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The
Eclectic Coven of Red Mountain
Sabbats
The eight Wiccan holidays mark turning points in the course of the
year. The Lesser Sabbats (the solstices and the equinoxes) divide the
solar year into quarters. These days mark milestones in the relationship
of the length of night to that of day, with the equinoxes marking the
points where the span of night and day are equal, and the solstices
marking the extremes of darkness and daylight.
The Greater Sabbats, which bisect the quarters mentioned above,
divide the year into seasons. As days are divided into complementary
portions of daylight and darkness, Beltane and Samhain divide the year
into complementary halves of warm weather and cold weather, with Beltane
marking the start of summer and Samhain the start of winter. Completing
the division, Imbolc marks the beginning of spring and Lughnasa the
beginning of autumn.
We celebrate the eight holidays of the Wheel of the Year to attune
ourselves to the cycles of nature and the rhythms of the universe. Through
our ceremonies and our lives, we participate in the circle of life, death,
and rebirth manifest in the agricultural cycle and the changing
seasons.
The Wheel turns and we turn with it.
See the
Mythology
page for storytelling suggestions for each holiday, and the
Kitchen Witchery
page for Sabbat-appropriate recipes.
Yule/ Winter Solstice- December 21st
This is the turning point in the heart of winter when the
dark night reaches its greatest length and the pattern shifts in favor of
the light, bringing the promise of increasing daylight. Like our ancient
ancestors and our present neighbors, we deck our halls with evergreens,
symbolizing the continuity of life in the depths of winter, and we
surround ourselves with bright lights in celebration of the returning sun
and the renewed spark of hope. At this time we celebrate the birth of
light, as the Great Mother brings forth the newborn Sun
God.
Imbolc/Oimelc/Brigits Day- February
2nd
This is
the first of the Greater Sabbats, the old Celtic cross-quarters in the
Wheel of the Year. Traditionally this time marks both the first stirrings
of Spring in Mother Earth's womb and the coming into milk of the ewes in
lambing season. This day is sacred to the beloved Irish Goddess Brigit,
triple solar goddess of smithcraft, inspiration, and healing, in whose
honor a perpetual flame burned in the old Irish capitol of Kildare. At
this time, associated with beginning growth and initiation, we honor the
nurturing powers of the Goddess, her youth renewed now, as she nurtures
and initiates the fledgling God.
Eostara/Ostara/ Vernal Equinox- March 21st
Night and Day come into balance now on the first day of
Spring. The traditional name associated with the festival celebrated on
the vernal equinox full moon derives from the Teutonic Moon-Maiden Goddess
Eostre, whose symbols were the bunny (representing the exuberant fertility
of nature in springtime) and the egg (representing fertility and new life
in a natural sense and wholeness and creation in a cosmic sense). This is
the seed time when, in the mythic cycle, the God reaches maturity and the
Maiden Goddess conceives by him the son she will bear at the Winter
Solstice.
Beltane- May 1st
This
Sabbat derives its name from the fire of the Celtic God of Light and
stands opposite Samhain in the Wheel of the Year. On this day, we
recognize the ripening of Nature and celebrate the fires of passion. Like
the maypole, this time marks an unabashed celebration of sexuality and
fertility. As Pagans, we recognize the sacred nature of sexuality, and
share an intuitive understanding of its spiritual power and our own deep
connection with the natural world. The God and Goddess crown themselves
King and Queen of May, reveling joyously among the first flowers of
Summer. |
Midsummer's Eve/Litha/ Summer Solstice- June 21st
On the longest day of the year, the Sun God reaches the peak
of his power and the Bright Lady's abundance overflows. Herbs are
gathered, and we celebrate all that is wild and free. And we are not alone
in the flowering fields - no other day is so strongly associated wiith the
Faerie in folk tradition as Midsummer's Eve (as Shakespeare well knew).
With the faerie dancing round us, we light this night with fires as the
Wheel turns toward the waning of the sun.
Lughnasa / Lammas- August 1st
The first fruits of the harvest ripen as the power of the
waning sun flows into the life-sustaining grain. This Sabbat derives its
name from the great Celtic Sun God Lugh, who also is called King of the
Faerie. According to Irish legend, Lugh hosted this festival of funeral
games in honor of his foster mother Taillte, whom we recognize as the
Goddess in her crone aspect, gone ahead to prepare Lugh's way to the
Summerland. We bake loaves from the first harvests in honor of the Lord of
the Grain and the Corn Mother.
Mabon/Harvest Home/Autumnal Equinox- September
21st
This is
the time of the final harvest, when we celebrate the Divine Sacrifice of
the grain, freely given to sustain us through the cold winter. This
concept is personified in the mythological motif of the dying god,
manifest in forms ranging from the exotic Dumuzi of ancient Sumerian myth
to the rustic John Barleycorn of folk tradition. We settle by the warmth
of the hearth to enjoy the bounty of the harvest, and as we eat our cakes
and drink our wine - in ritual and in everyday life - we accept the
essence of the divine into ourselves, continuing the cycle of
life.
Samhain/Halloween- October 31st
The Great Sabbat, Samhain (meaning Summer's End), is the
shadowy counterpoint to the fire-lit Beltane. The age-old traditions of
honoring the dead and divining the future still run true in the lore of
Halloween. Poised between the death of the old year and the birth of the
new, Samhain touches all at once on past and future, summer and winter,
creation and chaos - on all that has been and all that will be. The walls
between the worlds fade, and the dead walk with us in a sacred moment
resonating with the ancient magic of in-between places. The God takes his
place as Lord of the Dead in the dark realm of the Night Mother, and we
embrace death as we embrace life, knowing that the darkness of the grave
is also the darkness of the Mother's womb. The Wheel turns, and we turn
with it, looking ahead to the solstice and the God's
rebirth.
Written by
Lycia for the Eclectic Coven of
Red Mountain ~ All
rights reserved. To request
permission to duplicate contact The Eclectic Coven of Red Mountain,
P.O. Box 131, Shannon, AL 35142 or
eclecticcoven@hotmail.com.
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