The holiday of the autumnal equinox is known variously among neopagans as Harvest Home, Mabon, the Feast of the Ingathering, Meán Fómhair, An Clabhsúr, or Alban Elfed (in neo-druidry). For a detailed instruction manual introducing The Pentacle Path of Modern Witchcraft and the Great Work of magick by astrological timing, check out my first book book through Llewellyn Publishing: Elemental Witchcraft: A Guide to Living a Magickal Life Through the Elements.

For Celtic neopagans, the festival is dedicated to the goddess Brigid, daughter of The Dagda and one of the Tuatha Dé Danann.This festival is associated with the colour white and is traditionally celebrated with lighting candles and making offerings of milk and honey. Includes both the circular wheel within elemental framework and a linear version within the seasonal framework, illustrating the Black Moon cycle, and the leadership of lunar pairings switching from dark-moon-led to full-moon-led.

Suggested Celebration Timing: Best observed Saturday, June 17, 2023 in 13 hours prior to exact dark on Sunday, June 18 at 12:37 am. Early Christian-Pagans made sure Anna entered the Kristian story, making her Yeshua’s grandmother, Mary’s mother. The wheel as described here is broadly what is observed today by modern pagans, chiefly of the UK and Ireland. Scroll down to find a helpful Lunar Calendar to add to your Book of Shadows to track and work with the Moon phases.Celebrated by many pagan traditions, in neo-druidry this festival recognizes the power of life in its fullness, the greening of the world, youthfulness and flourishing. The pinnacle of the Summer season, June is a great month to connect with solar deities and harness the sun’s powerful positive influence to seize the day and set the course for lasting life changes. While the various Celtic calendars include some cyclical patterns, and a belief in the balance of light and dark, these beliefs vary between the different Celtic cultures. Then at Ostara we start asking new questions, releasing expectation, opening our minds to experimentation so that we gain first hand knowledge, tapping elemental air’s powers of wonderment.

MAY 18: – Celtic Feast of Greek God Pan – Who represents the masculine in Nature and protects men throughout their lives. June 6: New Moon in Gemini – reflect on your communication and social skills by taking time to truly listen without interrupting or simply waiting for your turn to talk.

The idea that storms and thunder are actually divine battle is pivotal to the changing of the seasons. More pagan-inspired than actual ritual, there’s drumming, Celtic face painting, flower crowns, a May Queen and a Green Man – not to mention a dramatic 40ft wicker man that gets burned at dusk. Butser’s wicker man, Devey explains, is simply a way for the experimental archaeologists who work there to show off their woodworking prowess: “It’s a Butser craft thing. Imbolc is the traditional Gaelic name for 1 February and traditionally marks the first stirrings of spring.

Feast of Old Greek Goddess Artemis (Roman Diana) – Defender of rights and liberties, and punisher of rapists and oppressors. Heathens may add to the demarcations of the Wheel of the Year with various Days of Remembrance celebrating heroes of the Edda and the Sagas and figures of Germanic history such as Leif Ericson, who explored parts of North America. Festival of Hecate—Invoking her to protect the harvests now that the God resides within her aspect as the Earth Goddess. Great Horn Festival—Horned God and Lady of the Wood invoked for the fertility of wild game and the Hunting Season. Festival of Jupiter – Roman deity associated with rain and agriculture, prime protector of the state, and concerned with all aspects of life.

Ritual Function: Balance elemental earth energy, and shadow work for the virtues and vices of Taurus. The pagan calendar, also known as the Wheel of the Year, is a sacred cycle of seasonal celebrations that marks the changing of the seasons and honours the natural rhythms of the Earth. Annelli Stafford, a practising “eclectic” pagan and the organiser of Beltane at Thornborough Henge in North Yorkshire, agrees: “It’s a really nice start to the year after a long, cold winter.