The Seasonal Festivals

The God and Goddess are constantly changing with the seasons.
Yule is the celebration of the birth of the God who died at Samhain, he is born of the Maiden Goddess.

At Imbolc the Goddess is the bride, and God is youthful

At Ostara the Goddess is a virgin (spring)

And at Samhain the old God dies, and the crone Goddess mourns for the next 6 weeks...

Yule [honoring of the Mother Goddess] (December 21)
The altar is adorned with pine, rosemary, bay, juniper and cedar. The cauldron, should contain a red candle. After Casting a circle, calling quarters (from here on out, just know that that is what you will do before doing the ritual), and invoking the goddess and the god.
Stand before the cauldron and gaze within it. Say these or similar words: I sorrow not, though the world is wrapped in sleep. I sorrow not, though the icy winds blast. I sorrow not, though the snow falls hard and deep. I sorrow not; this too shall soon be past.
Ignite the red candle, as the flames leap up say:
I light this fire in your honor, mother goddess. You have created life from death; warmth from cold; The Sun lives once again; the time of light is waxing. Welcome, ever-returning God of the Sun! Hail mother of all!
Circle the altar and cauldron slowly, clockwise, watching the flames. Say the following chant for some time:
The wheel turns; the power burns.
Meditate upon the Sun, on the hidden energies lying dormant in winter,not only in the earth but within ourselves, Think of birth not as the start of life but as its continuation. Welcome the return of the God. After a time cease and stand once again before the altar and flaming cauldron. Say:
Great God of the sun I welcome your return. May you shine brightly upon the Goddess may you shine brightly upon the earth, scattering seeds and fertilizing the land. all blessings upon you, Reborn one of the sun!
Works of magic may follow. Eat, drink, and be merry with any food appropriate for Yule (see my recipes page.) Of course, this is only a suggested ritual. It is just to give you an idea of what Yule is about. As you can see, it is a celebration of the birth of the God, by the Goddess. Herbs for Yule: Holly, misteletoe, ivy, cedar, bay, juniper, rosemary, pine.
Imbolc [celebration of of God] (February 2)
A symbol of the season (a snowflake or white flower) or snow in a container can be placed on the alter. An orange candle should be anointed with mush, cinnamon, frankincense or rosemary oil, and unlit should be there too. Snow can be melted and used for water during circle casting.
After arranging the altar, lighting candles and incense etc. say something of the following:
This is the time of the feast of torches, when every lamp blazes and shines to welcome the rebirth of the God. I celebrate the Goddess, I celebrate the God; All the Earth celebrates Beneath its mantle of sleep.
Light orange taper from the red candle on the altar (or Southern poin of circle). Slowly walk around circle clockwise, bearing the candle. Say: All the land is wrapped in winter. the air is chilled and fronst envelopes the Earth. But the lord of the sun, Horned one of animals and wild places, Unseen you have been rebon of the gracious Mother Goddess, Lady of all fertility. Hail Great God! Hail and welcome!
Gaze at the candle (flame) and visualize your life blossoming with creativity, renewed engergy and strength. Looking into the future or past should work well at this time.
Eat, drink and be merry. break the circle.
Ostara [God is youthful, Goddess is a Maiden] (March 21)
Flowers should be laid on the alter, around the circle and on the ground. The culdron filled with spring water and flowers, and buds and blossoms may be worn as well. A small potted plant should be on the alter. Gaze upon the plant
O Great Goddess, you have freed yourself from the icey prison of t winter. Now is the greening, when the gragranc of flowers drifts on teh breeze. This is the beginning. Life renews itself by Your magic, Earth Goddess. The God stretches and rises, gager in His youth, and bursting with the promise of summer.
Touch the plant. Connect with its energies and, through it, all of nature. Travel through it with your visualization, from the cneter of your consciousness out through your arm ad fingers into the plan itself. Explore its inner nature; sense the processes of life at work within it. Still touching the plant say:
I walk the earth in friendship, not in dominance. Mother Goddess and Father God, instill within me through this plant a warmth for all living things. Teach me to revere the Earth and all its treasures. May I never forget.
Feel the waking energies around you in the EArth. Meditate on the changing seasons. eat drink, and be merry. Break the circle.
Beltane [the God & Goddess are married] (April 30)
If possible, clebrate Beltane in a forest or near a living tree. I not, bring a small tree within the circle.
Create a snall token or charm in honor of the wedding of the Goddess and the God to han upon the tree. It can be anything you wish: bags filled with flowers, strings of beads etc.
O Mother Goddess, Queen of the night and of the Earth; O father God, King of the day and of the forests, I celcbrate you union as nature rejoices in a riotous blaze of color and life. Accept my gift, Mother Goddess and Father God, in honor of Your union.
Place tokens on tree.
From you mating shall spring forth life anew; a profusion of living creatures shall cover the lands, and the winds will blow pure and sweet. O Ancient Ones, I celebrate with You!
Midsummer (June 21)
Before the rite, make up a small cloth pouch filled with herbs such as lavender, chamomile, St. John's wort, vervain, carnation, and rose. Mentally pour all your troubles, problems, paoins, sorrows and illnesses into this bag of herbs as you construct it. Tie it shut with a red string. Place this on the altar for use during the rite. The cauldron should also be there or nearby. Even if you use candles to mark quarters, the red candle should be on the altar.
stand with wand upraised
I celebrate the noon of summer with mystic rites. O great Goddess and God, all nature vibrates with your energies and the Earth is bathed with warmth and life. Now is the time to forget past cares and banes; Now is the time for purification. O fiery sun, urn away the unuseful, the hurtful, the bane, in you omnipotent power. Purify me! Purify me! Purify me!
Lay wand on the altar. take up herbal bag and light it in the red candle on the altar, when it is burning, drop it intot eh cauldron and say: I banish you by the powers of the Goddess and God!
I banish you by the powers of the Sun, Moon, and Stars!
I banish you by the powers of Earth, Air, Fire and Water!
See the hurts and pains burning into nothing and say:
O Gracious Goddess, O gracious God, on this night of Midsummer magic I pray that you charge my life with wonder and joy. Help me in attuning with the energies adrift on the enchanted night air. I give thanks.
Reflect upon the purification you have undergone. Feel the divine energy washing you clean.
Midsummer is a good time for all kinds of magic. Healings, love magic, and protections are especially suitable. EAt, drink, and be merry. break the circle.
Lughnasadh (August 1)
Place sheaves of wheat, barley or oats, fruit and breads apon the alter. Perhaps a loaf fashioned in the figure of the Sun ora man to represent the God. Corn dollies, symbolic of the Goddess, can be present as well.
Holding aloft the sheaves of grain say:
now is the time of the First Harvest, when the bounties of nature give of themselves so that we may survive. O God of the ripening fields, Lord of the Grain, grant me the understanding of sacrifice as you prepare to deliver yourself under the sickle of the Goddess and journey to the lands of eternal summer. O Goddess of the Dark Moon, teach me the secrets of rebirth as the Sun loses its strength and the nights grow cold.
lift a piece of fruit and bite it, savoring its flavor, and say:
I partake of the first harvest, mixing its energies with mine that I may continue my quest for the starry wisdom of perfection. O lady of the Moon and Lord of the Sun, gracious ones before Whom the stars halt their courses, I offer my thanks for the continuing fertility of the Earth. May the nodding grain loose its seeds to be buried in the Mother's breast, ensuring rebirth in the warmth of the coming Spring.
Comsume the rest of the fruit.
Mabon (September 21)
Decorate the altar with acorns, oak sprigs, pine and cypress cones, ears of corn, wheat stalks and other fruits and nuts. Also place there a small rustic basket filled with dried leaves of various colors and kinds.
Stand before the altar, holding aloft the basket of leaves and slowly scatter them so that they cascade to the ground within the circle. say:
Leaves fall, the day grow cold. The Goddess pulls her mantle of Earth around her as You, O Great Sun God, sail towards the West to the lands of eternal enchantment, wrapped in the coolness of night. Fruits ripen, seeds drop, the hours of day and night are balanced. Chill winds blow in from the North wailing laments. In this seeming extinction of nature's power, O Blessed Goddess, I know tha life continues. For spring is impossible withouht the second harvest, as surely as life is impossible without death. Blessings upon you, O Fallen God, as you journey inot the lands of winter and into the Goddess'loving arms.
Place the basket down adn say:
O Gracious Goddess of all fertility, I have sown and reaped the fuits of my actions, good and bane. Grant me the courage to plant seeds of joy and love in the coming year, banishing misery and hate. Teach me the secrets of wise existence upon this planet, O luminous one of the night!
Samhain (October 31)
Place upon the latar apples, pmegranates, pumpkins, squashes and other late automn fruits. Autumn flowers such as marigolds and chrysanthemums are fine too. Write on a piece of paper an aspect of you rlife which you wish to be free of: anger, a baneful habit, misplaced feelinging, disease. Teh cauldron or some similar tool must be present before the altar as well, on a trivet or some other heat-proof surface (if the legs aren't long enough). Asmall, flat dish marked with an eight-spoked wheel symbol should also be there. Prior to the ritual, sit quietly and think of friends and loved ones who have passsed away. Do not despair. Know that they have gone on to greater things. Keep firmly in mind that the physical isn't the absoulute reality, and that souls never die.
lift one of the pomegranates and, with your freshly-washed white-handled knife, pierce the skin of the fruit. Remove several seeds and place them on the wheel-marked dish. Rise your wand, face the altar and say:
on the night of Samhain I mark your passing, O sun king, through the sunset into the Land of the Young. I mark also the passing of all who have gone before, and all who will go after. O Gracious Goddess, Eternal Mother, you who gives birth to the fallen, teach me to know that in the time of the greatest darkness there is the greatest light.
Tast eh pamegranate seeds; burst them with your teeth and savor theeir sharp, bitersweet flavor. Look down at the eight-spoked wheel symbol on the plate; the wheel of the year, the cycle of the seasons, the end and beginning of ll creation. Light a fire within the cauldron (a candle is fine) sit before it, holding the piece of paper, gazing at its flame say:
Wise One of th Waning moon, Goddess of the starry night, I create this fire within Your cauldron to transfor tht which is plaguing me. May the energies be reversed: From darkness, light! From band, Good! from death, birth!
Light the paper in the cauldron's flames and drop it inside. As it burns, know that your ill diminishes, lessens and finally leaves you as it is consumed by the universal fires. Looking into future, past, or past-lives is good at this time.
Full Moon Rite:
Preform this at night, in view of the Moon if possible. Crscents, white flowers, silver and other lunar symbols to be present on altar. A cauldron filled with water, and a piece of silver in it does well.
Gaze at the Moon. Feel its energies. say: Wondrous Lady of the Moon You who greets the dusk with silvered kisses; Mistress of the night and of all magics, who rides the clouds in blackened skies and spills ight uon the cold earth O Lunar Goddess, Crescented-One, Shadow maker and shadow breaker; Revealer of mysteries past adn present; Puller of seas and ruler of women; All-wise Lunar Mother, I greet You clecstial jewel at the waxing of its pwers with a rite in your honor. I pray by the Moon, I pray by the moon, I pray by the moon.
Now is the time for magic of all types for the full of the Moon marks the height of its powers, and all posititve spells cast then are pwerful.
Crescent cakes are traditional and milk, white wine, or lemonade.
This is all pretty much paraphrased from Scott cunningham, since it is convienient, and says all i need to say on the subject in this small space.

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