The seasonal shifts and holidays are extremely important. The Wheel of the Year is celebrated through ritual holidays falling on the equinoxes, solstices, and points in between called fire festivals. The modern Wheel is a collection of rites taken from European lineages, primarily Celtic, Saxon, and Teutonic. The modern Wheel tells the story of the Goddess and God, through many faces and myths, as they grow and change through the seasons of the year. The changing seasons help the Wiccans get into immediate contact with deity, harmonizing them with the world. The winter solstice, also called Yule, is when the Sun's light starts to grow. Cultures across the Northern Hemisphere saw it as the birth of the young God. Many of the familiar Christmas celebrations were taken from Yule, including mistletoe, Yule logs, and decorating evergreen trees with lights {candles}, a symbol of the everlasting Goddess and the return of the God of light. Although still deep in winter, the light and life are returning to the world. Imbolc comes on February 2, a fire festival often dedicated to the Goddess Brid{pronounced "Breed"}, or Bridget. Brid is the triple goddess of light, and a patron of the home, healers, poets, and smiths. Some compare her to the Greek goddess Hestia, the goddess of the home and hearth. Candles are lit and homes blesses. Advent wreaths are a remnant of Brid's crown of candles. Imbolc is sometimes known as Candelmas. Ostara, the spring equinox, is the celebration of the Goddess rising and the Earth's resurrection. She returns from her winter slumber and brings with her the first signs of spring. The festival is named after the Teutonic goddess Ostre, the egg or seed goddess. Blessing and planting seeds and painting eggs are part of these traditions. Although named after Ostre, the Greek myth of Peresphone rising from the realm of the dead to usher in the growing seasons with her mother, Demeter, also resonates on the equinox. Beltane is the fire festival of May 1. Traditionally, herds were driven between large bale fires of sacred wood to purify them of any lingering winter illness. Modern purification rites, both with fire and water, are performed on Beltane. It is dedicated to the young, fiery god Bel. The God has grown from the winter solstice into a young man, and claims his role as the Goddess' lover. Sexuality and passion are enjoyed on Beltane, and May Pole dances are traditional, representing the union of the God into the Earth Goddess. The summer solstice, or Feast of Litha, is the divine marriage of Goddess and God. They are at the peak of their power, as the land is in full bloom and the harvest is expected. The day is the longest of the year, giving us an extended period of twilight, when the doors to the faery realm are open wide and we may celebrate with the spirits of the otherworld. Some traditions see this holiday as the battle of the divided light and dark aspects of the God. The dark king is victorious, claiming the throne with the Goddess. Lammas the fire festival of Augues,1. In the Irish traditions it is known as Lughnassadh, after Lugh of the Long Arm, a god of ligt and grain. His talents are many and uneqaulled. Games and sports are played on this feast. Though originally named Lugh's Funeral Feast, after his mother's death, it is now associated with Lugh's own death, as the sacraficed king of the grain. Corn-dolly effigies are burned and the first grains of the harvest are cut and given as an offering to the gods in thanks. The sacrifice of the old God ushers in the first harvest. All graphics ©Mystic Muse Designs No graphics are to be taken, copied, stolen, or for any reason used unless written permission by me.This set exclusive for The Muse. Best viewed in I.E 5.0+,800X600 Resolution, 24 Bit True Color