Yule
Approx. Dec 21
Winter Solstice, Saturnalia, Alban Arthan
The holiday of Yule was celebrated long before Christians adopted
the date. Many of the Christmas traditions we see today stem from
old Pagan customs. As the solstice, it is the longest night of the
year. From this day forward, light begins to return and we
celebrate the rebirth of the Sun God.
Traditions: lighting the Yule log, wreath making, gift
giving
Correspondences: pine, holly, myrrh, cinnamon,
Imbolc
Feb 2
Candlemas, Imbolg, Brigid's Day
Imbolc is a day to celebrate the first glimpses of Spring, and it
is also dedicated to the Celtic Goddess Brigid. Non-Pagans
celebrate today as Groundhog Day. Make new starts in life, as you
give your home a thorough cleaning. This
one of the four principal festivals of the Wiccan calendar,
celebrated either at the beginning of February or at the first local
signs of Spring. Originally dedicated to the goddess
Brigid, in
the Christian period it was adopted as St
Brigid's Day.
Traditions: Burning fires and candles, cleaning, making a
bed for Brigid For the
Celts, Beltane marked the beginning of the pastoral summer season
when the herds of livestock were driven out to the summer pastures
and mountain grazing lands. In modern Irish, Mí na Bealtaine ('month
of Bealtaine') is the name for the month of May. The name of the
month is often abbreviated to Bealtaine, with the festival
day itself being known as Lá Bealtaine. The lighting of
bonfires on Oidhche Bhealtaine ('the eve of Bealtaine')
on mountains and hills is important at this time.
Correspondences: carnation, rosemary, chamomile, milk
Ostara
Approx. March 21
Spring Equinox, Lady Day
This is another holiday that has been overlaid with Christian
meanings (Easter). Eggs and bunnies are typical symbols,
representing new birth and new life. Plant the seeds of long-term
goals.
Traditions: Colouring eggs, decorating with flowers
Correspondences: jasmine, daffodil, lotus, new spring
flowers
Beltane
May 1
May Day, Walpurgis Night
The God born at Yule is now a man, and the sacred marriage between
God and Goddess is consumated. Beltane is a celebration of
fertility, growth, love and passion. However you celebrate
Beltane, do it with joy and happiness.
Traditions: Dancing around the May Pole, lighting bonfires
Correspondences: Rose, lilac, vanilla
Midsummer
Approx. June 21
Litha, Summer Solstice, Whitsun
Midsummer is the longest day of the year, and the strength of the
Sun God begins to wane. The Goddess has left her Maiden form of
Imbolc and is now in her Mother aspect. Refill your herb
collection for the coming year.
Traditions: Fairy magick, collecting herbs
Correspondences: Orange, lemon, honeysuckle, vervain
Lammas
August 1
Lughnasadh,
As the first of the three harvest festivals, much of the symbolism
for Lammas revolves around grains and bread. Sacrifices were
common, though mostly symbolic, in order to ensure the continued
success of the harvest.
Traditions: Bread baking, making corn dollies
Correspondences: corn, sandalwood, heather
Lughnasadh
marked the beginning of the harvest season, the ripening of first
fruits, and was traditionally a time of community gatherings, market
festivals, horse races and reunions with distant family and friends.
Among the Irish it was a favored time for
handfastings
- trial marriages that would generally last a year and a day, with
the option of ending the contract before the new year, or later
formalizing it as a more permanent marriage.
Mabon
Approx. Sept 21
Autumn Equinox, Cornucopia
Day and night are equal again, and the weather grows colder as
winter approaches. This is the second harvest festival. Rituals of
thanks at this time have brought about the modern holidays of
Thanksgiving. Take some time to think about what you are thankful
for.
Traditions: Making and drinking of wine, share with the
less fortunate
Correspondences: grapes, blackberries, cedar, patchouli
Samhain
Oct 31
Hallowe'en, All Hallows
Samhain (SOW-en) is the one Sabbat that is also widely celebrated
amongst non-Pagans. The God has died, and the Goddess mourns him
until his rebirth at Yule. It's the last harvest festival, and the
end of the Wiccan year.
The Samhain celebrations have
survived in several guises as a festival dedicated to the
harvest and the dead. In Ireland and Scotland, the Féile na
Marbh, the 'festival of the dead' took place on Samhain.
The night of Samhain, in
Irish, Oíche Shamhna and Scots Gaelic, Oidhche
Shamhna, is one of the principal festivals of the Celtic
calendar, and falls on the 31st of October. It represents
the final harvest. In modern Ireland and Scotland, the name
by which Halloween is known in the Gaelic language is still
Oíche/Oidhche Shamhna. It is still the custom in some
areas to set a place for the dead at the Samhain feast, and
to tell tales of the ancestors on that night
Traditionally, Samhain was
time to take stock of the herds and grain supplies, and
decide which animals would need to be slaughtered in order
for the people and livestock to survive the winter. This
custom is still observed by many who farm and raise livestoc
Bonfires played a large
part in the festivities celebrated down through the last
several centuries, and up through the present day in some
rural areas of the Celtic nations and the diaspora.
Villagers were said to have cast the bones of the
slaughtered cattle upon the flames. In the pre-Christian
Gaelic world, cattle were the primary unit of currency and
the center of agricultural and pastoral life. Samhain was
the traditional time for slaughter, for preparing stores of
meat and grain to last through the coming winter. The word
'bonfire', or 'bonefire' is a direct translation of the
Gaelic tine cnámh. With the bonfire ablaze, the
villagers extinguished all other fires. Each family then
solemnly lit its hearth from the common flame, thus bonding
the families of the village together. Often two bonfires
would be built side by side, and the people would walk
between the fires as a ritual of purification. Sometimes the
cattle and other livestock would be driven between the fires
for good luck and prosperity.
Divination, usually
involving apples and nuts, is a common folkloric practice
that has also survived in rural areas. The most common uses
were to determine the identity of one's future spouse, the
location of one's future home, and how many children a
person might have. Children would also chase crows and
divine some of these things from the direction the birds
flew.
Traditions: Divination, honouring the dead, carving
Jack o' Lanterns
Correspondences: pumpkins, apples, sage, mugwort
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