DATE
Traditionally, Oct. 31st.  Astrologically, 15 degrees into scorpio..near Nov. 6th.

The New Year.  The beginning and end of the Wheel of the Year.  The tides of
the year come in and the Goddess prepares for her winter sleep.  It begins the
half of the year when the God rules.  This is also the final harvest  of the year
when the very last of the crops are brought in and put up for the winter.
Traditionally, any crops that were not harvested by Samhain, were left for the
fey or fairy folk.  To do otherwise was considered very bad luck.  It was the time
of year where animals were slaughtered to thin out the herds--storing up meat
for use during the harsh winter months, and  thinning the herds out so that they
may survive the harsh months as well.  It is a time for planning for the future.

It is a time for disposing of weaknesses and undesired traits.  It is a time for
divination, for remembering and looking within.  It is a time to remember friends
and loved ones who have died and passed beyond the veil.  On this night,
the separation between the physical and spiritual realms is thinnest (also at Beltane,
on the opposite side of the wheel).  It is for this reason, the Priestess usually
travels through the veil, collecting up the spirits of those who died and making
sure that they find their way through to the other side of the veil.

It is traditional to leave plates of food outside for the souls of the dead.  Placing
a candle in the window will help to guide them to the lands of eternal summer.
Burying apples feeds them on their journey to the Summerland.

TRADITIONAL   FOODS
pomegranates, beets, turnips, apples, pears, corn, harvested fruits and nuts, 
all grains, gingerbread, cider, mulled wine, pumpkin, meats, root crops.

HERBS
Chrysanthemum, wormwood, hazel, thistles

ALSO KNOWN AS: 
Winter Solstice

DATE: 
On the winter solstice,  near December 21st.

This is the shortest day and the longest night  of the year.  It is a celebration of the birth of the sun (ie: the God) The Goddess gives birth to the God.  Fires and candles are lit to welcome back the sun's returning light. (as a form of sympathetic magick).  We celebrate to hurry the end of the winter and the bounty of the upcoming spring....still knowing that the harshest months are yet ahead of us.  Yule is a reminder that the ultimate product of death is, rebirth.

It is traditional to light the Yule log.  The largest log of oak or pine is lit with a figure of the sun or  the God on it.  As you watch it burn, you think of the upcoming warmer spring days.  A Yule tree is decorated with offerings of oranges, cinnamon sticks, dried rosebuds, popcorn, cranberries, spices, apples, whole nutmegs, and lemons.

TRADITIONAL  FOODS:
nuts, fruits (apples, pears), cakes of caraway soaked in cider, pork, wassail, ginger tea

HERBS:
holly, mistletoe, ivy, cedar, bay, rosemary, pine, juniper

ALSO  KNOWN  AS: 
Candlemas, Imbolg, Feast of Lights, Feast of Torches, Oimelc, Brigid’s Day, 
Lupercalia, Feast of Pan, Snowdrop Festival, Feast of Waxing Light.

DATE: 
Traditionally, February 2nd. 
Astrologically, 15 degrees into aquarius, near February 4th.

A  fire festival.  Dedicated to Brigid or Bride (pronounced Breed), 
Goddess of fire and inspiration.  This marks the recovery of the 
Goddess after giving birth to the God.  We sing to awaken the 
Earth Mother and warm the earth.  It is a signal that the days 
are getting longer and spring will soon be here.  Sort of an initial 
wake-up cll to the Goddess that she must soon waken from her 
slumber and begin to warm the earth back up.  We are at the 
harshest part of winter.  Winter's midpoint.  At this point, the 
tides turn and move us toward spring, when we look
forward to ushering in spring.

A sabbat of purification after the shut-in life of winter.  We renew 
the power of the sun.  The fire represents light, warmth, our 
own inspiration and our own internal illumination.

This is a traditional time fro initiations and dedications.  It is 
traditional to light every light in the house, have lit candles 
in every room, or place a kerosene lamp with a red chimney 
in the window.  The Scandinavian custom of the crown 
of candles comes from this sabbat.

TRADITIONAL FOODS: 
dairy, spicy and full bodied foods, curries, peppers, 
onions, leeks, shallots, garlic, chives, spiced wines, 
and dishes with raisins

HERBS: 
snowdrop, rowan, the first flowers of the year

ALSO KNOWN AS: 
Eostar, Eostre, Spring Equinox, Vernal Equinox, Rites of Spring, Eostra’s Day

DATE:
On the spring or Vernal Equinox, near March 21st.

The Goddess has awaken from Her winter's slumber and the earth is 
bursting forth with life once again.  We rejoice in the balance of day and 
night, of maleness and femaleness, and the seeds shared between male 
and female.  Light and dark are equal and we celebrate the balance of the 
world.  It is a celebration of Eostre, Goddess of spring and fertility. 
Her symbols are those representing fertility--eggs and the hare. 
Ostara is also the birthday of Aradia (Goddess of Magick).

We say good-bye to the dark time of the year, and welcome in the light 
time of the year.  Through sympathetic magick, we try to show the 
earth what we wish to occur (i.e.: sown seeds bursting forth with 
life, flowers blooming, all things fertilized, etc.).  Ostara is a solar festival.

The energies of nature slowly shift from the sluggishness of winter to the 
expansion of spring.  The Goddess blankets the earth with fertility, 
bursting forth from her sleep as the God grows to maturity--walking 
in the greening fields and delighting in the abundance of nature.

It is a time of beginnings, of action, of planting spells for future gain, and 
tending of ritual gardens.  It is traditional to pick flowers.  It is a very 
good time for herb magick.  Plan walk through nature--a celebratory 
ritual in itself.  It is also a traditional time for honoring one of the 
younger women in the coven or grove by appointing her Spring
Queen and sending her home with an armful of flowers!

The Christian holiday of Easter is named after the Teutonic Goddess 
Eostre.  The celebration of Easter is directly tied to the Spring, 
or Vernal Equinox.  The symbology of eggs and rabbits are overlapped 
as well.  The Easter egg is pre-Christian as well.  Originally it was the 
world egg laid by the Goddess and split open by the heat of the Sun
God, hatching the world.

Some traditional foods: 
seeds, sprouts, leafy greens, flower dishes

Traditional herbs: 
daffodil, woodruff, violet, gorse, olive, peony, iris, narcissus, 
all spring flowers

Colors: greens and yellows

Also known as:
May Day, Walpurgisnacht, May Eve, Bealtinne, Beltaine

DATE:
Traditionally May 1st.  Astrologically, 15 degrees into taurus, near May 5th.

A Spring Rite celebrating the fertility of animals, people, plants, ideas, etc. The Goddess turns the Wheel again. This is the midpoint of the year. The God relinquishes power to the Goddess and begins his summer slumber.Power moves from the male back to the female. The Goddess begins here reign as the Maiden.

This is a joyous happy time....very much the opposite of Samhain. The phallus of the God, (represented by the May Pole) is reverently plunged into the earth.  This is done to show the earth what we desire 
(sympathetic magick).  It is a time for planting of seeds and new beginnings.

It is traditional to dance the May Pole, representing the God impregnating the Earth Goddess, and by weaving the ribbons, we join two substances to form a third (representative of the creation of life).  The Beltane Fire 
(a fire of passion) is lit in a cauldron or pit.  It is traditional to jump over the Beltane fire for fertility or “good luck” in the coming growing season. A woman is highly blessed if impregnated on Beltane.  Women wear 
circlets of flowers.  Men wear green circlets.  All weaving/plaiting-type activities are very much appropriate (anything that takes two or more items and creates a separate thing unto itself).

TRADITIONAL FOODS:
dairy items, oatmeal cakes

HERBS:
hawthorn, honeysuckle, St. John's Wort, woodruff, all flowers

ALSO KNOWN AS:
Midsummer, Summer Solstice, Midsummer's Eve

DATE:
On the summer solstice, near June 21st

The powers of nature have reached their peak. The earth is awash in the fertility of the 
Goddess and God. All plant life is bursting forth with mature growth.

It is traditional to leap over bonfires to encourage energy, fertility, purification, health, and love.  The fire represents the sun.  This is a day of High Magick.  It's a time for rejoicing in life.  As the longest day of the year, it is a classic day for all kinds of magick:  healing, love magick, and protections especially are suitable.  This is a good day for drying herbs over a ritual fire.

TRADITIONAL FOODS:
all fresh fruits

HERBS:
mugwort, vervain, chamomile, rose, lily, ivy, oak, lavender, yarrow, 
fern, elder, wild thyme, daisy, carnation

ALSO  CALLED:
Lughnasad, Lamas, Lammas, August Eve, Feast of Bread, Harvest Home, Lughnasa, Feast of Lugh

DATE:
Traditionally, August 2nd. Astrologically, 15 degrees into leo, near August 7th.

This is the time of the first Harvest and all share in the fruits of this harvest.  The plants of spring wither and drop their seed to ensure future crops.  Summer's warmth and bounty is remembered in the food we eat.  Each meal is an attunement with nature, and we are reminded that nothing is constant.

This is the time of the Corn God.  The Sun King dies with the waning year and gives his life so that the earth will live.  The Goddess now acts as Mother.  The God loses his strength as the days grow shorter.  The 
Goddess watches in sorrow and joy as she realizes the God is dying, yet lives on inside Her as Her child.

It is traditional to bake a figure of the God with bread dough and use it for the simple feast ritual.  Weaving wheat or corn dollies are also traditional.  Plant the seeds of fruit consumed in Ritual.  If they sprout, they will grow with love as a symbol of union with the God and Goddess.

TRADITIONAL FOODS:
all breads and grains, berries, crab apples, cake, cider

HERBS: 
all grains, grapes, heather, blackberries, sloe, crab apples, pears

ALSO CALLED:
Fall or Autumnal Equinox

DATE:
On the fall or Autumnal Equinox, near September 21st.

This brings us to the close of the Wheel of the Year.  It is a time of feasting and song...a time of harvesting, thanksgiving and joy.  It is a time of leave taking and sorrow as well.   Balance is again a central issue as day 
and night are once again equal.  This is a major Harvest festival.

It is the time of the Goddess in Her aspect of Crone.  Nature declines, readying for winter and its time of rest.  The God prepares to leave his physical body and begin the great adventure into the unseen, toward renewal and rebirth through the Goddess.   The Goddess nods in the weakening sun though fire burns within Her womb.  She feels the presence of the God even as He wanes.

It is traditional to walk in wild places and forests, gathering seed pods and dried plants. 
These can be used to decorate or for herbal magick.

TRADITIONAL FOODS:
the second Harvest’s gleanings, grains, corn, corn bread, beans, baked squash

HERBS:
hazel, corn, aspen, acorns, oak sprigs, autumn leaves, wheat stalks, cypress cones, 
pine cones, harvest gleanings