IMBOLIC (February 2)
OSTARA (Circa March 21)
BELTANE (May 1)
LITHA (Circa June 21)
LUGHNASSADH (August 1)
MABON (Circa September 22)
SAMHAIN (October31/Novermber 1)
Most Scholars belive that the modern religious holidays are based on the older Pagan holidays. In a way they are tied in to the seasons. "Easter" and Springtime are inexorably linked. But for those who are Christian, "Easter" is the event of Jesus Christ rising from the grave, they celebrate that first and any connection it has to Spring is just something we humans decided to add on afterwards to make it more meaningfull for us. They thing they are celebrating is the resurrection of thier savior, no the rebirth of Nature (as we Pagans do). If anything Nature is mirroing the historic event by coming alive! The Christian traditions (including those we just spoke about) tend to view history in as a straight line, extending from creation to the end of the world.
To the Pagan, however, whose inspiration comes from Nature rather than from the pages of a Book, this just does not make sense. It is impossible to create something from Nothing and it is impossible to truly destroy anything.Things simply change form, and the only constant is change.
The eight Sabbats of the Wiccan year represent the cycle of life. Together, they are sometimes referred to as the Wheel of the Year. The Sabbats, or the spokes of the wheel, are the solstices, the equinoxes, and the halfway points between each of them. By acknowledging those points, we are actually celebrating the continuity of the entire cycle.
All of these holidays are rooted within Ancient European History. It's worth nothing, thought, that different traditions either marked the solstices or equinoxes, or just the cross-quarters-Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane, and Lughnassadh. Wicca is the first religion ever to observe all eight.
The Celts were one group that placed emphasis on those "cross-quarters". Since Wicca takes a large part of it's inspiration as a whole, from this culture, those holidays are considered the greater Sabbats. This is not to say that the other four are any less sacred. This just means that more emphasis is placed on the celebration of these four Sabbats. These Sabbats also tend to be more comlpex because they are a combo of two seasons. For isntance, Samhain is a combo of Autumn and Winter, so it is a harvest holiday, ful of bounty and celebration, but there is an edge of cold beneath the surface, foreshadowing the dark winter to come.
The pattern of the seasons is always the same. The cycle is constant: each season blends seamlessly into another, and it never ends. The wheel is always turning. We celebrate the Sabbats to ensure that we stay connected with what is going on around us. And that we are always changing and moving along with the Earth. Within every Sabbat is the seed of it's opposite. So we celebrate the changes completely and with a whole heart, but we stay mindful that nothing is permanant except change.
The idea of "nature" as a sepearte entity is really an illusion. Our shivering bodies are just as much a part of Nature as are the chill winds. And the changes in the Earth, bring changes in us. When we celebrate the Sabbats, we are nurturing that connection.
You will want to try to do your Sabbat rituals on the precise date, if it will make it a more meaningfull and intense experience. I try to do my rituals when I can fit it into my schedule as close to the Sabbat as I can. If that means that I may stay up really late one weekight, or do the rite earlier in the day then I wanted to, I still try to celebrate the Sabbat on that day...(here is that commitment I was talking about).
If you are just starting Wicca you may want to make sure an do something to observe all eight of the Sabbats just to make that connection and to get you used to the making the connection with all of Nature's cycles. It will help you solidify your commitment and help make your spirituality a more important part in your everyday life. Observing the Sabbats dosen't always mean you have to do a ritual. It can be something as simples as meditatin on a symbol of the season or going for a quiet walk in the woods. It does not matter exactly what you do for the Sabbat-just that you recognize that it is a Sabbat. Whatever you decide is a ritual, is.
Many of the Sabbats are still observed unintentionally by people in this country. Samhain has become Halloween, Yule has become Christmas and Chanukah, Imbolc has become Groundhog day, Ostara has become Easter, Beltane has become May day, and Mabon has become Thanksgiving. If you are feeling isolated in your celebrations, try to notice elements of the old holidays peeking through the new ones. If you look into the eyes of the Baby Jesus in a manger, you may see the newborn sun at solstice time.
Carrie Lawhorn 2000
Some information taken from 21st Century Wicca..Citadel Pulbishing 1998 by;Jennifer Hunter
