Hello Folks. Today we’ll be discussing ways to celebrate the wheel of the year. Grab a mug of something tasty! I’m drinking Winter Chai by Tea Forte at the moment.
I’ve meant to start this blog several times, but kept running up against fear and writer’s block and imposter syndrome. None of those have gone away, but I’m doing it anyway! Finally, I decided that the New Moon in Aquarius was an auspicious time to begin a new community enabled by technology. Since the New Moon falls close to Imbolc, it’s a great time to discuss the Wheel of the Year and how it plays out in our practices.
The wheel of the year consists of 8 celebrations or sabbats based largely on a Wiccan approach. It brings together celebrations that were practiced in a variety of Northern European cultures, namely Samhain, Winter Solstice, Imbolc, Spring Equinox, Beltane, Summer Solstice, Lughnasadh, and Autumn Equinox. Nowhere was the wheel of the year practiced in one place in antiquity, but many of the celebrations draw on pagan traditions that have been around for millennia.
I have a bit of an uneasy relationship with the modern conception of the wheel of the year. I’m not Wiccan and never have been. I find the stories about the god and the goddess to be removed from my personal life. I’m no longer a farmer, so the agricultural underpinnings of several of the festivals fall flat for me. I live in the Upper Midwest of the United States where certain seasons last longer than those in the traditional wheel of the year (looking at you, Winter). There’s a lot of parts of the wheel of the year that don’t quite line up with my practice.
I have found several helpful concepts as I have read books on the wheel of the year, especially Year of the Witch by Temperance Alden and Wild Wisdom Companion by Maia Toll.
Make it your own
There are individual celebrations that help us to mark time throughout the year. This includes important birthdays, secular celebrations, and variations on the themes of the eight pagan sabbats. What celebrations are key to your experience of time?
Connect with your local seasons and natural cycles
Temperance talks about this in her experience in South Florida which has a very different climate than that of the United Kingdom where the wheel of the year was born. Neither Imbolc nor the spring equinox herald spring where I live. I’m lucky if it’s spring by the time that Beltane rolls around. So, I’m learning to adjust my practice to the realities of the land that I live on.
Celebrate often!
There’s something really supportive about checking in with nature every 6 weeks or so, and being grateful for whatever season you find yourself in.
Deepen your community
The other part of the modern wheel of the year that I appreciate is connecting with my witchy community and seeing how various practitioners celebrate. My kitchen witches have elaborate feasts. I tend to make special tea blends and hedge ride. Others get crafty. I love seeing the diversity of our practices around a unifying theme or time of year.
The wheel of the year encourages me to connect with others and with nature, as well as to celebrate in my practice. How do you interact with the wheel of the year? Drop a comment below or check out my About Me to get to know each other better!
I have felt disconnected from the wheel since moving to Florida. I am looking for new ways to connect, so I love hearing all of the different ways witches practice the same holidays!
Welcome, Luna!
I can imagine that Florida would be very different than the parts of the world that I am used to. I’m going to lean into warming essential oils for Imbolc to help balance out the cold around these parts.