Why?
(Celebrate Sabbats and Esbats)
Because we do it 21 times a year!
This page has been created for the population of people who celebrate
the celestial and earth based days in the calendar. In the days of old,
ceremonies and magick took place on full moons, because the Moon was seen
as a symbol of the Goddess. There are 13 full moons in a year, one every
28.1/4 days and eight Sabbats or "Days of Power".
Most of the Sabbats occur in correspondence with the coming/leaving of
seasons. Four of these "Days of Power" are determined by the Solstices
and Equinoxes, the other four being a tradition based on old folk
festivals.
These celebrations remind us of the endless cycle that will continue long
after we're gone and the ongoing Wheel of Life.
The Sabbats
The Sabbats tell us stories of the Goddess and God.
YULE
The Goddess gives birth to a son. The shortest day of the year. Watching
the sun's rise is a good way to celebrating this day. The Sun is reborn again. Candles and fires are lit to celebrate the Sun's return. After this day the
sun stays longer each day. Reminder that after death comes rebirth.
Detailed description of Yule
Ritual for Yule
IMBOLC(Candlemas) The recovery of the Goddess after giving birth to the God. The God's power is
felt in the longer days. Seed's germinate. And so the earliest beginnings of Spring occur. Sabbat of purification. Some female Witches follow the
old Scandinavian custom of wearing crowns of lit candles. Initiations, self-dedications are performed and renewed.
Detailed description of Imbolc
Ritual for Imbolc
OSTARAThe Goddess blankets the Earth with fertility. The Vernal Equinox, also
known as Spring. Days and night are equal in length. Light is overtaking darkness. Time of beginnings, action, planting seeds.
Detailed description of Ostara
Ritual for Ostara
BELTANEThe Goddess and God fall in love and unite. Fertility. Decorate your
homes and self with flowers.The return of vitality, of passion and hopes consummated.
Detailed description of Beltane
Ritual for Beltane
MIDSUMMERSummer Solstice when the earth is awash in the fertility of the Goddess
and God. In the past bonfires were lept to encourage fertility,
purification, health and love.
Detailed description of Midsummer
Ritual for Midsummer
LAMMASLughnasadh, the time of the first harvest. The God loses his strenth as
the Sun rises farther in the South each day and the
nights grow longer. The Goddess watches in sorrow and joy as She realises that the God is dying, yet lives on inside her as Her child.
Detailed description of Lammas
Ritual for Lammas
MABONThe completion of the Harvest begun. Day and night are equal and the God
prepares to leave His physical body and begin the great adventure into
the unseen.
Detailed description of Mabon
Ritual for Mabon
SAMHAINThe Craft say farewell to the God. He begins to be reborn anew to the
Goddess at Yule. Also known as Halloween. We remember those that have
passed.
Detailed description of Samhain
Ritual for Samhain
Circle of Stones, Cutting a Doorway, Releasing the Circle, Visualisation, The Blessing Chant, The Simple Feast, Concecration of Tools.
THE ESBATS
To each Lunar month the ancients assigned a name in accordance with the nature of the activity that took place at that time.
Wolf Moon
The moon in deepest of Winter. In earlier times a time when the wolf came close to the villages to seek food.
Storm Moon
The storms come in silence. They blanket the world in coldness.
Chaste Moon
Like Diana, all of Nature at this moment is pure potential waiting fo be fulfilled.
Hare Moon
Rabbits leap and play carefree in their mating and joyful in their games.
Dyad Moon
Sacred Marriage of the God and Goddess. When all meet their opposites in perfect balance and in perfect harmony.
Let there be beauty strength, power and compassion, honor and humility, mirth and reverence, within you."
Mead Moon
After the bees have gathered their pollen and nectar the hives are filled with honey that is waiting to be gathered.
Wort Moon
gathering of herbs, the word wort is old Anglo Saxon for "herb".
Barley Moon
A time to contemplate the eternalness of life. The grain in the bread we eat are descended from the first grain ever gathered.
Wine Moon
or Harvest Moon. A time of true spiritual initiation. Since wine was, and is, such a sacred fluid, the Pagans of old named this Lunar month the Wine Moon.
Blood Moon
In days past a time for gathering food for the winter. The harvest supplemented by hunting wild animals or by slaughtering domestic ones.
Snow Moon
Ahead are the dark months of winter. The Spirit is most active when the body is still.
Oak Moon
The moon nearest the Winter Solstice. Like the Divine Child who is born to die and dies to be reborn anew, the ancient Oak has its trunk and branches in the material world of the living, while its roots, the branches in reverse, reach deep into the Underworld, symbolic land of the Spirit.
Blue Moon
Comes but once a year *smile* The moon that occurs second in a one month period.
When?
| Celebration |
Southern Hemisphere |
Northern Hemisphere |
|---|
| Winter Solstice | 20-23 June | 20-23 December |
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| Candlemas | 1st August | 2nd February |
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| Vernal Equinox | 20-23 September | 20-23 March |
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| Beltaine | 31st October | 1st May |
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| Summer Solstice | 20-23rd December | 20-23rd June |
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| Lammas | 2nd February | 1st August |
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| Autumnal Equinox | 20-23 March | 20-23rd September |
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| Samhain | 1st May | 31st October |
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(If you see any discrepencies please email me *smile* Goddess Bless)
Yemanja
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Last Update: 27th November, 1997
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Created: 1995
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