Wheel of the Year
— by Selena Fox
The ancient Celts measured the Solar year on a Wheel, circle or spiral, which symbolzed for them the whole Universe: a vast Wheel whose rolling could be seen in the cycles of heavenly bodies and in the progression of the seasons--their image of time was thus cyclical, not linear as we think of it now. Such wheels were used as magical protective emblems on their shields, helmets, houses and weapons. Celtic gods exhibited spirals on their hands, foreheads or by their sides; altars and tombstones were decorated with them. Arianrhod was a Celtic Goddess designated the Lady of the Silver Wheel whose hub was the Revolving Castle, Caer Sidi, hidden in the underground spirit-land of Annwyn. Celtic heroes of old rode upon the silver wheel, which dipped into the sea, to Emania, the Moon's Land of Death.
There were four major divisions of the ancient Celtic Year which corresponded to the Spring (Vernal) Equinox, the Summer Solstice, the Autumn Equinox, and the Winter Solstice--each of these had a distinct characteristic. The celebrations were associated with the life cycles of the Celtic dieties. God was divided into the Masculine and Feminine: the Masculine was seen as a Great King, or a youthful Prince, a Hunter or a Trickster--He courted the Goddess, and married Her, so She could give birth to the new SunChild. The Mother aspect of God had three major faces: the young Virgin, the fruitful Mother, and the wise Crone. These dieties and their relationships played a large role in the understanding of the cycle of Life, and so were also part of the Great Wheel of the Year.
The ancient Celtic Year began with the coming of the Vernal Equinox in Springtime-- "equinox" referring to that time of the year when the Sun crosses the plane of the Earth's equator, making night and day equal length all over the planet. Crops were typically sown at this time, known as 'Lady Day' or Eostre, which took place on the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox and marked the fullness of the Earth and the triumph of the Sun over Winter. The Church's feast of Easter, celebrating when Jesus Christ arose truimphant over Death, is named after this feast. Prior to Easter, the Church prepares with the Lenten season, a time of meditation and sacrifice. The white rabbit, an animal representing fertility, and the decorated Egg, symbolizing the Sun's triumph & the wheel of eternity, fit well with this holiday.
Litha was the feast which took place on June 21 and marks the shortest, brightest night of the year--it is the beginning of the Sun's waning toward Yule. The Summer Solstice marked the Earth's full-flowering, when the crops had reached the height of maturity, and the lands of the Celts glowed with new green. Also called Midsummer's Day, it was traditionally celebrated out in the forest and involved masquerades, picnics, games--such as a reenactment of the Holly & Oak King's great duel for the hand of the Virgin Goddess--she who would become the fruitful Mother of Autumn, and, at night, bonfires and dancing--Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream" gives one an idea of the riotous kind of atmosphere this time provoked.
Mabon, the time of the Autumn Equinox, takes place on September 21 and marks the last harvest before Winter claims the Earth, to cover her in a blanket of whiteness and silence. The ancient Celts saw this as a time of celebrating the bounty the Earth had given them. The giver was personified as the Mother Goddess, who with the fruitfulness of the womb, had made a great Gift to mankind of wheat, corn, oats and all the fruits of field and tree. One of the Goddess' incarnations, Bridget, had 19 priestesses who kept alive a sacred Fire at Kildaire in Ireland, as a shrine to her. Sacrifices of a part of the Harvest was given to the Grain Lord--he who would be laid in the Earth to arise again-- bonfires were lit, honey-mead was drunk and the Harvest stored for the coming Winter.
The feast of the Winter Solstice was called Yule and took place about December 21; it marked the longest, darkest night of the year. Hot apple cider and, sweetened cakes, filled with dried fruit saved from sunnier days were favorite treats at Yule; and homes were decorated with holly and pine boughs; mistletoe, sacred to the Great Mother was hung--kissing is a mild token of her Fertility Rites. Yule was a celebration of waxing solar light, and in honor of the divine Sun child an Oaken Yule log decorated with holly was burned. The old Holly King gave up his Life to make way for the reborn Sun Child: Yule celebrated the sleep of death of the old King, and the womb-sleep & birth of his newest incarnation. Because the exact date of the birth for Jesus Christ-the King of Light to all Christians- is unknown, the Church assigned it to this time, a date already sacred to ancient peoples.
There were four other Feasts celebrated throughout the Year, not quite as Great as the previous ones, but important nonetheless.
Beltane is a celebration of the return of life and fertility to the world which takes place on the first of May. The word "Beltane" means "brilliant fire," and refers to the bonfire lit in honor of the Celtic god known as Bel, the god of light, fire and healing,another form of Cernunnos. The bonfires were the "tein-eigin", fire made from the friction of two pieces of sacred wood. In ancient Ireland, no one could light a Bel-fire until the Ard Ri, High King, had lit the first on Tara Hill. Cattle would be driven between these two fires to protect them from disease, ensuring a high milk yield. A May Pole fertility dance also took place. Usually made from a Yule tree, its branches were stripped and red & white ribbons were attached to its top-men and women danced around the pole, holding onto the ribbons and interweaving them as they went round.
Lughnasadh, or the Feast of Bread belonged to the god Lugh and was celebrated on August 1: it coincides with the beginning of the harvest and signifies the death of Bel, the Corn King. In Ireland, Lugh also is referred to as Lugh of the Long Hand, prince of the Sun. Circular Harvest Dances were held where the cheiftains of the tribe wore horned headpieces--this was to honor the god Lugh, who loved games and competitive sports to keep up the phyical vigor of his worhippers. Corncakes were made in the shape of the CornKing's body, and a special ale produced from the first harvested ears of corn--these were consumed in a ceremony to honor the King who gave his life so that the people could have food--a prehisoric Communion rite.
When the last apples were picked & the last ears of corn harvested, the Earth rested so that her fertility could be renewed. Also called Hallowe'en, this festival began on October 31, and was used to remember the Dead, and to fertilize the earth with animal sacrifices--it was a clear distinction between the joys of Harvest and the hardships of the approaching Winter. Samhain was a time when the veil between the world of the Sidhe-the Fairy folk-and humankind grew thin, and so grew up traditions of casting fortunes on this night, hoping for a clear view into the Future. The assemblies of the five Irish provinces at Tara Hill, the seat of the Irish king, took place at Samhain, marked by horse races, fairs & markets, political discussions and ritual mourning for the passage of Summer.
Celebrated on or around February 1, Imbolc is also known as Oimelc or Brigid's Feast. This mid-Winter feast day symbolized the first stirring of the Earth from its icy sleep and was the time for caring of the sheep in ancient Ireland. Brigid was an incarnation of the Great Mother--reborn each spring at the navel of the earth, the sacred Oimelc, or Well--she was patroness of poetry, healing and metalsmithing: she rekindled the fire in the Earth, preparing it for new life, which was manifested by the first milk of the ewes, a few weeks before the lambing season. Brigid was seen as a young Virgin, and Celts came to associate her with the Virgin Mary, leading to such names for the feast as Gwyl Mair Dechrau'r, "The Feast of Mary of the Beginning of Spring", also known in the Church as Candlemas, when candles-in ancient connection with the fire goddess-were brought to Church to be blessed. Sabbats are wiccan holidays. The Wiccan year begins after Samhain according to the Celtic almanac.
The Goddess gives birth to a son, the God, at Yule. Yule is a time of the greatest darkness and is the shortest day of the year. Since the God is also the Sun, this marks the point of the year when the Sun is reborn as well.Thus, the Wicca light fires or candles to welcome the Sun's returning light. The Goddess, slumbering through the winter of Her labor, rests after Her delivery. To contemporary Wiccans it is a reminder that the ultimate product of death is rebirth.
Imbolc marks the recovery of the Goddess after giving birth to the God. The lengthening periods of light awaken Her. The God is a young, lusty boy, but His power is felt in the longer days. Imbolc is also known as Feast of Torches, Oimelc, Lupercalia and Brigid´s day.
Ostara, or Spring Equinox marks the first day of true spring. The Goddess blankets the Earth with fertility, bursting forth from Her sleep, as the God stretches and grows to maturity. On Ostara the hours of day and night are equal. Light is overtaking darkness.
Beltane marks the emergence of the young God into manhood. Stirred by the energies at work in nature, He desires the Goddess. They fall in love, lie among the grasses and blossoms, and unite. The Goddess becomes pregnant of the God. The Wiccans celebrate the symbol of Her fertility in ritual. The flowers and greenery symbolize the Goddess; the May Pole the God. Beltane marks the return of vitality, of passion and hopes consummated.
Midsummer, also known as Litha, arrives when the powers of nature reach their highest point. The Earth is awash in the fertility of the Goddess and God. Midsummer is a classic time for magic of all kinds.
Lughnasadh is the time of the first harvest, when the plants of spring wither and drop their fruits or seed for our use as well as to ensure future crops. Mystically, so too does the God lose His strength as the Sun rises farther in the South each day and the nights grow longer. The Goddess watches in sorrow and joy as She realizes that the God is dying, and yet lives on inside Her as Her child.
Mabon is the completion of the harvest begun at Lughnasadh. Once again day and night are equal, poised as the God prepares to leave His physical body and begin the great adventure into the unseen, toward renewal and rebirth of the Goddess. Nature declines, draws back its bounty, readying for winter and its time of rest The Goddess nods in the weakening sun, though fire burns within Her womb. She feels the presence of the god even as He wanes.
At Samhain, the Wicca say farewell to the God. This is a temporary farewell. he isn't wrapped in eternal darkness, but readies to be reborn of the Goddess at Yule. Samhain is a time of reflection, of looking back over the last year, of coming to terms with the one phenomenon of life over which we no control - death. The Wicca feel that on this night the separation between the physical and spiritual realities is thin. Wiccans remember their ancestors and all those who have gone before.
There are many myths concerning the origins of the Goddess and the God and their role in the seasons of nature. This is known as the wheel of the year.
At Yule (December 21) the Goddess gives birth to her Son, the God. This is also the origin of the idea that Jesus and Mithras were born at this time of year. Yule is a time of greatest darkness and is the shortest day of the year. Earlier peoples noticed such changes and supplicated the forces of nature to lengthen the days and shorten the nights. Witches sometimes celebrate Yule just before dawn, then watch the Sun rise as a fitting finale to their efforts. Since the God is also the Sun, this marks the point of the year when the Sun is reborn as well. Thus, Witches light fires or candles to welcome the Sun's returning light. The Goddess, slumbering through the winter of Her labour, rests. At Yule, We celebrate the return journey of the Sun, and the life it will bring.
At Imbolc (February 2) the Goddess recovers from the birth and the God's strength is increasing with the waxing power of the sun. Imbolc traditionally marked the calving period, when the animals would begin to bear milk for their young. For Witches, it is a time of creativity and inspiration, and is associated with the Celtic Goddess Brigid. This is a Sabbat of purification after the darkness of winter, through the renewing power of the sun. It is also a festival of light and of fertility, once marked with huge blazes, torches and fire in every form. Fire here represents our own illumination and inspiration as much as lite and warmth. This is a traditional time for initiations and dedications.
By Ostara (Spring Equinox), which marks the first day of spring, the Goddess regains her strength and works her magick. the hours of day and night are equal. Light is overtaking darkness, and the young God is now maturing. Also called Eostra's Day (after the Celtic Spring Goddess), this day marks the shift from the slowness of winter to the fruitfulness of the new season. The Goddess envelopes the land with fertility, bursting forth from every corner. As we walk the greening fields, we can delight in the new abundance of nature. This is a time of beginnings, of action, of planting spells for future gains, and of tending ritual gardens. Now is a time of new starts, as we travel through the gateway into the realm of warmth and light.
At Beltane (May 1), when Nature is truly flourishing, the Goddess and God unite. This ensures the abundance of the next harvest and the continuation of life. Witches celebrate the symbol of the Goddess's fertility in ritual. Also known as May Day, Beltane has long been celebrated with feasts and rituals and the dancing of the Maypole. Many people would rise at dawn to gather flowers and green branches from the fields and gardens, using them to decorate their homes and themselves. The flowers and greenery symbolize the Goddess; the May pole, the God. Beltane marks the return of vitality, of passion, and hope. It is a time of love and great celebration, and we cherish the joys which life offers us.
By Midsummer (Summer Solstice), the God is at the peak of his power, as is all of Nature's bounty. It is the high time of the Sun and is marked with festivals of light. Also known as Litha, summer arrives when the powers of nature reach their highest point. The Earth is awash in the fertility of the Goddess and God. In the past, bonfires were leapt to incourage fertility, purification, health and love. The fire once again represents the Sun, feted on this time of the longest day of the year. Midsummer is a classic time for magick of all kinds.
Lughnasadh (August 1) was the time the ancients gave thanks for the first fruits of the harvest. The summer is waning and the God has become the God of sacrifice, being cut down in the fields. It is a time sacred to the God Lugh and for giving thanks for what we have and making offerings of gratitude. As summer passes, we remember its warmth and bounty in the food we eat. Every meal is an act of attunement with nature, and we are reminded that nothing in the universe is constant.
At Mabon (Autumn Equinox) the light begins to grow less, and the God, cut down in the corn and wheat, begins his journey to the Otherworld. This is the completion of the harvest begun at Lughnasadh. Once again day and night are equal, poised as the God begins the great adventure into the unseen, toward renewal and rebirth of the Goddess. Nature declines, draws back its bounty, readying for winter and its time of rest. The Goddess nods in the weakening Sun, though fire burns within her womb. She feels the presence of the God even as he wanes. It is the final harvest, when the fields are clear of their bounty. We now make ready for the Winter to come. It is a time of balance.
Samhain (October 31), marks the Pagan new year, and commonly know as Halloween. The veil between the worlds of life and death is thin on this night. Also known as November Eve, Feast of the Dead, Feast of Apples, Samhain once marked the time of sacrifice. In some places this was the time when animals were slaughtered to ensure food throughout the depths of winter. Identified with the animals, the God fell as well to ensure continuing existence. Samhain is a time of reflection, of looking back over the last year, of coming to terms with the one aspect of life over which we have no control; death. Witches remember their ancestors and all those who have gone before this night, for like the God who gaves his life up to the land, the same land will rise again.
The wheel turns again, for Samhain back to Yule. The story of the life, death and rebirth of the God is the story of the land and the crops, and the everchanging Goddess. It is also the story of each of us and the lives we live.
In the Craft, we make a lot of use of the circle as a symbol, in no little part because so much of our particular vision of the way the Universe works involves cycles that repeatedly return to their points of origin. We envision the progress of the year in this way, as an endless turning of one season into another into another, always moving yet unchanging, in that everything always happens in the same order, Spring after Winter, Summer after Spring, and so on. Some poetic soul somewhere, somewhen, likened the turning of the seasons to the turning of a wheel, and the metaphor of the Wheel of the Year has now passed into common usage within the Craft. The fact that we modern Wiccans celebrate eight seasonal festivals at roughly equal intervals throughout the year only makes the image of the year as a Wheel all the more attractive, as it lends itself to being drawn out as an eight-spoked wheel. (Yes, I *do* know that the Buddhists use an eight-spoked wheel as one of their religious symbols. I not aware of any connection between the two ideas, and feel absolutely no inclination whatsoever to speculate on the matter. This is either entirely coincidental, or the result of a connection and cross-fertilization with which I am not yet prepared to deal.)
One of the important things to remember about the Wheel is that it *never* stops turning. The Wheel itself has no beginning of which any of us is aware, and it has no end which we can foresee. We may speak of a year as having a beginning and an end, because we are human and have this odd compulsion to measure time, but the Wheel keeps turning, regardless of what we may do. It helps, sometimes, on those cold grey days in January, to remind oneself that the Wheel *is* turning, and Spring *will* indeed come 'round again.
The eight Wiccan major holidays, (which are referred to in some traditions as Sabbats,) can be divided into two groups of four: the Quarter Days, which are observed on or near the solstices and the equinoxes; and the Cross-Quarter Days, which are observed roughly halfway between the Quarter Days, on or about the ends of January, April, July, and October. Some times you will see these holidays shown as taking place on the first day of the months following the ones mentioned immediately above: i.e., Beltane on the 1st day of May, and it is not unknown for people to have serious arguments about whether Lammas should more properly be celebrated on July 31 or August 1. Which is a bit silly, since of old these festivals were occasioned *not* by the passage of days marked on a calendar, but by events that took place in the everyday lives of the celebrants.
Something that helps sometimes, in working with the concept of the Wheel and its eight festivals, is to imagine that one is part of a primitive society, without all our modern scientific knowldge and records and calendars and almanacs. When all one has with which to measure the passage of time is the passage of the days and the turning of the seasons, one begins to place great significance in events previously considered to be of minor importance. Look at each of the feasts in the Wheel, and think about what is happening in the world around the celebrants as the time for the feast draws near, and you will draw new insights into the meaning of, and the reason for the feast.
As the Wheel of the Year turns, life ebbs and flows in the world. As Witches, we follow and celebrate this pattern in our Sabbats. We rejoice in the spiral of life; birth, death, and rebirth.
The Witch's year begins at Samhain on October 31st. The Goddess is Crone and the God is truly the Lord of the Dead as he passes from this world to the Summerlands. We celebrate his passing and remember our own friends and loved ones who have gone from our lives. This is a happy time, with the promise of new life in the expecting Goddess.
The Wheel then turns to Yule, celebrated on the Winter Solstice, usually around December 21st. This is the darkest day of the year and we celebrate the birth of the God as the Sun or Oak King. We welcome the returning of the Sun, knowing that the worst of the Winter season is over.
The Wheel next turns to the celebration of Imbolc. This is the time of the year when the cows, goats, and similar animals have given birth and are referred to as being "in milk", a literal translation of the term Imbolc. The Goddess herself is in milk at this time, having just given birth the God at Yule. The Goddess is a young and beautiful Mother, full of life and promise.
Ostara, or Lady Day, is the next celebration on the Wheel of the Year, which takes place on the Vernal Equinox, the first day of Spring. This Sabbat celebrates the fertility of the world, as it awakes from its Winter hibernation. Ostara is a specific celebration for the Saxon Goddess of Fertility, Eostre. Her festival included may representations found in the Christian Easter celebration, even a similar name. Many witches these days celebrate the Equinox as Lady Day, honoring the fertility of the Goddess in general and worshipping our dedicated Goddess.
On April 30 - May 1, we witches celebrate the Festival of Beltane. The God child has grown into a viurtal young man. Now that the young Lord is able to survive on his own, the Goddess is viewed as the beautiful Maiden. It is during this Festival that the Young Lord and Beautiful Maiden come together for the Divine Marriage, and the Goddess conceives the new God, the Sun King, to whom she will give birth at the Winter Solstice at the Yule Festival.
Samhain
- Also called: Halloween, All Hallows Eve, All Saints & All Souls,
Day of the Dead - dates: October 31, early November
- colors: black, orange, indigo
- tools: votive candles, magic mirror, cauldron, pumpkins,
divination tools - energy: death & transformation; Wiccan new year
- goddesses: Crone, Hecate
- gods: Horned Hunter, Cernnunos, Anubis
- rituals: honoring ancestors, releasing old, foreseeing future, understanding death and rebirth
- customs: jack o'lanterns, spirit plate, ancestor altar, divination, costumes
Winter Solstice
- Also called: Yule, Jul, Saturnalia, Christmas, solar/secular New Year
- dates: around December 21 colors: red, green, white
- tools: mistletoe, evergreen wreath, lights, gifts, holly, Yule log, Yule tree
- energy: regeneration & renewal
- goddesses: Great Mother, Isis, Mary, Tonazin, Lucina, Bona Dea
- gods: Sun Child, Horus, Jesus, Mithras, Santa/Odin, Saturn, Holly King
- rituals: personal renewal, world peace, honoring family & friends
- customs: wreaths, lights, gift-giving, singing, feasting, resolutions
Candlemas
- Also called: Imbolc, Oimelc, Brigid's Day; merged with Lupercalia/Valentines Day
- dates: February 2, early February
- colors: white, red
- tools: candles, seeds, Brigid wheel, milk
- energy: conception, initiation, inspiration
- goddesses: Brigid, Maiden
- gods: Groundhog, other creatures emerging from hibernation; young Sun
- rituals: creative inspiration, purification, initiation, candle work, house & temple blessings
- customs: lighting candles, seeking omens of Spring, cleaning house, welcoming Brigid
Spring Equinox
- Also called: Ostara, St. Patrick's Day, Easter
- dates: around March 21
- colors: green, yellow
- tools: eggs, basket, green clothes
- energy: birthing, sprouting, greening
- goddesses: Ostara, Kore, Maiden
- gods: Hare, Green Man
- rituals: breakthrough, new growth, new projects, seed blessings
- customs: wearing green, egg games, new clothes, egg baskets
Beltane
- Also called: May Eve, May Day, Walspurgis Night
- dates: April 30, early May
- colors: rainbow spectrum, blue, green, pastels, all colors
- tools: Maypole & ribbons, flower crowns, fires, bowers, fields
- energy: youthful play, exhuberance, sensuality, pleasure
- goddesses: May Queen, Flora
- gods: May King, Jack in the Green
- rituals: love, romance, fertility, crop blessings, creativity endeavors
- customs: dancing Maypole, jumping fire, mating, flower baskets
Summer Solstice
- Also called: Midsummer, Litha, St. John's Day
- dates: around June 21
- colors: yellow, gold, rainbow colors
- tools: bonfires, Sun wheel, Earth circles of stone energy: partnership
- goddesses: Mother Earth, Mother Nature
- gods: Father Sun/Sky, Oak King
- rituals: community, career, relationships, Nature Spirit communion, planetary wellness
- customs: bonfires, processions, all night vigil, singing, feasting, celebrating with others
Lammas
- Also called: Lughnassad
- dates: August 2, early August
- colors: orange, yellow, brown, green
- tools: sacred loaf of bread, harvested herbs, bonfires
- energy: fruitfulness, reaping prosperity
- goddesses: Demeter, Ceres, Corn Mother
- gods: Grain God, Lugh, John Barleycorn
- rituals: prosperity, generosity, continued success
- customs: offering of first fruits/grains, games, country fairs
Fall Equinox
- Also called: Mabon, Michaelmas
- dates: around September 21
- colors: orange, red, brown, purple, blue
- tools: cornucopia, corn, harvested crops
- energy: appreciation & harvest
- goddesses: Bona Dea, Land Mother
- gods: Mabon, Sky Father
- rituals: thanksgiving, harvest, introspection
- customs: offerings to land, preparing for cold weather, bringing in harvest