Into the Arms of the Wild: The Wisdom of the Wheel of the Year

The Wheel of the Year is an annual spell. Every Sabbat a knot in the cord and when we arrive at the ritual feast we can tend to the threads of the year, the places that need repair, where new weavings are needed, and old ones can be returned to the earth again.

The structure and seasonal holidays of the modern Wheel of the Year is largely based on both real and mythical Pre-British, British, Anglo-Saxon, and Celtic agrarian cultures (I explore more of this over in Spiraling Into the Center: The Wheel of the Year and the Lunar Sabbats). I feel relatively safe in assuming that most of the folks reading this post and practicing in some way as modern Pagans do not live with the lands that birthed these cultures. Even if you do, the Wheel of the Year, like most everything in modern Paganism was never meant to be an unchanging dictum from whoever is claiming to be the King of Witchcraft at any given time.¹ One of the great delights of modern Paganism is that it is a religion by and for the people, meant to grow and change as we grow and change, to reflect the many places and cultures we live in, and a practice that is as much a part of the diasporic experience as it is the lands it was first dreamed.

So let's explore how the Wheel of the Year can be engaged as a more open framework to make it intimately relevant to your personal practice. In another post I'll explore how you dream into being your own Wheel of the Year, but for now we'll continue to reference the eight Sabbats while expanding beyond their original cultural references. Much of modern Paganism is about the return of the old ways and the re-membering of traditions disrupted and hidden away - so adapting the Wheel of the Year to meet your needs as a Pagan living in the cultural diaspora of the Wheel's land-based origins is one of the ways we thrive as a Pagan people. We are coming home again to our practices wherever home might be for us.

image via @matthiasoberholzer

The Sacredness of Every Season

The Wheel of the Year reflects seasonal changes on a practical level that help us to connect to the land, sea, and sky, pay attention to important rhythms for growing crops and animal husbandry, and, especially in this day and age, measure time beyond the confines of capitalism's dangerous obsession with work and productivity. 

But the Wheel of the Year also reflects the transition of life that we all go through, from birth and death, to transitioning identities, new responsibilities, periods of learning and teaching, and all the spiritual and emotional experiences that come along with these things. The Wheel of the Year is a way, around every six weeks, to pause, recalibrate, and reconnect with that which you find most sacred in your life.

Pagans are by and large not a faith-based but an earth-based and relationship-based people. When compared to other liturgical calendars the goal of the Wheel of the Year is less about worship and more about re-weaving ourselves back into the world and honoring the holiness of all things no matter where they are in the process of being.² All is holy, for example, at the time of darkest night at Midwinter and all is holy at the time of the long day of Midsummer. How we recognize, engage with, and remind ourselves of that holiness changes from Sabbat to Sabbat but is reflected in ritual choices, spellwork, community work, and more. The holiness of a harvest festival may be recognized by honoring all that has been worked for and achieved in the past year, while the holiness of Imbolc might be centered around the sacredness of vow-making and choosing a path ahead. In other words, for many modern Pagans, we aren't as concerned about growing our faith in our God/dess/es but growing our awareness of and honoring our deeply interconnected relationship with all that is.

Most importantly, as you explore the Wheel of the Year it's important to ask yourself  Why? Why observe the Wheel of the Year (or similar variation)? What purpose does it serve in your life? How does it make you feel? What's the point? How do you need to be held throughout the year?

image via @matthiasoberholzer

For me, the Wheel of the Year serves as points of stabilization, where I can ground and center, and reconnect to what is most meaningful and valuable to me and my life. In the overculture I live in, the Wheel is a radical way of measuring time and feels like an easy and joyful rebellion to choose, that enriches my life and my practice. I have found solace in the Sabbats when my life has felt full of contentment as well as when things are tumultuous - the Sabbats are expansive points of space and time that can hold space for whoever I am and whatever I'm experiencing when I show up. I encourage you to take a moment and reflect on what the Wheel of the Year means to you and why you want to participate in its turning.

When you're ready, let's look at the broad underlying spiritual framework of each Sabbat. I've touched upon the mythology of the Wheel of the Year from a (mostly) Wiccan perspective to give you some mythological inspiration, but remember that this is only one tradition within Paganism that follows the Wheel, and there are as many myths as Pagans for each of the Sabbats.

Samhain: The New Year, a time for endings and beginnings, the third harvest when the veil between the worlds is thinnest. Connecting with ancestors and ancestral traditions. An auspicious time to divine backwards and forwards in time. Honoring those who have departed in the previous year. Making space for the holiness of grieving, especially being able to grieve as and within a community. A time of reconciliation. Making space for quiet and reflection. The death of the Old God, the Goddess as Crone and Midwife of the Dead. The Maiden begins her training in the mysteries of the underworld.

Winter Solstice: Celebrating moments of "a light in the dark" and the birth process whether connecting to birthing offspring, birthing a new idea or concept or birthing a new cultural movement. Recognizing the interconnectedness of life and death, honoring our fragility and vulnerability, as well as the people, places, and systems which help us feel safe. A time of honoring parents, especially those who identify as mothers. The Crone Goddess as Midwife, the Goddess as Mother, the God as the Child either in the womb or being born (the Oak King). The height of the Holly King's power.

Imbolc: Celebrating the spread of an idea, concept, movement, breakthrough. Honoring potential. Honoring the waking land as winter slowly recedes. Celebrating transitions of moving from one stage of learning and understanding to another (i.e. graduating high school and entering college or starting a new degree study as a Priest/ess). The Child God, the Crone Goddess returning to the lands of winter and/or is reborn as the Maiden Goddess bringing the promise of spring.

Spring Equinox: Honoring the lively and greening land. A time for cleaning and cleansing. An auspicious time for celebrating what is re-emerging and re-turning home as well as newly claimed identities. A time for celebrating youth and blessing young ones (i.e. baby blessings, namings, etc). A time of the Young God and Goddess. The death of the Holly King and the beginning of the reign of the Oak King.

image via @jleeems

Beltane: Honoring the Good Folk. Relationships of all sorts, including romantic ones. Celebrating the diversity of sexual identities and the way that our sexual identities change and grow. Fertility of all kinds, including of people, and the land. The holiness of physical form. Connecting with descendants and what traditions we are passing on and creating for our descendants. The God/dess/es as Lovers. 

Summer Solstice: Honoring the abundance of life. Celebrating a time for (re)energizing movements and movement building activities. Celebrating community groups and mutual aid projects. A time of honoring parents, especially those who identify as fathers. A time for celebrating middle age. The God/ess/es at middle age. The height of the Oak King's power.

Lughnasadh: Celebrating the first harvest and the coming end of summer. (Re)commiting to supporting groups which work hard to make sure our communities feel secure. Recognizing what it is we have to share and what it is we need more of in order to thrive. Honoring those who have struggled for the betterment of the community and performed extraordinary feats of self-sacrifice and compassion. The God/dess/es of the Harvest are celebrated. The death of the Earth Goddess of Summer or Tailtu and emergence of the Crone. 

Autumn Equinox: Celebrating the end of the harvest and what will sustain us in the year ahead. A time of feasting and gathering together. Affirmations and further development of personal and community resiliency. Cutting cords with things, thoughts, people, that no longer support your ability to thrive. Balancing what needs to be balanced in your life. A time for celebrating old age. The Old God is dying and the Crone begins to guide them to the Summerlands. The Maiden journeys to the underworld. The Holly King rises to power. 

image via @heftiba

With these broad spiritual themes you can start to adapt these Sabbats to your own life, cultural myths, and seasonal changes. You can explore how you already celebrate the different themes and ideas of each Sabbat in your life and ways that you might want to incorporate others (i.e. developing an ancestor-honoring practice and anchoring it to the season of Samhain). Transform any of the key concepts in the descriptions of the Sabbats above into sacred questions such as "How am I honoring the abundance in my life?" to better understand the Summer solstice. Another comforting aspect about the Wheel of the Year is the way that I feel connected to followers of the old ways all around the world during particular points of the lunar month and solar year - it is a grand spell against loneliness and one that brings me a lot of peace. 

The Wheel is an external reflection of our own internal circumnavigation of our soul's temple. How do you tend the Wheel of the Year and how does it tend you?

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The title for this post, like the first in the series exploring the Wheel of the Year, was inspired by a Beverly Frederick song:

Humble yourself in the arms of the wild
You've gotta lay down low and
Humble yourself in the arms of the wild
You've gotta ask her what she knows and
We will lift each other up
Higher and higher
We will lift each other up
Higher and higher

I hope that you're feeling inspired for your own practice and how you travel the Wheel of the Year. May the ever-turning of the wheel bring you peace and reunion with all that you know you love and all that love you’ve yet to know.

This post was made possible through patron support.
❤︎ Thanks, friends. ❤︎

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Footnotes

1. According to my calculations the current King of Witchcraft is the mildly feral community cat who lives on my street and goes by the name Hyssop (or Hap for short). Feel free to honor him at the beginning of any of your rituals as you see fit until a new King is elected by the mysterious gentleforces that be.

2. The big caveat here is that modern Paganism is very diverse and for some traditions the wheel of the year is very much about faith and the worship of the God/dess/es.

Spiraling Into the Center: The Wheel of the Year & Lunar Sabbats

My herbal and magickal practice is deeply tied to the rhythms of the land - and that rhythm is set by the steady turning of the Wheel of the Year. The sacred turning of seasons known as the Wheel of the Year is celebrated by modern Pagans who either are Wiccans or Druids or practice a tradition derived from (at least in part) Wicca or modern Druidry. That is not to say that the festivities found within the Wheel of the Year are exclusively Wiccan or of the Druid tradition, but the structure of these celebrations within an eight Sabbat format is directly derived from Wicca and modern Druidry as we’ll learn below.

I realized that while I’ve been writing about the individual Sabbats, I hadn’t taken time yet to invite you in to learn more about the Wheel of the Year as a tradition, from its structure to ever-changing meaning to the ways that we shape it into a tradition informed by the land we live with. So in this three part series I’ll do just that!

Let’s start by diving into where the Wheel of the Year comes from and it’s structure. If you’re looking for a broader discussion on making the wheel of the year more personalized to your practice, come this way.

Where does the Wheel of the Year come from?

While there was no ancient version of a eight Sabbat Wheel of the Year, each Sabbat is based on ancient seasonal and celestial festivities for time periods important to those ancient peoples as reflected in the sacred sites left across the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Europe (such as Stonehenge) as well as the folk festivals and customs that survived from Pagan periods. The Wheel of the Year is one of the most popular modern Pagan calendars, but it is not the only one and there are lots of culturally and locationally specific calendars with additional or completely different festivals. Hellenic Pagans, for example, celebrate festivals based on ancient Greek tradition exclusive of or in addition to the Wheel of the Year.

The Wheel of the Year as we know it today is based on scholarship and modern inspiration, primarily - though not exclusively - codified in the 1950s by Gerald Gardner, the father of modern Wicca, and Ross Nichols, founder of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids. Early inspiration for the structure of the Wheel of the Year came from the work of Margaret Murray, Robert Graves, and earlier Victorian magickal practitioners and folklorists. If you're wanting to learn more about the history of the Sabbats, the wikipedia page on the Wheel of the Year is pretty great with a lot of good resources in the endnotes.

Structurally, the Wheel of the Year is a made up of eight seasonal festivals, spaced roughly six weeks apart, that consist of festivals of primarily Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, and pre-Celtic British origin. The codification of the Wheel of the Year happened between Gardner and Nichols, where "popular legend holds that Gardner and Nichols developed the calendar during a naturist retreat, where Gardner argued for a celebration of the solstices and equinoxes while Nichols argued for a celebration of the four Celtic fire festivals, and combined the two ideas into a single festival cycle." (1) 

Names for the Sabbats were developed on further in the 1970s by Aidan Kelly, another early influential figure in Neopaganism, furthered named three Sabbats: Litha for the Summer Solstice, Ostara for the Spring Equinox, and Mabon for the Autumn Equinox. (2)

If you're looking for the primary resources used for the reconstruction of these Celtic, pre-Celtic and Anglo-Saxon festivities, the Celtic Reconstructionists have compiled vast resource lists. Paganachd is a good place to start with extensive guides to reconstructing Celtic traditions and what that means as well as a good reading list to start working through. I recommend enjoying the primary resource rather than getting too stuck with the gatekeeping and constant search for authenticity (which is such a complicated idea when it comes to spiritual and cultural practices) that can go on in some of the CR forums. For a deep dive into the origins of the Wheel of the Year, and just how Celtic it is or is not, as well as exploring the Coligny calendar (the oldest surviving example of a Celtic solar-lunar ritual calendar), The Celtic Calendar and the Anglo-Saxon Year by Richard Sermon is a good read.

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What is the structure of the Wheel of the Year?

The eight Sabbats of the Wheel of the Year fall into two categories: The Cross Quarter Festivals and the Quarter Festivals. If you want to see additional names for each Sabbat and well as more information on how to celebrate each, be sure to click through the links for profiles on each.

Cross Quarter Festivals (aka The Fire Festivals or The Greater Sabbats):

• Imbolc

• Beltane

• Lughnasadh

• Samhain

Quarter Festivals (aka The Solstices and Equinoxes or The Lesser Sabbats):

• Yule (Winter Solstice)

• Ostara (Spring Equinox)

• Litha (Summer Solstice)

• Mabon (Autumn Equinox)

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The "Quarter" is in reference to the four quarters of the year which can be measured seasonally (spring, summer, winter, and fall) and astrologically (i.e. the start of a season measured by entry into one of the four cardinal signs of the zodiac). The Quarter Sabbats mark the beginning and end of each season while the Cross Quarter Sabbats mark the height of each season. This measurement doesn't always make sense outside of specific environments (i.e. more northern climates), but for many Pagans, there is still an energetic if not obvious start, height, and end to each season that roughly aligns with the Sabbats. So, with this understanding:

• Yule is the end of autumn, beginning of winter and Imbolc marks the height of the winter season.

• Ostara is the end of winter, beginning of spring and Beltane marks the height of the spring season.

• Litha is the end of spring, beginning of summer and Lughnasadh marks the height of the summer season.

• Mabon is the end of summer, beginning of autumn and Samhain marks the height of the autumn season.

Finally, the Celtic people did mark the dark half and the bright half the year, which has influenced the way the modern Wheel of the Year is conceived. Samhain to Beltane is the dark half of the year, while Beltane to Samhain is the bright half of the year. Samhain, the beginning of the dark half of the year, marked the beginning of the year for the Celts, much as sunset marked the start of the new day. Marking the beginning of the year at Samhain is commonly celebrated by many Witch folk, myself included.

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In the above graphic you might have noticed a series of eight symbols or glyphs in the center of the wheel corresponding to each of the Sabbats. I don’t know where these originated from and I have a vague memory of figuring this out years ago but haven’t been able to find my notes on the matter if I did (take good notes, kids!). I think that the Quarter Festivals were created first, followed by the Cross Quarter ones, but again that’s going on fuzzy memory at this point. If you know the origins of the Sabbat glyphs, please let me know. The glyphs may represent the following:

The Samhain Glyph: A sacred knot representing the cycle of life death and rebirth, showing the interconnectedness between the worlds.

The Yule Glyph: Winter store of food, people, embers of the fire and/or a sacred cairn or burial mound showing stylized bones and points of life (representing the hope of rebirth) within.

The Imbolc Glyph: Shows new seedlings and plants emerging from the earth after winter.

The Ostara Glyph: The young emerging Sun/Horned God. I also see this as an egg symbol cracking open.

The Beltane Glyph: The maypole! Or wheat stalk representing agricultural fields.

The Litha Glyph: The Sun at full maturity pouring light out across the land.

The Lughnasadh Glyph: Perhaps representing the setting Sun, who is now in decline at the beginning of the harvest season.

The Mabon Glyph: A stylized cornucopia overflowing with plenty, also perhaps a stylized stang.

When are the Sabbats celebrated?

The Cross Sabbats are observed on fixed dates throughout the year - through you might find discrepancies between texts on what dates they should be fixed to. Some books for example will say that Lughnasadh is on August 2 while others will say it is August 1. What's happening here is that for the Celts the start of a new day began at sunset - so the sunset of August 1 to the sunset of August 2 would be a day within a Celtic calendar. Hence, Lughnasadh can be celebrated from sundown on August 1 to sundown on August 2 or on just one of those days.

The Quarter Sabbats are celebrated at the solstices and equinoxes which are astronomical events that have slight variation from year to year. Yule, for example, might be on December 19 one year and December 21 the next year depending on when the earth's pole tilts furthest away from the Sun.

The dates for each Sabbat (Northern Hemisphere):

• Samhain : October 31

• Yule: On the day of the Winter Solstice usually around December 19 - 23

• Imbolc: February 1 - 2

• Ostara: On the day of the Spring Equinox usually around March 19 - 23

• Beltane: May 1 - 2

• Litha: On the day of the Summer Solstice usually around June 19 - 23

• Lughnasadh: August 1 - 2

• Mabon: On the day of the Autumn Equinox usually around September 19 - 23

The dates for each Sabbat (Southern Hemisphere):

• Samhain : May 1 - 2

• Yule: On the day of the Winter Solstice usually around June 19 - 23

• Imbolc: August 1 - 2

• Ostara: On the day of the Spring Equinox usually around Septmeber 19 - 23

• Beltane: October 1 - 2

• Litha: On the day of the Summer Solstice usually around December 19 - 23

• Lughnasadh: February 1 - 2

• Mabon: On the day of the Autumn Equinox usually around March 19 - 23

While the dates I just listed are the most common observational times for each Sabbat, there is also the astrological timing of each Sabbat. For the Quarter Festivals, the above and below dates align (i.e. the Winter Solstice happens when the Sun enters the sign of Capricorn at 0 degrees). It is with the Cross Quarter Sabbats that you find variation of dates. You can reference an ephemeris or your favorite astrological calendar for these dates. While celebrating the Sabbats on the above dates are most common, there are a number of Pagans, especially those with an affinity for astrological work, that celebrate the astrological dates Sabbats, too.

The astrological timing for each Sabbat (Northern Hemisphere):

• Samhain: Sun at 15° Scorpio

• Yule: Sun at 0° Capricorn

• Imbolc: Sun at 15° Aquarius

• Ostara: Sun at 0° Aries

• Beltane: Sun at 15° Taurus

• Litha: Sun at 0° Cancer

• Lughnasadh: Sun at 15° Leo

• Mabon: Sun at 0° Libra

The astrological timing for each Sabbat (Southern Hemisphere):

• Beltane: Sun at 15° Scorpio

• Litha: Sun at 0° Capricorn

• Lughnasadh: Sun at 15° Aquarius

• Mabon: Sun at 0° Aries

• Samhain: Sun at 15° Taurus

• Yule: Sun at 0° Cancer

• Imbolc: Sun at 15° Leo

• Ostara: Sun at 0° Libra

Each season of a Sabbat lasts for one and a half signs of the zodiac. So Yule lasts all 30 degrees of Capricorn and 15 degrees of Aquarius. Then Imbolc begins on 15 degrees Aquarius and moves through the last 15 degrees of Aquarius and then all thirty degrees of Pisces. And so the wheel turns and turns through all of the signs of the zodiac.

You may have noticed that the Wheel of the Year is shown moving counter-clockwise - this is to match the Wheel with the zodiac. The planets move through the zodiac in a counter-clockwise motion so the zodiac is drawn to reflect that. To match the Wheel of the Year with the zodiac it moves in a counter-clockwise motion, too.

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What are the Lunar Sabbats?

I've been seeing Lunar Sabbats showing up more and more in recent years where before they were mostly known to folks who purchased We'Moons - which makes sense because it was the folks at We'Moon (according to email conversations with them) who partially developed the practice. I love celebrating Lunar Sabbats and was lucky to be introduced to them early on in my practice of shifting time away from a measurement that is capitalistic and consumption based to one that is cyclical and reverent to bodies, places, and spaces beyond commodification. I've written about Lunar Samhain before, but here is a brief summary from my personal practice of what a Lunar Sabbat is.

Lunar Sabbats are different than Esbats - a term introduced by Margaret Murray and popularized within Wiccan tradition - as the celebration of different lunar phases (primarily New and Full Moons). Esbats are another beautiful tradition and deserve their own post, but Lunar Sabbats are tied to the solar based Wheel of the Year and serve as Moon-based equivalents to the Cross Quarter Sabbats or the Fire Festivals of Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh, and Samhain. Why not the Quarter Sabbats, too? Because the Quarter Sabbats, marked at the solstices and equinoxes are already celebrations of both solar and lunar movements.

Because of their origin partially within the We’Moon community, the Lunar Sabbats are tied to womxn's culture and feminist spirituality, connecting to a powerful thread of revolutionary and transformative magick. (3) For me, I love celebrating the Lunar Sabbats as a more quiet, more intense, and more personal Sabbat celebration. When I’m able to, after attending a public and community-oriented Sabbat celebration, I love being able to gather together with close witch kin for a Lunar Sabbat celebration. If the Sabbats are a bright mirror reflecting the energy of the season in our lives, the Lunar Sabbats are the black mirror of scrying, where we draw energy up from our depths and are guided by the turning of our inner compass.

The Lunar Sabbats can be measured in different ways, the simplest being the Full or New Moon closest to the solar date of a Sabbat (i.e. the New Moon closest to October 31 to mark Lunar Samhain) with New Moons for the dark half of the year (Samhain and Imbolc) and Full Moons observed for the bright half of the year (Beltane and Lughnasadh).

Then there are two different ways to measure the astrological timing to the Lunar Sabbats. The first is how the Sabbats are measured via the We'Moon calendar system.

In the Northern Hemisphere:

• Lunar Samhain: New Moon in Scorpio

• Lunar Imbolc: New Moon in Aquarius

• Lunar Beltane: Full Moon in Scorpio

• Lunar Lughnasadh: Full Moon in Aquarius

In the Southern Hemisphere:

• Lunar Samhain: Full Moon in Scorpio

• Lunar Imbolc: Full Moon in Aquarius

• Lunar Beltane: New Moon in Scorpio

• Lunar Lughnasadh: New Moon in Aquarius

The above system has a beautiful and purposeful symmetry to it. The dark half of the year at Samhain marked with a New Moon Lunar Sabbat is reflected in the bright half of the year with a Full Moon Lunar Sabbat at Beltane. The same symmetry is found at Imbolc and Lughnasadh. This is the system you’ll find in your We’Moon planner.

The second way of calculating the Lunar Sabbats is:

Northern Hemisphere:

• Lunar Samhain: New Moon in Scorpio

• Lunar Imbolc: New Moon in Aquarius

• Lunar Beltane: New Moon in Taurus

• Lunar Lughnasadh: New Moon in Leo

Southern Hemisphere:

• Lunar Samhain: New Moon in Taurus

• Lunar Imbolc: New Moon in Leo

• Lunar Beltane: New Moon in Scorpio

• Lunar Lughnasadh: New Moon in Aquarius

With this system, all four dates for the Lunar Sabbat are more directly tied to the solar astrological timing of the season (i.e. Beltane happens when the Sun is at 15° Taurus so the New Moon in Taurus becomes Lunar Beltane). Which is the better system? There’s no better system - it’s completely a matter of personal preference and whatever way gets you showing up to the work of knowing yourself and holy community. I’ll be writing about each of the Lunar Sabbats in the future, so if you want to know when those posts will be published you can sign-up for my newsletter.

Is the Wheel of the Year an exclusively Celtic, pre-Celtic, Anglo-Saxon thing?

A little bit yes but mostly no. Yes, in the sense that these are seasonal festivals based on practices from these specific cultures. I think it's important and really enlightening to know the origins of the Sabbats (as much as we can) and give honor to the ancestors who helped their descendants to dream of them again. It is no small feat after centuries of forced conversion and propaganda against Pagan ways that the Wheel of the Year, a Pagan and earth-honoring system of experiencing time and toppling oppressive nature-denigrating institutions of power, is part of one of the most rapidly growing religions (at least in the United States of America). (4)

And also no, in the sense that the Wheel of the Year has grown far beyond the confines of a tiny island nation and the people like Gerald Gardner, Ross Nichols, Margaret Murray, Doreen Valiente, and Robert Graves who were attempting to revive a cultural inheritance at danger of being lost. It's important to remember that we don't know exactly how or why Celtic, pre-Celtic, and Anglo-Saxon peoples celebrated seasonal changes and even if we did have exact details of these festivities, we are not our ancestors, but their miraculous descendants who live in a different time though connected through the land, sea, and sky. In that spirit I see the Wheel of the Year as a living, breathing, and adaptable tradition, meant to be celebrated by a wide and diverse network of people committed to earth-based spiritual practice.

The beauty of the Wheel of the Year and the fact that its celebrations are rooted to seasonal changes means that it’s a framework that can be applied to any part of the world by the Pagans who live there. I think that the Wheel of the Year works for so many Pagans around the globe because of this flexibility of application and I find this vastness of shared seasonal philosophy to be beautifully unifying amongst a people who have no central leadership (with the exception of a few tradition-specific groups) or singular holy book and pride themselves on being both community-oriented and idiosyncratic.

What is the spiritual meaning of the Wheel of the Year?

That, my friends, is what we'll be exploring in our next post. 

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The title for this post was inspired by a beautiful Pagan chant written by Beverly Frederick, from her album Into the Arms of the Wild, which goes as follows:

Spiraling into the Center,
the Center of the Wheel.
Spiraling into the Center,
the Center of the Wheel.

We are the Weavers, we are the woven ones
We are the Dreamers, we are the Dream.
We are the Weavers, we are the woven ones
We are the Dreamers, we are the Dream.

It’s a lovely song that I’ve sung dancing around Maypoles, journeying with community between the worlds at Samhain celebrations, and in hopeful revery during the longest night of the year. I hope it brings you a lot of joy, too. It can be especially beautiful to alternate “the Center of the Wheel” with the line “the Center of us All.”

If you're wanting to dive into more inspiration about the Wheel of the Year, check out my series of might-do lists for the Sabbats. I’ll be writing two more posts on the Wheel of the Year in the coming months as well as a series on the Lunar Sabbats a little after that, too. If you’re looking for more seasonal magick and healing, check out my Witchcraft + Weeds series.

Wherever the turning wheel finds you, I hope that you’re coming ever closer to home.

This post was made possible through patron support.
❤︎ Thanks, friends. ❤︎

Footnotes

(1) The Wheel of the Year. The whole relationship between Nichols and Gardner is a really interesting and influential one in the development of modern Paganism as Nichols was a covenmate of Gardner's and he would later go on to create the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids (OBOD) which is a supremely lovely community of magickal folk. Phillip Carr-Gomm, former head of OBOD, and who was a student of Nichols talks more about the relationship between Gardner and Nicholas if you're wanting to learn more - I believe in a Druidcast episode. And then if you're going to read about Gardner, please read everything you can about Doreen Valiente who rescued Wicca more or less (from innumerable (mostly) menfolk who couldn't seem to see beyond their own noses and were constantly embroiled in conflict with one another), infused it with incredible Goddess-led inspiration, and she was herself by all accounts a delightful and kind weirdo (and maybe a spy for the British government!).

(2) From The Wheel of the Year: "Aidan Kelly gave names to the summer solstice (Litha) and equinox holidays (Ostara and Mabon) of Wicca in 1974, and these were popularized by Timothy Zell through his Green Egg magazine." You can read more about Kelly’s thoughts behind the choices here.

(3) To be abundantly trans-inclusive, non-binary loving, genderweird, and gender atheist affirming (a few of those ways which I identify as, just fyi): Womxn's culture is inherently trans and nonbinary inclusive, open to all of those who in some way, shape or form identify as a womxn, and are participating in the long and varied tradition of being seen in the world as womxn and shaping culture from that perspective and experience.

(4) Growth of Religion. The United States also has a growing population of “Nothing. The United States is not the only place where modern Paganism is on the rise - it’s just the place I’m most familiar with Pagan demographics. Iceland, for example, has had a rapid rise of Ásatrú, which in some ways can be seen as a re-indigenization of a population.

The watercolors that I used to paint the illustrations used throughout this post were created by Ojibwe artist, Anong Beam. Please join me in supporting her indigenous, female-led, watercolor company, Beam Paints.

A Might-do List for Midsummer

Midsummer, also known as the Summer Solstice, Litha, and Alban Hefin, marks the longest days of the year. Many ancient megaliths were built to align with the movement of the sun on Midsummer, the longest day of the year. Midsummer celebrates the height of the sun's power as well as the still distant but ever growing turn towards the cooler months. The Summer Solstice is also a day long associated with the magick of the Good Folk who are said to be more present than ever across the land. At Midsummer we celebrate the brightness of living and so much abundance that we have plenty to give and receive in turn. Now is a time to celebrate the expansiveness of life and the unique ways we express ourselves as necessary and loved members of our wider community. Continuing a project started last Lughnasadh, here’s a list of nine things that you might-do (or not) for the long day festival and hot season of the Summer Solstice.

Rise with the Sun. A simple and very sweet ritual is to rise with the sun on Midsummer. Meditate in silence or celebrate in song as the Sun rises up into the day, shedding light across the land. Planning to have special foods ready for breakfast can be an extra bonus.

Build simple stone cairns with friends and family. Glennie Kindred has a lovely suggestion for creating a participatory and engaging ritual space in her book Earth Wisdom. As folks are gathering together in the ritual space have them look for or bring five stones - one for each of the five elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Spirit. As part of the ritual, each of the elements are called in and one-by-one folks bring their stone for each element into the center while offering personal thanks and blessings at each turn. Slowly a cairn or mound of stones will be formed by all of the stones placed by those gathered. Cairns can be left up (if environmentally appropriate) and used as places to make offerings to the Good Folk, but at least for the rest of the ritual the community-created cairn serves as a focal point for chanting, dancing, and general merriment.

Self-Heal (Prunella vulgaris)

Harvest herbs. The Summer Solstice is a traditional time to harvest herbs and especially those herbs associated with the Good Folk, the energies of love, and the powers of protection. St. Joan's or John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) is traditionally harvested at Midsummer and turns into a beautiful red oil symbolizing the regenerative lifeblood of the land. Be sure to harvest herbs in a way that respects the land and its inhabitants tending to the places where they grow with as much care as plants tend to our healing needs.

Create some beautiful solar themed decorations. Decorations that catch the light and are bright in color are all wonderful options for Midsummer. Make faux stained glass with crayons and wax paper or your own sun wheels out of thread and twigs. Sun-shaped salt dough ornaments, wreaths made of dried herbs, and wild grass crowns are all seasonally appropriate and easy to make. Sun catchers and crystals hung in windows can bring rainbow light into our homes as well as outdoor ritual spaces. Whenever making or purchasing items, consider their long term environmental impact and try to align your choices with your earth-centered and celebrating festivities.

Energize culture-changing movements. Midsummer is an excellent time to call in and store up energy for the coming months and into winter. You can be intentional with your energizing magick and help to direct it towards and store it up for culture-changing movements and protests. I like to turn protest signs into magickal objects, bless my street medic bag and supplies, as well as raise energy and store it into other charms and amulets that I use in my work for a more just and kind world. 

Practice the magick of generosity. At the longest day of the year, marking a season of abundance and the peak of growth before the First Harvest in a few weeks time, Midsummer is an opportunity to practice the magick of generosity. I love the sentiment expressed in Circle Round: Raising Children in Goddess Traditions: "The Goddess at Summer Solstice gives us not just what we need, but extra. We can feel close to her by being generous, giving more than we're asked to give, doing more than our fair share. That way we make abundance for all." Generosity comes in many forms, but consider the ways that it is built into your magickal and spiritual practice at Midsummer, vowing to continue to act in abundance in your life and the lives of others.

Built an altar to the Sacred Dreamer. There are different myths from around the world about the shift of power from the light to the dark. At Midsummer the light of the Sun is at its peak - but from here on out the dark and lunar energies begin to rise. Some folks work with the myth of the Oak and Holly Kings and their never ending battles (and if you have an opportunity to see a ritual battle it can be a lot of fun). My own traditions align with stories of holy isles and descents into the underworld, where we draw closer to the world of dreams. Again, quoting Circle Round, they speak of the transformation of the God, noting that "[e]verything and everyone who fulfills their purpose must change… Now he becomes the Dreamer, asleep in this world but awake in the world of dreams and visions, the seeds of what will come to be in this world. He becomes the Messenger, carrying our hopes and prayers to the spirit realms." The Sabbats are a time to remember that change is a holy and necessary thing, that we aren't always meant to be doing the same thing throughout the year, but growing and retreating, shifting and changing with the seasons. 

Cast spells with candles. An alternative - and much shorter - version of the might-do lists for the Sabbats would simply be "Every six weeks(ish), burn stuff." The tracking of light and dark along with the necessity of fire for warmth and in the preparation of food stuff shows up powerfully in different ways at each Sabbat. The two times of year that candles are especially essential to my magickal practice are at Imbolc and then again at Midsummer. Whether building a dream altar to light the way for the Sun to descend into the underworld, to more traditional pin and candle spells, using fire in our magick at Midsummer can be a powerful act of energetic alignment.

Create a beacon of light. Lighting bonfires on hilltops is an ancient tradition of Midsummer that is still carried on in some Celtic cultures. You can create your own beacon of light whether an actual candle burning in your window or a piece of art displayed in a way for others to see. Fires on the hill were/are a form of spiritual devotion but also connection and community-building. What sacred symbols do you want to see more of in the world around you? How do you move through the world as a person of sacredness? What are the beacons that you're wanting to see to help you know that you're not alone in the work of repairing the world? If you're looking for social justice and mutual aid oriented images, Just Seeds is always a great place to check out. You can charge up your beacon from sunrise to sunset on Midsummer day, infusing it with the holy constant of solar light.

Check out all of my might-do lists for the wheel of the year. Learn more about magickal practices for the season of summer or cast some cards for the Summer Solstice. Here’s a midsummer brew to try and you also might like the refreshing taste of swamp tea. Finally, here’s some more herbal lore on the magick of the Summer Solstice.

May your day be bright and abundant of blessings. May your heart shine like a bonfire guiding you from longest day to slow-growing night. May we all come together in the spirit of generosity, knowing that there is enough, committed to the change needed to create equitable and holy access, and dancing all the way home.

❤︎ This post was made possible through patron support. Thanks, friends. ❤︎

Witchcraft + Weeds : Healing + Magickal Practices for Summer

The longest day of the year approaches in the northern hemisphere. Known by many names including the Summer Solstice, Midsummer, Litha, and Alban Hefin, it's a time of heat and long picnics, bonfires and dancing.

The fields and forests are full of green and plant life. Trees are abundant with leaves and offer shade to revelers and Good Folk. The air is heady with the whispered charms of love spells. My days are spent in the garden and wild places harvesting and wildcrafting plants. The long summer nights find me at my altar with a cup of sun tea. 

The Summer Solstice marks the turning of the wheel from the mutable air sign of Gemini to the cardinal water sign of Cancer. The tightly wound energy of late spring give way to the languid calm of summer. Spend time be-ing instead of do-ing. Pursue activities that will leave you full of good memories. Drink fresh water, water-rich foods, and herbal infusions with seasonal fruits and plants. 

Weeds

Body System Focus : Stomach, Intestines + Heart
or Nourish Yourself + Love Freely

Within the four elements system of traditional western herbalism (I write more about TWH energetics over here), the season of summer is the transformation of air into fire, or moisture into heat and dryness. Our bodies are moving from the frenetic expanse of spring and its sudden growth to the settling maturation of summer heat. It's time to move from the what might be of spring into the what is right now of summer. Make yourself cooling concoctions from herbs that protect against the hardening and scorching heat of choleric energies. Find plants that encourage healthy digestion of the vast array of seasonal food that summer provides. Our weedy plant allies of Midsummer tend to be cooling and tonifying to the heart. But they are also about directing our fire in ways that are of benefit to us, such as strengthening our digestive fire or directing our passionate energy and desirous dreams into fruitful relationships.

Summer weeds are sturdy and often cooling and sedating in nature - just what our bodies need during this time of heightened heat and dryness. While many spring herbs have come and gone (their dried out stalks turning golden in fields and abandoned lots), a whole new bunch of summer herbs are entering into their prime. Enjoying foraged weeds as food and medicine is an amazing way to connect with the season and practice self-care. If you want to learn more about the healing properties of weeds, I highly recommend checking out The Wise Wisdom of Weeds: 13 Essential Plants for Human Survival by Katrina Blair.

If you're struggling to settle into summer, check out the healing gifts of Cancer the Crab to help you find your summer flow.

Common Mallow (Malva sylvestris) : This tall-growing herb with pretty purple flowers can be found throughout California and the Malva species is naturalized around the world. Mallow is a mucilaginous herb meaning that it is moistening making it a great choice for addressing conditions of dryness and inflammation. Use the nutritious leaves in place of spinach when cooking for a vitamin rich meal.

Wild Chamomile (Matricaria discoidea) : Also known as Pineappleweed, Wild Chamomile is a fragrant relative of the Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) commonly used in traditional western herbalism. Wild Chamomile can be used in similar ways to Matricaria chamomilla as a digestive aid and is gently sedating, anti-inflammatory, and antispasmodic in nature. It makes a delicious tea whether enjoyed hot or cold. It's sun-bright flowers have a doctrine of signatures associated with the Sun which is the guardian planet of Leo. Leo guards the heart and I find all Chamomiles to be cheering and uplifting to the heart and spirit.

St. Joan's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) : An herb long associated with Midsummer, St. Joan's Wort (more commonly known as St. John's Wort) is an herb of the heart and love in all forms. one of the most common uses of St. Joan’s Wort is for alleviating depression. While it's not entirely clear how St. Joan’s Wort works, recent studies have shown that it does have antidepressant qualities without the side-effects of pharmaceutical alternatives. In general, the herb is a fantastic restorative of the nervous system, helping to calm and steady us. St. Joan's Wort oil is an excellent after-sun treatment for burns and general heatstroke. For any magickal or medicinal use Midsummer is considered the most powerful time to gather the herb.

Self-Heal (Prunella vulgaris) : Self-heal is a beautiful plant that cools and repairs. It's a bit of a panacea and I've found it to be useful for many conditions in which stagnant heat is a problem. Self-Heal helps to relieve irritability and traditional use for all complaints of the throat. It is gently immunostimulating, too. I love using the flower essence to help connect with my own healing abilities and to remember to be brave enough to choose wellness.

Vervain (Verbena hastata) : Overheated, stressed with a knotted stomach, and feeling anxious are all signs that Vervain may be of use. The herb can be a great ally to those for whom the heat of summer is just too much (especially if you tend to be more tightly wound - which is considered a condition of dryness - to begin with). I like using Vervain for those who tension shows up in their neck, shoulders, and stomach. The cooling blue plant can help us to appreciate the fact that the shade is a perfectly fine place to enjoy the summer weather from and that we don't have to be something that we're not.

Sacred Basil (Ocimum sanctum) Flower Essence : Basil is an herb of dragon magick and the fire dragons abound during the summer season. With dragon magick we learn how to direct our will, manifest our dreams with life-giving heat, and protect the fire of our hearts. Sacred Basil is a manifestation of the Goddess Lakshmi within Hindu tradition and I find the essence to be healing to all levels of our being. The essence helps us to integrate what we've learned so far on our journey through life - a perfect ally for the illuminating light of summer!

Witchcraft

Summer is the time of maturing energies and the vigor that comes with growth and development. It's a time to revel in your personal power and fall in love again with your magick. The long days allow for greater freedom of movement on all levels from whether it be physical, emotional, mental or spiritual. Summer is a time to test your skills and ideas developed during the spring. Dive in and go on an adventure! Below I've shared with you three paths of summer magick that I practice so that I can live my magick with bravery and integrity during the brightest season of the year.

3 Paths of Summer Magick

Opening Up : We open up to the blossoming heat of summer into the peak of our power. Rituals include all forms of fire and candle magick to bless yourself and your home with abundance and protection; magick at dawn with the rising sun; leaping over bonfires and passing sacred items through flame; communing with local land spirits and leaving them offerings; inviting in abundance; awakening to new forms of ancient wisdom; celebrating what you have learned so far in life; dancing, laughing, and sharing good food with others; making a vow of service to your community; divination to help you open up to new possibilities about who you are and your life path.

Opening Up Meditation : Lay on the ground (or in an alternatively open position that is comfortable for you) and visualize that you are breathing through every pore of your skin. After a few minutes of this expansive form of breathing, feel your heart begin to blossom open with a thousand petals until your whole being is one big bloom.

Taking Risks : We take risks and face our fears so that we can grow as magickal beings. Rituals include shadow work (for long days cast long shadows); fear-breaking charms; doing that thing which you've been putting off doing; choosing to be seen and heard by others; finally trying out a type of magick that you've hesitated to do before; cord-cutting from relationships and ways of thinking that you've been afraid to cut out of your life; self-blessings in private and self-blessings in community because it is a radical act to love all of your being.

Taking Risks Meditation : Begin in a position of tension, curled into your self, and with your eyes tightly shut. Listen for your heartbeat. Though you may be afraid to risk it, your heart is still brave enough to beat in a way that no other heart can. Begin to loosen the tightness of your body. Stretch out slowly, keeping your eyes closed. Move gently, loosely, freely. Give your heart space to beat. Give yourself space to try something new. With this in mind bring your hands to your heart and open your eyes.

Being Love(d) : We choose love in all of it's forms because we deserve to love and be loved in return. Rituals include enchantments of love, self-love, aromantic friendship, asexual romance, deeply erotic love, sensual love, family love, community love, and more; tell the ones you love nine times in one day; use the power of fire to transform any energy that comes your way into love; speak poetry and sing songs; have sex and make love (preferably outdoors); learn new pleasurable ways to touch your body and the body of your lovers; work exclusively with God/dess/es of love for a full cycle of the Moon; handfast yourself or get handfasted to your lover(s); invite in new possibilities for love and self-love; perform a ritual skyclad as a sign that you are free and loved fiercely.

Being Love(d) Meditation : Stand before a mirror. Close your eyes and breath deep. When ready, open your eyes and while looking at yourself say your name nine times. Holding your gaze, say "I love you" and your name nine times. Finish by saying "I love you" a final nine times. 

Making crystal grids with some astrological tarot magick. Book available here.

  Energizing Crystal Grid

Something about the summer always inspires me to create crystal grids (and swamp tea). I think it's the intuitive desire to store up the energy of the season for the darker parts of the year. My Energizing Crystal Grid does just that - captures summertime energy to be tapped into for magick and healing many months after the season has passed.

You'll need eight clear quartz crystal points (citrine is a good alternative, but trust your intuition). I like to use a tarot card or image from a book as my foundation as the sacred symbols will add magickal intent to your grid. My crystal grid pictured above, for example, was made with an image of The Fool card so that I could tap into the fiery willpower of summer at any time of the year when I wanted to start a new project (you can get a copy of the book here). A card or image is not necessary and a plain surface for your grid is more than magickal enough. 

Place your crystals in a circle with the points facing outwards. Take a deep breath and hold your hands above the grid. Visualize the energy of summer flowing down through your crown, through your heart and arms, and out your hands into the grid. Repeat the following charm again and again as the energy flows: 

For every season a stone -
Energy of summer
Make your home!

When it feels right and the energy is flowing powerfully, clap your hands above the grid three times. Let your grid rest undisturbed for at least six days (the magickal number of the Sun) at which point you can move the stones and keep them in a sacred space until they are needed again. You can either set up the grid again as needed for spellwork or use individual stones as little energizing batteries for your magick. 

What are your favorite healing and magickal practices for summer? Let me know in the comments. 💕

If you're looking for more summer magick be sure to check out my herbs, recipes, and tarot spread for the Summer Solstice. 

Make Your Own Magickal Midsummer Brew

How about a sweet and summery brew for your Midsummer celebration?

Golden milks have grown in popularity beyond their Ayurvedic roots in recent years and they are such a pleasant way of enjoying the healing qualities of the sunny root known as Turmeric (Curcuma longa). Turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory working its magick throughout the body, from soothing a irritated intestines to musculoskeletal pain. Turmeric's medicinal qualities are vast and I encourage you to spend time reading about it's gifts in your favorite materia medicas. You might even consider working with it for 30 days as a plant ally. Magickally, Turmeric's bright yellow roots align it with the Sun and the solar energies of vitality, will, and clarity of purpose.

When creating a Turmeric brew it is important to combine the herb with black pepper to make the plant's healing qualities more bioavailable to us which is why my variation of a golden milk is a delicious spicy brew. I've also included another Midsummer herb, Elder (Sambucus nigra), into the mix as another cooling remedy for the long days of summer.

My Midsummer Brew is created in two steps. First, you combine all the herbs in hot water and let them steep. Then you add in some coconut milk and  

Begin by combining the following into a saucepan with your water:

• 2 parts Turmeric (Curcuma longa)
• 1 part Elder flower (Sambucus nigra)
• 1/4 - 1/8 part Black Pepper (Piper nigrum)

Bring to a boil, cover, and turn off the heat. Let steep for 10 minutes. Sing to the sun and dance about the kitchen or cookfire. Then to every 1 part water add:

• 1 part coconut milk
• 2 parts milk of choice (I like almond or soy milk) 

Heat your brew just before boiling, strain, and sweeten with honey or other sweetener of choice. My Midsummer Brew is delicious hot or iced!

I hope all of your Midsummer adventures are full of love and luck as only the longest day can bring! If you're looking for some divinatory insight, check out my tarot spread for the season -  Bonfire Offerings : Summer Solstice Tarot Spread. Otherwise, enjoy the day and dance through the night, clever ones!