WAYS TO CELEBRATE THE SABBATS
Bake anything with blackberries or seeds.
Use the colours white, light yellow, green, gold, silver, lilac, pale pink, and purple in your decor and outfits.
Light a bonfire or candles to represent the returning light.
Plant seeds or bulbs to symbolize the rebirth of nature.
Honour deities associated with Imbolc, such as Faunus, Eros, Oak King, Green Man, Pan, Cupid, Aenghus Óg, Brigid, Demeter, Hestia, Vesta, Aphrodite, Ceres, The Morrigan, Venus, Arianrhod, Cerridwen, Gaia, Aradia, Athena, and Minerva.
Make a Brigid's Cross, or other handcrafted decor, with herbs and/or other natural materials.
Perform a blessing of your home to let go of the past year.
Set up an altar or sacred space to honour the Celtic goddess Brigid, associated with Imbolc.
Make Brigid's Bed, a traditional ritual of placing a straw/cloth Brigid doll in a basket or box before placing it on your home’s hearth with offerings of food or cloth left out to bring in Brigid’s blessings (signs of her visit, such as disturbed rushes or marks in the hearth ashes, are sought as confirmation of her blessings.)
Connect with nature and spend time outside to honour the changing season.
Participate in fertility rites and rituals to celebrate the coming of spring and the planting season.
Honour deities associated with Ostara, such as Mars, Ares, Green Man, Apollo, Pan, Cernunnos, Oak King, Týr, Odin, Osiris, Dagda, Adonis, Ēostre, Aphrodite, Isis, Gaia, Athena, Minerva, Cybele, Persephone, The Morrigan, Dementer, Flora, Astarte, Hecate, and Freyja.
Create baskets filled with seasonal treats and decor for loved ones.
Decorate your altar or sacred space with symbols of Ostara, such as flowers, eggs, bunnies, daffodils, and pastel colours.
Clean and cleanse your home and space, releasing old habits and welcoming new beginnings.
Plant seeds or herbs for new growth and prosperity.
Go for a nature walk or hike.
Participate in an egg hunt or egg rolling, traditional Ostara games.
Celebrate the coming of spring with those you care about by sharing a meal.
Perform a protection spell or ritual to honour the increasing light and longer days.
Create a spring bouquet or wreath by using flowers like daffodils, crocuses, and other spring blossoms.
Practice self-care rituals to nourish and rejuvenate your mind and body.
Celebrate the fertility of the earth with bonfires and rituals honouring the fire god, Belenos.
Make a maypole and decorate it with colourful ribbons.
Participate in a maypole dance, a traditional celebration of fertility and joy.
Make a wish list and tie it to a tree on Beltane eve.
Honour deities associated with Beltane, such as Pan, Belenus, Oak King, Green Man, Cernunnos, Dionysus, Bacchus, Priapus, Faunus, Eros, Ra, Freyja, Aphrodite, Flora, Brigid, Persephone, Hestia, Astarte, Lilith, Juno, Diana, Hera, Artemis, Epona, and Bastet.
Create a flower crown or wear one made of wildflowers to honour the faery folk and fertility spirits.
Perform a ritual to bless your home for fertility, love, transformation, new beginnings, and/or protection.
Jump over the Beltane bonfires, symbolizing jumping over obstacles and embracing new beginnings.
Have a picnic or gathering with friends and family to celebrate the abundance and growth of the season.
Create a sacred space or altar for Beltane, decorat with flowers, herbs, and other nature-related objects.
Go for a walk in the woods or a natural setting and connect with the beauty and/or energy of the season.
LITHA (SUMMER SOLSTICE/MIDSUMMER)
Participate in a bonfires or lighting a sacred fire.
Collect herbs and flowers, especially ones associated with the sun, such as calendula, yarrow, and St. John's wort, and make a solstice garland.
Dance around the bonfire or engage in other traditions associated with the Summer Solstice, such as singing and drumming.
Have a solstice feast, filled with summer bounty, seasonal foods, and family.
Celebrate in the natural world, go for a walk, or have a picnic.
Honour deities associated with Litha, such as Belenus, Green Man, Sol, Apollo, Helios, Lugh, Baldur, Ra, Zeus, Oak King, Horus, Dionysus, Aten, Loki, Jupiter, Thor, Cernunnos, Brigid, Hel, Amaterasu, Hestia, Juno, Hera, Gaia, Sulis, Aphrodite, Danu, Áine, Freyja, Bastet, Hathor, Sunna, Flora, and Vesta.
Start summer resolutions.
Consider planting a vegetable garden for autumn, or add to your flower garden.
Honour the earth and the cycles of nature.
Give thanks to the spirits and/or deities for the beginning of the harvest season.
Collect and honour the first fruits of the harvest, such as grains, corn, and apples.
Hold a harvest festival or feast, sharing the bounty of the land with family and friends.
Make a Lughnasadh altar or shrine with symbols of the harvest, such as corn, grains, and apples.
Participate in a traditional Lughnasadh celebration, such as a harvest dance or ritual.
Honour deities associated with Lammas, such as Adonis, Gofannon, Hades, Hephaestus, Lugh, Green Man, Mithras, Ninurta, Odin, Ceres, Osiris, Set, Helios, Thor, Vulcan, Loki, Dionysus, Vertumnus, Apollo, Xiuhtecuhtli, Danu, Tailtiu, Persephone, Demeter, Freyja, The Morrigan, Anu, Cailleach Bheur, Arianhod, Ceres, Inanna, Corn Maiden, Isis, Cybele, Ops, Pomona, Brigid, Proserpina, Rhiannon, and Cerridwen.
MABON (AUTUMN EQUINOX/FALL HARVEST)
Gathering herbs, plants, seeds and seed pods.
Make a corn dolly or a straw figure as a reminder of the abundance of the harvest.
Perform a ritual to honour the balance of the seasons and thank the gods and goddesses for their blessings.
Spend time writing in your journal. You could reminisce about your summer experiences, reflect on the shifts you feel with the changing season, contemplate what you're ready to release, express gratitude for the blessings in your life, etc.
Adorning burial sites with leaves, acorns, and pine cones to honour those who have passed over.
Honour deities associated with Mabon, such as the Green Man, Loki, Freyr, Osiris, Dionysus, Thoth, Hermes, Thor, Mabon ap Modron, Donn, Hades, Dumuzi, Cernunnos, Demeter, Persephone, Ceres, Freyja, Hestia, The Morrigan, Pomona, Epona, the Muses, Inanna, Banba, and Autumnus.
Participate in a nature walk or ceremony, taking time to connect with the natural world and the turning of the seasons.
Enjoy your favourite fall beverages.
Make a gratitude list or write a gratitude letter, expressing your appreciation for the abundance and beauty of the harvest season.
Bring the beauty of fall indoors by decorating your home with seasonal touches.
Performing a gratitude or release ritual.
SAMHAIN (ALL HALLOWS/FINAL HARVEST)
Carving sigils, runes, or symbols into pumpkins that you want to attract into your life.
Relax and watch some horror movies.
Treat yourself to sweets.
Participate in a haunted house, hayride, or corn maze event.
Declutter/organize your home.
Honour deities associated with Samhain, such as Hades, Lucifer, Donn, Odin, Loki, Dagda, Cernunnos, Osiris, Anubis, Belenus, Arawn, The Morrigan, Hecate, Cerridwen, Persephone, Brigid, Hel, Santa Muerte, Lilith, Badb, Cailleach Bheur, Kali, Bastet, Nephthys, Durga, Arianrhod, and Baba Yaga.
Ethically collect animal bones or feathers to honour the natural cycle of life and death.
Decorate your home with Halloween or Samhain-themed decor to welcome the energy of the season.
Gathering friends and loved ones for a Samhain feast, feasting on symbolic foods like apples, pumpkin, corn, etc. Leave an empty place at the table with food and a photo of the deceased, inviting their spirit to join you.
Visit a local pumpkin patch.
Try scrying or mirror gazing, divination is especially powerful when the veil is thin (all of October especially, and in November too).
Go to a harvest festival or carnival.
RESPECTFULLY visit a graveyard or cemetery.
Watch your favorite spooky/witchy movies to awaken Samhain's energy.
Do a simple releasing spell: take a leaf, focus on something you want to let go of, crush it gently, and then release it into nature.
Add photos of your ancestors or deceased loved ones to your altar.
Bake Samhain treats (soul cakes, barmbrack, Colcannon, pies, or anything that contains apples or pumpkin) with your desired intentions and positive energy.
Wear Samhain colours in your clothing, makeup, or nails (orange, purple, white, black, brown, and/or gold).
Use crow feathers or crow motifs to honour death and transformation.
YULE (WINTER SOLSTICE/MIDWINTER)
Make an evergreen Yule wreath.
Make a Yule wish list or a Yule resolution, as Yule is a time of reflection and intention setting.
Practice Yule carol singing, participating in a community sing-along, or carolling event.
Celebrate in candle light.
Exchange nature-based gifts.
Host a feast for those you love with foods associated with Yule, such as: roast goose, spiced cakes, cinnamon-flavored cakes, ginger tea, hot apple cider, wassail, seasoned soups, spiced buttermilk bread, nuts, apples, honey, oranges, dried fruits, turkey, roasted meats, mincemeat, eggnog, chocolate, roasted chicken, roasted capon, roasted partridge, roasted suckling pig, venison offal, rabbit stew, fruit mince pies, sugar cookies, grog, spiced cider, mulled wine, plum pudding, marmalade cakes, chocolate biscuits, fruit pies, tarts with nuts, Yule Log cake, bread pudding, roasted nuts, gingerbread, potato latkes, Yule ham, and hot cocoa (these are just suggestions for traditional Yule foods, but feel free to eat or drink anything you like.)
Participate in a Yule spell or ritual, asking for blessings and protection for the coming year.
Honour deities associated with Yule, such as Baldur, Dionysus, Cernunnos, Odin, Holly King, Mithras, Green Man, Oak King, Loki, Apollo, Horus, Saturn, Osiris, Cronus, Amaterasu, Athena, Hecate, Demeter, Cailleach Bheur, Skaði, Frigg, Freyja, Brigid, Hestia, Isis, and Perchta/Berchta.
Decorate your home with evergreen boughs and wreaths, representing the evergreen nature of the sun and eternal life.
Participate in an outdoor activity, like sledding or ice skating, to honour the winter season.
