The Wheel of the Year

Fun fact: During my last semester of college, I was the token atheist (not an official title) of my school's Pagan organization. Then, as now, I was interested in studying religions, and Paganism was something I knew next to nothing about. So, I joined the group to learn a thing or two. It was  pretty cool.

One of the big things was the Wheel of the Year. In a nutshell, it's a series of eight, evenly spaced seasonal festivals. Half of them correspond to the equinoxes and solstices, while the other half fall in between.

While the dates, activities, and even existence of these festivals varies between various Pagan denominations*, I'm going to try and stick with the modern Wiccan tradition, if only because it's the only book I have about the subject at the moment.

The Wheel of the Year is meant to be a metaphor for the lives of the god and the goddess. Describing these entities would take more than a single paragraph. While I may write a proper article about the topic, for now it's enough to know that a lot of Wiccans see the world as maintained by a pair, god and goddess, whose form and name change throughout the year in relation to nature.

Yule (Winter Solstice)

December 22

This one should be familiar to most people. A lot of Christmas imagery originates from this holiday: white-red-green colours, mistletoe, "yule" logs, &c. During the solstice, the light of day is at its shortest. However, this also marks the turning point where the length of sunlight begins to increase.

Because of the coming of more sunlight, Yule is seen as the rebirth of the god from the goddess. However, the god is not yet strong enough to fight off the night, resulting in a continued season of cold, long nights, and death.

Imbolc

February 2 (pronounced "em-bolc")

At this point, the goddess has recovered from giving birth to the god. Both are gaining strength and the days are getting longer. On a more practical level, it is a celebration of light and fire encouraging spiritual and physical cleansing.

Ostara (Spring Equinox)

March 21

It's finally Spring! Sticking with the god-goddess metaphor, this is the point when the god is something of a preteen. The goddess takes on the role of virgin again, resulting in themes of fertility, with related symbols like rabbits and eggs.

Many of the modern Easter traditions come from this festival, particularly the Easter bunny and coloured eggs.

Beltane

April 30

The god is now of age and joins with the goddess (if you know what I mean). The maypole, a common pastime during this celebration, is symbolic of this union (wink wink). The happiness of this union spreads to the Earth and all people that walk upon it. This festival is meant to be fun and not at all somber.

Litha

June 22 (Summer Solstice)

The god and goddess are enjoying their marriage. However, the god is maturing and understanding that his upcoming sacrifice is necessary. This realization puts a damper on the mood, and the days begin to grow shorter.

This festival was particularly popular with the Celts. Stonehenge and other stone circles were raised and aligned with the day's summer sun.

Anime image is tangentially related

Lughnasadh

August 1 (pronunciation is inconsistent)

It is this festival when the god sacrifices himself for the harvest, as represented by the harvest of various grains. He doesn't go out without a fight, though. He leaps from grain to grain until the very last sheaf is cut.

Mabon (Autumn Equinox)

September 21

Mabon is a festival for giving thanks to the god and goddess for a bountiful harvest. The god is dead, granted, but he is just in the underworld awaiting his rebirth.

This is the first Pagan festival I, personally, got to celebrate. There wasn't any ritual or anything; it was fairly laid back. It felt very similar to the traditional American Thanksgiving with lots of food and friends.

Samhain

October 31 (pronounced "saoh-win")

This is Halloween, guys. The goddess is an old crone, the god is deep in the underworld, and the new(?) god is growing in the womb. The barriers between the worlds of the living and the dead are at their weakest, allowing communication between the two. As such, it is a festival ready made for giving thanks to passed ancestors.

If Mabon was my first festival, Samhain was my first ritual. Several of us gathered at the group leader's home after sunset. A circle was cast and everyone stood in the cardinal direction associated with their element (I was an earth element but cannot honestly remember what direction I was facing). We each took turns honouring deceased family and friends, calling them to join us for the occasion. Afterward, the circle was dispelled and that was that. The rest of the evening was spent chit-chatting as folks trickled home.

Regrettably, this was also my last festival. I graduated before the next one.

My time with the Pagan group was very fun and fascinating. I certainly learned a lot. The group was very respectful and open. They all clearly believed in their spirituality (not all were Wiccan, mind) but did nothing to force their beliefs on me. I am grateful to have been a part of it.

Sources:
Personal experience
"The Book of Wicca" – Lucy Summers
Aquarian Tabernacle Church

* It should be noted that "Paganism" isn't a single religion. Rather, it's an umbrella term for, well, any non-Abrahamic religion. While some of the larger religions have broken free from the term, not all have been so lucky: Wicca, Norse, Celtic, Greco-Roman, and many others all fall under the category of Pagan.