The Wheel of the Year

Between the Worlds:
The Sabbats

"Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn - birth, growth, fading, death
the wheel turns, on and on. Ideas are born, projects are consummated,
plans prove impractical and die. We fall in love; we suffer loss;
we consummate relationships; we give birth; we grow old; we decay.

The sabbats are the eight points at which we connect the inner and the outer cycles:
the interstices where the seasonal, the celestial, the communal the creative,
and all personal meet. As we enact each drama in its time, we transform ourselves.
We are renewed, we are reborn even as we decay and die
We are not separate from each other, from the broader world around us:
we are one with the Goddess, with the God. As the Cone of Power rises,
as the season changes, we arouse the power from within, the power to heal,
the power to change our society, the power to renew the earth."
The Spiral Dance - Starhawk

YULE	Winter Solstice, December 20-23	This is the night of the solstice, the longest night of the year. Now darkness triumphs: and yet, gives way and changes into light. Christian: Christmas.
IMBOLC	Candlemas, February 2	This is the feast of the waxing light. What was born at the solstice begins to manifest.
OSTARA	Spring Equinox, March 20-23	This is the time of spring's return; the joyful time, the seed time, when life bursts forth from the earth and chains of winter are broken. Christian: Easter.
BELTANE	May Day       May 1	This is the time when sweet desire weds wield delight. The Maiden of Spring and the Lord of the Waxing Year meet in the greening fields and rejoice together under the warm sun.
LITHA	Summer Solstice, June 20-23	This is the time of the rose, blossom and thorn, frangrance and blood. Now is the longest day, light triumphs, and yet begins the decline into dark.
LUGHNASAD	Lammas August 1	This is the wake of Lugh, the Sun King who dies with the waning year, the Corn King who dies when the grain is reaped.
MABON	Fall Equinox, September 20-23	This is the time of harvest, of thanks giving and joy, of leave taking and sorrow. Now day and night are equal, in perfect balance.
SAMHAIN	Hallow's Eve, October 31	This is the night when the veil is thin that divides the worlds. It is the New Year in the time of the year's death, when the harvest is gathered and the fields lie fallow. Christian: All Saint's Day.