Celtic Wheel of the Year (Festivities)

13 Dec

Wheel of the Year in Celtic mythology:

Beltane,Imbolc,Litha,Lugnasad,Mabon,Stop,Samhain,Yule

The wheel of the year is a lunisolar calendar

A lunisolar calendar indicates the time by taking into consideration both the phases of the Sun and the phases of the Moon. It is used in Wicca and other neopagan religions to mark and celebrate the cycle of our seasons. This cycle is based on eight festivals called sabbats. The wheel of the year is reflected in our lives: birth, growth, decline, and death.

In Celtic traditions, the processes of nature are seen as a continuous cycle. The passage of time is seen as cyclical and is represented by a wheel or a circle. The evolution of birth, life, decline, and death, as experienced in human life, is repeated in the progression of the seasons. Wiccans use the life, death, and rebirth of the God and the fertility of the Goddess to explain the evolution of the seasons and the wheel of the year.

Celtic Festivities, Celebrations & Calendar

SAMHAIN – NIGHT FROM OCTOBER 31 TO NOVEMBER 1

On this day, communication between the worlds takes place as the veil is opened

Samhain is the new year of the Celts and therefore it is a reason to dedicate yourself to divination to receive guidance for the year ahead. It is perfect for connecting with the spirit of mystery and magic, opening us to our intuitive and personal power and listening to our own inner voice. The nights are longer than the days. Deceased loved ones are remembered and honored. This date marks the end of the cycle of life.

In the Christian world it is the feast of 'All Saints' Day' (Halloween)

Invocation of fire and rites of power:

YULE – NIGHT OF DECEMBER 21-22

Winter solstice, the longest night of the year, from then on the days begin to extend their daylight hours. It celebrates the rebirth of the Sun god, the end of darkness, and the return of light and hope.

There is also a wonderful stillness in the Christian tradition of images of the Virgin Mother and Child that clearly evoke the ancient celebrations of the goddess Yule and the birth of her son the Sun Child

Ornaments are usually made with mistletoe and bells.

IMBOLC – NIGHT OF FEBRUARY 1-2

This holiday is dedicated to the goddess Bridget, lady of medicine, arts and prophecy. In this celebration, candles are lit in order to bring light and heat to the sun so that it recovers its strength and projects it on the Earth, so that the miracle of life can occur. At this moment nature awakens from its lethargy and is reborn. The days are starting to get longer and spring is approaching.

The seeds that begin to germinate under the Earth and also the tools used are honored and blessed.

On the Christian feast day it is the day of Candlemas, Saint Bridget.

OSTARA – MARCH 20-23

Also called Eostara in reference to the goddess Eostre. The spring equinox, when the perfect balance between night and day is broken giving way to the triumph of light, is the beginning of spring

It marks a time of renewal and rebirth in a tribute to life, romance and joy. It is a new period of fertility where the flowers begin to open and the grass again dyes the meadows green, nature becomes stronger and more vital and the animals that slept awaken. At this time the sap of the plants and trees rises, the breeze touches us with its warm embrace and the skies are once again inhabited by birds. It is the beginning of a new cycle. It is customary to paint Easter eggs

It is an ideal time to plant our seeds with new magical goals.

BELTANE – NIGHT OF APRIL 31 TO MAY 1

The name Bel is related to the god of fire. It is one of the holiest days of the year and a symbol of the union between the great god Cernunnos represented with a deer antler and the Cosmic Mother, the Earth to bless the new annual cycle.

For our Celtic ancestors The union of a couple was sacred, it is the force that creates new life. It is the celebration of sexuality and fertility, Beltane reminds us of the divine capacity for creation and pleasure that we possess, it claims the body as something sacred.

It is the time of greatest enlightenment and fertility of the year. During its celebration, bonfires are lit, it is a festival of song and dance in which nature has been fertilized and will become a mother. Dancing and jumping over the bonfires are done to achieve health, fertility and luck all year round.

LITHA – NIGHT OF JUNE 20-23

It is celebrated on the summer solstice, just when the Sun is at its peak, at its zenith. It's the longest day and the shortest night. It invites us to honor the Sun and enjoy it as a symbol of life.

At this time nature is in full activity and at its peak of growth. Tonight the waters have healing powers and it is tradition to bathe in rivers, sea, lake or stream to help heal any disease. As in Beltane, they also dance around a bonfire creating the circle of life. Our ancestors lit large bonfires to celebrate the connection with the Sun, and to remember that we have the power to feed, sustain, and the responsibility to shine as much as we can.

The fire is invited into our lives to burn away everything we no longer want and what we don't need in our lives. It is the ideal night to connect with the fairies and the elven world.

LUGNASAD – NIGHT OF AUGUST 1-2

It is the feast of Lugh, god of the Sun and son of the god Gwydion and the goddess Arianhod, the wheel that moves the cosmic cycles. In this celebration, Mother Earth is honored for blessing the fields with cereals generously so that her children would not die of hunger. The harvest is celebrated, and the blessing of herbs is a time of abundance and joy.

Lugnasad celebrates transformation, the seed that grows, blossoms, and finally bears fruit by becoming food. In some areas, dolls were made with the ears of corn and they were preserved the rest of the year as a talisman of abundance of the harvest

MABÓN – NIGHT OF SEPTEMBER 20 TO 21

Autumn equinox, a time when light and dark, night and day are in balance.

From this date on, the nights are longer. The harvest festival is celebrated and thanked with songs and dances, grape pressing and feasting.

We give thanks for what we have harvested during the year, we thank Mother Earth for the elements necessary to survive in winter. It also symbolizes the death of plants becoming rebirth through seeds, reflecting the cycles of life, death and rebirth. The trees are stripped of their leaves and the earth is preparing for rest