Wiccan and Pagen holidays- What are they?
Courtesy of a Modern Guide to the Ancient Craft; Inner Witch by Gabriela Herstik
Yule: the Winter Solstice
Yule represents the transition into the season, marking the longest night of the year and the beginning of the waxing year, when the Sun’s light begins to increase.
A time to talk to our shadows. To honor the hurt we house in our souls and turn them into lessons and medicine for the coming year. From shadows to light.
Altar decorations: Pine cones, herbs (like mistletoe, holly, evergreen, ash bark, thistle), white and silver candles, heirlooms or talismans that connect you to your ancestors, a yule log, the Death tarot card
Non-ritual ways to celebrate: Spend time near a fire, read your tarot, make mulled wine, play outside, buy yourself or your loved ones gifts.
First cross-quarter day of the year. Halfway between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox, celebrates the approaching return of spring (the Earth waking from the slumber of winter). It celebrates the promise of new lives and beginnings.
Start making your way up from the shadows of Yule. Thaw your pains with medicine from the sun, and grow what you want as we approach Spring Equinox, and the start of a new cycle.
Altar decorations: Seeds and plants (cinnamon, daffodil, rosemary, lavender), a spoonful of soil, a Brigid cross or doll, candles (red, white, green), poetry, writing, art, flowers (red or white), a cauldron filled with dirt (to represent the Earth), tarot cards such as the Three of Wands or the Star.
Non-ritual ways to celebrate: Spend time outside, talk to the Sun, journal, write a list of goals and projects to nurture, spend time with a baby, meditate, buy new plants, take a bath or stargaze.
Ostara: the Spring Equinox
The first official day of spring, when night and day are equal length.
Celebrate and plant seeds, both metaphorically and physically, for what we want to bring to bloom this season. Honor all the things achieved since the Winter Solstice.
Altar decorations: Any flowers (especially warm colors), candles (black and white), seeds, citrus, fruits, pomegranates, honey, citrine, clear quartz, aventurine, an offering of milk or honey for the fairies, tarot cards such as the High Priestess and Nine of Cups.
Non-ritual ways to celebrate: plant flowers/garden, take a walk in the sun and talk to the trees, spring clean your home and donate old clothing, collect and press flowers, enjoy a field picnic, swim or lie outside with the sun kissing your skin
Second cross quarter day of the year, between Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice. Fire and fertility. Sacred sexuality and cycle of sacrifice and rebirth needed for the continuation of life.
A day to reassess how and why we light our flame. A day of passion, growth, and love of all kinds.
Altar decorations: Flowers of all kinds, flower crowns and colorful ribbons, sprigs of herbs (rosemary, motherwort, marigold), the Lovers tarot card
Non-ritual ways to celebrate: Spend time outside, have a bonfire, make (and wear!) a flower crown, leave offerings of milk honey and fruit, make love, divination, picking flowers or fruit
Litha: the Summer Solstice
Let go of winter blues. The longest day of the year and shortest night. Beginning of waning season. The energetic climax of the year with the sun at it’s peak. Celebrate all you’ve accomplished the past six months.
Let out all you’ve been holding in. What can you create, what can you continue doing in the next season?
Altar Decorations: Roses and other summer flowers, candles (red, orange, or gold), a chalice or cauldron filled with water, bundles of red and white heather, oak and holly leaves, the Sun tarot card
Non-ritual ways to celebrate: Make a bonfire, swim in the ocean or a pool, walk in the park and leave an offering for the faeries, drink wine in a field with lovers or friends, buy yourself some flowers, wear sunny and golden colors, make love and enjoy the energetic peak of the year
Cross-quarter day, first of three harvest holidays, marks beginning of harvest season. Feasting, games, and song. Welcome impending darkness on an energetic level. Spirits begin to shift and prepare for Autumn.
Allows us to see how goals from midsummer are holding up, and offers us a chance to prepare ourselves for the coming season.
Altar Decorations: Grains, poppies, bilberries, wheat and other seasonal pickings, candles (gold, brown, burgundy), dark red and orange stones (citrine, carnelian, tiger’s eye, amber) the Sun tarot card
Non-ritual ways to celebrate: bake fresh bread, pick crops or make a list of intended harvests (both spiritually and mentally) and keep list where you can see it, spend time nurturing yourself and loved ones, journal, read the tarot, give thanks for the bounty ahead
Mabon: the Autumn Equinox
First day of autumn, where night and day are equal length. A time of balance, played out by the sun. Harvest is complete and we look towards winter as a time of death, rebirth, and transformation. A day of being grateful and giving thanks.
See the abundance set before you so you can enter the darkness and await the transformation found there. Allow yourself to begin the transformation to your fullest self. Kind of like the witch’s Thanksgiving Day- say thank you to the Universe for all her abundance.
Alter Decorations: Squash and gourds, leaves, acorns, seeds, nuts, pine cones, feathers, items to make you feel rich and grounded, ear of corn, Ten of Pentacles card
Non-ritual ways to celebrate: Make some apple cider, spend some time in a graveyard, watch scary movies and eat comfort food, collect leaves and arrange them, walk in the park, thank the trees and flowers for their gifts, make a list of everything your grateful for- and thank the universe for it.
Samhain: the witch’s new year. Aka, Halloween!
Halloween!! Celebrate all we’ve accomplished alongside our ancestors. The veil between us and them is the thinnest now.
Honor ancestors, your roots, families, and yourself. Engage with the other side. Recharge and reset yourself.
Alter Decorations: Roses and bright colored flowers, skulls, seasonal decorations (squash, gourds, acorns and seeds), candles in autumn colors (black, deep red, orange), heirlooms and talisman that connect you to your ancestors, offerings to icons and loved ones on the Other Side; Death and Moon tarot cards.
Non-ritual ways to celebrate: Go trick-or treating, midnight picnic in a cemetery, write a letter to a deceased loved one and burn it, leave an offering of mulled wine for ancestors, talk to the moon and enjoy the night!
Check out the Wheel of the Year for a better picture of when these dates occur!! happy celebrating!!!!