The Wheel Of The Year (The Wheel for short) is often a confusing one for Australian Pagans. In the southern hemisphere, the dates for all of the solstices, equinoxes and seasons are inverted. For example Yule (mid winter) is traditionally celebrated in the northern hemisphere towards the end of December. Thus for us here in Australia, Yule would be celebrated toward the end of June (as shown in the image above).
Though most pagans follow the Wheel Of The Year, not all paths and traditions do. Some only observe some parts of it, some others follow the seasons through an altogether different way.
Below is an explanation of the Wheel Of The Year for those of us in Australia, followed by description of what each festival is and means.
- Samhain April 30th
- Mid Winter (Yule) June 22nd
- Imbolc August 1st
- Sring Equinox (Ostara) September 22nd
- Beltaine (Walpurgis) October 31st
- Summer Solstice (Litha) December 22nd
- Lughnasadh February 2nd
- Autumn Equinox (Mabon) March 22nd