Wheel of the Year
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 and the midpoints between them. Modern pagan observances are based to varying degrees on folk traditions, regardless of the historical practices of world civilizations. British neopagans popularized the Wheel of the Year in the mid-20th century, combining the four solar events marked by many European peoples, with the four midpoint festivals celebrated by Insular Celtic peoples.
Different paths of modern Paganism may vary regarding the precise timing of each observance, based on such distinctions as the lunar phase and geographic hemisphere. Some Wiccans use the term sabbat to refer to each festival, represented as a spoke in the Wheel.
Origins
Seasonal festival activities of pagan peoples differed across ancient Europe. Among the British Isles, Anglo-Saxons primarily marked the solar stations, while Insular Celtic peoples marked the four midpoints between them. The four Celtic festivals were known to the Gaels as Beltane, Lughnasadh, Samhain, and Imbolc.Influential works such as The Golden Bough by James George Frazer explored various European seasonal festivals and their possible pagan roots. The Witch-Cult in Western Europe by Margaret Murray examined reports of the European witch trials, including a 1661 trial record from Forfar, Scotland, where the accused witch was alleged to attend witches meetings "every quarter" at Candlemas, Roodmas, Lammas, and Hallowmas. The White Goddess by Robert Graves suggested that, despite Christianisation, the importance of agricultural and social cycles had preserved eight holidays of "the ancient British festal system", consisting of Candlemas, Lady Day, May Day, Midsummer Day, Lammas, Michaelmas, Halloween, and Christmas.
Two neopagan streams in Britain popularised these seasonal festival calendars in the twentieth century: the Bricket Wood coven, a Wiccan group founded by Gerald Gardner, and the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, a neo-Druidic group founded by Ross Nichols. Legend holds that Gardner and Nichols harmonised an eight-fold calendar during a naturist retreat, merging the four solar stations alongside their four midpoints as a unified festival cycle. Coordination eventually had the benefit of better aligning celebrations between the two neopagan groups. Gardner's first publications refer to the Celtic festivals as "May eve, August eve, November eve, and February eve".
The phrase 'Wheel of the Year' was in use by the mid-1960s to describe an annual cycle of eight observances. Prominent Wiccan Aidan Kelly gave names to the Wiccan summer solstice and equinox holidays in 1974, which were then promoted by Timothy Zell through his Green Egg magazine. Popularisation of these names happened gradually; in her 1978 book Witchcraft For Tomorrow, influential Wiccan author Doreen Valiente did not use Kelly's holiday names, instead simply identifying the solstices and equinoxes by their seasons. Valiente identified the four "Greater Sabbats", or fire festivals, by the names Candlemas, May Eve, Lammas, and Hallowe'en, while also naming their Gaelic counterparts Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasa, and Samhain.
Due to early Wicca's influence on modern paganism and the syncretic adoption of Anglo-Saxon and Celtic motifs, Wheel of the Year festival names in English commonly combine the Celtic names used by Gardner and the Germanic-derived names introduced by Kelly, regardless whether local celebrations are based on those cultures.
Festivals
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.In addition to the quarter and cross-quarter days, other festivals may also be celebrated throughout the year, especially in the context of polytheistic reconstructionism and other ethnic traditions. While festivals of the Wheel are steeped in solar mythology and symbolism, many Wiccan esbats are commonly based on lunar cycles. Together, they represent the most common celebrations in Wiccan-influenced forms of modern paganism, especially in Neopagan witchcraft groups.
Winter Solstice (Midwinter / Yule)
The winter solstice, falling on or about 21 December in the Northern hemisphere, is celebrated by neopagans under various names, including Midwinter and Yule. A name used by neo-druids is Alban Arthan. The Old English midwinter and ġeol referred to the winter solstice day, and was reportedly when the heathen Anglo-Saxons celebrated the festival Mōdraniht. Before the Old Norse festival of jól was Christianised, it was likely celebrated on the full moon of the lunisolar month following the winter solstice, rather than the solstice itself. This ranges between January 5 and February 2 in the Gregorian calendar.The winter solstice has been recognised as a significant turning point in the yearly cycle since the late Stone Age. Ancient megalithic sites Newgrange and Stonehenge were carefully aligned with the winter solstice sunrise and sunset. The reversal of the Sun's ebbing presence in the sky symbolises the rebirth of the solar god and presages the return of fertile seasons. From Germanic to Roman tradition, this is the most important time of celebration.
Practices vary, but sacrifice offerings, feasting, and gift giving are common elements of Midwinter festivities. Bringing sprigs and wreaths of evergreenery into the home and tree decorating are also common during this time.
Imbolc (Candlemas)
Imbolc is the traditional Gaelic name for 1 February and traditionally marks the first stirrings of spring. In Christianity it is Saint Brigid's Day, while 2 February is Candlemas. It aligns with the contemporary observance of Groundhog Day. It is time for purification and spring cleaning in anticipation of the year's new life. In ancient Rome, it was a shepherd's holiday, while the Gaels associated it with the onset of ewes' lactation, prior to birthing the spring lambs.For Celtic neopagans, the festival is dedicated to the goddess Brigid, daughter of The Dagda and one of the Tuatha Dé Danann.
In the Reclaiming tradition, this is the traditional time for pledges and rededications for the coming year and for initiation among Dianic Wiccans.
Spring Equinox (Ostara)
Ostara is a name for the spring equinox in some modern pagan traditions. The term is derived from a reconstruction produced by linguist Jacob Grimm of an Old High German form of the Old English Ēostre, an Anglo-Saxon goddess for whom, according to Bede, feasts were held in her eponymous month, which he equated to April in the Julian calendar.Known as Alban Eilir in strands of neo-druidry, this holiday is the second of three spring celebrations, during which light and darkness are again in balance, with light on the rise. It is a time of new beginnings and of life emerging further from the grips of winter.
Beltane (May Day)
Beltane comes from the Gaelic name for May Day, with the Welsh names being Calan Mai, Calan Haf, or Cyntefin. Traditionally, it marked the beginning of summer. It is known as Walpurgis Night in Germanic countries. Ancient Rome observed Floralia at the same time of year.Following the Christianisation of Europe, the May Day festival was generally associated with maypole dancing and the crowning of the May Queen.
May Day is celebrated in many neo-pagan traditions; in neo-druidry, it recognises the power of life in its fullness, the greening of the world, youthfulness, and flourishing.
Summer Solstice (Midsummer / Litha)
The summer solstice, falling on or about 21 June in the Northern hemisphere, is celebrated by neopagans under various names, including Midsummer and Litha. A name used by neo-druids is Alban Hefin.The name Litha, is found in Bede's The Reckoning of Time, which preserves a list of the Anglo-Saxon names for the months of the early Germanic calendar. Ærra Liða roughly corresponds to June in the Gregorian calendar, and Æfterra Liða to July. Bede writes that "Litha means gentle or navigable, because in both these months the calm breezes are gentle and they were wont to sail upon the smooth sea".
In some neo-druid traditions the festival is called Alban Hefin. The sun in its greatest strength is greeted and celebrated on this holiday. While it is the time of greatest strength of the solar current, it also marks a turning point, for the sun also begins its time of decline as the wheel of the year turns. Arguably the most important neo-druidic festival, due to the focus on the sun and its light as a symbol of divine inspiration. Neo-druid groups frequently celebrate this event at Stonehenge.
Lughnasadh (Lammas)
Lughnasadh or Lúnasa is the Gaelic name for a harvest festival held on or around 1 August. Its Welsh name is Calan Awst. In English it is Lammas. Some Wiccan traditions base their celebrations on the Celtic deity Lugh, for whom the holiday is named, while others draw on more eclectic sources. While Lughnasadh is one of the most common names for the holiday in Wicca currently, in early versions of Wiccan literature, the festival is referred to as August Eve.Lammas is often referenced interchangeably with Lughnasadh, though the two are sometimes recognised as distinct and separate holidays. While Lughnasadh has Celtic origins, Lammas has Anglo-Saxon origins, and was often marked with the blessing of loaves of bread by the church. The name Lammas implies it is an agrarian-based festival and feast of thanksgiving for grain and bread, which symbolises the first fruits of the harvest.