The Wheel Of The Year

From Cats In Gloves

Once upon a time our spirituality was more connected to the rhythms of the Earth. Most traditions had celebrations to give thanks for crops and to honor other seasonal cycles. The Old Western European traditions celebrated eight Holy Days which were aligned with the Soltices, the Equinoxes and the points in between which they called the Cross Quarter Days. There are probably tons of sites and other blogs that can go into all the history and such about all these and some day I will link to them and come back and edit this to reflect that for those who want to learn more and don't want to do a google search for Celtic or Pagan or Wiccan Wheel Of The Year.

I started doing these ritual celebrations in 1989. I attended a workshop of these rituals led by Hallie Igelhart Austin the author of Woman Spirit: A Guide to Women's Wisdom,* at her home in Marin County. I happily trudged there eight times over the year after my mother died.

I was so affected by the power of these ceremonies that I took their essence and brought them back to the womans' groups I was in. I borrowed some of Hallie's ritual components, but meditated, learned what they meant to me and came up with lots of my own stuff to share with the women. I found the process to be so profound, I even offered it one year as a workshop combined with Tantra. Although I stopped participating in the groups years ago, I am happy to say that the group continues and is still celebrating these holidays. It got so large that there are now at least two groups that have broken off. I did a year with a group of teens years ago, and it is my understanding that there is another young women's group that has just begun. The groups still sing the song I taught them as closing in honor of the line. It makes me immensely happy to have been there at the beginning of such a long tradition!

The Celebrations are not only a reflection of what is going on with the Earth. The more I meditated on them, lived them, tuned myself to them, I saw that they are also reflective of the Life Cycle of humans. So I celebrate them in that way, too. Pagans celebrate the New Year at Samhain, or All Hallow's Eve. The more I pondered them, the more I saw that these Celebrations had the most meaning in my life when I started the cycle at Imbolc in February. It feels "right," feels in alignment when I think of them in this way. And since I always took what I wanted from each Path I felt called to,and hardly ever followed any rules, this is the way they will be presented here.

I began this blog too late to have Imbolc and Ostara presented at their appropriate times. Beltane is almost here. I will present these holidays in their own posts over the next few days then talk about the other Holy Days closer to when they are actually celebrated.

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*Sadly, I could find only one copy of this book available on the net. It was one of the second waves of books I bought when first learning about Feminist Spirituality.