| Sabbats |
| Welcome to the Sabbat section of the site. Here you will find a lot of information on the Sabbats, which are the 8 Solar Wiccan Holidays. There is tons of information on the Sabbats, both in books and on the net. What I have here is what I follow within my own Coven, which came from the book Coven Craft by Amber K. Because there is so much info, there will be a separate page for each Sabbat. On each page there will be a description of the Sabbat, some things that you can do to celebrate, and a few rituals that you can do for each Sabbat. If you have a ritual that you would like to see here, by all means, please email them to me and I will add them to the appropriate page with full credit to you. You will also find some rituals that my students have done for Sabbats. All that being said, lets see what there is to know about the Great Sabbats. The Sabbats are the main holy days of Witchcraft and Wicca. They mark the changes of the seasons as the wheel of the years turns. The Sabbats have been celebrated for a very long time, before people were literate. So there are many different spellings as well as names for each one. As I stated before, there are 8 Sabbats in all. There are the 4 Greater Sabbats, Imbolc, Beltaine, Lughnassad, and Samhain. Then there are 4 Lessor Sabbats, Litha, which is the Summer Solstice, and Yule, which is the Winter Solstice, Ostara which is the Spring Equinox, and Mabon which is the Autumn Equinox. The Greater Sabbats, or cross-quarter Sabbats are the holidays that are based on the Celts' pastoral culture. The Lessor Sabbats, which are the equinoxes and solstices, were imported at a later time, thought to have come from the Romans, Angles and Saxons. The Sabbats keep the Witch in tune with the seasons and their changes in the natural world around us. Unlike the Esbats, Sabbats are mainly celebratory in nature. Although magickal rites can be done on the Sabbats, but the main focus is to celebrate. Many Coven will use the Sabbat as a time to teach about the Sabbat and what it means. Sabbat celebrations can be on the actual date of the Sabbat or within a few days for more convenience. If you cannot celebrate on the actual date, it is recommended that the Greater Sabbats be celebrated a few days after the actual date, rather than a few days before. There are mythological cycles that involve the Sabbats. This is because Witchcraft includes many different influences and cultures, and there is not one clear storyline that Witchcraft follows for the wheel of the year. There are at least 4 obvious mythological cycles among various traditions. The Oak King and the Holly King: The Oak King represents rebirth, rules the warm half of the year and at Litha, his crown is taken by the Holly King. The Holly King is the God in his aspect of the Lord of Death and he rules until Yule when the Oak King returns. This seems to be the myth of the Druids. The Summer Queen and the Winter King: Another cycle has the Goddess ruling the warm seasons (which is Imbolc to Lugnassad or Beltaine to Samhain) and the God rules the cold season. The Sun God's Life Cycle: The infant Sun God is born at Yule, grows to young manhood by Beltaine, then reaches his full power by Litha which is when he pours his energy into the crops. He then becomes a willing sacrifice at Lughnassad. At Yule, the Goddess is His mother. At Beltaine, She is His lover, and by Lughnassad She becomes the Crone. The Goddess Life Cycle: The Goddess is born at Yule, and becomes the Maiden by Beltaine. She then grows into the bountiful Earth Mother by Mabon, and the Wise Crone at Samhain. The tradition that you follow may have a clearly established myth cycle, or you may choose one to use as a framework for your ritual design. Either way, use what feels right. There is a brief introduction to each Sabbat below. For more detailed information on each Sabbat, please click the link for the Sabbat you wish to read more about. |
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