Sabbats and Esbats


There are eight main pagan holidays in a year, which revolve about the seasons and the path of the God and Goddess as the wheel of the year turns. These days of celebration are called sabbats. There are four major sabbats, and four minor sabbats. The minor sabbats are the solstices and equinoxes for each season, dates of the minor sabbats varies from year to year. It is always a good idea to look at an astrological or seasonal calender for each year, to determine the exact date of a minor sabbat. Major sabbats are on the same day each year, though different traditions disagree on the exact date for certain sabbats. Below are listed the most common dates, and a general discription of each sabbat.

Click on a sabbat name to jump to it's information, or scroll down to read Scott Cunningham's brief description of the Wheel of the Year and its sabbats.

The Wheel of the Year
by Scott Cunningham

Yule the Goddess gives birth to a son, the God

Imbolc marks the recovery of the Goddess, and the lengthening periods of light awaken Her. The light also illuminates the power of the young God, the warmth fertilizing the Earth (Goddess) causing seeds to germinate and sprout. It is spring.

Ostara marks the first day of true spring, and the Goddess blankets Earth with fertility, bursting forth from Her sleep, as the God stretches and grows to maturity. He walks in green fields and delights in the abundance of nature.

Beltane sees the 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.

Midsummer sees the powers of Nature at their highest point. The Earth is awash in the fertility of the Goddess and the God.

Lammas the time of the first harvests, sees the God losing his strength as the Sun rises farther in the South 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.

Mabon day and night are equal, poised as the God prepares to leave His physical body and begin the great adventure of the unseen, towards renewal and rebirth of the Goddess.

Samhain we say farewell to the God. He dies, but readies Himself to be reborn of the Goddess at Yule.

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Yule
Other Names: Winter Solstice, Yuletide
Minor Sabbat
Date: Around December 21

Yule coincides closely with the Christian Christmas celebration. This sabbat represents the rebirth of light. Here, on the longest night of the year, the Goddess gives birth to the Sun child and hope for new light is reborn. Yule is a time of awakening to new goals and leaving old regrets behind.

The Christian tradition of a Christmas tree has its origins in the Pagan Yule celebration. Pagan families would bring a live tree into the home so the wood spirits would have a place to keep warm during the cold winter months. Bells were hung in the limbs so you could tell when a spirit was present. Food and treats were hung on the branches for the spirits to eat and a five pointed star, the pentagram, symbol of the five elements, was placed atop the tree.

The colours of the season, red and green, are also of Pagan origin. A solar festival, Yule is celebrated by fire and the use of a Yule log. A piece of the log is saved and kept throughout the year to protect the home. That piece is used to light the next year's log.

Altar colors are also red and green, and additional altar decorations include: holly, mistletoe, pine cones, and other evergreen plants.

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Candlemas
Other Names: Imbolic, Lupercus
Major Sabbat
Date: February 2

Candlemas involves celebrations of banishing the winter and welcoming the spring. At the time of Candlemas, the newborn Sun God is seen as a small child nursing from his Mother.

At this phase of the cycle, winter is swept away and new beginnings are nurtured. Some Wiccan groups favor this time of the year for initiations into the Craft. It is traditional at Candlemas to light every lamp in the house for a few minutes in honour of the Sun's rebirth.

The altar is best decorated with new green leaves, seeds, and colors such as yellow or orange. Extra candles are also most appropriate.

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Ostara
Other Names: Spring Equinox
Minor Sabbat
Date: Around March 21

The Spring Equinox is the point of equilibrium - the balance is suspended just before spring bursts forth from winter.

The God and Goddess are young children at play and holiday festivals use brightly coloured eggs to represent the child within.

The easter bunny also is of Pagan origin, as are baskets of flowers. Traditionally, Ostara is a time for collecting wildflowers, walking in nature's beauty and cultivating herb gardens. This is the time to free yourself from anything in the past that is holding you back.

The altar should be decorated with flowers. Dishes made with seeds, nuts and leafy vegetables are traditionally eaten.

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Beltane
Other Names: Mayday, Walburga
Major Sabbat
Date: April 30, May 1

Beltane is the time of the sacred marriage which honours the fertility of the earth, it represents the divine union between the Lord and Lady.

Celebrations include weaving a web of life around the Maypole and leaping the Beltane fire for luck. Wiccan handfastings are common at this festival. This is a time of self-discovery, love, union and developing your potential for personal growth.

The altar can be decorated with nuts such as acorns, which symbolize fertility, and bright passionate colors, such as red or purple.

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Midsummer
Other Names: Summer Solstice
Minor Sabbat
Date: Around June 21

The Summer Solstice, the longest day, is a time of triumph for the light. This holiday represents the Sun King in all his glory.

In many Wiccan celebrations, this is when the Oak King, who represents the waxing year, is triumphed over by the Holly King, who represents the waning year. The two are one: the Oak King is the growing youth while the Holly King is the mature man.

Healings and love magick are especially suitable at this time. Midsummer Night's Eve is supposed to be a good time to commune with field and forest sprites and faeries.

Herbs for Midsummer are vervain, chamomile, rose, lavender, daisy, carnation and lily. Fresh flowers, make perfect altar decorations.

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Lammas
Other Names: Lughnassadh, Cornucopia
Major Sabbat
Date: August 2

This is the celebration of the first fruits of the harvest. The Sun King now progressing into the Dark Lord, gives his energy to the crops to ensure life while the Mother prepares to give way to her aspect as the Crone.

Now is the time to teach what you have learned, to share the fruits of your achievements with the world. Wheat weaving, such as the making of corn dollies, is traditional. Bread is baked and the altar is decorated with fruits and vegetables of the harvest.

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Mabon
Other Names: Autumn Equinox
Minor Sabbat
Date: Around September 21

At the Autumn Equinox, the days and nights are equal. It is a time of balance but light gives way to increased darkness.

It is the second harvest, and the Goddess mourns her fallen consort, but the emphasis is on the message of rebirth that can be found in the harvest seeds. It is a good time to walk the forests, gathering dried plants for use as altar decorations or herbal magick.

Cornbread and cider are good additions to festivities. Fall leaves, pine cones, and acorns make good altar decorations.

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Samhain
Other Names: Shadowfest, All Hallows Major Sabbat
Date: October 31

Samhain, popularly known as Hallowe'en, is the Witches' New Year. It is said to be the time when the veil between the worlds is the thinest, when souls that are leaving this physical plane can pass out and souls that are reincarnating can pass in.

Darkness increases and the Goddess reigns as the Crone, part of the three-in-one that also includes the Maiden and Mother.

The God, the Dark Lord, passes into the underworld to become the seed of his own rebirth. Many pagans prepare a Feast for the Dead on Samhain night, where they leave offerings of food and drink for the spirits. Divination is heightened this night. Jack-o-lanterns, gourds, cider, fall foliage can be used as altar decorations.

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