We have already touched upon the Pagan Calendar in the introductory
chapter, but now it’s time to go a bit more in depth.

The Pagan seasonal cycle is often called the Wheel of the Year. Almost
all Pagans celebrate a cycle of eight festivals, which are spaced every six or
seven weeks through the year and divide the wheel into eight segments.

Yule

The year starts during Yule, or the Winter Solstice, on the 21^st
of December, whilst many wizards now celebrate Christmas alongside Yule, we
should remember to honor our routes. The Pagan celebration of the Winter
Solstice is one of the oldest traditions in the world, in fact the Christians
decided to place Christmas on December 25 to encourage more Pagans to celebrate
the ‘birth of Christ’. By placing it close to an already celebrated festival
more people would follow it because they could still honor their old gods.

The Winter Solstice falls on the shortest day of the year (21st
December) and was celebrated in Britain long before the arrival of
Christianity. The Druids (Celtic priests, or as we would call them, Wizards)
would cut the mistletoe that grew on the oak tree and give it as a blessing.
These blessings are thought to act like spells for good luck and life
throughout the winter months. Oaks were seen as sacred and the winter fruit of
the mistletoe was a symbol of life in the dark winter months. Nowadays we still
hang mistletoe in doorways and those who get stuck beneath it are encouraged to
kiss.

It was also the Druids who began the tradition of the yule log. The
Celts thought that the sun stood still for twelve days in the middle of winter
and during this time a log was lit to conquer the darkness, banish evil spirits
and bring luck for the coming year. It is believed that these logs people lit
were imbued with spells for protection and safety for those who lived in the
household and by lighting them the magic was released. Even now there are dark
spirits who are chased away by light, though we usually cast Lumos rather than
go by candlelight. By banishing evil spirits from the home in this way things
were more likely to go right throughout the upcoming year, therefore bringing
the family ‘good luck’.

Imbolc

Imbolc is the next festival on the Pagan calendar, it begins in
February and was originally a Celtic tradition. It is pronounced 'im'olk' also
known as Oimelc comes from an Irish word that was originally thought to mean
'in the belly' although many people translate it as 'ewe's milk' (oi-melc).

Imbolc was one of the cornerstones of the Celtic calendar. For them the
success of the new farming season was of great importance. As winter stores of
food were getting low Imbolc rituals were performed to harness magic that would
ensure a steady supply of food until the harvest six months later. Though we
know that no magic can conjure food (See Gamps Laws) it is thought that these
rituals were meant to encourage the finding of hunt in nearby forests and
gathering of spring fruits. Rather than conjure food they were there to allow
people to find and cook food, and to make it last long.

Like many Celtic festivals, the Imbolc celebrations centered on the
lighting of fires, we know that fire is a powerful force and many (though not
all) Pagan rituals honor it as one of the five elements. Fire was perhaps more
important for this festival than others as it was also the holy day of Brigid
(also known as Bride, Brigit or Brid), the Goddess of fire, healing and
fertility. The lighting of fires celebrated the increasing power of the Sun
over the coming months, the sun was always important in Ancient Britain because
with too little (or too much) the harvest would not be good in late autumn.
Like Yule the Christian calendar placed an important Christian holiday around
this date, this holiday was reformed and renamed 'Candlemas' when candles are
lit to remember the purification of the Virgin Mary.

Imbolc is still a special time for Pagans. As people who are deeply
aware of what is going on in the natural world they recognise that there is
strength in cold as well as heat, death as well as life. By recognizing this
they allowed themselves to draw power from all sources of nature, understanding
that death is not inherently bad, as life is not inherently good. Recently it
seems that many people have forgotten that death is not inherently bad and
whilst it may painful, it is better to celebrate who a person was rather than
mourn for what they will not be.

Many feel that human actions are best when they reflect the actions of
nature, so as the world slowly springs back into action it is time for the
small tasks that are neglected through the busy year. Rituals and activities
might include the making of candles, planting spring flowers, reading poetry
and telling stories. By reflecting the actions of nature itself, you are able
to draw on the magic that is imbued within nature. Many Pagan’s believe that
you must be one with nature before you can draw upon it’s magic, and you cannot
do this if you are fighting natures steps.

Spring Equinox

The Spring Equinox comes in March, and celebrates the renewed life of
the Earth that comes with the Spring. It is a solar festival, like the Winter
Solstice, celebrated when the length of the day and night are equal for the
first time in the year. Throughout history this turn of the seasons has been
celebrated by many cultures, not just the Celts of Ancient Britiain. Pagan’s
continue to celebrate the coming of Spring and they attribute the changes going
on in the world to an increase in the power of the magic in nature, and of an
increase in the power of their God and Goddess.

To celebrate the Sping Equinox some Pagans carry out particular
rituals, some are still done today. As the Spring Equinox is a time of rebirth
and renewed life there are often eggs races, egg hunts, egg eating and egg
painting. The reason eggs play such a big part is that they are in themselves a
symbol of new life, of one thing giving life to another. Christians also
adopted this holiday, naming Easter (though it was moved to April time) and the
symbol of eggs is still used in many cultures today, whether they be real eggs
or chocolate eggs.

Some Pagan traditions also plant seeds of flowers and trees, this
symbolizes giving back to Nature what we have used, so that Nature may once
again aid us. It is thought by doing this that one shares the increase of power
in Nature and finds themselves imbued with new life and a new sense of purpose.
This is thought to have had the same effect as a Pepper-up Potion, but last
much longer, throughout the year.

Beltane

Beltane is a Celtic festival once again, the word translating to ‘Fires
of Bel’ (Bel being a Celtic Deity). It comes around April/May time, and is a
festival of fire, celebrating the coming of summer and the fertility of the
coming year. Like many Celtic festivals it was tied into the needs of the
community, and in Spring time at the beginning of the farming calendar
everybody would be hoping for a fruitful year for their families and for the
fields of growing food. It is believed that by burning the old and the used it
would give the new a chance to bloom. These sort of rituals seem to cause a
similar effect to the use of nutrient potions on the soil where plants grow,
and are thought to increase the fertility of the soil, therefore creating a
greater harvest in the Autumn.

Beltane rituals would often
include courting, as it was a time of fertility all around, young men and women
were encouraged to find partners among themselves. These courting rituals would
include young people collecting blossoms in the woods and lighting fires
together in the evening. Often, these rituals would often lead to marriages in
the summer or autumn. Whilst we understand that no spell can create love
(merely lust or physical desire) it is believed that these rituals merely
amplified feelings that were already present between two people, letting them
understand and share these emotions better.

In more recent times the
traditions and rituals associated with Beltane have changed, but they still
centre around fire and the power it brings. In many rituals Fire is honored as
one of the five main elements of the Goddess, coming directly after air. People
see it as having purifying qualities, which burn away at the old, and the
tainted, cleansing and revitalizing a person, and leap over the Beltane fire to
bring good fortune, fertility and happiness throughout the coming years. It is
believed that by passing above the fire its magic is imbued within a person,
touching their magical core and burning away at the old and that which is no
longer wanted or needed to give way to the new.

Summer
Solstice

The Summer Solstice occurs on
the longest day of the year, when the sun stays in the sky for the longest time
and the night is at it’s shortest. This date is the 21^st of June.
For thousands of years the date has had spiritual significance, people (not
just Pagan’s) being in awe of the suns power. The Celtic rituals often involved
bonfires that would add to the suns energy. It is thought that by creating huge
fires they could draw upon the energy of the sun, and were blessed by the
Goddess herself. It is a time to celebrate growth and life, but also to
acknowledge that after this date the sun will once again begin to wane away
from sight. It is a time for both celebration and acceptance that life will not
be as easy as they have been in the coming months.

When celebrating midsummer
there are diverse traditions that people may follow, many go to Magical sights,
such as Stonehenge, where at this time of year the power of nature is strongest
to draw upon the magic that gathers there. It is believed these old ritual
sites were not used for one off rituals but instead drew power from the
surrounding area throughout the year and then released it to the people and
land during the Summer Solstice to renew life and bring good harvest. It did
not create new life amongst things but merely added to what was already there,
amplifying it through the magic it had gathered. Even now, Stonehenge is
considered a hugely important place in magical society yet we really know very
little about it.

Lughnasadh

Lughnasadh (also called Lammas) comes
at the beginning of August and is a Celtic festival. The Celts held the
festival in honour of the Irish god, Lugh, and for agricultural communities it
was the first day of the harvest, when the fields would be glowing with crops
and the reaping would begin. The Harvest period would continued until Samhain,
when the last stores for the winter months would be put away. It is believed
that these festivals were meant to increase the harvest yield, creating more
from less to ensure that families would not go hungry during the winter.
Although farming is not important for the British Wizarding Community, as it
was in Ancient Britain it is still an important festival. Most associate with
the reaping of corn, during the rites.

Autumn Equinox

The Autumn Equinox (Mabon, or Harvest
Home) is celebrated in September, when the day and night are of equal duration
for the second time in the year, before the descent into increasing darkness,
and is the final festival of the harvest season. In nature the activity of the
summer months slows down to storing and hibernation for winter, this encourages
people to look back and reflect on the past season. It is time to recognise
that the balance of the year has change, the wheel has tuned and summer is now
over. Pagan’s hold a harvest festival to thank the Goddess for enough food for
winter, and it is thought that again, this ritual increases the food that one
has collected throughout the summer.

Samhain

Samhain is celebrated in
October/November time, and is the last important date in the Pagan calendar as
it marks the Feast of the Dead. For some Pagan’s it is also celebrated as the
old Celtic New Year and by non-Pagans celebrated as Halloween. Samhain has been
celebrated in Britain for centuries and has its origins in Pagan-Celtic
traditions. It was the time of the year when the veils between the world of the
living and the Otherworld (the world of the dead) were believed to be at their
thinnest: when the spirits of the dead could most readily mingle with the
living once again, though never be alive. It is a ritual remembering and
honouring the dead.

This doesn’t mean it has to be a
morbid event, for Pagan people death is not a thing to be feared. Old age is
valued for wisdom and dying is accepted as a part of life as necessary and
welcome as birth. Whilst Pagan’s always honour and show respect for their dead this
is particularly marked at Samhain. Loved ones who have recently died are
rmemeber and their spirits often invited to join the living in a celebratory
feast. It is also a time when those born in the past year are formally welcomed
to the community. As well as feasting Pagan’s often celebrate Samhain with
traditional games such as apple bobbing.

The Celts believed that not only was boundary
between the dead and living dissolved on this night, they thought the presence
of spirits could help make predictions about their futures. To celebrate
Samhain the Druids built huge and sacred bonfires, and people brought harvest
food along with sacrificed animals to share a communal dinner in celebration of
the festival. During the Celebration the Celtic people wore costumes (usually
animal heads and skins) and they would try to tell each others fortunes. It is
believed that these were the first sorts of Divination in Ancient Britian and
that there were many Prophetesses among the Celtic people, however as the
tradition of honouring the dead and the future has fallen away so has our
ability to predict the future.