Pagan and Wiccan Sabbats

Just like any religious group, Pagans and Wiccans have holidays that they celebrate. These holidays are called sabbats. Pagans and Wiccans, especially Wiccans, use a wheel called the Wheel of the Year to keep track of each sabbat. The wheel is to symbolize that the year and sabbats roll along, with the seasons changing along with the sabbats, similar in the way a wheel rolls along.

Each of the Pagan Sabbats are different, with different celebrations and representations. Most of the sabbats resemble mainstream or Christian holidays. This is because those holidays all came from Pagan origin, but were changed just enough to display the Christian beliefs as opposed to the Pagan beliefs.

Imbolc is celebrated on February 2nd. This sabbat isn't popular amongst all Pagans, but is generally seen celebrated by Wiccans and Celtic Pagans.

Imbolc is the sabbat that is used to honor the Celtic goddess Brigid. It is a sabbat that represents cleansing and fertility. It symbolizes the recovery the goddess undertakes after giving birth to the god.

This sabbat is usually celebrated with feasting and the lightening of candles.

Eostra, or Ostara, is usually celebrated between March 19 - March 22. However, these dates can vary depending upon the person. Eostra is a sabbat that honors the goddess Ostara (also known as Ēostre). She is a goddess of fertility and rebirth.

The sabbat celebrates the god growing to maturity after having just been born. This is a time when the season changes and life changes. This is the time when seeds should be planted and when new beginnings will begin to take place.

It is said that any child conceived during this time will have great power, intellect, and will be healthier than any other baby.

Eostra is usually celebrated with great feasting and tending to gardens.

Beltaine is typically celebrated between April 30 - May 1. This sabbat was greatly looked down upon by Christians due to it's celebration of the creation of the sun child. The goddess and the god conceive on Beltaine, blessing the earth with their fertility, giving promise of creation and something new.

This sabbat is usually celebrated with a pole, commonly referred to as a Maypole. The Maypole is to symbolize the union of the god and goddess. The Maypole is then decorated with flowers and ribbons, symbolizing the goddess's womb. Pagans typically dance around the pole and wrap the ribbons around the pole whilst dancing to praise the god and goddess in their union.

Litha is celebrated from June 20 - June 23. Litha is to celebrate the longest day of the year and to celebrate how light triumphs over darkness. This is a time to honor the goddess, as she is vibrant and pregnant. It is also the a time to honor the god for his role in impregnating the goddess.

Litha is a time for magick of any kind. It is also a time to gain direction in your life and to figure out the paths best taken for you in your journey on this earth.

To celebrate Litha, most Pagans eat honeycakes and decorate themselves and their surroundings with flowers.

Lammas is celebrated on August 1st and is known as the time for the corn ritual. Amongst Celtic Pagans, it is the time to celebrate and honor the wheat god. The corn ritual and it's celebrations is more of an American version on the Pagan sabbat.

Essentially, Lammas is the celebration of the harvest. It can represent any kind of harvest, depending upon the type of Paganism practiced and the location of the practitioner. This sabbat is similar to what Thanksgiving represents, just falls on a different time.

Some Pagans celebrate this day with dancing and eating, but some Pagans simply see it as a time for preparation for the winter. The Pagans that see it as a time for preparation will typically prepare for winter by baking breads and other pantry items that they will store to help their family through the winter.

This sabbat is rather bitter sweet for the goddess. It is a time that she realizes that the god is preparing to die. Yet she is reminding that he is to be reborn upon the birth of the child in her womb.

Mabon is celebrated between September 20 - September 23. This is one of the least celebrated Pagan sabbats and is typically seen only celebrated by Wiccans.

This is a sabbat to celebrate the last harvest and to be thankful for the harvest and the goddess and the god. The god is also continuing to prepare to depart this world and to be reborn.

Samhain is celebrated from October 31 - November 1. This sabbat is rather bitter sweet, because this is when the god departs this world. However, he will not be gone for long, because he is to be reborn on Yule.

Samhain is also known by some for being Halloween. However, the Pagan tradition is in no way like the commercialized version of Halloween with the costumes and Trick or Treating.

With the passing of the god, this sabbat is a time of reflection and honoring the dead. Many Pagans will light candles on this day to honor fallen ancestors and loved ones. Samhain is also known as the Pagan "New Year", meaning that is a time of moving on from the old and beginning anew.

Yule is celebrated between December 20 - December 23. This is a time to celebrate the birth of the god. The goddess gives birth to the sun god and she then becomes the crone, in which she goes away and rests. This is also considered the longest and darkest period of the year.

Yule is a time of great celebration and feasting. Pagans generally light what is called a Yule Log to symbolize the sabbat and to also keep their family warm.

Yule is where the Christians obtained the idea for Christmas, even right down to the birth of the child. Many Pagans will often times celebrate both Yule and Christmas, since the holiday and sabbat are so similar to one another.