To make a Wheel of the Year collage, you will need to start with a large piece of heavy cardboard.

Trace a large circle on the cardboard. To do this, place a thumb tack in the approximate center of the cardboard. If the thumb tack goes all the way through, you may wish to put another piece or two of scrap cardboard beneath it so you can push it in fully and not scratch your table surface. Tie a piece of string around the tack. Hold the string out from the center until it almost meets an edge of the cardboard. Tie a pencil around it at that point, then trace around, letting the string guide the pencil on a circular path. Remove the tack and string.  Use a sturdy pair of scissors or a craft knife and cut around the pencil guide, so you have your large wheel. At this point, you may wish to paint your wheel a base color of your choice. While you'll be adding a great deal of things to your collage, should the cardboard show through any small spaces, it looks nicer if it has a color underneath.

When the paint is dry, take a pencil, a yard stick, and a protractor. You are going to divide your wheel into eight equal parts. Start by locating the very center of the wheel by finding your tack hole. Lay your yard stick across the circle with the tack hole slightly to the side of it. Draw a line down the center, bisecting the circle.

Lay the protractor across the line you have made and mark a 90 degree angle. Then, take your yard stick and use that mark as a guide to make another line across. Your circle should be divided into 4 equal quarters.

Lay the protractor across one of the lines and make a pencil dot at the 45 degree mark, and one at the 135 degree mark. Using the yardstick, make another line across the dot at the 45 degree mark through the center, and a final line across the 135 degree mark through the center. Your circle should now be divided into eight equal parts, much like a pizza pie.

If you like, you can go over those lines and make them more pronounced with paint or a marker. If one line comes out a little crooked or messy, don't panic; you're going to be pasting things on later, so you can just cover up the offending area.

The next thing to do is write the name of each sabbat in a slice of the pie. Since Pagan traditions vary, the exact dates and names of the celebrations are different from group to group. However, there are eight seasons that Pagan traditions commonly celebrate, some various names of which have been listed below on the reference chart. Use the names which are specifically used in your particular tradition. If you are new to Paganism, use the names with which you feel most comfortable.

In the "slice" at the top of the circle, write the name of the first sabbat. Turn the circle slightly to the left, so that the next "slice" is at the top, and write the name of the next sabbat. Continue doing this down the line. When you are done, the names at the top of the circle should be right-side up, while the names at the bottom should be upside-down. The reason for this is that, when you hang your wheel, you will be able to rotate it to put the appropriate season on top. You'll want the name of it facing right-side up when it is at the top, which simply means it will face the opposite way when at the bottom of the wheel.

The next part of the task can be a lot of work, but a lot of fun. Begin to gather a lot of things that represent the eight sabbat seasons. This can take a few days to a few months, depending on how much you want, how actively you search and how resourceful you are. Listed below on the reference chart are some ideas for different seasonal symbols.

When you have collected all the materials for your collage, begin to glue items into their respective seasons. Glue flat items first, such as pictures and cut outs. Use regular white craft glue for these items and let it dry before proceeding.

Once you have all the flatter items down, you can begin to pile bulkier items, such as dried flowers, small stones or twigs on top of them. These should be applied with a hot glue gun for the most secure attachment. While you can pile things as much as or in any way you want, try not to completely obscure the flat pictures and cut-outs at the base. It looks nice to have them poking through the 3-dimensional objects.

Don't worry if you feel certain sabbat sections are sparse, while others are overflowing. You can always add things as you go along and celebrate your seasons. And if pieces ever fall off, just re-glue them.

When you are ready to hang your collage, poke a hole through the center (right through that tack prick you first created) and nail it directly into the wall, but don't hammer the nail in too tightly. You will want to be able to spin it, like a carnival wheel game, so that as each season passes you can move the new one to the top.

REFERENCE CHART

December-

Sabbat Names: Yule, Winter Solstice, Midwinter, Saturnalia

Seasonal Colors: Red, Green, Silver, Gold

Collage Suggestions: cut out pictures from old Christmas cards and holiday wrapping paper, search through Winter issues of craft, family and women's magazines for pictures to cut out, pictures of the sun, gold glitter, pine cones, dried pine needles

February-

Sabbat Names: Imbolc, Oimelk, Brigid's Day, Bride, Feast of Waxing Light

Seasonal Colors: Red, White

Collage Suggestions: Pictures of glowing candles (especially red), pictures of glowing fireplaces or a hearth, paper snow flakes, snowy scenes from magazines and postcards, red ribbons, St. Brigid's crosses

March-

Sabbat Names: Ostara, Eostre, Spring Equinox, Vernal Equinox

Seasonal Colors: Pastels of all kinds

Collage Suggestions: Rabbits, Eggs, pictures from old Easter cards, pastel ribbons, dyed (blown) eggshells, flower buds, seeds. 

May-

Sabbat Names: Beltane, Beltain, May Day, Lady's Day, Walpurgis Night

Seasonal Colors: Red, White, bright colors

Collage Suggestions: May pole depictions, Spring/Summer scenes, flower blossoms, braided ribbons, small May poles made out of twigs

June-

Sabbat Names: Midsummer, Midsummer Night, Litha, Summer Solstice, Vestalia

Seasonal Colors: Blue, Yellow, Orange, Green

Collage Suggestions: Summer post cards of beach scenes and green fields, magazine cut outs of the ocean or the sun, small sea shells, fairies, fire, plastic or silk berries, silk butterflies, dried rose buds or petals

August-

Sabbat names: Lughnasadh, Lunasa, Lammas, Feast of Lugh, Cornucopia, First Harvest

Seasonal Colors: Green, Brown, Gold

Collage Suggestions: Harvest pictures, farms, ripe corn fields, harvest tools (scythes, tractors) wheat stalks, ripe vegetables, loaves of bread, cornucopias

September--

Sabbat Names: Mabon, Fall Equinox, Autumnal Equinox

Seasonal Colors: Brown, Gold, Orange

Collage Suggestions: Fall scenes, colorful autumn leaves, loaves of bread, acorns, bare twigs, cornucopias, boars, gourds, squash, apples

October--

Sabbat Names: Samhain, All Hallows, All Soul's Night, Shadowfest

Seasonal Colors: Black, Orange, Red

Collage Suggestions: Old Halloween cards, magazine pictures from Halloween issues, pumpkins, pumpkin seeds, skulls, jack-o-lanterns, skeletons, ghosts, cauldrons, apples, scythes, broomsticks, black cats.