The Pagan Wheel of the Year from Pagan Jewellery

The Pagan Wheel of the Year

Many Pagans enjoy celebrating the coming and going of each season. It keeps us in touch with the natural world and brings a sense of the flow and inter-connectedness of life.

There are eight Sabbats or Festivals in all:

Samhain - October 31st into November 1st

The festival of Samhain, (pronounced Sow-en/Sav-en or Savenya) is more widely known as Halloween. The literal translation of Samhain is summer’s end and it is celebrated October 31st into November 1st.   Samhain is the Celtic or Witches New Year and is generally considered one of the more important celebrations in the wheel of the year.

At this time the veil between this world and the next is at it’s thinnest and loved one’s who have gone ahead find it easier to ‘make contact’ with us.   This is a time to honour them and you may wish to lay a place at your dining table in their memory as a feast for the dead.

Samhain is also a great time for divination as it signifies new beginnings and is a time when the veil between the two worlds is at it's thinnest making it easier to receive messages.

Decorations for this celebration can include carved pumpkins, images of the Goddess in her phase as the Crone and besoms. Colours are as you would expect from this time of year, lots of rich reds, oranges, yellow gold’s and browns. Why not burn Frankincense, Myrrh or Benzoin incense or resins?

Your feast of the dead can include gingerbread, pumpkin pie, apple pie (lots of egg/dairy free recipes available on-line for delicious traditional foods made in harmony with Mother Nature and all her creatures).   And of course a delicious mulled vegan apple cider spiced with nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and cloves.

Yule - 21st/22nd December

Yule - pronounced Ewe-elle is also known as the Winter Solstice, it is the shortest day and the longest night of the year. It is a time to celebrate the return of the Sun to the Earth as it‘s power grows once again.

Many traditions celebrated at Christmas originate from old Yule traditions; tree dressing, the Yule log and giving of gifts being just three examples. Even taking the decorations down within twelve days has roots in old ways with the Yule log being left to smoulder on the hearth for twelve days before being put out.

Green, red and Gold are apt colours for this celebration along with the scent of cinnamon, pine, myrrh, frankincense and cedar.

Imbolc - 1st/2nd February

(Pronounced Im -olc).

This festival falls on the 1st/2nd of February and is a time to celebrate the return of spring! Imbolc is believed to translate as ‘in the belly’ and as this suggests it is a celebration of the fertility of the Earth. As the darkness begins to wane the strength of the sun is returning.

This is also called Brigids Day (pronounced Breed) also known as Bride, Brigit, Brid; she is the Goddess of healing, fire and fertility and candles are traditionally lit in all the windows of one’s home on this night to celebrate the sun. This is of course quite dangerous and it’s more sensible to just light candles in the room you are in! Others believe in putting all the lights on in their homes, even if just for a few seconds - but at Earth Star we don’t encourage this as the planets survival is at stake and such traditions are no longer a good idea as we need to save resources.

Spend some time at Imbolc thinking ahead to your goals and dreams and focus on what you can do to make them happen! This is a time of fertile minds and imaginations - a time to sow the seeds in your mind and tend them into fruition…..

So as the light awakens the Goddess and light returns to Mother Earth celebrate with spiced vegan wines and spicy foods such as a tasty veggie curry!!

Burning Frankincense, Rosemary or Sage is traditional for this festival. Decorate your sacred, peaceful place with a besom and images/symbols that signify Spring for you along with colours for the season such as browns, pinks and reds.

Oestara - 21st/22nd March

Pronounced ‘o-star-a’ it is also known as the Spring or Vernal Equinox, Oestara, Alban Eiler, Eostre and to many these days it is known as the Christian celebration of Easter. It is believed to have been named after the Germanic Goddess Eostre.

On this day light and dark are again of equal length but the light is now gaining strength over the darkness as Winter passes.

This is a lovely time of year to prepare for the return of Spring! Mother Earth is once again becoming fertile as seeds are sown ready for the abundance of the Summer months. It is time to think of our own personal growth and what seeds we can sow within to help us flourish.

So celebrate with symbols of this festival such as sprouting seeds/beans and why not treat yourself to a nice choccie egg or bunny such as ones found on this great website http://www.veganstore.co.uk/easter.html That way you can indulge with a clear conscience as they are free from all products taken from animals. Should you feel a bit guilty for the extra calories this is a great time of year to get out for a walk in nature and enjoy the new buds as new life returns after the rest of Winter…..

Colours for this celebration include green and pastel shades.

Beltaine - 1st May

Known to most as May Day, but also known amongst other names as May Eve and Valpurgis. The ancient festival of Beltaine falls on 30th April/1st May and is a wonderful celebration. The name Beltaine - which translates as "Bel-fire", derives from the Irish Gaelic 'Bealtaine' or the Scottish Gaelic 'Bealtuinn' - the fire of the Celtic God of light.

This is a fire festival and it was (and for some still is) traditional to light great Bel fires at sundown on April 30th - taking care not to disturb/injure any wildlife taking refuge in log piles of course!

Other traditional customs through the years have included Morris dancing, walking the boundary of one's property (known as 'beating the bounds'), dancing, music, feasting and drinking. Young women would bathe their faces in the May morning dew in order to stay young and beautiful. Not forgetting of course the most famous custom of dancing around the Maypole.

This is the first day of Summer so something to celebrate!!

Dress your sacred space in white and get out into nature to feel part of the new life bursting forth from the greenwoods….

This festival is a celebration of the joining of the Goddess with the God and a time to honour life and the fertility of the earth. It is the second time in the year when the veil between the two worlds is at it’s thinnest so is also a great time for divination.

Litha - 21st June

This celebration is also known as the Summer Solstice amongst other names such as Midsummer and Alban Hefin.

Celebrated on or around June 21st this is a festival to rejoice the magnificence of the sun which is at it’s highest point and marks the longest day of the year. This is a time for stories of the Oak King and the Holly King and to celebrate the Goddess - often seen as heavy with child representing the fertility of the harvest yet to come.

So why not get out into nature and enjoy the warmth of the sun (hopefully!) As this is a fire festival bonfires are often lit to celebrate Litha with care of course given not to harm Mother Natures little bugs and beasties (we use a log maker to make paper logs to burn as our log pile is full of little critters!). Be aware of the power of healing and purification and contemplate/meditate on your plans for the second half of the year.

Seasonal fruits and vegetables are often eaten to mark this festival and although honey is traditional, here at Earth Star we know that bees can suffer and die in honey production so we plump for something like Golden Syrup as a fine and tasty substitute!

Perfumes such as Frankincense, Myrrh, Pine and Rose are lovely to burn as resins, incense or oils to honour this very special time of the year

Lughnasadh - 1st August

(Pronounced loo-nass-uh or loo-nass-ar). This festival is traditionally celebrated on August 1st and is also called Lammas, the first harvest, August Eve and Feast of Bread. Lammas actually translates as ‘loaf mass’ in old Anglo-Saxon.

In Pagan beliefs, whilst the Goddess is sad as the Sun God begins to wane and die, she is happy in the knowledge she has borne his fruit and that a part of him lives on, thus re-enforcing the importance of the cycle of all life.

This festival is celebrated by many as a time to remember and honour the Celtic Sun God ‘Lugh’ and his death and resurrection. It is the time of the first harvest and to give thanks and appreciation for the gifts nature provides us with. Even though the suns' power is beginning to wane, we have an abundance of crops to sustain us through the dark winter months ahead. So it is traditional to bake bread from the first wheat harvested and make ginger bread men to share with friends and family. This is a lovely way to also show gratitude for those in our lives and for what we receive.

On a personal level, it is a great time to reflect on if we are where we want to be at this time, have we achieved goals we have set ourselves? If our target has not been reached what can we do to be where we wish to be? Take time to ponder on the choices you have made in your life.

Lughnasadh allows us to reap the fruits of our labour; all those seeds sown and tended are ready to harvest and bring us new energy. Be appreciative for all you have and give back to our abundant Earth some of what we have taken.

Mabon - 21st/22nd September

(pronounced May - bon).

Celebrated on or around the 21st/22nd September this festival is also known as the Autumnal Equinox.

Mabon takes its name from a Welsh fertility God and means ‘Great Sun’. This celebration is all about giving thanks for all that Mother Earth has provided for us through the summer and to see us through the darker winter months.

Other names for Mabon include Alban Elfed, The Harvest Festival or Witches Thanksgiving. Mabon is significant as a day when light and dark are again of equal length. We collect the last of our crops to store for Winter and clear away the waste or chaff not only physically, but emotionally too, preparing us for the darkest day of the Winter Solstice and allowing us to make way for the new growth of Spring.

Traditional incense / oils for this celebration are Pine, Myrrh and sage.

You may wish to decorate your fireplace or altar with pine cones and oak leaves, but please shake all the bugs off gently first and after the festival return your decorations to nature. Colours for this time of year are as you would expect; browns, yellows and reds.