Wheel of the Year

What is the Wheel of the Year?

In modern Pagan traditions, particularly Wicca, the Wheel of the Year is a calendar featuring the annual cycle of eight seasonal festivals including the solstices and equinoxes.  The Wheel symbolizes the full cycle of the seasons and life itself.  Every season of the year reveals different life lessons.

Although the festivals marked by the wheel are very old, the eight-fold wheel is quite modern and was created in the 1950’s.  On the wheel, the holy days are divided into greater Sabbats and lesser Sabbats.

The greater Sabbats represent the powers of creation and the connection to the Divine.  Although Samhain is considered the New Year since it represents both endings and beginnings, Imbolc is used first to correspond with the traditional calendar year.

Wheel of the Year Festivals

Imbolc is a time of rebirth and new hope and is seen as a time of purification and cleansing.

Ostara, or the Spring equinox, is a celebration of rebirth and marks the time where day and night are both equal, but light and life are gaining momentum.  Winter slowly gives way and the light emerges.

Beltane is the first day of Summer and celebrates the union of the God/Goddess.  It is a celebration of life dedicated to fertility and growth.

Litha corresponds with the Summer solstice.  The midsummer is the point in which the Sun is the highest and dark soon begins to grow.  It is a time to recognize and embrace change as a natural part of life.

Lammas is the first of 3 harvest festivals.  It marks the beginning of Autumn and marks both the death of nature as the growing season comes to a natural conclusion and the promise of eternal life, the knowledge that in time Spring comes again.

Mabon is the Autumn equinox and the second of three harvest festivals.  This represents the balance between light and dark and is a time of gathering, storing and conserving. It is a traditional period of Thanksgiving.

Samhain is the final harvest festival of the 3 and is considered the most holy of the Sabbats.  It symbolizes the season of darkness and is a festival of the eternal cycle of death and rebirth.  It is a time for honoring ancestors and those who have gone before.

Yule is the winter solstice.  The midwinter celebration marks the return of the Sun and the beginning of renewal.  Evergreens are used to represent the Goddess who always lives.  It is a joyful time to reflect on one’s blessings.