Wheel of the Year

Hello lovies,

I'm laughing at myself a little bit as I write this to you because I feel as though I am a little late to my own party. When I first started this blog, before the unexpected year and a half hiatus, I had always planned on incorporating the Wheel of the Year and why I find it to be so important.

Well, by the time this post is available for you to see, we will have passed two cycles with some of you not knowing why the heck I am talking about these holidays and some of you might not have even heard of the Wheel of the Year!

I'm sure that had I not been caught up in the rush and dazzle of picking up this project again I would have made this post already. But! As fate would have it, I have until now been completely wrapped up in everything else that has been going on, so I shall apologize for the time it took to get this post to you, and digress...

Other then the previous posts about the previous two holidays, and potentially mentioning it in passing, I have not really addressed what the Wheel of the Year is, and why as a practicing pagan, I observe said holidays.

Believe it or not, this will probably end up being one of my shorter posts. [Instert dun dun dun noise.]

The Wheel of the Year is really, what it sounds like. It is a calender that consists of the eight major holidays celebrated/observed by most pagans. There are the four solar holidays that are more commonly known as the four seasons which traditionally tracks the birth, death, and rebirth of the Sun. Spring and Autumn mark the quarters and are known as Equinoxes leaving Summer and Winter to make the halfway points between the year, and they are known as Solstices.

You may some times hear these four holidays called Sabbats, as well as the 'cross quarter days' as there are four of them, and they make a cross shape. Yep. (I'm feeling silly as I write this, sue me. :P ) These holidays consist of Midwinter/Yule (Winter Solstice), Ostara (Spring Equinox), Midsummer/Litha (Summer Solstice) and Mabon (Autumn Equinox) .

There are some pagans that only observe those four main holidays as they mark the seasons, which works just fine. Being someone who likes celebrating I like the idea of having the eight holidays, and that's just how I learned it.

In between those four main holidays we have what are called Esbats and they mark the lunar holidays which consist of Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas/Lughnasadh, and Samhain.

So if you were to put them in order of the Gregorian calender that we still use today, the list of holidays would look like this.

Imbolc
Ostara (Spring Equinox)
Beltane
Midsummer/Litha (Summer Solstice)
Lammas/Lughnasadh
Mabon (Autumn Equinox)
Samhain
Midwinter/Yule (Winter Solstice)

However, since many pagans (myself included) recognize Samhain as the Celtic New Year, most of us start our spiritual calender there. So instead, the list looks more like this.

Samhain
Midwinter/Yule (Winter Solstice)
Imbolc
Ostara (Spring Equinox)
Beltane
Midsummer/Litha (Summer Solstice)
Lammas/Lughnasadh
Mabon (Autumn Equinox)

Or even,

Midwinter/Yule (Winter Solstice)
Imbolc
Ostara (Spring Equinox)
Beltane
Midsummer/Litha (Summer Solstice)
Lammas/Lughnasadh
Mabon (Autumn Equinox)
Samhain

Keeping track of the sun, the moon and the seasons themselves were essential to substantial living in ancient times. Even today, modern farmers use the moon as an indication of when to plant what crops.

Regardless of how you want to order them, it all comes back around again, which is why it is likened to a wheel, and thus it became known as the Wheel of the Year.

As the year progresses I will be making posts about the different holidays, hopefully with enough time for you lovely readers to get what you might want if you're interested in celebrating!

One thing I will share with you is that when I first started on this path, I had the WORST TIME trying to remember these holidays. If I was lucky and remembered it on the day of, I would burn a plain white tea light candle. It hasn't been until more recently that I have gotten better at planning ritual, or making yummy things to be devoured in honor of the holiday.

Most times I still only end up burning a candle and maybe saying a few words. Some times life is just too busy for us to do much more than that. But I figure that as long as I am setting aside just a few minutes, that's really all it takes.

I look forward to sharing more with you throughout this turning of the wheel.

Many blessings,

Thealynn

©2013-2015 Thealynn