The Wheel of the Year

Do you love observing holidays? Do you want even more?

Well, if you celebrate the Wheel of the Year, or Sabbats, then you have double!

I love food

The Wheel of the Year consists of eight points on the calendar honoring cycles and seasons.

You can celebrate these dates with food, friends, and festivities of all kinds!

Although some witchy friends do not participate in these gatherings, all are invited, and it’s super-duper fun and delicious.

Why is this a thing?

In part, early European farmers.

Why are seasons important at all? Because agriculture relies quite heavily on the seasons changing in order to produce food.

If your town experiences a drought, chances are things will not be so easy.

So why celebrate change? Because it means there’s an opportunity for abundance.

When food supplies are bountiful, the community prospers.

When the community prospers, people are happy.

But these eight pagan holidays have some unknowns about them, too.

Were there always eight?

Were they always in this order?

Did these Stone Age celebrations really predate early Christian settlements?

A few have, but some others still have a few question marks surrounding them because people like to party.

In that way, people haven’t changed.

Is this necessary?

Nope! but for those who wish to keep with early Celtic roots, this is intrinsic to identity.

How do we know about these holidays? Let me toss this over to Margaret Murray who was one of the first to collect all these dates together.

The trend of all knowledge at the present is to specialize, but archaeology has in it all the qualities that call for the wide view of the human race, of its growth from the savage to the civilized, which is seen in all stages of social and religious development.”

Margaret Murray, author of The God of the Witches

That’s right! Archaeology.

It’s about early humans and who we were, which still shines in who we are today.

Ever heard that Halloween used to be called All Hallows’ Eve?

We get a lot of our modern holidays like Easter, Halloween, and Christmas from these holidays from the Wheel of the Year.

(Don’t get me started on what the early Christians did to suppress indigenous peoples during their occupation.)

Ever heard of a jack-o-lantern?

Pumpkins didn’t exist in the early stages of English, Scottish, and Irish community groups, so people carved beets, turnips, and potatoes to ward off evil spirits.

Why did people do this?

Because it was the season of Samhain (saw-win)! And nobody wants evil spirits in their house.

You’re very silly.

Let’s break this down.

This is based on the calendar for the Northern hemisphere. I should note that the Southern hemisphere celebrates these on the opposite side of the wheel.

Here we go!

Imbolc (Feb. 1st)

Spring is just beginning to peak through the snow for early Europeans and it’s time to prepare for the new cycle.

The herds are ready to give birth and the house needs to be swept up after a long winter.

For Pagan groups it’s the celebration of the pre-Christian goddess Brigid.

For modern witches it’s time for initiations and pledges for the future.

In any case, people are going to get together!

Ostara (Spring Equinox)

It’s Easter!

The earth is awakening and it’s time to plant the crops.

Hopeful eyes see the sun strengthening and can feast on the stored food from the winter because there’s about to be more!

Babylonians observe the goddess Ishtar (where we get the name Easter).

Abrahamic groups celebrate Passover.

Christian groups celebrate death and resurrection.

What does Jesus have to do with eggs and bunnies?

Here’s a hint: nothing!

Early Pagan groups long predating the Christ event are looking for fertility during the Spring Equinox.

What better represents copious amounts of reproduction and abundance than rabbits and chicken eggs?

Beltane (May 1st)

It’s the first day of Summer!

the crops are harvested and wheat is bountiful. Why not make some bread?

the Pagans and Druids alike are reveling in the rich greening forests that surely sing about nature’s plenty.

Litha (Midsummer Solstice)

The sun is now out for the longest day of the year.

The seas are calm and trade routes are in full steam.

The circle is turning and after today the days will only begin getting shorter, so it’s time to start planning ahead.

The divine are dancing among the people and giving them inspiration.

Lammas, or Lughnasadh (Aug. 1st)

Not easily traced back to Celtic traditions, and probably the most recent addition to the Wheel.

More agrarian celebrations of breads and grains for communities sustained by local farmers.

Even still, this is a time for festivals and bonfires.

Mabon (Autumn Equinox)

Pagan Thanksgiving time!

Gratefulness for the year thus far.

It’s at this point when winter is on the horizon and groups need to start preparing for the winter.

Hopefully the divine feminine and masculine will keep an eye out and allow for blessings during difficult times.

Samhain (Oct. 31st)

Halloween!

Honoring ancestors and loved ones who have passed on and inviting them to join in on the festivities.

The veil between this world and the next is at its thinnest, and spiritualists communicate with the dead.

Carving beets, turnips, and potatoes into gory faces and placing them near the front door to scare away any unwanted visitors.

Children begin to dress as dark entities to confuse naughty spirits and send them on their way until next year.

Yule (Winter Solstice)

The shortest day of the year and a time of rebirth.

Ancients summon the sun back to reprieve the long winter nights.

This is the most significant holidays of the Wheel of the Year because it’s time to bring offerings and feasts for the gods to return and bless the community once again.

Too long and harsh a winter, the more herds and people who will not survive.

Later folk practices observe a Yule log on the hearth that was supposed to continue burning for twelve days to keep the entire house warm and ward off misfortune.

The Winter Solstice eventually becomes known as Christmas after the Roman Emperor Theodosius I issued the Edict of Thessalonica and banned Pagan practices in lieu of Christian ones. Thanks, buddy.

That’s it!

And the cycle begins again.

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again.”

Robert Jordan

What do you think?

Let me know how you celebrate the Wheel of the Year!

Comment for others or contact me directly for your personal practices to observe these Sabbats.

And don’t forget to subscribe so you always get here first for more witchy content!