The Sabbats are seasonal festivals which mark the turning of the Wheel of the Year and the cycles of nature. Most western pagans celebrate eight sabbats; the Summer and Winter Solstices, the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes and the quarter days or fire festivals - Samhain, Imbolc, Beltaine and Lughnasadh.
The eight Major Witch's Sabbats are:
Samhain -- (October 31) This is considered the first day of the New Year for most witches and pagans. Also known as Halloween, this is also the day to honor loved ones who have passed away during the previous year. Because the veil is thinnest between the worlds of the living and the dead on this day, Samhain is a good day for divination. Colors for this day include black, purple and orange.
Yule -- (December 20-22, depending on when the solstice falls) This day is also know as the Winter Solstice. It recognizes the shortest day of the year, and symbolizes the death and rebirth of the sun, as represented by the God. Gift giving, decorated evergreen trees, holly sprigs, and of course, the Yule log are only a few of the symbols of this season. Yule's colors are red, green and white...
Imbolic -- (February 2) Also know as Candlemas or Imbolic, this holiday signals the end of winter's gloom and the anticipation of the coming spring for most witches and pagans. Candles to banish the darkness of the winter season are the symbols of this day. White and pastels are the colors for imbolic.
Ostara -- (March 20 -22, depending on when the equinox falls) This holiday, also known as the Spring Equinox, celebrates the newness of spring and the rebirth of life on the earth. Symbols of new life to come, such as seeds and eggs, take center stage on this day, and pastel colors are used as well.
Beltane -- (May 1) This holiday celebrates the joys of love and union, and honors the sacred marriage of the God and Goddess. For this reason, Beltane, also known, as May Day is an especially favorite time for handfastings, pagan wedding ceremonies, to be performed. Symbols of this day include any trinkets signifying romantic love, maypoles and flowers. The rainbow colors of the spectrum herald this day...
Midsummer -- (June 20 -22, depending on when the solstice falls) This holiday, also referred to as Summer Solstice or Litha, is the major solar festival, and recognizes the day when the longest day of the year and the shortest night. This is when the God is in his greatest glory and strength, but it also recognizes his impending and inevitable death. Bonfires and sunflowers are the symbols for this day, and all sun colors -- gold, orange, and yellow -- are appropriate.
Lammas -- (August 2) Also known as Lughnassadh or Cornucopia, this is the first festival of the harvest season. Symbols for this festival include the signs of harvest, breads, fruits and vegetables. The holiday colors are browns, dark golds, and reds. This is also a good time to harvest herbs for magical use.
Mabon -- (September 20 -22, depending on when the equinox falls) This holiday, the second of the harvest celebrations, and is celebrated much like Lammas. The symbols and colors are the same...
Major events for this year and historical dates.
2010
January
o1: Birthday of folkorist Sir James Frazier, 1854
o13: Last of Austria's witchcraft laws repealed in 1787
o15: New moon
o19: Birthday of Dorothy Clutterbuck
o25: Birthday of poet Robert Burns, 1759
o27: Up Helly Aa celebration, Shetland Islands, Scotland
o30: Full moon -- Cold Moon at 01:18 am
o30: Birthday of Z Budapest, founder of Dianic Wicca
o30 - Feb. 2: Roman celebration of Februalia
February
o2: Imbolc
o2: Lammas or Lughnasadh (Southern Hemisphere)
o12: Death of Gerald Gardner in 1964
o12 - 15: PantheaCon (San Jose, CA)
o13: New moon
o14: Valentine's Day
o15: Lupercalia
o18 - 21: Convocation (Detroit, MI)
o21: Birthday of author Patricia Telesco
o28: Full moon -- Quickening Moon at 11:38 am
March
o1: Matronalia, the Festival of Women
o1 - 31: Goddess Festival (Fayetteville AR)
o6: Birthday of "official witch of Salem" Laurie Cabot in 1933
o15: New moon
o20: Ostara
o20: Mabon (Southern Hemisphere)
o26: Birthday of author and folklorist Joseph Campbell
o28: Death of author Scott Cunningham in 1993
o29: Full moon Storm Moon at 10:25 pm
April
o6: National Tartan Day
o14: New moon
o16: Birthday of author Margot Adler
o22: Earth Day
o23: Wiccan pentacle is officially added to the list of VA-approved emblems for gravestones, 2007
o28: Full moon -- Wind Moon at 8:19 am
o30: Walpurgisnacht celebrated by German witches
May
o1: Beltane
o1: Samhain (Southern Hemisphere)
o5: Cinco de Mayo
o9: Mother's Day
o13: New moon
o27: Full moon -- Flower Moon at 7:07 am
June
o1: England's Witchcraft Act of 1563 goes into effect
o10: Hanging of Bridget Bishop, first victim in the Salem Witch Trials
o12: New moon
o12 - 13: St. Louis Pagan Picnic (St. Louis, MO)
o13: Birthday of Gerald Gardner in 1884
o17: Birthday of Wiccan author Starhawk
o20: Father's Day
o21: Litha
o21: Yule (Southern Hemisphere)
o22: England's last Witchcraft Law is repealed in 1951
o26: Full moon -- Strong Sun Moon at 7:30 am
o27: Birthday of author Scott Cunningham in 1956
July
o4: Independence Day
o11: New moon
o11: Solar eclipse, at 3:33 pm
o13: Birthday of Dr. John Dee in 1527
o19: Rebecca Nurse is hanged in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692
o25: Full moon -- Blessing Moon at 9:37 pm
o31: Birthday of author JK Rowling
August
o1: Lammas or Lughnasadh
o1: Imbolc (Southern Hemisphere)
o1: Birthday of medium Edward Kelley, 1555
o6 - 8: Dublin Irish Festival (Dublin, OH)
o9: New moon
o15: Birthday of Charles Leland, folklorist and author, 1824
o20: Birthday of author Ann Moura in 1947
o24: Full Moon -- Corn Moon at 1:05 pm
o31: Birthday of author Raymond Buckland
September
o8: New moon
o10: Birthday of Carl Llewellyn Weschcke
o14: Birthday of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa in 1486
o16 - 19: CWPN Harvest Gathering (Marlborough, CT)
o17: Television welcomes Bewitched in 1964
o21: International Day of Peace
o22: Fall Equinox or Mabon
o22: Ostara (Southern Hemisphere)
o23: Full Moon -- Harvest Moon at 5:17 am
October
o1: Birthday of Isaac Bonewits, founder of 'Ar nDra'iocht F'ein
o7: New moon
o12: Birthday of occultist Aleister Crowley
o18: Birthday of Nicholas Culpeper, noted herbalist, in 1616
o20: Birthday of Selena Fox of Circle Sanctuary
o22: Full moon -- Blood Moon at 9:37 pm
o31: Samhain
o31: Beltane (Southern Hemisphere)
o31: Covenant of the Goddess formed in 1975
November
o2: Birthday of Wiccan author Sirona Knight
o6: New moon
o11: Veteran's Day
o21: Full moon -- Mourning Moon at 12:27 pm
o25: Thanksgiving day (United States)
o30: Birthday of Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, founder of Church of All Worlds
o30: Festival of Hecate Trivia
December
o5: New moon
o17: Beginning of Saturnalia
o21: Full moon -- Long Nights Moon at 3:13 am
o21: Winter Solstice or Yule
o21: Litha (Southern Hemisphere)
o25: Christmas Day
o25: Feast of Frau Halle, Germanic goddess
o31: Festival of Hogmanay
Also try this free pdf e-books:
Ray Abrahams - A Modern Witch Hunt Among The Lango Of UgandaKate Dumycz - Female Power Witchcraft And Gender In Elizabethan England
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