Sabbats
Woodsong Grove honors the Lord and the Lady while turning the year with celebrations of the eight sabbats.
Hallomas/Samhain ( Oct 31 ) – The Wiccan new year.
This is the time when the veil between this world and the next is the thinnest, when the souls of those who have passed away during the year move to the Summerland. Traditionally, a last meal called the Dumb Supper is served and people say their last farewells.
The sword of power is passed from the Lady to the Lord, marking the beginning of the male half of the year.
Yule/Winter Solstice ( Dec 21) – Winter Solstice
We celebrate the birth of the Sun. From this point on the days will get longer. Some of the symbols of Yule would include the evergreen tree decorated with fruits and lights, holly, and the lighting of the Yule log.
Traditionally this was a time to give and receive gifts.
Candalmas/lmbolc ( Feb 1)
A holiday celebrating the transformation of the Goddess from the Crone to the Maiden. The Goddess is symbolically washed and veiled.
Hearth fires are extinguished before the celebration and later re-kindled with the flame taken from the bale fire.
Ostara/Vernal Equinox ( March 21)
The days and nights are equal in length. This is a time to celebrate the betrothal of the Maiden to the Lord.
Ostara’s symbols of fertility include the rabbit, colored eggs, and cookies or cakes decorated with the equal-armed cross.
Beltane/May Day ( May 1 )
This is a celebration honoring the consummation of the wedding of the Lord and the Lady. From this point forward the Goddess is viewed as the Mother.
Traditions practiced at Beltane include jumping the Bale fire to show crops how high to grow and to promote fertility, and dancing around the maypole.
The sword of power is passed from the Lord to the Lady, marking the switch to the female half of the year.
Midsummer/Summer Solstice ( June 21 )
Marks the day when the waxing sun reaches its zenith on the longest day of the year.
Lammas/Lugnasadh ( July 31 )
The Celebration of the first harvest and the symbolic death of the God in his aspect of the grain.
The God (as the Corn King and representative of the land) was traditionally sacrificed every seven years, or in times of physical weakness to assure the fertility of the land. It was either a wiling sacrifice or a volunteer acted in proxy for the king.
Michaelmas/Autumn Equinox ( Sept 21)
The days are nights are again of equal length.
This is considered a celebration of the second harvest, the preparatory harvest when the seed for the next planting was stored away. A time to contemplate the year just passed.
Full Moons/Esbats
In addition to the eight Sabbats, we also meet on many of the full moons or Esbats, as we call them. Whereas Sabbats are celebratory in nature, Esbats are times for workings.
