ADF Groves celebrate the 8 Neo-Pagan High Days: Samhain, Winter Solstice, Imbolc, Spring Equinox, Beltaine, Summer Solstice, Lughnassad, and Autumnal Equinox. The following description of those High Days is accompanied by a rundown of the Neo-Pagan mythology surrounding the Wheel of the Year for clarification of why things would be done in a "modern" context.
Samhain is the end of the old year, and the beginning of the new.
This is the time when the veil between the worlds is thinnest. This
festival was celebrated in Celtic cultures as the final harvest, the
last feast before the winter famine. Often, it is associated with the
Feast of the Dead, where ancestors are remembered and asked to join in
the festivities.
In Neo-Pagan myth, the God dies at Samhain, symbolizing the reaping
of the harvest. The God is sacrificed (or dies) at the end of the feast,
and with his death, the world goes into a deathlike slumber. This may be
tied to the mourning of the Goddess Demeter in Greek mythology, though if
it is, the tie is very indirect. In Neo-Pagan myth, the Goddess mourns
the death of her son and lover, while in Greek myth, Demeter mourns for her
daughter, who will return in 6 months.
The Celts did not really celebrate this Holy Day, and its later celebration
probably came from Norse contact, where 12 days of Yule were celebrated.
Rituals done at this time should probably be done to bring the Sun back, since
until this day, the sun has been waning and is now showing nine and a half hours
of light. The ancients, while they may have known that the Sun would return,
likely did rituals of some sort to ensure the process.
In Neo-Pagan myth, the God is conceived (some say born, in which case he both
dies and is conceived at Samhain) on the Winter Solstice. The symbolism is obvious
when you compare the God to the Sun, which appears reborn from the darkness at this
point.
In Ireland, it is around this time of year when the livestock begin to give
birth, and the ewes begin to lactate again. The ice and snow begins to melt and
the days start their climb to warmer temperatures, echoing the lactation that
figures so prominently into ancient mythologies. This is a fertility festival,
and shows the triumph over winter.
In Neo-Pagan myth, it usually represents the birth of the God, and the closest
depiction to the relationship between Goddess and God at this point would be the
Madonna and Child representations the Catholic Church uses. The Goddess is still
a maiden figure, but she cares for the child who will grow to be her husband one
day.
The Spring Equinox is the beginning of the Light half of the year, since this is
where the light portion of the day exceeds 12 hours. Spring plantings begin at about
this time.
In Neo-Pagan myth, the God begins to court the Goddess at this point.
Beltaine is the beginning of Summer and the end of planting season. It is
also the beginning of the season of war, and fires figure heavily into the festival.
Fertility is paramount at this point, as all the fields have been planted and the
Spring storms are ending. The only thing left for an agrarian community to do until
harvest is pray that the year is a good one. Often, this is the time that couples
decide to marry or have children, in a sense hoping that their own fertility will
transfer to the land.
Neo-Pagan myth places the marriage of the God and Goddess at this point in the
year. Many Neo-Pagans use Beltaine as their own date for marriage.
The Summer Solstice is the height of the Solar year, and is the beginning of the
descent into darkness.
Neo-Pagan myth has the God being at his strongest at this point, and the next
festival is the beginning of his descent.
This festival is the time of the first harvests, and the celebration of the games
in honour of the God Lugh, commemorating his mother. These are displays of strength
and skill designed to be a final fling before the weather turns colder.
In Neo-Pagan myth, Lughnassad often symbolizes the strength of the marriage
between the God and Goddess.
This Equinox represents the beginning of the dark half of the year. The harvests
are entering the middle stages, and the temperatures are dropping. All around, death
is becoming noticeable, from the trees to the disappearance of the animals going into
hibernation.
In Neo-Pagan myth, the God is dying, and the Goddess is getting old. This is the
end of His life, and He becomes a dark, underworld God.