)O(  Sabbats and Esbats  )O(

The Solar Holidays
Eight standard Craft holidays are recognized during each calendar year. They are called Sabbats, and their relationship is usually with the sun deity. This does not mean that you cannot honor the Goddess on a solar holiday.
The eight Sabbats represent seasonal birth, death, and rebirth. We begin with Winter Solstice, also known as Yule, because it is the first seasonal holiday that falls after the Witch's New Year (Samhain).

Yule, Yuletide, Winter Solstice - December 20th or 21st
The shortest day of the year and the longest night. Since this is a solar festival, it is celebrated by fire and the use of the Yule log. The colors of the season, red and green, are of original Pagan decent. The act of cutting and decorating the Yule Tree and exchanging gifts are also Pagan derivatives. Wreaths of holly and fancy cookies and breads are a part of our tradition as well. Food is prepared specifically for the after-dinner Yule celebration when the tree is lighted and the Yule log is burned. A portion of the Yule log is saved to be used in lighting next year's log. This piece is kept throughout the year to protect the home.
Bayberry candles are also burned to ensure wealth and happiness throughout the following year. They can be placed on the dining table at sunset and burned until they go out by themselves.
The reindeer stag is also a reminder of the Horned God.

Candlemas, Imbolc - February 2nd
The Candlemas Sabbat marks the time to welcome the spring. This festival is for fertility and to celebrate the things that are yet to be born, just barely walking under winter's cold shroud. Lavender and white candles can be burned in honor of the holiday. This is a good time to work in the house, changing tablecloths and curtains, room painting and wallpapering and fixing fixtures. This is also a good time to look over your magickal cabinet to determine what you are low on and what you may need for the coming months.

Ostara, Spring (Vernal) Equinox - March 20th or 21st
This Sabbat occurs in mid-March when night and day are of equal length. It is a celebration of balance -- not really Winter but not yet Spring. This festival is considered one of fertility, and is the second in the trinity of spring celebrations. Seeds are blessed for future plantings. Eggs are colored and placed on the alter as magickal talismans. The familiar Easter Bunny is a Pagan derivative, as are baskets of flowers. The colors light green, lemon yellow and pale pink are traditional for this holiday.
Twisted bread and sweet cakes are prepared to be served at dusk -- or better yet, prepare a family breakfast that coincides with sunrise on this day.

Beltane, Mayday - April 30th or May 1st
Beltane is the last of the three spring fertility festivals, and is when people, plants, and animals prepare for the warm months ahead. This is a time for love, union, and the Maypole. It is a time of joining two halves to make a whole -- the third entity.
Ribbons of bright blue, lavender, warm pink, lemon yellow and white are nice representatives of the season, but the traditional colors for Mayday are red and white, representing the blood that flows from the woman when her purity is taken.
House decorations on that day can include a large bowl of floating flowers and white floating candles. Baskets of fresh flowers picked moments before dawn can be hung on the front door, and the mantle can be laden with greens and flowers.

Summer Solstice, Midsummer Night's Celebration - June 20th or 21st
This is the longest day of the year. It is a celebration of passion and success. It is great for business needs or a situation where the power of male energy is needed. Sunflowers and any flowers of red and maize yellow or gold are excellent alter decorations. A wreath can be made for your door with red feathers (for sexuality) and yellow feathers (for prosperity) intertwined or braided with ivy. Alter candles should be of gold and red.
Midsummer Night's Eve is also a time to commune with field and forest sprites and faeries.

Lammas, Lughnassadh - August 1st or 2nd
This is the first of the three harvest celebrations in the Craft. This Sabbat represents the beginning of the harvest cycle and rests on the early grain harvest as well as those fruits and vegetables that are ready to be taken.
Bread is traditionally baked for this holiday, and the alter is decorated with the first fruits of garden labor. Canning goes into full swing, and magickal cabinets are stocked with herbs before the onset of fall.
Most of the flowers are gone; however, there are still some varieties available. An alter decorated with pots of yellow and red cockscomb is truly arresting as the tassel of the plant resembles a flame.
This is also the time to prepare your house for the fall season by replacing curtains, rugs, ect.

Autumn Equinox, Mabon - September 20th or 21st
This, the second harvest festival, is associated with the taking of the corn and other foods that are to be harvested at this time. Cornbread cakes and cider are an excellent addition to the festivities. The frost will hit soon, so the last of the herbs and other plants you wish to dry for winter use should be harvested now.
Colors used for candles should be brown, orange, gold or red. Alter cloths can be made of material with fall designs. River and stream stones gathered over the summer can be empowered for various purposes.

Halloween, Samhain - October 31st
This holiday is considered the Witches' New Year, representing one full turn of the seasonal year. This is the last of the three harvest Sabbats. Celebrations to honor the dead are done at this ritual, along with speaking with those who have passed over; divination is heightened on this night.
It is said that on this night the veil between the worlds is weakest. Jack-o-lanterns, gourds, cider and other fares of the season can be used in ritual and family celebration. Black candles are used to ward off negativity.

art by Jessica Galbreth

Esbats
Witches love their holidays, but they need days specifically set aside to do magickal work for a friend in need, to set the stage for a new endeavor, ect. These work days (and nights) are called Esbats.
Full and New Moon celebrations are usually the days and nights of an Esbat, so as to use the correct moon phase for ultimate results. This does not mean that you cannot honor the God during an Esbat (even though the moon is usually attributed to the Goddess). Another term for Esbat is Lunar Ritual.
Full Moon energy is used for banishing unwanted influences in your life, protection magick, and divination. Planning, releasing and working backwards in time are done on the Full Moon as well.
It is said that the best Full Moon magick can be conjured for seven days: the three days prior to the Full Moon, the night of the Full Moon itself, and three days after the Full Moon. Sometimes the results of Full Moon magick take approximately one moon cycle to take hold and come to completion.
The New Moon is used for personal growth, healing, the blessing of a new project or venture, ect. If done correctly, success should be obtained by the first Full Moon.
Between the New and Full Moons is the period called the Waxing Moon. This is a good time for attraction magick, especially between the New Moon and First Quarter.
The period between the Full Moon and New Moon is called the Waning Moon. This is a time for banishing and rejecting things in our lives that we no longer wish to carry around with us. Negative emotions, bad habits, diseases and ailments can successfully be banned during this time.
The three days before the New Moon is known as the dark of the moon. This is when you can't see the moon at all in the heavens. Traditionally, this is a time when no magick is performed. It is a period to give yourself a break; a time of rest. Deep meditation and vision questing can be performed now, but not for a specific magickal purpose.
During a Full Moon Esbat, the Witch usually Draws Down the Moon. In a coven environment, this is performed by the High Priestess. In a solitary's life, he or she may do it (and should do it) to empower themselves. Much like recharging a battery, you are accepting the Divine power of the Universe within you, allowing it to strengthen and empower you. It is the act of acknowledging the power of the Lady (Moon) and drawing that energy into your body.

Due to the rotation of the earth, there are thirteen Full Moons, and each carries a traditional name. They are:

In addition, the Harvest Moon is the Full Moon that falls nearest Mabon. It allowed farmers extra moonlight hours to bring in the crops.
A Blue Moon occurs when the moon with its 28-day cycle appears twice within the same calendar month, due to that month's 31-day duration. A Blue Moon is a Goal Moon. It is here where you set specific long-term goals for yourself, and review accomplishments and failures since the last one.

~ Silver RavenWolf

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