There are eight festivals in the Wiccan year: Samhain or Hallowe’en (31st October); Yule (21st December); Imbolc (2nd February); Spring Equinox (21st March); Beltane (1st May); Midsummer or Litha (21st June); Lammas or Lughnasadh (1st August); and Autumn Equinox (21st September). The dates, practice and meaning of these vary according to where the coven is located, when particular plants actually come out, and the local traditions where the coven members live. Some covens celebrate on the nearest weekend to the actual festival. Some writers have tried to fit the festivals to the story of the interaction between “The God” and “The Goddess”, but few covens of my acquaintance actually celebrate the festivals in this way.

It is now generally recognised that the eight festivals were not all celebrated by the same culture (in spite of wild claims made on some web sites), and some of them are retro-engineered Christian festivals (Moonhunter, 2003), but this is in keeping with the eclectic nature of Wiccan practice. Whatever the dubious origins of the festivals, they have now taken on a life of their own, and could be considered a valid development of pagan tradition, provided that spurious claims for their antiquity are dropped.

While the Solstices and Equinoxes are fixed points governed by the movements of specific movements of the Sun and Moon, the other four, Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas and Samhain are moveable and relate to the passing of the seasons as they display themselves wherever the practitioner happens to be geographically. They do not have to be conducted on specific dates such as 1st May or 31st October. The allocation of specific dates to these festivals is an entirely modern feature.

In the Southern Hemisphere, the equinoxes and solstices are reversed, so the winter solstice is in June, and so on.

See also: Seasonal symbols

Imbolc/Candlemas

The eight festivals or Sabbats of the Pagan year include four Solar Sabbats (the solstices and equinoxes) and four harvest Sabbats. Imbolc is the first harvest Sabbat after Yule, the winter solstice, when the sun God is reborn.

Imbolc falls on the 2nd of February, and by this time the return of the sun would have been obvious to our ancestors (through the increasing day length). Imbolc also marks the start of the natural calving season, and thus the harvest of milk.

It is traditional at this time to light white candles in honour of the infant sun, often standing one in the window to welcome the new light into our homes. At Imbolc we feast upon dairy produce, and more recently, spicy food to represent the sun. Milk or cream is left out as an offering to land spirits. The colour of this festival is white, so we dress our altars in white flowers and may wear white. It is a time of purification in preparation for the spring. This is reflected in the Christian festival of Candlemas the time of purification for Mary and Jesus' presentation at the temple.

It was traditionally believed that if the dawn of Imbolc was bright and sunny we were in for another six weeks of winter, yet if it was dull, spring was just around the corner. This belief remains in the form of the American festival of Groundhog Day.

The Celtic festival, Saint Brighid's day, takes place on this day too. Brighid was a Celtic sun goddess, turned saint on the advent of Christianity. The festival involves candlelit processions and the purification of the fields and seeds in preparation for planting in the spring.

Ostara - The Vernal (spring) Equinox

The first solar Sabbat of the year falls on the 20th/21st March. Since the last festival of Imbolc, spring has finally sprung; the first blossom is on the trees and newborn lambs play in the fields. This also coincides with the birth of another lamb, Aries, at the beginning of a new year in the astrological calendar.

At this point the earth is becoming fertile again, in the past people would bless their seeds for planting at this festival. Mythologically, this festival marks the return of the goddess or the resurrection of her lover, brother or child. In Greece the goddess Demeter welcomes back her daughter Persephone from the underworld and returns the fertility, which she has withheld since autumn, to the land. In Egypt Isis and Ishtar retrieve their lovers from the realms of the dead. In Celtic myth the Calliach (crone) who fell asleep after the harvest, awakens as the maiden goddess Bride. The Christian festival of Easter falls within a month after the equinox and marks the resurrection of Jesus before he returns to his father.

These myths portray immortality in two forms: the deathlessness of the parent or lover and the resurrection of the child or lover. These two aspects correspond with the moon and the sun. The moon goddess grows full each month then declines and rests, to return a refreshed maiden; while the sun god born at Yule, reigns supreme at midsummer, dies at Samhain and is reborn at Yule.

We celebrate Ostara by painting eggs, which are eaten at a feast, and the empty shells tossed into a river to carry the message of spring out to the sea. A potent symbol of this time is the hare, a symbol of the goddess Bride. Ostara is a time of balance, of day and night, winter and spring, life and death.

Beltane, the May festival.

Named after the Roman Goddess Maia, the beginning of the month of May was celebrated with offerings of flowers and garlands.

The word Beltane means 'bright fire' and comes from the bonfires lit at this Celtic festival. Herds of cattle were driven between two bonfires as an act of protection and purification, the fires represent the sun and its power to return life and fertility to the soil. The Celtic God Belenus is linked with this festival; Belenus is a solar god who has much in common with the Roman God Apollo.

Mythologically, Beltane is the time of the union of the God and Goddess, when the next year's God (to be born at Yule) is conceived. The Maypole is often considered to be a symbol of fertility as it is thought to resemble a phallus, however traditionally the Maypole would be dressed with garlands of greenery and flowers and may have represented the world tree/tree of life/Yggdrasil.

Ancient May festivals involved a parade through the villages. A young man would be dressed in greenery to represent the spirit of the plant kingdom, he was known as Jack in the Green of the Green Man. A young woman was elected Queen of May and led the parade.

To modern Pagans, Beltane is one of the bigger festivals and is merrily celebrated in many ways. In London, the Beltane bash commences with a parade through central London including Jack-in-the-Green and led by a giant effigy of The Morrigan, a Celtic Goddess (although peculiarly one usually associated with battle) she is surrounded by her Valkyries, a group of men dressed as ravens. The following two days is a whirlwind of entertainment, drinking, dancing and also Pagan speakers and workshops. Participants generally dress in green, some wear masks of green leaves and many women wear flowers in their hair.

Lughnasadh or Lammas

Lughnasadh or Lammas falls on the 4th of August and marks the beginning of the autumn harvests, more precisely this festival marks the corn (cereal) harvest. The corn has ripened in the summer sun and now must be cut down in its prime. The sacrifice of the corn (and the mythical archetype John Barleycorn) is of importance in both a literal and a metaphorical sense. The corn must be cut to ensure food for the winter and to provide seed for next year's crop. Here also lies a model of balance, the cycles of life, the old makes way for the new, death makes way for rebirth, the God dies that he may be reborn at Yule. We make our own sacrifices in life; and Lughnasadh is a time to think about these everyday changes. Right now freshers are making many of their own sacrifices: Leaving the security of their parents and the towns they know, for a new life, these changes appear frightening at first but we make them that we may move on to better things, make our own lives and eventually, families. The wheel turns.

Mabon, the Autumn Equinox, September 20th-22nd

Mabon, the Autumn Equinox is also the time to harvest fruit. The trees have grown strong over the summer, and put all their resources into the fruit. At Mabon the land prepares for the winter, the trees are sleepy, soon the leaves start to turn and within a month they will be in hibernation. The land waxes and wanes like the moon, growing strong and declining in a cycle of perfect balance. This is a festival celebrated in many religions and cultures, for instance as Harvest home or thanksgiving. Celebrate the fruit harvest by drinking wine, the product of a successful harvest!

Samhain, or Hallowe’en, October 31st

The word Samhain (pronounced 'Sow-in') is Irish Gaelic for the month of November, and this festival marks the beginning of winter. It's a time of remembrance where we look back over the old year and remember past friends and relations, and can also think about our own personal development and changes that have occurred within ourselves during the last year. It's a good time to relax and mentally rest – take a break from your inner quest for a bit and just be quiet and peaceful. This isn't always easy – sometimes the world seems determined not to let you sit down – but try to find a few minutes every so often just to sit and think about the past year and to wonder what the next will hold.

People have always said that there's something different about Hallowe'en night; some Pagans believe that at Samhain the barrier between worlds is thinner and easier to break through. Tradition says that to draw the spirit of a loved one to your home at Samhain a lighted candle should be placed in the window, so that they can find their way. Carved pumpkins with twisted faces are also placed outside, in order to keep away unwelcome presences.

Yule (Winter Solstice)

Yule is the time of the rebirth of the Sun, and is celebrated with feasting, merrymaking, bringing greenery into the house, and giving presents (both of these last two customs were practiced by the Romans at Saturnalia).

The Roman Saturnalia was a time of inversion of the usual social order, when masters served slaves, and in medieval times there was the custom of the boy bishop and the feast of fools, so some covens celebrate this aspect of the festival.

References

Moonhunter (2003), The Eightfold Wheel of the Year, http://www.manygods.org.uk/articles/essays/wheel.html