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Sabbats

Written and compiled by George Knowles.    

Sabbats are the eight main festivals celebrated by witches; they are solar rituals marking the points of the sun's yearly cycle and that of life and nature.  Traditionally they are grouped into two categories, four “Greater Sabbats” and four “Lesser Sabbats”.  Known by a variety of names, the four Greater Sabbats are: 

Imbolc  - (February 2nd) also known as:  Oimelc / Candlemas / Lupercalia / Feast of Torches / Feast of Pan / Snowdrop Festival / Feast of the Waxing Light / Brigid’s Day. 

Beltane  - (April 30th) also known as:  Roodmas / May Eve / Walpurgis Night.  

Lughnasadh  - (August 1st) also known as:  Lammas /August Eve / Feast of Bread / Harvest Home. 

Samhain  - (October 31st) also known as:  Hallowmas / Halloween / November Eve / Feast of the Dead / Feast of Apples / All Hallows Eve. 

The four Lesser Sabbats contain the “Solstices” and “Equinoxes” which represent the astronomical beginnings of the seasons.  Their dates vary by a day or two each year, as they depend upon the sun’s entry into the zodiacal signs of: Aries (Spring), Cancer (Summer), Libra (Autumn), and Capricorn (Winter).  The four Lesser Sabbats are: 

Ostara  - (March 21st) also known as:  Spring Equinox /Springs Rites of Spring / Eostra’s Day. 

Litha  - (June 21st) also known as:  The Midsummer Summer Solstice.  

Madon  - (September 21st) also known as:  The Autumn Equinox.  

Yule  - (December 21st) also know as:  The Winter Solstice.

Mythology

The rituals of the sabbats are an enactment of the myths that surround the Goddess and God, their relationship, and the effects this has on life and nature as the year unfolds.  Stories differ slightly from tradition to tradition, but the most common myth begins when the Goddess descends into the Underworld (see Descent of the Goddess) in search of the slain God, for she would solve all mysteries, even the mystery of death.  They meet, exchange mysteries, make love and became one.  From their union came the birth of the Sun God: 

December (Yule) celebrates the birth of the Sun God, born of the Goddess and God.  Yule is the time of greatest darkness and has the shortest days of the year.  Fires and candles are lit to welcome the return of the Sun Gods light, while the Goddess rests after delivery, and the hardships of her winter in labor.    

February (Imbolc) marks the recovery of the Goddess as she sleeps on peacefully after the birth.  It acknowledges the maturity of the Sun God as he grows in strength to become the new light of the year.  After the shut down life of winter hibernation, his light purifies the earth and although the God is still young and lusty, his power can be felt in the lengthening of days.  His warmth fertilizes the earth and causes seeds to germinate and spout as the earliest beginnings of spring appear.

March (Ostara) celebrates the return of the Goddess from the Underworld.  Warmed by the strengthening light of the Sun, she wakes bursting forth from her sleep and blankets the earth with fertility.  The first true days of spring begin as days and nights become equal, and light is overtaking darkness.  The God stretches and grows to maturity.  He walks the fields and forests delighted with the abundance of life and nature.  He and the Goddess impel all living creatures out of hibernation, to mate and reproduce.  

May (Beltane) marks the courtship of the Goddess and God a renewal of the ancient marriage of polarity.  As the young God emerges into manhood, he desires the Goddess and they fall in love.  They meet together in fields and forests, where spurred on by the energies at work in nature, they unite and the Goddess again becomes pregnant of the God. 

June (Litha) embraces the beginning of summer, the solstice marking the longest days of the year.  The God is in his prime and the powers of nature reach their highest point.  The earth is awash in the fertility of the Goddess and God.

August (Lammas) is a celebration of the bounty brought to the earth by the union of the Goddess and God.  It’s the time of the first harvest when the plants of spring begin to wither and die.  They drop their fruits for our use, and seeds to ensure a future harvest.  So too does the God begin to die as daylight decreases and the nights grow longer.  The Goddess looks on in sorrow and watches God dying, but with joy she realizes he lives on inside her, her unborn child. 

September (Mabon) completes the harvest begun at Lammas.  The days and nights become equal as darkness overtakes light.  The God dies as the “Lord of the Harvest” a willing sacrifice and descends into the earth to the Underworld, there to await his renewal and rebirth of the Goddess.  Nature declines and draws back its bounty in readiness for the winter and it’s time of rest.  The Goddess looks at the weakening sun, and a fire burns in her womb as she feels the presence of the God.  She prepares for her own journey into the Underworld, to search for him again. 

October (Samhain) celebrates the “Feast of the Dead” a farewell feast to the God, who as the “King of the Hunt” sacrificed himself at the time when his animals where being slaughtered to provide sustenance throughout the coming winter months.  The Goddess begins her descent into the underworld in search of the God.   

And so the cycle of the year begins again.

Sources

Encyclopedia of Wicca &Witchcraft  - by Raven Grimassi. 

  Wicca, A guide for the Solitary Practitioner  - By Scott Cunningham

Best wishes and Blessed Be