The Sabats

Most Wiccans/Pagans celebrate this Sabbat (holy day) just before dawn and watch the Sunrise. The Goddess gives birth to a son, the God. Since the God is also the sun, this marks the point of the year when the sun is reborn. Fires or candles are lit to welcome the sun's return.

This Sabbat is celebrated with fires and candles also. A traditional time for initiation into covens or self dedication rituals. This day marks the recovery of the Goddess after giving birth to the God. A Sabbat of purification, but also a festival of love and fertility. The fire represents our own illumination and inspiration as much as light and warmth.

Spring Equinox marks the first day of spring. The Goddess blankets the earth with fertility. The God stretches and grows to maturity. This is a time of beginnings, action, planting spells for future gains, and tending ritual gardens. This is the perfect balance between light and darkness. Ostara is a solar festival of fire, light, and fertility. Witches follow the old pagan custom of dyeing or painting hard-boiled eggs and then balancing the eggs on their ends to symbolize equilibrium. We work magick to balance any imbalances in our lives.

Also known as May Day. It is marked with feasts and rituals. May Poles are somtimes used by Wiccans but the cauldron is a more common focal point of ceremony. The cauldron represents the Goddess and is sometimes filled with spring flowers. Beltane marks the return of vitality, passion, and hopes consummated.

This is the Summer Solstice and is also known by its other name Litha. A classic time for magick of all kinds. In the past, bonfires were leapt to encourage fertility, purification, health, and love. At this time, the earth is filled with the fertility of the Goddess and God.

Also known as Lammas or August Eve. Wiccans remember the warmth and bounty of the passing summer in the food they eat. This Sabbat is considered the first harvest. Each meal is an act of attunement with nature and we are reminded that nothing in the universe is constant. According to tradition, the God losses his strength and the Goddess watches in sorrow and joy as she realizes that the God is dying and yet lives on inside her.

The Autumn Equinox. This is considered the second harvest of the year. Nature declines, readying for winter and a time of rest. It is also known as the Witches Thanksgiving. A time to give thanks. A great time to meditate upon nature and how it is preparing for winter.

Also known as All Hallows eve and Halloween. On this night, the physical and spiritual realities is thin. It is a good time to remember those that have gone before us. Samhain is a time of reflection, looking back over the last year and coming to terms with the one phenomenon of life for which we have no control-death. At this time, Wiccans say farewell to the God. This is a temporary farewell for he is not gone forever, but readies to be reborn to the Goddess on Yule.