| The Sabbats |
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| ~ Of Wiccans and Druids ~ "Druidry and Wicca are distinct and seperate and the best way to consider them is as brothers and sisters ... Druidry is biased towards a reverence for the Sun, whereas Wicca is biased towards Lunar reverence ... Both, however, work in a circle, with the four quarters and four elements and celebrate the seasonal festivals." Phillip Carr-Gomm, Voices from the Circle, 1996 Despite seperate identities, Wiccans and Druids have several links that bind them. For instance, both have reverence for Mother Earth and believe that She is the Mother Goddess. Both see themselves as guardians and worshippers of Nature. Both also believe that the purpose of ritual is to 'contact the Divine -- within and without'. Druids and Wiccans also share perceptions of time in the celebrations of the Eight Fold Year, seen as an endlessly rotating wheel, also known as The Wheel of The Year. The eight points in the year's cycle, which are the focus of special rituals, are the summer and winter solstices (midsummer and midwinter), the autumnal and spring equinoxes (when day and night are of the same length) and the mid points between them. The midpoints are called by the old Celtic seasonal names and the cycle is based on teh old pagan seasonal celebrations which marked these critical points in the Celtic year. Source: "The World of the Druids" by Miranda Green |
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| ~ Festivals of Fire ~ "A Song of Long Ago: Sing it lightly --- sing it low --- Sing it softly --- like the lisping of the lips we used to know ..." James Whitcomb Wiley The Sabbats were all fire festivals because of their association with the phases of the sun. Fire, usually in the forms of balefires (ritual bonfires) were lit in a specified manner depending on which Sabbat was being observed. The Eight Sabbats in the Celtic Year were: Samhain - October 31 Yule - Winter Solstice Imbolc - February 2 Alban Eiler (Ostara in Wicca) - Vernal Equinox Bealtaine - May 1 Alban Heruin (Midsummer in Wicca) - Summer Solstice Lughnasadh - August 1 or 2 Alban Elved (Mabon in Wicca) - Autumnal Equinox Sabbats are best celebrated with others if for no other reason than the joy of being alive. The Celts celebrated their Sabbats with food, drink, dance, song and all things pleasurable. It was a time to put aside the concerns of work, a day for the larger community to gather to worship and to give thanks., to rest and rejoice, relax and renew old acquaintances. Magic is also at work during the Sabbats. Evocations and invocations can be powerful experiences on Sabbats. Every Celtic Tradition has slight variations on the central theme of each Sabbat, though the overall concepts remain the same and others add or elimate minor Sabbats depending upon their seasonal beliefs and associations. The Celtic Year began with the Festival of Samhain continuing through the Autumnal Equinox or the Festival of Mabon. On the following pages, we will discuss the Eight Sabbats and meaning. The paths on these pages are by no means written in proverbial stone and feel free to amend or omit things as you and your Grove deem necessary. Source: "Celtic Myth & Magick" by Edain McCoy and "Celtic Magic" by D. J. Conway |
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| Samhain |
| Yule |
| Imbolc |
| Alban Eiler |
| Beltane |
| Alban Heruin |
| Lughnasadh |
| Alban Elved |
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