The Wheel of the Year is an annual cycle of seasonal festivals in contemporary Paganism. It consists primarily of eight festivals based around the solstices and equinoxes, known as the quarter days, and the midpoints between, known as the cross quarter days.
Within Paganism, many festivals are celebrated. They can vary considerably in name and date amongst specific traditions, however the eight festivals of the Wheel comprise the most adhered and important annual celebrations. They are a unifying feature of modern Paganism. The Wheel has been important to many people, both ancient and modern, and its festivals are based to varying degrees on folk tradition.
In the context of Witchcraft, the festivals have also commonly been referred to as sabbats /ˈsæbət/ since the Middle Ages, when the terminology for Jewish Shabbats was commingled with that of other heretical celebrations. See Witches' Sabbath.
Read more about Wheel Of The Year: The Festivals, Dates of Celebration, Origins
Other articles related to "wheel of the year, of the year, wheel of the, wheel, the year":
... Wiccans celebrate several seasonal festivals of the year, commonly known as Sabbats ... Collectively, these occasions are termed the Wheel of the Year ...
... but that the themes also fit into the cyclic myths of the turning of the seasons, or Wheel of the Year ... Included with the deck was a chart that depicted a wheel of the 8 solar festivals, with the Court cards arrayed around the outside according to the season ... festival, with The Fool and the final 5 trumps in the center of the wheel ...
... Further information Wiccan views of divinity In Wicca, the narrative of the Wheel of the Year traditionally centres on the sacred marriage of the God and the Goddess and the god/goddess duality ... As the year progresses, the Holly King slowly regains his power and with the autumnal equinox, the tables finally begin turning in the Holly King's favor ...
Famous quotes containing the words year and/or wheel:
“We are finding out that what looked like a neglected house a year ago is in fact a ruin.”
—Václav Havel (b. 1936)
“You do me wrong to take me out o’ th’ grave:
Thou art a soul in bliss, but I am bound
Upon a wheel of fire, that mine own tears
Do scald like molten lead.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)