for the reaping of the crops.
Mabon is sometimes referred to as the witches thanksgiving. This was the traditional time of year that the Pilgrims celebrated Thanksgiving. It wasn’t until the 19th century that President Lincoln changed the date of Thanksgiving to November. Mabon is a great time of year to conduct your own celebration of thanksgiving in honor of mother nature and all her bountiful gifts. Gather a bunch of acorns or pinecones to display in a decorative bowl in your home to represent the fertile gifts of mother earth’s harvest which are plentiful at this time of year.
Samhain - October 31st - Halloween, beginning of the Celtic New Year. This festival is traditionally associated with rebirth and renewal. On Samhain in ancient Ireland large turnips or even potatoes and beets were hollowed out, carved into frightening designs and lit from within using either a candle or a piece of burning coal. These lanterns were placed in the windows and doorways of peoples homes and served two purposes.
First, they were believed to scare off evil spirits and prevent them from entering ones home. Secondly, they let the spirits of their departed loved ones know that they were welcomed into the house during this time of year. These turnip lanterns were the precursor to the modern-day Jack-o-lantern. The larger, easier to carve pumpkins found in the new world were used as a turnip substitute by Irish immigrants arriving in America during the Irish potato famine of the 1800’s.
Yule - occurs between December 20th and 23rd - winter solstice, midwinter, festival of light, the shortest day of the year, the longest night of the year, a time for cleansing and the planning of next years crops.
In ancient times a yule tree was erected in the home during this time of year and was seen as a symbol of fertility. The yule tree was hung with offerings made to the god and goddess. This tree evolved into our modern-day Christmas tree which is festooned with lights and decorated with ornaments. The star that is placed on the very top of the tree was once a symbol of the pentagram. The 8 reindeer that pull Santa’s sleigh can be seen as a representation of the 8 sabbats that make up the wheel of the year. Bringing a sprig of holly inside to hang up in your house on Christmas was thought to bring good luck to all members of the household. Cutting the holly prior to Christmas eve was thought to be bad luck.
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