Wheel of the Year

  We are all the part of Nature and we cannot be separate from it. Since the beginning of our lives, we can see and feel the regular change of the seasons. From the dark wintertime, the new year comes and brings us the new Sun. In spring Mother Earth awakens and blooms, in summer and in fall it yields fruits and then again falls asleep and waits until the new Sun is born. 

This is the circle of the year or The Wheel of the Year. Every new cycle has eight key points, so-called turns the Wheel. Each represents the annual Wiccan and neo-paganist festival (a.k.a. Sabbath). The names of the sabbaths vary between different traditions, but their meaning remains the same. Yule (Winter Solstice) - the new cycle begins as the new Sun is born. Imbolc (Candlemass) - the snow melts away clearing the way for a new life. Ostara (Spring Equinox) - the birds start making their nests and the first flowers appear as the day finally becomes longer. Beltane (May Eve) - the festival of the sacred love of God and Goddess. Litha (Summer Solstice) - midsummer, the celebration of the prosperity and bounties of nature. Lammas (Lughnasadh) - the festival of the first harvest  - wheat and barley.  Mabon (Autumn Equinox) - the festival of the second harvest - fruits and vegetables, especially apples and honey. Samhain (The Day of the Dead) - the festival of the third harvest, the end of the year and the day to honor those, who are gone. 

Each of the Turns of the Wheel of the Year has its own traditions and practices and is celebrated by the modern witches, neo-paganists and the Wiccan across the globe.

Daria Martina

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