Witchy Astrology Celtic Dream Journal Spellbook, Green Witch Grimoire, Cottagecore Travelers Notebook, Tarot Workbook, 2024 Planner The light is fading, and the dark is setting in. This month is a great time to reflect on your own roots and where you came from. Take time to honor your ancestor as the veil between the worlds thins. Be open to receiving psychic messages, meditation and journaling. In Wiccan tradition, the Goddess (in her Mother aspect) gives birth to the God on the longest night of the year (the winter solstice) and then, like the Earth during winter, rests. Gold Zodiac Wheel Earrings, Astrology Jewelry, Sun and Moon Calendar, Horoscope Circle, WItch Holiday Gift

The summer solstice, or Litha, is when the days are the longest. Nature is at it’s peak and the sun is at the highest point in the sky. Pagans give thanks for all of this and at this time, ask for a rich harvest. For Wiccans, this is also when the god is at his full power. The Wheel of the Year is an annual cycle of seasonal festivals, observed by a range of modern pagans, marking the year's chief solar events ( solstices and equinoxes) and the midpoints between them. British neopagans crafted the Wheel of the Year in the mid-20th century, combining the four solar events (" quarter days") marked by many European peoples, with the four seasonal festivals ("cross-quarter days") celebrated by Insular Celtic peoples. [1] Different paths of modern Paganism may vary regarding the precise timing of each celebration, based on such distinctions as the lunar phase and geographic hemisphere. Lughnasadh (‘gathering of Lugh’, in Irish), or Lammas, is one of the four ‘greater sabbats’ and the first of the year’s harvest festivals, along with Mabon and Samhain. Lammas comes from the Anglo-Saxon word meaning ‘loaf-mass’. It occurs at the beginning of August. Mercury becomes Retrograde Original artwork by marijeberting – https://www.deviantart.com/marijeberting/art/Mystic-oak-tree-forest-600087189 Wigington, Patti. "The Legend of the Holly King and the Oak King". paganwiccan.about.com. Archived from the original on 29 November 2016 . Retrieved 25 October 2012.In many traditions of modern pagan cosmology, all things are considered to be cyclical, with time as a perpetual cycle of growth and retreat tied to the Sun's annual death and rebirth. This cycle is also viewed as a micro- and macrocosm of other life cycles in an immeasurable series of cycles composing the Universe. The days that fall on the landmarks of the yearly cycle traditionally mark the beginnings and middles of the four seasons. They are regarded with significance and host to major communal festivals. These eight festivals are the most common times for community celebrations. [2] [12] [13]

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Steele Alexandra Douris, author of the new Spirits, Seers & Séances.

Hume, Lynne (1997). Witchcraft and Paganism in Australia. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. ISBN 9780522847826. When I was growing up, I always thought Beltane was the coolest, but that’s because I thought of it only as the holiday in which you lit a bonfire and went and made love in the woods. It’s perfectly fine for Wiccans to celebrate Halloween, but we also have our own holiday that we celebrate on the 31st. Samhain, or best known as Halloween, is Celtic New Year’s Eve and the final harvest. It’s when the veil between the world of the living and the dead is the thinnest and when pagans believe spirits easiest roam the earth and when it is easiest to communicate with them. Samhain is a time to honor all those who have come before, for all that was gifted to us during the year, to ask for guidance, and to set intentions as the turning of the wheel begins again. Because solstices and equinoxes are tied to exact astronomical moments, the holidays shift slightly from year-to-year. There is a celebration about every six weeks, so there’s always something to look forward to! At the end of this post, I’ve included the Wheel of the Year dates for 2023 and 2024.