Tag Archives: sabbats

Paganism, Witchcraft

Witchy Questions: Do you celebrate the Sabbats? If so which one is your favorite?

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This post was inspired by Question #32 from this list.

I’ve always had a complicated relationships with the Sabbats. A few of them, I feel some sense of connection with at least some level. The others, however, don’t really resonate with me personally.

Samhain always resonates with them, as it reminds me of the ancestors and those who have gone before me. It gives me a time to think of them, honor them, and even seek out their wisdom at a special time.

Yule has also always held something for me. The image of the return of the light in the midst of the darkness, not quite ready to take charge, speaks to me. I’ve often enjoyed just looking at a single candle burning in an otherwise dark room and consider this mystery.

I have a certain love of Easter as the perfect balance and tension between the light and dark and the creativity it considers. This is also the time of year where I think of the Norse creation myth and how the fires of Muspelheim and the frost of Niflheim meet to form (or uncover) the first primal beings. It reminds me that while their may be a sense of duality, both are always necessary and work together.

And of course, I cannot be a devotee of the goddess of sexy times and passion without having some sense of love for the most sexual of the Sabbats, Beltane. To me, that is a time to really appreciate our sexuality and our full embodiment.

Paganism, Religion, Witchcraft

Let us bring forth that which has quietly formed in dark places.

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Happy Yule![1]

The winter solstice — that point where the sun’s rays are least direct on the Northern Hemisphere — officially takes place tomorrow morning at 5:30 UTC.  For those of us in the Eastern time zone (UTC -5:00), that translates to tonight/tomorrow morning at 12:30am.

The winter solstice marks the longest night of the year and the triumphant return of the light, longer days, and warmth.  To some Pagans and Wiccans, it represents the rebirth of the sun god.  Yule brings a sense of rejoicing, the darkest time following Samhain has is about to pass and the half-year reign of the underworld will begin to wane and give way to the brightness and warmth that is vital to our survival.

However, I think it’s important to remember as we begin to pass back into more light that we need the time of darkness to survive as well.  After all, the growing season and bountiful harvest rely on the gestational period of the dark winter months, just as our own psyches require downtime and decreased activity.

Yule marks the rebirth of light into a fragile, not entirely ready form, but it’s a birth that takes place thanks to the things that have been rejuvenated and seething in the darkness.  And while that fragile light shall grow stronger and eventually overcome the darkness for its time of reign, it will also be nourished by the waning darkness and the slumber it encourages.

So let the light shine in this quiet time, not as a brilliant force to be reckoned with, but as a comforting glimmer and a promise of what is to come.

Note:
[1]  Or for any readers who are in the Southern Hemisphere, happy Litha/Summer Solstice.  I hope you will indulge me in the rest of this post, however, as I focus on the mysteries I am currently experiencing/working with.