2017/ 2018 Winter Newsletter - Part 1

2017/ 2018 Winter Newsletter

- Part 1

Inside this issue: Intro To Crystals Chakras Winter Solstice & Yule

2018 Holiday Calendar & Wheel

2017/ 2018 Winter Newsletter

Part 1 of 2

CONTENTS:

Page 4: 2018 Holiday and the Sabbaths Page 6: Winter Solstice

- The longest night Page 9: Yule Page 12: Holiday Traditions Page 13: Wassail Recipe Page 14: Stones & Crystals for the Solstice Page 15: Intro to the Chakra's Page 19: Popular Chakra Stone & Crystals

To pagans, the Yule tree, wreath and candles remind that spring is around the corner.

Part 1 of 2.... what's that all about? ....Well, we have SO much information this issue, we had to break it into 2 part to publish it in time, that part 2 will contain bridget, & imbolic!

Holidays & Sabbats

2018 Calendar Year!

February 2

IMBOLC ? Wiccans celebrate a variation of Im-

bolc as one of four "fire festivals", which make up half of the eight holidays 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.

BELTANE ? Wiccans and Wiccan-inspired Neo-

pagans 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).

? "Beltane" article on Wikipedia

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.

? "Imbolc" Article on Wikipedia

Around March 21

SPRING EQUINOX / OSTARA ? Ostara

is one of the four lesser Wiccan holidays or sabbats of the Wheel of the Year. Ostara is celebrated on the spring 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.

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.

? "Ostara" article on Wikipedia

June 22

SUMMER SOLSTICE / MID-SUMMER / LITHA ? 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 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.

? "Midsummer" article on Wikipedia

August 1

LUGHNASADH / LAMMAS ? 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 the Autumn equinox (or Mabon) and Samhain. Some Wiccans mark the holiday by baking a figure of the god in bread, and then symbolically sacrificing and eating it. The Celtic name seems to have been a late adoption among Wiccans, since in early versions of Wiccan literature the festival is merely referred to as "August Eve".

May 1

Many Wiccans 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 hlafm?sse "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.

? "Lughnasadh" article on Wikipedia

tival 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.

On a personal side, my path as a hereditary witch holds that Samhain marks the beginning of turning of the wheel. I've always thought of Samhain as the Pagan New Year, and celebrate it as such.

September 21

AUGUST EQUINOX / MABON ? Mabon

is the name used by some Wiccan traditions as well as some other forms of Neo-Paganism for one of the eight annual holidays central to their Beliefs. It is celebrated on the Autumnal Equinox, which in the northern hemisphere occurs on or around September 23rd (occasionally the 22nd). Many celebrate on the 21st since most early Wiccan and Neopagan sources reference this date as Mabon. Although due to Global Warming it no longer falls that early. In the southern hemisphere, the Autumnal Equinox occurs usually around March 21.

Also called Harvest Home, the Feast of the Ingathering, Me?n F?mhair, or as Alban Elfed by Neo-Druidic traditions, 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, a character from Welsh mythology, although the connection is unclear (see below).

? "Samhain" article on Wikipedia

December 22

WINTER SOLSTICE / YULE ? 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 a reconstruction of the historical 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. In most Wiccan traditions, this holiday is also celebrated as the rebirth of the Great God, who is viewed as the newborn solstice sun. The method of gathering for this sabbat varies by practitioner. Some have private ceremonies at home, while others do so with their covens.

? "Yule" article on Wikipedia

? "Mabon" article on Wikipedia

October 31

SAMHAIN ? Samhain is considered by most

Wiccans to be the most important of the four `greater Sabbats'. It is generally observed on October 31st in the Northern Hemisphere, starting at sundown. 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 fes-

Image credit: Winter forest. Public domain via Pixabay

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