Turning
The Wheel Of The Year

In the dead of winter, when the Light seems to be at its weakest, Darkness and Cold are defeated. The Sun is triumphant. The light and warmth will return to the Earth. Life will continue.

Well it really isn't that urgent. I mean, I live in sunny Southern California. If it's cold I can go turn on my heater. I get paid every week and if I'm hungry I can go to the market and buy anything I want. Even foods out of season in my hemisphere can be found easily thanks to modern commerce. Better yet, eat out while holiday shopping! Heck, I could even go to Mexico over the holidays and have beach weather every day. I can visit the snow if I want, but it isn't a requirement. But I'm sure millenia ago it was urgent to my northern european agrarian ancestors. They'd probably think me a wimp for complaining I was freezing at the first cold snap! With an ancient Goddess being credited with the invention of skiing and snowshoes, inclimate weather didn't keep my ancestors indoors, but it did mean that they had a lifestyle I will never have.

Wiccans celebrate the longest night of the year with a festival of light. It is a mystery -- the darkest hour sees the triumph of the light. In darkness the light is born. Many Wiccans see this as a birth of Light. But since the Light is a babe, so to speak, we help it along. We light candles, we burn a large bundle of decorated wood called a "yule log". We sing and invite friends and family over to share with us. Gifts are exchanged. Trees and branches are brought in and decorated with lights. The outside of the house is decorated with lights,and a wreath is on the door. Indeed, the triumph of the Light means a lightening of the spirits of the people, as well.

In the scheme of things, Groundhog Day is the most useless holiday leftover from our heathen past. Every year people gather around the home of a poor frightened groundhog before sunrise just to see if he sees his shadow. That would make me run. If he does see his shadow and darts back into his hole we are doomed to have six more weeks of winter.

Of course there is going to be six more weeks of winter. February 2nd is exactly six weeks before March 22, the first day of Spring! **duh**

The Celts used to place a bowl of milk to the east of the groundhog's hole to entice it to come out facing the sunrise. As this would put him facing the light, his shadow would fall behind him and he wouldn't see his shadow. The milk makes him hopeful of finding more food, so he doesn't go back into his hole. Which brings us to the forgotten part of this legend: this tells the Wee Folk who make things grow -- and sleep the winter in the groundhog's hole -- that it is time to wake up and start their work.

This Sabbat is lunar in nature and is celebrated February 2nd, although it can also be celebrated on the first new moon in February.

The first people who taught me Wicca described this holiday as the time you tell Old Lady Winter to take a hike and begin to kick the rocks out of your fields prior to plowing. As the chant says above, it is also a time to recognize and get rid of the things that mentally and emotionally keep you from going forward with your life. As you are sending Old Lady Winter away, she will be going to the land of the dead, so you ask Her to take your impediments with Her. Death's grip is inexorable. Ancient Celts used to burn fires on the hills and heights to welcome back and strengthen the returning light. That is also part of the celebration, too. Either way, this Sabbat is a readying for action come the warmer weather.

Spring is late. A young girl calls on the Gods to heal a dying bird. The Goddess Ostara -- who is probably Babylon's Astarte -- appears and changes the dying frozen female bird with broken wings to a male rabbit to save its life. And it lays rainbow colored eggs. (How many of you caught on to the fact that the Easter Bunny is male, even though he lays eggs?)

This Sabbat is a solar one, marking the equinox and the beginning of the Light Half of the year.

This is the celebration of the return of the green growth. Many Wiccans color eggs and eat them to symbolize the beginning of new growth in themselves. Others take cleansing baths or eat certain greens to cleanse past sorrows. All have the same purpose. That is to mark the end of the preparation stages of the year and the beginning of the growth stages. This is when a person begins to act upon their goals, moving ahead quickly, since all that is in their way has been seen to, it is now time to go forward, sowing and planting for success, so to speak.

The birth of the Goddess' son or daughter is usually celebrated at this time. Whether the Wiccan believes in a Goddess only, or a God as well, the child represents the growing things that spring up in this season.

When I was little I was in dance classes at the local park. We did a long spring program, which culminated in a dance around the maypole. Little did I know at that young age I was enacting an ancient rite of fertility performed throughout Europe.

This Sabbat, celebrated on April 30th, is really the second full moon after equinox. This is a lovers' holiday, where feasting is abundant, flowers are everywhere, and ... um....er.. **ahem** fertility is the main concern. All of the symbols revolve around sex and lust and fertility, for without them, how would the species continue? If there wasn't some sort of fertility going on with the Goddess how would we get flowers and fruits? How would there be lambs and calves and piglets?

A common day for Wiccans to get married, it is a celebration of the very stuff life is made of and of the beauty of the warm season. A bonfire and feast are common. And there is lots of food, usually prepared by the women, who, incidentally, feed the meal to their husbands or lovers by hand. Music and dancing are present, with a ceremonial leap of the lovers, hand-in-hand, over the flames to keep the "fire" in their relationship.

By the way ... the use of the title "Lord" was commonly used for the God, as "Lady" was used for the Goddess. Remember what I said about the God being the growing things born at Ostara?

The Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year! Lots of sunlight and good weather for playing in the fields, picnicking, enjoying the fruits from spring. The fields are thriving and the harvest looks to be good. It is a happy and joyful holiday.

Yet, on this Sabbat, there is also cause for sadness, too. For the Sun will weaken from this time forward. Some traditions do mourn the loss of the Lord as Sun King here, others honor the Sun in all its strength. But all the celebrations are parties out of doors. Some even have their "Maypoles" at this Sabbat instead of Beltane.

This is a very love oriented holiday because the Summer Solstice is considered the preferred day to do spells to bring love into your life. I did something similar two years ago -- a spell to mend a broken heart -- and the timing of my ex-boyfriend's dumping me put it within a week of the Summer Solstice. When I did the spell, I did not ask for anyone by name because that would be unethical and manipulative, nor did I have anyone in mind at all. Rather, I asked that love surround me to help ease the pain of the loss of my relationship. Within 5 days a young man I had been friends with told me he had feelings for me. One thing led to another and we started going out. How did it work out? **smile** I married him.

Sometimes also called "Hloaf", this Sabbat should be the Harvest Moon -- the full moon of August. The first harvesting is done and the nights are still warm enough for there to be parties as well as lots of work.

There is no doubt about it, the Grain God has died, meaning that the wheat and barley are ready to drop their kernels to the ground. So, you grind the first grains harvested and make it into bread and eat it, giving thanks to the Grain God or the Green Knight for giving their lives so that you can eat through the long, cold winter months. Well, maybe I just make a fresh loaf in the breadmaker and honor the God.

This is the time of year Wiccans look to find a bit of return on their goals for the year. The projects they planned in the fall and winter and began in the spring should be coming into completion (if they have not come to completion yet). Time to sit back and enjoy the proverbial fruits of our labors.

This is the Autmnal Equinox, a day of equal daytime and nighttime. The King of Summer is dead soooooo... let's have a barbecue!

Well that's the way a lot of the celebrations look. This is a wake for the Lord who died and enters the Land of the Dead. This is typically when Oktoberfest begins because, after all, Mr. Barleycorn died so we could have beer. We must raise a glass in his honor. Have you come to the conclusion that this religion has a built in emphasis on food? It sure does. Part of being a community is coming together and having a good time. What's a party without food?

More importantly, the role of the Witch, Wise Woman or Cunning Man is to be the keeper of the spirituality of the community whilst people go about their daily lives. It is a full time job to farm, mill, cooper, wainwright, ranch, woodwork, smith, weave, raise children (etc.). Who has time to learn the ways of the world around you, to know what is right for the season or phase of the moon, to be able to auger a bit of the future so the wisest decision can be made? Do you, with your busy schedule, have time to learn all about these things, to be able to keep these studies up? More than likely not, even with all our labor saving devices. So One is designated the keeper of the healing lore, the lore of the woodlands, the lore of the Goddess and the Seasons as they cycle round and round. That One keeps this knowledge for the community to remind them once in a while to look into their spiritual center to help balance and celebrate their lives.