Wiccan Rituals

As each season comes and goes, the wheel of the year turns. A wheel is a wheel, there is no true end or beginning, it simply is and revolves upon it's axis endlessly. So it is with the festivals in the Wiccan faith, that each year we celebrate the seasons as they change, the coming of light and the height of the harvest, the dark days when the veil is thin. These days are steeped in ritual, deeply magical, and each holds it's own meaning to those of the Pagan religions.

Each holiday has it's own celebratory events, many of which occur after the customary sanctuary of the circle is called forth. The cardinal directions and their elements are summoned, the Watchtowers are invoked in ritual magic, and from there the seasonal celebrations commence. Once the celebrations wind down, the quarters are thanked and released, the Watchtowers acknowledged and everyone is free to go in perfect love and perfect peace.

Explore Wiccan holidays with me, in order from Midsummer through Yule and back again.

The Summer Solstice is celebrated on or around June 21st. It is a celebration of the longest period of light, and in most circles is devoted to worship of the God in his strength, and the Goddess in her glow as She is pregnant, having transitioned into the Mother.

The central focus of the Litha ritual is the continuation of Beltane's focus on fertility, strength and love. Litha is also the time of dedication and rededication, so for those new to Wicca this is the time to arrange pledging yourself to service and worship of the Lord and Lady.

Some plants and items associated with Midsummer are:

• Yellow and gold ribbons
• blades
• summer flowers
• emerald or jade
• oak
• chamomile

Mabon is celebrated on or around September 21st, and is a holiday devoted to the giving of thanks. Mabon is the second harvest festival, and it is here that the revelry of the harvest grows. Mabon is the time of balance, and is sometimes called the Feast of Avalon.

The Last Harvest approaches, the Goddess is heavy with child and thusly Mabon holds a great deal of celebration and reverence to the God and Goddess for the prosperity and challenges of the year.

Some plants and items associated with Mabon are:

• wine
• acorns
• pomegranates
• myrrh
• sapphires

Yule is celebrated on or around December 21st. Yule is the time of the dead of winter, when the Sun God is reborn to the Mother Goddess, who then becomes the Crone and retreats into her slumber. It is said that this slumber is the reason for the darkest and coldest days of Winter.

Yule is a celebration of the longest night, each night from here will grow shorter until Midsummer. A Yule log is burned during this festival, typically a log of ash wood, to bring warmth to our hearts and remind us of the blessed fires of summer.

Some plants and items associated with Yule are:

• evergreen boughs
• mistletoe
• pointsetta
• rubies
• blessed thistle

Beltaine is celebrated on May 1st, and is the festival of love and fertility. The God and Goddess lay with one another, and the Goddess, budding with pregnancy, blesses the land with her fertility.

During Beltaine, a dance is held around the may pole, in which revelers dance and draw in the love and energy of their intricate dance to decorate the pole with twists of brightly colored ribbon.

Some plants and items associated with Beltaine are:

• honeysuckle
• rose
• beads
• lilac
• strawberry

Celebrated on or around March 21st, Ostara is a time of balance between day and night. It is on this night that the Sun God and Maiden Goddess marry, and this union conceives to them a child who will be born at Yule.

Festivities during Ostara focus on new growth, planting and planning. The thrill of life lightens our hearts during Ostara. This holiday is the beginning of the fertile time, for our bodies, hearts, spirits and the land around us.

Some plants and items associated with Ostara are:

• daffodils
• peony
• jasmine
• seeds
• jasper