Gaea's

Posts Tagged ‘21 December’

This is the Winter Solstice on or near December 21st

In the northern hemisphere, nights get longer and days get shorter until the day of the Winter Solstice when the cycle reverses. The word Yule comes from the Norse Jul meaning wheel. On this darkest of nights, the Goddess becomes the Great Mother, Gaea, and once again gives birth to the Sun God. This is a fire festival so celebrate with a Yule log in the fireplace, candles on the table and lights on the tree. Evergreens, holly, ivy and mistletoe, symbols of fertility and everlasting life, remind us that the cold darkness of winter will eventually give way to the warmth and new growth of spring. Read the rest of this entry »

The next step after defining Wicca in my mind, was to find out about the festivals or celebrations that one hears about. I have recently moved to the UK and somehow don’t believe that Wiccans dance naked in the moonlight in this cold or in the rain.

Wiccans celebrate 8 festivals as a means of attunement to the regular seasonal rhythms of nature. The festivals are also called “Sabbats” and is represented in the following wheel:

31 January: Imbolg, Oimelc, Brigit or February Eve

21 March: Spring Equinox or Ostara

30 April: Beltane or May Eve

22 June: Summer Solstice, Midsummer or Litha

31 July: Lughnasadh, Lunasa or Lammas

21 September: Autumn Equinox, Harvest Moon

31 October: Samhain, Sowyn or All Hollows

21 December: Winter Solstice or Yule

I will research each of the festivals listed above, but for now, I have the calendar. I have also noticed that Full Moon and the New Moon is also acknowledged, to a greater or lesser degree.

I have noticed a little discrepancy in my readings. Imbolc is listed as a Festival held on 31^st January. I came across some text that said that Imbolg is actually held on 2^nd February. Can someone explain the discrepancy?