The Wheel of the Year
The Wheel of the Year is a modern Pagan term for the annual cycle of the Earth's seasons. It consists of eight festivals, spaced at approximately even intervals throughout the year. These festivals are often referred to as Sabbats /ˈsæbət/. While the term Sabbat originated from Judaism and is of Hebrew origin, the festivals themselves have historical origins in Celtic and Germanic pre-Christian feasts. These festivals are understood by some neo-pagans to be the Bronze Age religious festivals of Europe. As with all cultures' use of festivals and traditions, these festivals have been utilized by European cultures in both the pre- and post-Christian eras as traditional times for the community to celebrate the planting and harvest seasons. The Wheel of the Year has been important to many people both ancient and modern, from various religious as well as cultural and secular viewpoints.
Celtic Festivals
Samhain
Winter Solstice (Midwinter, Yule)
Imbolc
SpringEquinox (Ostara)
Beltane
Midsummer (Summer Solstice)
Lughnasadh (Lammas)
Autumn Equinox (Mabon)
Resources: *Not Scholarly
http://paganpages.org/content/
http://acbalsmoon.blogspot.com/
http://www.chalicecentre.net/celtic_festivals.htm
For many of us, finding time to celebrate the sabbats can be a challenge, even in the summer months. Just trying to find the time to do all the usual things we have to do between work and home can make finding time to fit in a sabbat ritual tough! Many times we forget that honoring the seasons and deity do not have to be a huge celebration, fancy rituals and huge feasts. Of course the sabbats can be one or all of those things, but do they have to be? Of course not. Honoring the change of season can be as simple as a candle lit, a prayer said, and a toast made. Just 5 minutes out of your day to reconnect with your beliefs, your culture and the earth.
Samhain
Samhain (pronounced “sah-ween”) comes from the Gaelic term “Samhuin”. Samhain is the Celtic New Year and means “summer’s end”.
History of Samhain
This celebration began at sundown on October 31st and ended at sundown of November 1st. It is celebrated on the eve of November 1 as the Celts measured the day from sunset to sunset. The Celtic year began with its dark winter half, when the Earth rested and fertility was renewed. Samhain (pronounced /sow-en/) was a time when spirits could mix freely with humans, when the veil between the physical world and the Otherworld was thin. This suspension of time extended to the laws of society, so that many kinds of boisterous behavior could be indulged. The cattle and sheep had been brought in from the fields, the crops harvested and leaves are falling, ushering in a new season, winter. The Samhain feast marked the distinction between the joys of Harvest and the hardships of the approaching winter. Samhain was a time of divination and a time of adjustment from outdoor to indoor activities, many of which split down gender lines.
· In the eighth century, the Catholic Church took November 1st and turned it into Allhallows Mass then eventually All Saints Day. This was the day to celebrate the saints that did not have a day on their own. The church was competing with the pagans who were already celebrating the dead and their ancestors.
· Samhain originated as a pastoral festival, held to assist the tribe's fertility, to honor the ancestors, provide protection from evil forces, and repay the gods (and later the saints who replaced them) for the tribe's plentiful Harvest. A portion of the crops also may have been left in the fields unharvested, the due given to the spirits of the land. In some areas, several beasts were sacrificed whose life-energy was believed to replenish the soil.
· At sunset on October 31, clans or local villages begin the formal ceremonies of Samhain by lighting a giant bonfire. The people would gather around the fire to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. It was a method of giving the Gods and Goddesses their share of the previous years herd or crops. In addition these sacred fires were a big part of the cleansing of the old year and a method to prepare for the coming New Year.
During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, and danced around the bonfire. Many of these dances told stories or played out the cycles of life and death or commemorated the cycle of Wheel of Life. These costumes were adorned for three primary reasons: The first was to honor the dead who were allowed to rise from the Otherworld. The Celts believed that souls were set free from the land of the dead during the eve of Samhain. Those that had been trapped in the bodies of animals were released by the Lord of the Dead and sent to their new incarnations. The wearing of these costumes signified the release of these souls into the physical world. Not all of these souls were honored and respected. Some were also feared as they would return to the physical world and destroy crops, hide livestock or 'haunt' the living that may have done them wrong. The second reason for these traditional costumes was to hide from these malevolent spirits to escape their trickery. The final representation was a method to honor the Celtic Gods and Goddesses of the harvest, fields and flocks. Through honoring the deities, Celts were giving thanks and homage to those deities who assisted the village or clan through the trials and tribulations of the previous year. And to ask for their favor during the coming year and the harsh winter months that were approaching.
· When the community celebration was over, each family would take a torch or burning ember from the sacred bonfire and return to their own home. The home fires that have been extinguished during the day were re-lit by the flame of the sacred bonfire to help protect the dwelling and its inhabitants during the coming winter. These fires were kept burning night and day during the next several months. It was believed that if a home lost its fire, tragedy and troubles would soon follow.
· Bonfires were built, (originally called bone-fires, for after feasting, the bones were thrown in the fire as offerings for healthy and plentiful livestock in the New Year) and stones were marked with peoples names. Then they were thrown into the fire, to be retrieved in the morning. The condition of the retrieved stone foretold of that person's fortune in the coming year. Hearth fires were also lit from the village bonfire to ensure unity, and the ashes were spread over the harvested fields to protect and bless the land.
· Originally the "Feast of the Dead" was celebrated in Celtic countries by leaving food offerings on altars and doorsteps for the "wandering dead". Today a lot of practitioners still carry out that tradition. Single candles were lit and left in a window to help guide the spirits of ancestors and loved ones home. Extra chairs were set to the table and around the hearth for the unseen guest. Apples were buried along roadsides and paths for spirits who were lost or had no descendants to provide for them. Turnips were hollowed out and carved to look like protective spirits, for this was a night of magic and chaos. The Wee Folke became very active, pulling pranks on unsuspecting humans. Traveling after dark was not advised. People dressed in white (like ghosts), wore disguises made of straw, or dressed as the opposite gender in order to fool the Nature spirits.
Samhain Customs
Ancestor altar, costumes, divination, carving jack-o-lanterns, spirit plate, the Feast of the Dead, feasting, paying debts, drying winter herbs, masks, bonfires, apple games, tricks, honoring and consulting ancestors, releasing the old, understanding death and rebirth, entering the underworld, divination, dance of the dead, fire calling, past life recall, transformation, Wiccan new year, wisdom of the Crone, end of summer, thinning of the veil between worlds, death of the year, night of the Wild Hunt, begin new projects and end old projects
Symbols & Decorations: Apples, autumn flowers, acorns, bat, black cat, bones, corn stalks, colored leaves, crows, death/dying, divination and the tools associated with it, ghosts, gourds, Indian corn, jack-o-lantern, nuts , oak leaves, pomegranates, pumpkins, scarecrows, scythes, waning moon
Foods: Apples, apple dishes, cider, meat (traditionally this is the meat harvest) especially pork, mulled cider with spices, nuts-representing resurrection and rebirth, nuts, pomegranates, potatoes, pumpkins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, roasted pumpkin seeds, roasted pumpkin seeds, squash, fall fruits, fall vegetables and food.
Herbs and Flowers:
Almond, apple leaf , autumn joy sedum, bay leaf, calendula, cinnamon, cloves, garlic, ginger, hazelnut, marigold, mums, mugwort, mullein seeds, nettle, passion flower, pine needles, pumpkin seeds, rosemary (for remembrance of our ancestors), rue, sage, sunflower petals and seeds, tarragon, wild ginseng, and wormwood
Animals:
Stag, cat, bat, owl, jackal, elephant, ram, scorpion, heron, crow, and robin
Colors:
Black, orange, red
Stones/Gems:
Black obsidian, jasper, carnelian, onyx, smoky quartz, jet, bloodstone
Goddesses: The Crone, Hecate(Greek), Cerridwen (Welsh-Scottish), Arianrhod (Welsh), Caillech (Irish-Scottish), Baba Yaga (Russian), Bast (Egyptian), Al-Ilat (persian), Persephone (Greek), Hel(Norse), Kali (Hindu), all Death & Otherworld Goddesses
Gods: Horned Hunter(European), Cernnunos (Greco-Celtic), Osiris(Egyptian), Hades (Greek), Gwynn ap Nudd (British), Anubis(Egyptian), Coyote Brother (Native American), Loki (Norse), Dis (Roman), Arawn (Welsh), acrificial/Dying/Aging Gods, Death and Otherworld Gods
Samhain Revival
· A time to honor ancestors and the life cycle. If you’ve ever done genealogy research, or if you’ve had a loved one die in the past year, this is the perfect night to celebrate their memory.
· If you want to celebrate Samhain in the Celtic tradition, spread the festivities out over three consecutive days. You can hold a ritual and feast each night. Be flexible, though, so you can work around trick-or-treating schedules!
· This is a good time for us to look at wrapping up the old and preparing for the new in our lives. Think about the things you did in the last twelve months. Have you left anything unresolved? If so, now is the time to wrap things up. Once you’ve gotten all that unfinished stuff cleared away, and out of your life, then you can begin looking towards the next year.
· A time to wrap up the old and prepare for new things. The earth is slowly dying around us and this marks the cycle of life. Take stock and look at things you want closure, termination with or resolution. This is the end of the last twelve months (Celtic calendar) and a time to start anew.
· Beginning at sunset on October 31st celebrates and have feasts for 3 nights to honor the dead, your ancestors and to have closure with the last twelve months.
· Burn Incense: Copal, sandalwood, mastic resin, sweet grass, wormwood, mugwort, sage, myrrh or patchouli
· Use any of the above customs to create new traditions, feasts or rituals to honor your heritage.
Midwinter
Christmas is the Christian name for Winter Solstice or Midwinter. Yule is another name for Winter Solstice.
History of Winter Solstice
The solstice was a special moment of the cycle of the year as astronomy directed many events and traditions during ancient times. Communities were not guaranteed to live through winter and lived off of the work of the previous months. Starvation was common in winter between January and April, also known as the famine months. In temperate climates, the midwinter festival was the last feast celebration, before deep winter began. Most cattle were slaughtered so they would not have to be fed during the winter. Wine and beer made during the previous months was fermented and ready for drinking. Winter solstice is the start of the solar year and concepts of the birth or rebirth of sun gods are central to this celebration. Most of the customs, lore, symbols, and rituals associated with "Christmas" actually are linked to Winter Solstice celebrations of ancient Pagan cultures.
· In old Europe, it was known as Yule, from the Norse, Jul, meaning wheel. Today, many people in Western-based cultures refer to this holiday as "Christmas” but its roots are Pagan.
· Emperor Aurelian established December 25 as the birthday of the "Invincible Sun" in the third century as part of the Roman Winter Solstice celebrations.
· Shortly thereafter, in 273, the Christian church selected this day to represent the birthday of Jesus, and by 336, this Roman solar feast day was Christianized.
· January 6, celebrated as Epiphany in Christendom and linked with the visit of the Magi, was originally an Egyptian date for the Winter Solstice.
· Mistletoe, which was sacred because it mysteriously grew on the most sacred tree, the oak, was ceremoniously cut and a spray given to each family, to be hung in the doorways as good luck. To hang it over a doorway or in a room was to offer goodwill to visitors. Kissing under the mistletoe was a pledge of friendship. Mistletoe is still forbidden in most Christian churches because of its Pagan associations, but it has continued to have a special place in home celebrations.
Winter Solstice Customs
Lá an Dreoilín, Wren day (Celtic, Irish, Welsh, Manx)
For an unknown period, Lá an Dreoilín or Wren day has been celebrated in Ireland, the Isle of Man and Wales on December 26. Crowds of people, called wren boys, take to the roads in various parts of Ireland, dressed in motley clothing, wearing masks or straw suits and accompanied by musicians. Previously the practice involved the killing of a wren, and singing songs while carrying the bird from house to house, stopping in for food and merriment.
Mummer's Day, Montol (Celtic, Cornish people)
Mummer's Day referencing the animist garbs, or Darkie Day referencing the soot facing ritual, is an ancient Cornish midwinter celebration that occurs every year on December 26 and New Year's Day in Padstow, Cornwall. It was originally part of the pagan heritage of midwinter celebrations that were regularly celebrated all over Cornwall where people would guise dance and disguise themselves by blackening up their faces or wearing masks. In Penzance the festival has been given the name Montol believing it to be the Celtic Cornish word for Winter solstice.