UPCOMING EVENTS
UPCOMING EVENTS
Imbolc
February 1st
Imbolc is a pagan holiday celebrated from February 1 through sundown February 2. Based on a Celtic tradition, Imbolc was meant to mark the halfway point between winter solstice and the spring equinox This is a good time for Divination
Spring or Vernal Equinox
March 19-22
Eostre was the Saxon version of a Germanic goddess called Ostara. Her feast day was held on the full moon following the vernal equinox–almost the identical calculation as for the Christian Easter in the west. There is very little documented evidence to prove this, but one popular legend is that Eostre found a bird, wounded, on the ground late in winter. To save its life, she transformed it into a hare. But "the transformation was not a complete one. The bird took the appearance of a hare but retained the ability to lay eggs...the hare would decorate these eggs and leave them as gifts to Eostre.
Beltane
May 1st
Summer Solstice
June 19 - 22
Llughnasadh/Lammas
August 1st
Autumnal Equinox
Sept 19 - 22nd
Samhain
Oct 31st
Yule/Winter Solstice
Dec 19 - 22nd
Beltane is a holiday that celebrates springtime and the coming of summer. It is a festival that was traditionally celebrated in the northern hemisphere (Europe, Asia, and North Africa) on May 1 or May 3. It symbolically represents fire, the sun, fertility, and new life.
The gardens are blooming, and summer is in full swing. Fire up the barbeque, turn on the sprinkler, and enjoy the celebrations of Midsummer! Also called Litha, this summer solstice Sabbat honors the longest day of the year.
At Llughnasadh we see the fields of corn being cut, and for some this is the true time of the festival. In the fields John Barleycorn, who laid with the Lady in the woods at Beltane, has grown old, and now stands bent and bearded with a crocked cane. He looks to the Sun as he has changed from green to gold, and he knows that his time has come. His life will feed the people, and it is this sacrifice that we honor at Llughnasadh.
The Autumn Equinox divides the day and night equally, and we all take a moment to pay our respects to the impending dark. We also give thanks to the waning sunlight, as we store our harvest of this year's crops. The Druids call this celebration, Mea'n Fo'mhair, and honor The Green Man, the God of the Forest, by offering libations to trees.
Samhain is a time to remember those who have passed on, celebrate the Summers end and prepare for Winter months ahead. The Sun God and earth fall into slumber, as the nights lengthen, and winter begins.
Samhain is a time to remember those who have passed on, celebrate the Summers end and prepare for Winter months ahead. The Sun God and earth fall into slumber, as the nights lengthen, and winter begins.