Wheel of the Year

Hey guys!

One of the first things every new witch should be aware of is the holidays. It doesn't matter if you're pagan (which i identify most as) or Wiccan or any other kind of witch, you can still celebrate each holiday.

Before each i will do a blog for suggested activities and then after i will do a blog to explain how i celebrated so for now lets just cover each holiday and their meaning!

Samhain

Lets start with my favourite holiday in my favourite time of year! Samhain, known by most of the Western sphere as Halloween. The 31st of October to the 1st of November, this festival marks the end of harvest. it falls halfway between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice. Autumn is always a magical time for me, i love how the leaves fall from the trees all different shades of orange, making the ground look pretty. And we cant forget the way the leaves crunch as you walk across them!

Samhain (pronounced 'sow' 'win') is and ancient pagan festival as a way to usher in the darker half of the year. Barriers between worlds are often at their weakest during this time making it a perfect time to reach out to your ancestors and the spirits of loved ones,  traditionally offerings are left for faeries/Fae too.

Yule/ Winter Solstice

Next up is the winter Solstice, also known as Yule. This is celebrated from 21st of December to 1st of January and is one of the oldest winter celebrations in the world! It was also celebrated in England a long time before Christianity was so much as a thought, by Celts and Druids, which is one of the reason Christmas traditions are influenced by pagan ones. Yule symbolises the start to the end of winter. Yule starts on the longest night of the year, signalling the days slowly becoming longer and the nights shorter. One of the biggest celebrations of Yule in the world still occurs at Stonehenge,England where pagans, druids and witches still gather by the hundreds to chant, sing and dance.

Imbolc

Next on the list is Imbolc, also known as Brigid's day. This takes place on the 1st and 2nd of February. It marks the beginning of lambing season and the start of new life. The original world 'Imbolg' means 'in the belly', pregnancy among animals is expected in the following weeks, the promise of renewal. Its a time to let go of the past and instead look to the future.

The festival honours the pagan goddess Brigid (Brighid, Bride, Brigit) She is a Goddess of healing, poetry and smithcraft. She is a Goddess of Fire, of the Sun and of the Hearth. She brings fertility to the land and its people and is closely connected to midwives and new-born babies. She is the Triple Goddess, but at Imbolc she is in her Maiden aspect.

Ostara

The next celebration on the wheel is Ostara, the spring Equinox. It takes its name directly from the goddess Ostara/Eostre. This time of year is a point of perfect balance, night and day are equal in length and are in equilibrium. By extension, light and dark, masculine and feminine are also all in balance.

The goddess herself, is the goddess of spring and dawn, the maiden of spring. The christian celebration of Easter also takes its name from this goddess as she was so well beloved.

Beltane

Beltane begins at sunset on the 30th on the 30th April till sunset on the 1st May. It's midway between the spring equinox and summer solstice, the peak of spring. Beltane roughly translates as 'fires of Bel'. Bel is a pagan god associated with Pastoralism. Beltane is a great fire festival. festivities include bonfires, dancing round maypoles and cutting of green boughs and flowers.

Litha/ Summer Solstice

Litha is the opposite to Yule, celebrating the longest day and shortest night of the year. The summer solstice normally occurs on June 20-21. This marks the peak of the growing season and lets people know that harvest is around the corner. Solar deities such as Amaterasu and Ra are often honored as part of this celebration, and many religions observe this holiday.

Lughnasadh

Lughnasagh or Lemmas falls on 1st August, halfway between the summer solstice and autumn equinox. The name of the holiday derives from Old Gaelic and is a combination of Lugh, a Celtic god, and násad, or assembly. This festival honours the Celtic god of light, but it also celebrates his mythical foster mother Tailtiu, who is said to have cleared the lands of Ireland to make way for the planting of crops. In modern times, it a festival of harvest, where traditionally the first crops of the year would traditionally have been reaped.

Mabon

Mabon is celebrated between 21st September and 29th September. This is the Autumn equinox that marks the middle of the harvest. It is a time of equal day and equal night, and for the moment nature is in balance. It is a time to reap what you have sown, of giving thanks for the harvest and the bounty the Earth provides. For finishing up old projects and plans and planting the seeds for new enterprises or a change in lifestyle. Mabon is a time of celebration and balance.