Witches' Sabbats

The word "Sabbat" comes from the Greek word "sabatu" meaning "to rest". Since Sabbats are a day of rest, it is tradition that no magick is to be performed on these eight days.

The Pagan Sabbats have been observed for more than 12,000 years by various traditions. The eight Sabbats are a combination of many Pagan traditions and paths. Our Sabbats were derived from Norse, Celtic, Teutonic, Roman and Greek paths. The original festivals marked the seasons of the year for planting, tending and harvesting.

As we dedicated our lives less towards hunting and harvesting and more towards the heavens, these Sabbats became religious holidays. The Sabbats marked the planting and harvesting times, the seasons of the year, and the cycle of life lived by the God and Goddess. Samhain marks the beginning of the year for most Witches.

The eight Sabbats of Witches mark the turning of the Wheel of the Year, and each turn honors a stage in the eternal life cycle of the Goddess and the God, Diana and Pan. The God goes through the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth while the Goddess goes through the cycle of life from Maiden to Mother to Crone. Following is an explanation of the Wheel of the Year.

Samhain

Observed: October 31st

Samhain is one of the eight annual holidays, often referred to as 'Sabbats', observed as part of the Wiccan Wheel of the Year. It is considered by most Wiccans to be the most important of the four 'greater Sabbats'. Its date is not universally agreed upon, as many Neopagan movements have no binding structure upon which all agree. It is generally observed on October 31 in the Northern Hemisphere. Samhain is considered by most Wiccans as a celebration of death and of the dead, and it often involves paying respect to ancestors, family members, elders of the faith, friends, pets and other loved ones who have died. In some rituals the spirits of the departed are invited to attend the festivities. It is seen as a festival of darkness and death, which is balanced at the opposite point of the wheel by the spring festival of Beltane, which Wiccans celebrate as a festival of life and fertility. In many Wiccan circles, Samhain is also commemorated as the death of the God.

While the Wiccan version of Samhain is not a form of reconstruction, and is largely mixed with other traditions in a form of universalism, it is influenced by the Celtic holiday from which the name was taken.

Yule

Observed: Winter Solstice

In general, many Wiccan based sects favor a plethora of sources on winter solstice holidays to recreate a type of "Yule" holiday. While the name "Yule" is used, it is not an absolute reconstruction of the original holiday. Wreaths, Yule logs, decoration of trees, decorating with mistletoe, holly, and ivy, exchanges of presents, and even wassailing are incorporated and regarded as sacred. The return of the Sun as Frey is commemorated in some groups. However, due to the eclectic nature of modern Wicca, many solstice narratives from outside mythologies are incorporated or even substituted.

In some Wiccan sects the holiday is observed in a manner that commemorates the death of the Holly King identified with the wren bird (symbolizing the old year and the shortened sun) at the hands of his son and successor, the robin redbreast Oak King (the new year and the new sun that begins to grow) (Farrar & Farrar [1989] 1998: 35-38). In most Wiccan sects, this holiday is also celebrated as the rebirth of the Great God, who is viewed as the newborn solstice sun.

Imbolc

Observed: February 2nd

Wiccans celebrate a variation of Imbolc as one of four "fire festivals", which make up half of the eight holidays (or "sabbats"), of the wheel of the year. Imbolc is defined as a cross-quarter day, midway between the winter solstice (Yule) and the spring equinox (Ostara). The precise astrological midpoint in the Northern hemisphere is when the sun reaches fifteen degrees of Aquarius. In the Southern hemisphere, if celebrated as the beginning of Spring, the date is the midpoint of Leo. Among Dianic Wiccans, Imbolc (also known as "Candlemas") is the traditional time for initiations.

Among Reclaiming-style Wiccans, Imbolc is considered a traditional time for rededication and pledges for the coming year.

Ostara

Observed: Vernal Equinox

Ostara is one of the eight major Wiccan holidays or sabbats of the Wheel of the Year. Ostara is celebrated on the Vernal Equinox, in the Northern hemisphere around March 21 and in the Southern hemisphere around September 23, depending upon the specific timing of the equinox. Among the Wiccan sabbats, it is preceded by Imbolc and followed by Beltane.

"The Festival of Ostara at the spring equinox marks the end of winter and the beginning of the season of rebirth (spring), and is celebrated by a blot in honor of Frigg and Freya and/or the disir, the collective of female fertility deities." The "blot" is a celebratory meal (also known as "cakes and ale") that is believed to be shared with the the God/ess.

In the book Eight Sabbats for Witches by Janet and Stewart Farrar, the festival Ostara is characterized by the rejoining of the Mother Goddess and her lover-consort-son, who spent the winter months in death. Other variations include the young God regaining strength in his youth after being born at Yule, and the Goddess returning to her Maiden aspect. Wiccan use the term "Cakes and Ale" rather than blots, which is what Heathens and other Norse or Anglo Saxon religions do.

Beltane

Observed: May 1st

Wiccans and Wiccan-inspired Neopagans celebrate a variation of Beltane as a sabbat, one of the eight solar holidays. Although the holiday may use features of the Gaelic Bealtaine, such as the bonfire, it bears more relation to the Germanic May Day festival, both in its significance (focusing on fertility) and its rituals (such as maypole dancing). Some Wiccans celebrate 'High Beltaine' by enacting a ritual union of the May Lord and Lady.

Among the Wiccan sabbats, Beltane is a cross-quarter day; it is celebrated in the northern hemisphere on May 1 and in the southern hemisphere on November 1. Beltane follows Ostara and precedes Midsummer (see the Wheel of the Year).

Litha

Observed: Summer Solstice

Litha is one of the eight solar holidays or sabbats observed by Wiccans, though the New Forest traditions (those referred to as British Traditional Wicca) tend to use the traditional name Midsummer. It is celebrated on the Summer Solstice, or close to it. The holiday is considered the turning point at which summer reaches its height and the sun shines longest. Among the Wiccan sabbats, Midsummer is preceded by Beltane, and followed by Lughnasadh or Lammas.

Lughnasadh

Observed: August 1st

In Wicca, Lughnasadh is one of the eight sabbats or solar festivals in the Wiccan Wheel of the Year. It is the first of the three autumn harvest festivals, the other two being Mabon and Samhain. One telling of the story commemorates the sacrifice and death of the Wiccan Corn God; in its cycle of death, nurturing the people, and rebirth, the corn is considered an aspect of their Sun God. Some Neopagans mark the holiday by baking a figure of the god in bread, and then symbolically sacrificing and eating it. These celebrations are not based on Celtic culture, despite using the Celtic name for the sabbat.

Some Wiccans and other Neopagans also use the name Lammas for the sabbat, taken from the Anglo-Saxon and Christian holiday which occurs at about the same time. As the name (from the Anglo-Saxon hlafmæsse "loaf-mass", "loaves festival") implies, it is an agrarian-based festival and feast of thanksgiving for grain and bread, which symbolizes the first fruits of the harvest. Wiccan and other eclectic Neopagan rituals may incorporate elements from either festival.

Mabon

Observed: Autumnal Equinox

Mabon is the name used by some Wiccans and other Neopagans for one of the eight solar holidays or sabbats. It is celebrated on the Autumnal Equinox, which in the northern hemisphere occurs on September 23rd (occasionally the 22nd, although many celebrate on the 21st) and in the southern hemisphere is circa March 21.

Also called Harvest Home, the Feast of the Ingathering, or simply Autumn Equinox, this holiday is a ritual of thanksgiving for the fruits of the earth and a recognition of the need to share them to secure the blessings of the Goddess and God during the winter months. The name may derive from Mabon ap Modron, although the connection is unclear.

Among the sabbats, it is the second of the three harvest festivals, preceded by Lammas and followed by Samhain.