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Diana Meade's Page of Sabbats

A few times in the LJ series Night World and The Secret Circle, a few sabbats (holidays) were mentioned. In the Secret Circle, the coven celebrated Samhain and Cassie's Grandmother talks about celebrating the sabbats of Beltane, Lughnasadh, and the Imbolc. In the Night World book, Spellbinder, they prepare for the celebrations at Samhain.

These holidays aren't fictional, but are pagan holidays. There are 8 sabbats and here I have a brief description of each. Tis is the very beginning of the page, so the information isn't detailed, but as time goes on, I will add more and even add some lesser holidays.

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~Samhaim/ Halloween~

Samhain is the Witches' New Year. It begins at Sundown on October 31 and ends at sundown on November 1. I is considered to be when the old god dies only to be reborn on Yule. Samhain is considered the night of the dead. It's customary to set out a plate a food for the souls or to put a lighted candle in a window to guide them to the land of eternal summer.

Things to set on your alter are apples, pomegranates, pumpkins, squashes, marigolds and chrysanthemums.

Foods for Samhain are beets, turnips, apples, meat dishes, pumpkins, corn, nuts, gingerbread, cider and mulled wine.

Herbs for Samhain are: Chrysanthemums, wormwood, apples, pears, hazel, thistle, pomegranate, grains, nuts, pumpkin and corn.

~Yule/Winter Solstice~

Yule celebrates the rebirth of the sun god from the mother goddess. It's celebrated on December 20-22 (the date varies, it depends on the sun as do the rest of the solar holidays). It is the shortest day of the year Traditions for Yule include the Yule log, a decorated Yule tree, and a yule feast with pork, nuts, apples, pears, carraway cakes soaked in cider and ginger tea.

Decorations for alter: bows of various evergreen trees, pine cones, red and white candles.

Foods for Yule: apples, ham, carraway cakes

Yule herbs: Holly, mistletoe, ivy, cedar, bay, juniper, apples, cinnamon, rosemary and pine.

~Imbolc/Candlemas~

The Imbolc (February 2) is a time when the first signs of spring appear. The goddess has just recovered from the birth of the god. It's tradition to light candles in all the rooms in your house as a symbol of the sun's rebirth.

For the alter you should have representations of snow flakes and the sun.

For Imbolc food, anything spicy works (this is symbolizing the sun's heat), also dairy products for at one point this was a festival of calving.

Herbs: Snow drop, rowan, and the first flowers of the year.

~Ostara/Spring Equinox~

The holiday is usually on March 21, but varies from year to year. It's the celebration of the first day of spring. The goddess rises from her sleep and the god is now a young man. Fertility is everywhere. Traditions include dying eggs and gardening.

Foods for Ostara are leafy green veggies and seeds.

You should decorate your alter with all sort of spring flowers.

Herbs for Ostara are: Daffodils, violet, woodruff, olive, gorse, iris, peony and other spring flowers.

~Beltane/May Day~
You should have a "wedding gift" for the deities, a small tree near by and flowers on your alter.

Herbs for Beltane are: Hawthorn, honeysuckle, St. John's Wort, woodruff and flowers.

~Litha/ Summer Solstice~

This is the longest day of the year. It's the triumph of the sun. This is a good day for magick of all kinds.

Fruits are standard foods for Litha.

You should decorate your alter with summer flowers. Red and gold are traditional colors.

Herbs for Litha are: Mugwort, vervain, chamomile, rose, lily, oak, lavender, ivy, yarrow, fern, elder, thyme, daisy and carnation.

~Lammas/Lughnasadh~

This is the first harvest festival (August 1). The god is slowly dying, yet is living in the goddess as he was created there at Beltane. Weaving and making corn dollies are good activities for this holiday. The colors for this holiday are green and gold.

Food eaten are bread, cider, berries, acorns, crab apples and other recently harvested foods.

Decorate your alter with late summer flowers, sheaves of wheat and freshly harvested produce.

Herbs for Lammas/Lughnasadh: all grains, grapes, heather, sloe, crap apples, pears.

~Mabon/AutumEquinox~

This is another harvest festival. The god is preparing to leave his physical body to be reborn on Yule through the goddess. It's also the first day of autumn (usually Setember 21), This is a good time to gather herbs.

Foods consist of beans, grains, and corn bread.

The alter should be decorated with acorns, ears of corn, wheat stalks, pine cones an fall leaves.

Herbs for Mabon: Hazel, corn, aspen, acorns,autumn leaves, oak sprigs, pine cones, wheat stalks and harvest gleanings.

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