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Yule/Winter Solstice/Alban Arthuan
Dec. 20, 7 p.m., Location : Lynn's Home
Winter Solstice marks the time of the year when the light returns as the sun shifts and starts to move northward
again. In Europe, the tradition of the yule log is celebrated on Winter Solstice. A special log is brought in and
placed on the hearth where it glows for the twelve nights of the holiday season. After that, it is kept in the house
all year to protect the home and its inhabitants from illness and any adverse condition. The yule log is the
counterpart of the midsummer bonfires, which are held outdoors on Summer Solstice to celebrate the shortest
night of the year. It is also customary to place mistletoe around the fire, which is the plant that grew on the oak
tree, sacred to the Druids, the priests of the old Celts. Among other uses, mistletoe is thought to help women
conceive. The Christmas tree also dates from old European or pagan rituals. It was the time to celebrate the
renewal of the earth, and greens were used as the symbol. Branches of pine, cedar, and juniper commonly
used bring a wonderful fragrance into the home. Red candles are used to symbolize the fire and heat of the
returning sun as the days begin to lengthen
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Imbolc
Imbolc (ihm-olk) Imbolg or Oimelc
Jan 31st Level Cross
Traditional date: Feb 1 or 2
Actual astrological date: Feb 4 in 2008
Midpoint between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox
Second Celtic fire festival (female)
Festival of Lights, St Brigid's Day
Celebrates the quickening of spring, the end of winter, time of abundance of milk
Time of planning and hopes, fire and purification are prominent factors
Ceremonies involve water, candles pledges and planting a hope or a seed, making candles
Burn your Christmas tree and light candles
Colours: Red, orange, white
Evolved into Groundhog Day: Scots looked for serpents leaving their winter holes. Gaelic hag goddess, who
rules the winter months, Cailleach, gathers her firewood for the rest of the winter. If the day is sunny, she
gathers a great deal of wood, husly the winter will continue for some time. If th day is rainy, she will not gather
much wood and the remaining winter will be short.
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Penumbral Eclipse
February 9th 7:00pm Location Level Cross
(Personal Meditation)
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Ostara
March 21st Location: Level Cross
Traditional date: March 21
Actual astrological date: March 20 in 2008
First day of Spring, actual Vernal or Spring Equinox, the night and day stand equal
Alban Eiler, "Light of the Earth"
Celebrates the the birth of spring, rebirth
Time of planting
Rare day of magic due to the rare balance of light and dark
Colours: Red and green or red and yellow
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Full Moon
April 9th 7:00pm Location: Level Cross
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Beltaine or Beltane
May 2nd Location: Level Cross
Traditional date: April 30 and/or May 1
Actual astrological date: May 5th in 2008
Midpoint between Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice
The second largest and most important festival, great tribal gatherings
The beginning of the light half of the year, exact opposite day of Samhain
Third Celtic fire festival (male)
Old Irish "Beletene" means "bright fire"
Gaelic "Bealtaine" means the month of May
Celtic word Beltaine mean fires of Bel
House fires were extinquished and relit from hilltop bonfires
Need-fires are built, walk between for purification
Bonfires of sacred wood are lit in honor of the Celtic god Beli
The veil between worlds (Shield of Skathach) is thin, allowing faeiries to cross over
Colours: Blue, pink, yellow, green
Evolved into May
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Litha
June 20th Location: Level Cross
Traditional date: June 21
Actual astrological date: June 20 in 2008
Summer Solstice, first day of summer, longest day of the year
Alban Heruin, "Light of the Shore"
Mid Summer's Eve
Celebrates the light and the sun without there would be no life
Time of strengths and accomplishments
Gather herbs as "Herb Night" is when they are most potent
Colours: Blue, green, yellow
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Lughnasadh
August 1st Location Level Cross Bring a covered dish to share and BYOB.
Overnight campers welcome. Please RSVP if you plan to camp.
Lammas, or Lughnasadh (after the Celtic God Lugus) is one of the harvest festivals. It is a time of corn festivals
and corn dances. All cultures had representations of a corn mother or corn Goddess. In Europe the corn
mother was made of the last sheaves of corn harvested; as her spirit was believed to be embodied in these
sheaves of corn. The descent into the darkness of winter has just begun, but the lushness of summer is still
apparent in our summer gardens. This is the season when everything seems 'full' - trees, crops, and still, long,
warm days. These are the "dog days" of summer so called because the "dog star" Sirius rises and sets with the
sun between mid-July and September. The word 'Lammas' comes from "loaf mass" which celebrates the bread
made from the first grain to be harvested. This is the time of the year when Demeter is just beginning to realize
that Persephone is gone and begins to search for her daughter
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Mabon/ Autumnal Equinox/Alban Elved
Sept. 19, 7 p.m. Level Cross. Bring a covered dish to share and BYOB. Overnight campers welcome. Please
RSVP if you plan to camp
As the sun crosses the equator and continues its journey south, this is the time of harvest. The season to reap
what we have sown from our spring planting, the time of thanksgiving. When day and night are once again
equal, time is in balance. The abundance of the harvest is present, but so is our sense of preparation for the
dark, cold winter and the death of nature. Fall Equinox is the time Demeter mourns for Persephone and thus
causes all in the natural world to die and mourn with her. Another name for the autumn equinox, Mabon, comes
from the Celtic Queen Mab of the Fairies
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Samhain
Nov. 7th, 7 p.m. Level Cross. Bring a covered dish to share and BYOB. .
Overnight campers welcome. Please RSVP if you plan to camp.
The most sacred holiday celebrated throughout the Wheel of the Year is Samhain. Sometimes referred to as
Halloween, Hallows, Hallowmas, or All Hallows Eve - the "hallow" in all of these names comes from the Middle
English word that means "holy." The name "Halloween" means "hallowed evening". The traditional Celtic name
for this night is Samhain (pronounced something like; 'sow-en'), which may mean "summer's end" or may be
named after Samana, an Aryan death god who is the Grim Reaper and leader of the ghosts of our ancestors.
The veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is thinnest on this night. Celtic tradition says that all
those who die each year must wait till Samhain before crossing into the spirit world where they will begin their
new lives. At this moment of crossing, the spirit of ancestors who still have unfinished business in this world may
appear. In ancient times, people who feared the presence of hostile spirits would attempt to drive them away
with grotesque faces carved on turnips, gourds or apples, lit from within by a candle. Samhain is the time to
celebrate the Crone, the wise one, the healer. In modern times, she is represented as the witch flying on a
broom with her familiars, the owl and the black cat, across the full moon. In the Demeter/Persephone myth, it is
the time when Demeter finds Persephone in the underworld and begins the long journey to bring her back.
Samhain is a celebration of the link between the living and the dead. Ponder the fact that directly opposite
Samhain on the Wheel of the Year is Beltaine, that joyous, exuberant celebration of light and life.
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New Moon Ritual
November 11th 7:00pm Location TBA
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Yule/Winter Solstice/Alban Arthuan
Dec. 19th, 7 p.m., Location TBA
Winter Solstice marks the time of the year when the light returns as the sun shifts and starts to move northward
again. In Europe, the tradition of the yule log is celebrated on Winter Solstice. A special log is brought in and
placed on the hearth where it glows for the twelve nights of the holiday season. After that, it is kept in the house
all year to protect the home and its inhabitants from illness and any adverse condition. The yule log is the
counterpart of the midsummer bonfires, which are held outdoors on Summer Solstice to celebrate the shortest
night of the year. It is also customary to place mistletoe around the fire, which is the plant that grew on the oak
tree, sacred to the Druids, the priests of the old Celts. Among other uses, mistletoe is thought to help women
conceive. The Christmas tree also dates from old European or pagan rituals. It was the time to celebrate the
renewal of the earth, and greens were used as the symbol. Branches of pine, cedar, and juniper commonly
used bring a wonderful fragrance into the home. Red candles are used to symbolize the fire and heat of the
returning sun as the days begin to lengthen
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Partial Lunar Eclipse and New Years Party
Dec 31st 6:00pm until? Location Level Cross
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