The Wheel Of The Year - Sabbats and Holidays, Featured Celebration and Celebration Ideas - Magic - http://www.chuckxc.com/gypsiefire/Sabbats_and

Wheel Of The Year: Northern Hemisphere

In many traditions they have their Lesser and Greater aspects of the various Pagan holy days or Sabbats.
Almost all regarding the changing seasons encompass the turning of the wheel.
To us all aspects are sacred and equal whether conducted on a more reverent tone or more celebratory nature.
Our one exception of this would be Samhain of which most traditions would concur is our most sacred as it marks both the end and the beginning of the new Pagan year.

Samhain: Oct 31st
Meaning: Pagan New Year
Colors: Black, Orange, Indigo
Tools: Votive Candles, Scrying Mirror, Culdren, Gourds & Pumpkins
Focus: Death & Transformation
Aspects Female: Crone, Hecate
Aspects Male: Cernunnos, Horned God, Oak King
Ritual: Honoring Ancestors, Releasing Past, Scrying Future

Yule: Dec 21st
Meaning: Winter Solstice, Birth Of Sun God
Colors: Red, Green, White, Silver, Gold
Tools: Evergreen Wreath, Mistletoe, Holly, Yule Log
Focus: Regeneration & Renewal
Aspects Female: Mother Goddess, Isis, Tonazin
Aspects Male: Sun Child, Santa, Saturn, Holly King
Ritual: Personal Renewal, Longest Night, Outdoor Blaze

Imbolc: Feb 1st or 2nd
Meaning: Mid Way Point Towards Spring
Colors: White, Red
Tools: Candles, Starter Seeds, Milk, Brigid's Wreath
Focus: Conception, Initiation, Planning
Aspects Female: Maiden, Brigid
Aspects Male: Sun God Young Man Stage
Ritual: Fire & Ice Purification, Cleansing

Ostara: March 21st
Meaning: Emergence Of Life, Spring Equinox
Colors: Green, Yellow, Red, White
Tools: Green Cloth, Eggs, Basket,
Focus: Growth From Dormancy, Emergence
Aspects Female: Ostara
Aspects Male: Green Man
Ritual: Celebrating The Renewal Of Earth, Seed Blessings

Beltane: April 30th-May 1st
Meaning: Love, Romance, Procreation
Colors: All
Tools: May Pole, Colored Ribbons, Flower Crowns
Focus: Love, Fertility, Romance, Mating, Young Love
Aspects Female: May Queen, The Lady
Aspects Male: May King, Consort
Ritual: May Pole Dance, Jumping Of Flames, Chasing of the Nymphs

Litha: June 21st
Meaning: Maturing, Summer Solstice
Colors: Yellow, Gold, All Colors Of Summer
Tools: Stone Circles, Forest Groves, Natural Altars, Elements Of Nature, Natural Implements
Focus: Communication With Natural Forces
Aspects Female: Warrior Queen, Mother Goddess, Protective Earth Mother
Aspects Male: Warrior Lord, Horned Lord, Forest King
Ritual: Warrior Games, Bonfires, Feasting, Celebrating

Lammas: August 2nd
Meaning: First Harvest
Tools: Grains, Fruits, Vegetables
Focus: Fruition Of Purpose, Conclusion
Aspects Female: Demeter, Goddess Of Grain
Aspects Male: Lugh, Lord Of Seed
Ritual: Offering The First Portions To The Earth In Thanks Of Harvest Before Feasting.

Mabon: Sept 21st
Meaning: Fall Equinox, Final Harvest
Tools: Harvested Grains, Flour, Dried Flowers, Honey
Focus: Remembrance, Giving Thanks, Past & Future
Aspects Female: Queen Mother Of Fall
Aspects Male: Lord Father Of Fall
Ritual: Fortification, Preparation, Stocking, Storing, Strengthening

Witches of the Southern Hemisphere celebrate their Holy Sabbats as much as six months difference from our own in the Northern.

Samhain: April 30/May 1
This is the time of the thin Veil or Communion with the dead, the ruling time of the Crone aspect of the Goddess.

Yule: June 21/22
Time of the Goddess of the Cold Darkness and the birth of the Divine Child, the reborn Sun God. A time of rebirth and the turning of the earth force tides.

Imbolc: August 1
First stirrings of Mother Earth; spring cleaning; time of cleansing and purification; preparation for growth and renewal. A festival of the Triple Goddess Brigit, whose breath gave life to the dead.

Ostara: September 21/22
Balance of light and dark. Sowing time in the north; earth cycle of plant and animal fertility, spell producing, new beginnings.

Beltane: October 31/November 1
Time of the Horned God and the Lady of the Greenwood; honor of the house guardian.

Litha: December 21/22
Rededication to the Lord and Lady. The time when the Sun casts three rays to light the world.

Lughnassadh: February 1
The turning point in Mother Earth's year; a harvest festival in the northern lands. The waning God, and the waxing Goddess. Spellwork for good fortune and abundance is exspecially appropriate.

Mabon: March 21/22
Balance of light and dark. Time of rest after labor. completion of the harvest, thanksgiving. A good time for meditation on reincarnation in preparation for Samhain.

Esbats

Esbats or Full Moon Rituals are a time of celebrating the Goddess and working. The Full Moon is seen as a source of energy from which Wiccans pull to aid their magic. Luna, Selene, Ishtar. Names that are synonymous with beauty and mystery, all names we have given to our Lady the Moon. For thousands of years, we have told stories and woven legends around her. Her endless cycle is woven into our blood and bone, sea and life itself.

Historically, each moon month has had its own significance:

January - Wolf Moon - Plan protection around your home and family.

February - Storm Moon - Plan to ask the Old Ones for help in planning your future.

March - Chaste Moon - Plan to plant your desires.

April - Seed Moon - Plan to physically plant your seeds of desire in Mother Earth.

May - Hare Moon - Plan to reaffirm your goals.

June - Dyad Moon - Plan to balance your spiritual and physical desires

July - Mead Moon - Plan to decide what you will do once your goals have been met.

August - Wort Moon - Plan to preserve what you already have.

September - Barley Moon - Plan Thanksgiving for all the Old

October - Blood Moon - Plan another Thanksgiving.

November - Snow Moon - Plan to work on ridding yourself of negative thoughts and vibrations.

December - Oak Moon - Plan to remain steadfast in your convictions.

LITHA

LITHA RITUAL

BASIC LITHA RITUAL
__________________

Tools:
In addition to your usual magickal tools, you will need:

A Golden Yellow Alter Cloth

Small Cloth Pouch of Summertime Herbs

Cauldron

1cup Fresh Spring Water

Red Sun God Candle

Green Earth Goddess Candle

Summer Blend Incense (Jasmine, Rose, Lotus, Wysteria, or combination).

Preparation:
Sweep area moving in deosil manor. Set up Quarter Candles and any accessories symbolizing the Elements of the Quarters. Decorate the alter with seasonal flowers, especially Sunflowers. Prepare your Pouch of Summertime Herbs, and as you make it, pour your troubles, pains, sorrows, illness, and regrets into it. Place the Cauldron in the center of your alter, the Red Sun candle to the right of it , the Green Goddess Candle to the left of it. Place the cup of Fresh Spring Water in front of the Goddess Candle. Take a shower or bath for purification. Sit quietly and meditate for a while, then ground and center. When ready, play some peaceful music for the ritual.

Cast the circle.......Pick up your Wand, and with arms upraised, face South and say:

"I celebrate the Mid-of-Summer, held in honor of the Blazing Sun God. All of Nature vibrates with the fertileness of the Goddess and of the God.

The Earth basks in the light and life of the Sun.
The ever turning Wheel of the Year has made the light ever stronger And the light has kept growing longer, until today...

The middle of the time of light, Litha, MidSummer's Day, Summer Solstice.

From here, the light begins to fade, again, until once more the Wheel turns to the time of darkness, Yule, Winter Solstice.

Yet, for today, the Sun is high, the light is bright, the Earth is warm. As the Sun God blazes above, may the fires of my rite flame below."

Face the alter, put down your wand, and light the Green Goddess Candle to the left of your cauldron, saying:

"Oh, Mother of Nature, She that brings the meadow to bloom, Green Forest Mother, from lakes and streams your children spring forth.

Blessed Lady of the stars and the Moon, Fruitful Womb of which I honor, and ask of Thee, Thy Blessings."

Light the Red Sun God Candle to the right of your cauldron, saying:

"Oh, Father of all things, He that plants the seed and nurtures Life.

God of Fertility and Fruitfulness, from hill and forest your children emerge.

Blessed Lord of the blazing Sun, potent Consort of which I honor, and of Thee, Thy Blessings."

Take the Herb Pouch and hold above your head, saying:

"By thy power, oh sacred herbs, may the Lord of the Sun Burn away the hurtful, the troublesome, and the painful, Leaving me purified through His warmth and Light."

Hold the pouch over your main Alter Candle to take flame. While it is burning, drop it in the cauldron, saying:

"Great Goddess and Great God, from Thee all powers flow forth.

The Two that are One, Great Spirit of All-That-Is,
By Thy powers, and the powers of Air, Fire, Water, and Earth,
By Thy powers, and the powers of the Sun, Moon, and Stars,
I banish these negatives from my life."

Visualize the negatives burning away to nothingness. When all that is left is ashes, douse the ashes with the cup of Fresh Spring Water, feel as if the water were being poured over you and your negatives washed away. Air dry by dancing and running your hands up and down your arms, body, and legs. Don't forget your head... lay it back and shake running your fingers through your hair. When done, face alter, wave hand over the cauldron and say:

"As the Phoenix rises from the ashes, so let this water be pure and new.
Mother Goddess, bless this water so that it may bless and renew me.
Father God, may your rays of the MidSummer Sun bless and nourish me.
Two that are One, may your blessings sustain me as I journey, anew."

Pass your cupped hands over the cauldron, pausing briefly each time to ' pour ' in wishes for health, prosperity, and good fortune to be part of your life. Dip the forefinger of your right hand into the cauldron water, and trace a pentagram on your forehead, saying:

Let my mind be open to the truth."

Anoint your lips saying:

"Let my lips always speak the truth."

Anoint your heart area, saying:

"Let my heart seek the ways of the Goddess, now and always."

Anoint the centers of your palms, saying:

"Let my hands be gifted to work in m'jyk-l ways."

Anoint the soles of your feet, saying:

"Let my feet ever walk upon the sacred paths!"

Now is the time for meditation and any spellworkings. MidSummer spellworkings include: prosperity, fertility, and plentiful harvests. Finish by having the Cakes and Ale Ceremony and releasing the circle. Clean up. The Ritual is done.
Blessed Be!

CELEBRATE
__________

Traditional Foods:
Garden fresh fruits and vegetables are made into a variety of dishes and eaten by Pagan's who choose to celebrate this day.

Herbs and Flowers:
Mugwort, Vervain, Chamomile, Rose, Honeysuckle, Lily, Oak, Lavender, Ivy, Yarrow, Fern, Elder, Wild Thyme, Daisy, Carnation.

Incense:
Lemon, Myrrh, Pine, Rose, Wisteria.

Woods Burned:
Oak

Sacred Gemstone:
Emerald

Special Activities:
An Ideal time to reaffirm your vows to the Lord and Lady or your dedication to following the old traditions.

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Page Updated Tue May 28, 2002 3:13pm EDT