The Wheel

   

Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature - the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter. ~ Rachel Carson

   

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Brute force crushes many plants. Yet the plants rise again. The Pyramids will not last a moment compared with the daisy. And before Buddha or Jesus spoke the nightingale sang, and long after the words of Jesus and Buddha are gone into oblivion the nightingale still will sing. Because it is neither preaching nor commanding nor urging. It is just singing. And in the beginning it was not a Word, but a chirrup. ~ D. H. Lawrence

   

Festivals of the North and South

The Wheel of the Year

   By Doire.

   

This is probably the best known set of Pagan festivals. Predominantly celebrated by eclectic Pagans, Celtophiles, and Wiccans it marks their eight religious observations of the year - Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltaine, Litha, Lughnassadh, Mabon, and Samhaine. The 'wheel' reference is linked to the common tendency to illustrate the cycle of the year in a circle crossed with spokes and to the belief that life is cyclical, repeating the same pattern each time of birth, life, death. This association of Pagan and wheel is an old one shown in carvings dating from the Dark Ages of Pagans and cartwheels. The wheel is in all probability derived from specific solar rituals where wheels filled with burning straw were rolled down long hills as a part of the festivities. Many Pagans celebrate some or all of these festivals, including Pagans whose religious path doesn't actually incorporate them. They are a uniting aspect of our very diverse faith. TWith the Wheel, the year is divided into 2 sets of four - the first four are the Quarter days and revolve around specific solar events. These events are Winter and Summer Solstice and the Vernal and Autumnal Equinoxes. The other set of four are the four Cross-Quarter days. They fall inbetween the solar days. Common custom places these events on the 1st or 2nd of the month but as 'cross-quarter' days, they rightfully fall on the day occuring equidistant from the last solar day and the next one to come. The Wheel of the Year represents consecutive stages in not only the passage of the year, but also of life. It commences with birth, procedes through growth, maturity, decline, death, and then rebirth once more and is usually tied to the sun and earth through a mythological personification of the natural cycle of life. In many Pagan faiths, not just the Wiccan and Celtic, the story of a nature God and Goddess and their cyclic relation is a common dominant theme. Usually the god is Heavenly and the goddess earthly (although not always as evidenced by Tammuz and Inanna). The life and actions of these two deities is linked to the natural seasonal cycles. The actual cycle and legend varies from group to group, person to person. In celebrating the Wheel of the Year, consider what each of these festivals means, what it means to you, and how it fits into the Wheel. You don't have to use the common traditions but rather seek out what has meaning to you. ~ Winter Solstice/Yule - a time of rebirth when light returns to the world       Northern Hemisphere - the 21/22nd of December       Southern Hemisphere - the 21/22nd of June ~ Imbolg- the first spring festival when life begins to awaken. A time of purification and dedication       Northern Hemisphere - commonly celebrated on the 2nd of February, technically fell on the 3rd of February this year       Southern Hemisphere - 7/8th of August ~ Vernal Equinox/Ostara - a celebration of light and birth       Northern Hemisphere - the 20th of March       Southern Hemisphere - the 23rd of September ~ Beltaine/May Day - a celebration of fertility and passion       Northern Hemisphere - commonly celebrated on the 1st of May, technically falls on the 5th of May       Southern Hemisphere - the 7th of November ~ Summer Solstice/Litha - when the sun reaches its zenith       Northern Hemisphere - the 21st of June       Southern Hemisphere - the 22nd of December ~ Lughnassadh - a celebration of harvested fertility and also mourning for the coming dark       Northern Hemisphere - commonly celebrated on the 2nd of August, technically falls on the 7th of August       Southern Hemisphere - 4th of February ~ Autumnal Equinox/Mabon - another harvest celebration when the balance shifts to darkness       Northern Hemisphere - the 22/23rd of September       Southern Hemisphere - 21st of March ~ Samhaine/Halloween - a festival that honours the dead and acknowledges the darkness within life       Northern Hemisphere - commonly celebrated on the 31st October, technically falls on the 7th of November       Southern Hemisphere - the 5/6th of May