Imbolc- (February 1-2) marks the recovery of the Goddess after giving birth to the God. The lengthening periods of light awakens her. The God is a young, lusty boy, but his powers is felt in the longer days. The warmth fertilizes the Earth (The Goddess), and causes seeds to germinate and sprout. And so the earliest beginnings of Spring occur. This is a Sabbat of purification after the shut-in life of Winter, though the renewing power of the Sun. It is also a festival of light and of fertility, Fire represents our own illumination and inspiration as much as light and warmth. Imbolc is also known as Feast of Torches, Oimlec, Lupercalia, Feast of Pan, Snowdrop Festival, Feast of the Waxing Light, Brighid's Day, and probably by many more names. Some Witches of the old Scandinavian custom of wearing crowns of lit candles. One of the traditional times for initations into covens, or self-dedication rituals.
Ostara- (around march 21rst, but the date may vary by 2 days. Spring Equinox.) It is known as Spring, Rites of Spring, Eostara Day. Marks the first day of true Spring. The day and night are equal again. The God grows and matures. The Goddess and God impel creatures to reproduce. This is a time of beginnings, action, of planting spells for future gains, and of tending ritual gardens.
Beltane- (April 30-May 1) Marks the emergance of the young God, into manhood. Stirred by the energiesat work in Nature, He desires the Goddess. They fall in love, lie among the grasses and blossoms, and unite. The Goddess becomes pregnant by the God. Witches celebrate the symbol of her fertility in ritual. Beltane (also known as May Day) has long been marked with feasts and rituals. Many persons rose at dawn to gather flowers and green branches from the fields and gardens, using them to decorate the May Pole (Supremely phallic symbols, were the focal point of Old English village rituals), or to decorate their homes, or theirselves. The flowers and greenery symbolize the Goddess; The May Pole the God. Beltane marks the return of vitality, of passion and hopes consummated. Witches sometimes use the May Poles today during the Beltane rituals, but the cauldron is a more focal point of ceremony. It represents, of course, The Goddess-the essence of womenhood, the end of all desire, the equal, but opposite of the May Pole, symbolic of the God.
Midsummer- Midsummer, the Summer Solstice (June 21), also known as litha, arrives when the powers of nature reaches their highest point. The Earth is awash in the fertility of the Goddess and God. In the past, bonfires were lept to encourage fertility, purification, health and love. The fire once again represents the Sun, feted this time of the longest daylight hours. Midsummer is a classic time for magick of all times.
Lughnasadh- (on or about August 1) Lughnasadh is time of the First Harvest, when the plants of Spring wither and drop their fruits or seeds for our use as well as to ensure future crops. Mystically, so too does the God lose his strength as the Sun rises farther to the South each day and the nights grow longer. The Goddess watches is sorrow and joy as she realizes that the god is dying, and yet lives on her inside her and her child. Lughnasagh, also known as August Eve, Feast of Bread, Harvest Home, Lammas. Summer passes, Witches remember its warmth and bounty in the food we eat. Every meal is an act of attunenment with Nature, and we are reminded that nothing in the universe is constant.
Mabon- (on or around September 21) Mabon, The Autumn Equinox, is the Completion of the Harvest begun as Lughnasadh. Once again the day and night are equal, poised as the God prepares to leave his physical body and begin the great adventure into the unseen, toward renewal and rebirth of the goddess. Nature declines, draws back its bounty, readying for Winter and its time of rest.
Shamhain- At Shamhain (October 31) The Craft says farewell to the God. This is a temporary farewell. Also know as: November Eve, Feast of the Dead, Feast of the Apples, Hallows. Samhain is a time of reflection, of looking back over the last year, of comming to terms with one phenomenon of life over which we have no control. The separation between the physical world and spirit world is very thin, so wiccans, remember their loved ones who have passed over.