Читать книгу The Real Witches’ Handbook - Kate West - Страница 16

Witches celebrate eight seasonal festivals or Sabbats:

Samhain, 31 October. The beginning and therefore end of the Pagan year. The time when the Goddess returns as the Crone or Wise One.

Yule, the Winter Solstice, 21 December. The time when the days begin to lengthen and the rebirth of the Sun is celebrated.

Imbolg, 2 February. The time when the first buds are seen on the trees; the return of the Goddess as the Maiden.

Oestara, the Spring Equinox, 21 March. The time when day and night are equal. A time of balance and of throwing out the old and taking on the new.

Beltane, 1 May. The time when the marriage of the Goddess and the God is celebrated. The Goddess becomes the Mother and the God returns to reign beside her.

Litha, the Summer Solstice, 21 June. The height of the Sun King’s power, when the days begin to shorten again.

Lammas, 1 August. The time when the first harvest is brought in; the feast of the sacrificial God.

Madron, the Autumn Equinox, 21 September. Again day and night are equal and again this is a time of balance. This is the height of the harvest and a time of returning things to the way they should be.

Taken together these are often referred to as the Wheel of the Year, for, like a wheel, the cycle is never-ending, starting again as soon as it finishes.

The Sabbats celebrate the changing seasons of the old agricultural year as well as the festivals and lives of the Goddess and the God. As with the elements, we also see the meaning of the Sabbats in our daily lives and use the energies of the cycle to work towards understanding and balance for ourselves and for those around us. The Sabbats are often seen as a time of celebration. However, there is much successful Magic that can be worked on these occasions. (There is much more on these festivals and the Wheel of the Year in Chapter 4, ‘The Eight Sabbats’.)