Sabbats

SABBATS FOR WITCHES

Samhain happens near Halloween and is when the Wiccan year begins. My altar cloth is black, because we are in the time of year that is dark. On my altar is the harvest, our "dead Lord" whose life is in the crops and "sacrificed" when the crops are killed to become our food. This is the time of death, of honoring and communing with spirits that have passed to the other side. Now the veil between the worlds is thin. It is a good time to invite our beloved dead to visit with us. This is not a gruesome exchange, but reverent, earthy, natural, further it is joyous and festive. We welcome the spirits of the departed , known and not known , and try to help them pass on to the next plane.

Yule or winter solstice December 22, which is the longest darkest night of the year. Marks the re-birth of the Sun God. The dark of Winter is safe like my bedcovers at night. Dark whispers of a Mother's love caress me. In the darkness of the Mother's womb, the void I am safe, sustained, at peace. and can move inward, into my own dark self, looking, learning, purifying. I can cleanse myself of all that blocks me from being born new with the rising new solstice sun when the sun king is born, with promises for the Spring ahead.

Brigid or Candlemas, on February 2, is the festival of the Goddess Brigid, patron of poetry, healing, and metalsmithing. Brigid inspires me to get the spring cleaning done and get ready to plant the new crop.

Spring Equinox happens about March 21, it is an occasion for decorating the room with daffodils and other spring blossoms, and also for honoring one of the younger women by appointing her the coven's Spring Queen and sending her home afterwards with an armfull of the flowers.

Beltane ,April 30'th , Begginning of Summer,Fire festival;Re-Birth of the Oak King. A celebration of love. The Ancient people, from the Priests and Priestesses to the farmers understood the power of love.

Summer Solstice June 22. The Sun-God significance of the Mid-Summer Sabbat is, literally, as clear as day. At the Summer Solstice , he is at his highest and brightest, and his day is at his longest. Witches honor him at the peak of his annual cycle.

Lammas July 31'st.. Now the Corn King dies as his body is harvested from the fields so that I may be fed, so that I may live, so that I may go into the winter months of darkness rich with his blood and love in my veins. The Dark King, Shepherd of souls, becomes stronger now. With WInter I will go inward, to the inner depths of my own soul. And HE will embrace me with His love in the coming trials and celebrations of the Wintertime. Some of my crops are harvested and I give thanks. Some of my crops are not yet ready and I must insure their harvest.

Fall Equinox September 21.Today, the length of night time is equal to the length of daytime. At the Equinox, I become aware that this time is not the balance, or rather the order, one usually sees in nature. Nature is not really balanced. But ordered. A cyprus by the ocean grows windblown by ocean storm and wind, bowing towards the earth. That cyprus is the usual balance or order of nature - stable, poised, in harmony. ALL of nature leans like the ocean-blown cyprus towards the dark earth. But Fall Equinox is a balance of light and dark, night and day and therefore is truly an outlandish moment in time: equality, a equal balancing, an actual moment of balance. I draw on my roots in the darkness, yet revel in the kiss of summer breeze and sun.

I face the darkness of the fall and winter ahead and so face mysteries. The Goddess has surprises for me in the wintry months ahead that will surpass my best hopes.


	SABBATS FOR WITCHES Samhain happens near Halloween and is when the Wiccan year begins. My altar cloth is black, because we are in the time of year that is dark. On my altar is the harvest, our "dead Lord" whose life is in the crops and "sacrificed" when the crops are killed to become our food. This is the time of death, of honoring and communing with spirits that have passed to the other side. Now the veil between the worlds is thin. It is a good time to invite our beloved dead to visit with us. This is not a gruesome exchange, but reverent, earthy, natural, further it is joyous and festive. We welcome the spirits of the departed , known and not known , and try to help them pass on to the next plane. Yule or winter solstice December 22, which is the longest darkest night of the year. Marks the re-birth of the Sun God. The dark of Winter is safe like my bedcovers at night. Dark whispers of a Mother's love caress me. In the darkness of the Mother's womb, the void I am safe, sustained, at peace. and can move inward, into my own dark self, looking, learning, purifying. I can cleanse myself of all that blocks me from being born new with the rising new solstice sun when the sun king is born, with promises for the Spring ahead. Brigid or Candlemas, on February 2, is the festival of the Goddess Brigid, patron of poetry, healing, and metalsmithing. Brigid inspires me to get the spring cleaning done and get ready to plant the new crop. Spring Equinox happens about March 21, it is an occasion for decorating the room with daffodils and other spring blossoms, and also for honoring one of the younger women by appointing her the coven's Spring Queen and sending her home afterwards with an armfull of the flowers. Beltane ,April 30'th , Begginning of Summer,Fire festival;Re-Birth of the Oak King. A celebration of love. The Ancient people, from the Priests and Priestesses to the farmers understood the power of love. Summer Solstice June 22. The Sun-God significance of the Mid-Summer Sabbat is, literally, as clear as day. At the Summer Solstice , he is at his highest and brightest, and his day is at his longest. Witches honor him at the peak of his annual cycle. Lammas July 31'st.. Now the Corn King dies as his body is harvested from the fields so that I may be fed, so that I may live, so that I may go into the winter months of darkness rich with his blood and love in my veins. The Dark King, Shepherd of souls, becomes stronger now. With WInter I will go inward, to the inner depths of my own soul. And HE will embrace me with His love in the coming trials and celebrations of the Wintertime. Some of my crops are harvested and I give thanks. Some of my crops are not yet ready and I must insure their harvest. Fall Equinox September 21.Today, the length of night time is equal to the length of daytime. At the Equinox, I become aware that this time is not the balance, or rather the order, one usually sees in nature. Nature is not really balanced. But ordered. A cyprus by the ocean grows windblown by ocean storm and wind, bowing towards the earth. That cyprus is the usual balance or order of nature - stable, poised, in harmony. ALL of nature leans like the ocean-blown cyprus towards the dark earth. But Fall Equinox is a balance of light and dark, night and day and therefore is truly an outlandish moment in time: equality, a equal balancing, an actual moment of balance. I draw on my roots in the darkness, yet revel in the kiss of summer breeze and sun. I face the darkness of the fall and winter ahead and so face mysteries. The Goddess has surprises for me in the wintry months ahead that will surpass my best hopes.