There are 8 Sabbats in every year, and each of them are very important to Witches. There are 4 Great Sabbats, and 4 Lesser Sabbats. There is a story behind the Sabbats tracing the path that the Lord and the Lady take throughout the course of the year.
At the Midwinter Solstice (Yule), the God is born from the Goddess. Or this can also be seen as the Goddess re-birthing herself in the form of the Maiden.
At Imbolg The Goddess is seen as both the wise, caring Mother and Maiden. She has recently given birth to the God, and is fruitful and creative. She is with the burdens of Motherhood, and the God is young and growing.
At the Srping Equinox (Ostara) The Lord and the Lady are both young, vibrant and beautiful, excited with Their potential.
At Beltane, the God and Goddess have reached maturity and celebrate Their love with joy. This is the time of the year when They mate, and the Goddess becomes pregnant.
At Midsummer (Midsummer Solstice), the Goddess is mature and glowing. The God slowly begins to turn towards the darkness of the shadows, towards the realm of silence. The Lady is the Mother of all of Nature.
Next comes Lammas. This is when the Goddess acts as the Earth Mother, and presides over the first harvests of the year. This is when the God dies, in a sense he's cut down with the corn. In another sense, He's re-born as the bouty produced by the harvest.
At the Autumn Equinox (Mabon) The Goddess still acts as the gentle Earth Mother. This is the time for the second of the harvest celebrations. The God is but a shadowy presence.
Lastly is Samhain. The God is the true Lord of the Underworld. The Goddess takes on the role as the Wise Crone. This is the time of death, which leads to the rebirth in Yule.
The dates of the Sabbats are as follows:
Yule: December 21st
Imbolg: February 2nd
Ostara: March 21st
Beltane: April 30th
Midsummer Solstice: June 21st
Lammas: July 31st
Mabon: September 23rd
Samhain: October 31st
It may seem strange to hold one of the sacred holidays on Halloween (as you may be thinking), but this is also the Celtic New Year, and the start of Winter. This is the time of death; life fading, finding places to hide until the cold season is over. Life is preparing for the re-birth that is promised with the arrival of Srping. This is the time of the year when the Goddess is with us as the Crone, still carrying the Son-God in her womb. She offers her inward gifts of wisdom and magical power. The veil between the worlds of the living and dead on this day is thin, and it is traditional to ask our deceased beloved realtives to be with us. It is also traditional to crystal gaze or scry using various methods of divination. The 'theme' at this time is 'Descent' - descent into our personal Underworlds, facing our fears and discovering our latent talents. We honor the God's descent into the Underworld by realising the way that life is retreating, and by allowing what must die in our lives to do so. As Witches, this is the time to celebrate the preservation of life in the seeds and roots, the latent gift of Knowledge.
Yule is the turning point of the year when the days begin to grow longer, and we are aware of the Sun returning. This is the time of the birth of the Divine and Mystical child to the world. The Church took over the symbolism of this festival, as well as many others (it's no coincidence that Christ is born 4 days later). This is the time to affirm life when the darkness is the deepest. By decorating with lights and sparkling decorations, we're making things bright down here so that the Sun above will do the same as us and shine down upon us. The Goddess is now the Mother, giving birth to the God - light is returning. The theme at Yule is 'Rebirth'
This is the time of the year when life is beginning to come out of the cold of Winter, a time for new beginnings. The Goddess is seen as both the Mother and Maid. She is the Mother from just having given birth to the God. But She is also the Maid - young and vivacious as the growing year. This is the most feminine of all of the Sabbats, and was/stil is used for a time to initiate priestesses. This is a festival for 'Reawakening' and 'Initiation'.
Day and night are equal at this time, but the light is slowly gaining. The young God is growing to manhood, and along with him grows the trees and young animals. The Goddess is the Maiden at this time, reveling in Her beauty and youth. The promise of a beautiful summer is everywhere.
This is the happiest of all of the Sabbats. It is a time for sexual activity, representative of human fertility. The God and the Goddess have grown to adulthood, and He has wooed Her. They mate in the forests with joyful abandon. All around them new life springs forth; plants sprout and animals are born from Their great union. This is a time for creativity, and to join the God and the Goddess in Their dance.
Flowers and plants are in full bloom, and the radiant sun never seems to set. Crops grow strong in the fields, and all of Nature thrives. In some was we may see that the Goddess has given birth to all of this. In others, it can be the results of the God and Goddess uniting. This is a time for change - a time when we begin to see things through the eyes of responsilbility. The God has mated with the Goddess, and now His strength begins to wane and turn inwards. This is the time for fullfilment and change.
Earth is blessed with abundance as the colors of Nature begin to change from vibrant greens to buttery golds and reds. The Sun has poured His energy onto the Earth, and He is now fading. With the crops, He is cut down, but then born again in the food we eat during the cold winter months. This is the time for Sacrifice. With everything good that we strive towards, there are always sacrifices that must be made. Just as the world is dying at this point, the time of rebirth is near - for with death comes rebirth.
Just as in the Spring Equinox, light and darkness are equal, but this is the time for darkness to gain. The harvest is gathered and we seek the warmth of the fires to protect us from the biting cold. This is the time that the Goddess is present as the Crone. The God is with Her in His shadowy presence, but is beginning His descent into the darkness of the Underworld.
Imbolg Ritual
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