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Sabbats are wiccan holidays. The Wiccan year begins after Samhain according to the
Celtic almanac.
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The Goddess gives birth to a son, the God, at Yule. Yule is a time of the
greatest darkness and is the shortest day of the year. Since the God is also the Sun, this
marks the point of the year when the Sun is reborn as well.Thus, the Wicca light fires or
candles to welcome the Sun's returning light. The Goddess, slumbering through the winter
of Her labor, rests after Her delivery. To contemporary Wiccans it is a reminder that the
ultimate product of death is rebirth. |
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Imbolc marks the recovery of the Goddess after giving birth
to the God. The lengthening periods of light awaken Her. The God is a young, lusty boy,
but His power is felt in the longer days. Imbolc is also known as Feast of Torches,
Oimelc, Lupercalia and Brigid´s day. |
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Ostara, or Spring Equinox marks the first day of true spring. The Goddess
blankets the Earth with fertility, bursting forth from Her sleep, as the God stretches and
grows to maturity. On Ostara the hours of day and night are equal. Light is overtaking
darkness. |
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Beltane marks the emergence of the young God into manhood. Stirred by the
energies at work in nature, He desires the Goddess. They fall in love, lie among the
grasses and blossoms, and unite. The Goddess becomes pregnant of the God. The Wiccans
celebrate the symbol of Her fertility in ritual. The flowers and greenery symbolize the
Goddess; the May Pole the God. Beltane marks the return of vitality, of passion and hopes
consummated. |
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Is also known as Litha, arrives when the powers of nature reach their
highest point. The Earth is awash in the fertility og the Goddess and God. Midsummer is a
classic time for magic of all kinds. |
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Lughnasadh is the time of the first harvest, when the plants of spring
wither and drop their fruits or seed for our use as well as to ensure future crops.
Mystically, so too does the God lose His strength as the Sun rises farther in the South
each day and the nights grow longer. The Goddess watches in sorrow and joy as She realizes
that the God is dying, and yet lives on inside Her as Her child. |
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Mabon is the completion of the harvest begun at Lughnasadh. Once again day
and night are equal, poised as the God prepares to leave His physical body and begin the
great adventure into the unseen, toward renewal and rebirth of the Goddess. Nature
declines, draws back its bounty, readying for winter and its time of rest The Goddess nods
in the weakening sun, though fire burns within Her womb. She feels the presence of the god
even as He wanes. |
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At samhain, the Wicca say farewell to the God. This is a temporary
farewell. he isn't wrapped in eternal darkness, but readies to be reborn of the Goddess at
Yule. Samhain is a time of reflection, of looking back over the last year, of coming to
terms with the one phenomenon of life over which we no control - death. The Wicca feel
that on this night the separation between the physical and spiritual realities is thin.
Wiccans remember their ancestors and all those who have gone before. |
This is taken from Scott Cunningham´s book "Wicca, A guide to the Solitary Practitioner".
A complete must for wiccan "newbies".
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