Doug’s Dynamic Drivel

Today is the celebration of Yule, the turning of the year after which the days slowly grow longer (the pace quickens the closer you get to the summer solstice). For pagans everywhere this has always been one of the eight great rites of the year, which starts on Samhain the pagan new year. Those celebrations follow the turn of the seasons and illustrate the agrarian origins of paganism, both modern and old.

1. Samhain (pronounced sow-en) October 31 - the night that the boundary between the material world and the world of spirits is at its weakest. Samhain is the last of the harvest festivals and it celebrates the storing of the harvest for the coming long dark winter. Food is offered to those who have passed over to nourish the in the after life and let them share in the bounty of the harvest. The child (Oak King/year/cycle) is conceived , the Holly King is at his peak. This is a time of great introspection as we face the coming dark. A time to heal the wounds of the past and make room for growth in the future. This is the fourth and last of the Great Sabbats.
2. Yule (December 21/22) The winter solstice. Darkness rules but there is a light on the horizon, the days will start getting longer. Druid priests gather in the small of the morning and light large bonfires to bring back the light. Evergreen boughs are brought into the home to represent the regrowth of life in the coming spring. Holly is harvested for its rich red beries that symbolize new life springing forth in the dead of winter. The Oak King is born. Great feasting takes place to celebrate the birth and to show the gods that there is still food a’plenty. This is the last of the four Lesser Sabbats - Yule and the other lesser sabbats (solstices and equinoxes) are celebrations of the sun. Portions of the previous year’s maypole are burned as the Yule log to bring back the warmth and fecundity of spring
3. Imbolc (also known as Brigid and Candlemas)- February 2 - the first stirrings of life. The first of the four Great Sabbats. In temperate climates buds swell, bulbs blossom, we see the promise (potential) of the child as the Oak king strengthens and the holly king starts to fade.
4. Ostara (March 20 to 23 ) Spring Equinox - the world is in balance. The elements equally nourish the land as water prepares to give way to fire (rain to sun). The Oak King grows rapidly. This is he first of the Lesser Sabbats. Persephone rises from the underworld and is reunited with Demeter.
5. Beltaine (May 1) The Oak king is at his most powerful, the Holly king is conceived. Beltaine is a celebration of fecundity. The symbol of the Oak King is the stag in his full strutting glory. This is the festival of the great Greek god Pan as well as Bacchus. Rain gives way to sun, water to fire, and a powerful force is loosed upon the land. We dance around the Maypole, planted firmly in mother earth. This is the second of the Great Sabbats
6. Litha (June 21) Midsummer, the Summer Solstice. The Oak king ages and the Holly King is born. Green turns to brown as fire (sun) sears the land. The days begin to slowly shorten as the power of the Oak King fades and that of the Holly King grows. This is the second of the lesser Sabbats
7. Lammas also known as Lughnasadh (August 1) - the first of the harvest festivals. Winter beckons ever so slightly, survival depends on a successful harvest. We reap the fruits of our labours. This is the third of the Greater Sabbats
8. Mabon (September 20 to 23) Fall Equinox, the biggest harvest festival. Once more the earth hangs in balance but now the Holly king grows in his power as the Oak king relinquishes his hold on the land. Persephone has descended into the underworld and Demeter halts all new growth until she returns. This is the third of the Lesser Sabbats.

There are many ways to look at the eight sabbats. Indeed there are probably as many ways as there are flavours of pagans. The meaning of them is not literal, but rather a way of structuring existence so that you can look at both the internal (spiritual) and the external and seek a balance between the two - a balance that echoes the balance seen in life and the universe. As above, so below, as within, so without, an ancient concept in the world of magick and alchemy for it encompasses the very heart of magick; the transformation of self.

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