The Wheel Of The Year

 

     The Wheel of the Year consists of the eight Sabbats. These sacred Wiccan holidays are based on the natural turning of the seasons. The Summer and Winter Solstices are opposite each other on the calender and mark the longest day/shortest night and shortest day/longest night respectively. They are called Litha and Yule in most Wiccan traditions. The Spring Equinox, called Ostara, and the Fall Equinox, called Mabon, mark the two days of the year when the light and darkness are in balance with each other. The other four Wiccan Sabbats are often called the Cross Quarter days. They are Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane and Lughnasadh.

Of these Pagan holidays, three are considered to be fertility festivals. They are the springtime celebrations of Imbolc, Ostara and Beltane. Three are harvest festivals, Lughnasadh, Mabon and Samhain. These Sabbats are based on the agricultural significance of these times of the year that have been observed since ancient times.

Some of the Sabbats may be called by different names or with different spellings within certain traditions. For more information on each of the Wiccan Sabbats, please click on the name.

 

 

Samhain

Yule

Imbolc

Ostara

Beltane

Litha

Lughnasadh

Mabon