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Because witches honor nature, they have eight festivals, or sabbats, that mark the year as it turns through ist seasons. Here are short explanations of their eight sabbats:
Samhain happens near Halloween and is when the Wiccan year begins. The altar cloth is black, because now is the time of year that is dark. 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. Because of this it is a good time to invite the beloved dead to visit.
Yule or winter solstice happens near December 21, which is the longest darkest night of the year. Our earliest ancestors did not understand the yearly path of the earth around the sun and panicked when the daylight hours were shortned and there was absence of or very little sunlight for days on end. They probably thought some monsters was going to devour them during this time of year. Because of this fear they worship a higher source for a savior. When the days became longer, they attributed this to the birth of light, their Savior! That is the beginning of the time of year ruled by light.
Brigid or Candlemas, on February 2, is the festival of the Goddess Brigid, patron of poetry. Brigids poetry inspires to shake off winter´s sleep now, strech and start to get ready for spring.
Spring Equinox happens about March 21, the sun´s light and warmth are a signal for the fowl to lay eggs again. Other animals as well have begun their families. This is the time of year to celebrate the egg, new growth, and rebirth after a long hard winter.
Beltane or May-Day, is a celebration of love. Love -- moon rhymes with June, so the univers gets created.
Summer Solstice happens about June 21, it is the longest day of light with the darkness of night as the shortest time of year. It is a time to be thankful for the abundance of the present and the harvest yet to come. And all things move in spirals.
Lammas is in August 1. Now the Corn King dies as his body is harvest from the fields. The Dark King, Shepherd of souls, becomes stronger now. He embrace with his love in the coming trials and celebrations of the wintertime.
Autumn Equinox happens near or on September 21. Today, the length of night time is equal to the length of daytime. Nature is not really ballanced, but ordered. Autumn Equinox is a balance of light and dark, night and day and therefore is truly an outlandish moment in time: a equality, a equal balancing, an actual moment of balance.
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