What is the "Wheel of the Year" and What Holidays do Witches Celebrate? by Taliesen Enion Vawr
|aerie worship is centered around four great festivals which record in chronological order the birth, growth, and decline of the fruits of the earth. These festivals and four lesser festivals corresponded to natural cycles of Nature (animal mating, seasons, planting and harvest) and the cycles of the Sun (Solstices and Equinoxes). These are|
The four lesser Sabbats are
These comprise a total of eight major festivals. We have attached a link to a Basic Sabbat Ritual at the bottom of this page.
If one follows the faerie path and offers the sacrifices of love and spiritual dedication to the Divine Earth Goddess and the Celestial God during these Sabbats, we believe that he or she will make evident an inner awareness of their true spiritual nature. Like our earlier Pictish and Celtic forbearers, Welsh Witches have an affinity for patterns in Ritual, Song, Words, and Art, and are an intensely proud and passionate people. The rich Sabbat festivals, customs, artwork and music are indicative of a continuing Celtic heritage, which is best represented by the Triscele, a Celtic version of the Yin Yang symbol. A Triscele is three spiral lines appearing to move in the same direction from a central point, enclosed by a circle. This symbol of three is an important element in the Welsh religious philosophy. Three is the number of the stages of life. The goddess shows three faces: Maid, Mother and Crone.
Faerie Witches also have a great love and concern for Nature in all her aspects. This love created the reflections of human life mirrored in the seasons that are the basis for our art, music, ritual and spirituality. There is a veneration of hills and streams, springs and trees which personify divine power. Even fish (the Salmon of knowledge) are part of the divine Triad of Love, Knowledge and Power. The seasons of the year renew the Goddess and she needs the participation of her creations to keep the cycle going. This is the real function of the Sabbats. They reinforce the ties between humankind, the Earth and Sun that give us life.
Unlike other gods that allow humanity to exist at their sufferance, the Lord & Lady need us just as much as we need them, and we are partners in the pageant of Life. The Welsh year is divided into two halves: October 31st to April 30th, the dark part of the year, and May 1st to October 30th, the light half of the year. The beginning of the year occurs at Nos Galon Gaeof (Samhain).
NOS GALON GAEOF
|Samhain, All Hallows Eve, Westwind Sabbat|
Begins Sundown, October 31. The Festival of the Last Harvest; Focus on divination and departed Ancestors. The beginning of the Witch Year. The God presides. The end of good weather.
GWYL CANOL GAEAF
|Yule, Alban Arthan|
Winter Solstice begins Sundown, December 21 (day before Solstice.) Day of the Yew, Mistletoe, Palm and Silver Fir. Birth of the Sun God; the Divine Child.
NOS GWYL FAIR
|Candlemas, Olimelg, Brigid|
Sabbat begins sundown, February 2; Fire Festival of Cerridwen, We prepare light so that our goddess may find her way out of the darkness and return to us; Cerridwen, the triple goddess of poetry, smithcraft, and medicine, presides. We bid farewell to the horned god.
GWYL CANOL GWENWYNOL:
|Spring Equinox, Alban Elfed, Eostar Sabbat|
Begins sundown, (March 20th or 21st or the day before the Equinox) Day of the Gorse. Festival of the Goddess Eostar, to whom the hare and the scarlet egg are sacred. Fertility Rites for the early sowing. The Goddess Arianrhod names and arms the Sun God, Llew. The Sun God, Llew, rides forth in splendor.
|Bealtaine, May Eve, Eastwind Sabbat|
Begins sundown, April 30. Fertility Rituals for growth and health of crops and animals. The beginning of good weather. The Sun God becomes the Lover of the Goddess. The Goddess Bloduewedd presides.
GWYL CANOL HAF
|Midsummer Eve, Alban Hefin, Litha Sabbat|
Begins sundown, (June 20th or 21st or the day before Summer Solstice) Day of the Heather. The Feast of the Summer Goddess who rules Marriage. The Sun God is crucified by his Dark Self and his domains confiscated.
NOS GWYL AWST
|Lughnasadh, Lammas, Festival of August, Southwind Sabbat|
Begins sundown, July 31. Funeral Games of Lugh and Festival of Early harvest. The death of the sacred king, that life might continue; he is symbolically eaten. The new king weds the Goddess.
GWYL CANOL HYDREF
|Autumn Equinox, Alban Elfed, Mabon Sabbat|
Begins sundown, September 21 (day before Equinox) Day of the Aspen. Harvest festival. Horned God is mourned by the Goddess.
|FESTIVAL NAME||BEGINS AT|
|Gwyl o Rhiannon (Feast of Rhiannon)||Sundown December 2|
|Bellisama Dydd (Day of Bellisama)||Sundown December 12|
|Gwyl o Golau (Festival of Lights)||Sundown December 13|
|Gwyl Nadolig (Yuletide Tree Festival|
and Elder Festival)
|Sundown December 23|
|Gwyl o Gwin a Hyfrydwch (Festival of|
Wine and Pleasure)
|Sundown December 28 thru December 31|
|Braciaca Dydd (Day of Braciaca)||Sundown January 23 thru January 24|
|Gwyl o Danu a Cernunnos (Festival of|
Love: Danu and Cernunnos)
|Sundown February 13 thru February 21|
|Merriddyn Dydd (Day of Merriddyn)||Sundown February 28|
|Gwyl o Merriddyn (Feast of Merlin)||Sundown March 1|
|Rhyfeddod Lleiaf o Rhiannon|
(Lesser Mysteries of Rhiannon)
|Sundown March 3 thru Dawn March 6|
|Rites of Wine and Pleasure||Sundown March 21 thru March 25|
|Cernunnos Dydd (Day of Cernunnos)||Sundown April 30|
|Madb Dydd (Day of the Dark Goddess)||Sundown May 23|
|Rites of Harvest||Sundown June 5 thru June 14|
|Gwyl o Epona (Feast of Epona)||Sundown June 12|
|Gwyl o Bardd (Festival of the Bards)||Sundown June 17 thru June 22|
|Well Blessing Rite To the Water Goddess||Sundown June 23|
|Gwyl o Cerridwen (Feast of Cerridwen)||Sundown July 13|
|Festival of the Forest Spirits||Sundown July 19 thru July 21|
|Lugh Dydd (Day of Lugh)||Sundown August 5|
|The Day of The Queen of Heaven||Sundown August 14|
|Feast of the Late Wine||Sundown August 19|
|Festival of Heroes||Sundown Aug 22 thru Aug 25|
|Birth of the Mother||Sundown Sept 7|
|Greater Mysteries of Llyr||Sundown September 24 thru 28|
|Birth of Taliesin||Sundown Sept 25|
|Feast of Ancestors||Sundown November 1|
|Feast of Gods of Harvest and Hunt||Sundown Nov 9 thru Nov 11|