Witchy Wisdom #10
It's finally 2021!
Merry meet, fellow witches, and witchy friends!
How was your New Years? I hope it went well. Even though I prefer celebrating the new year on Samhain (Sow-en or Sam-hayn), also known as Halloween, a majority of my family celebrates the new year on January 1st.
For this week, I would like to discuss the plans I have for this year (2021) in regards to the eight Sabbats. After pretty much getting a taste of what Samhain and Yule are about and how some people celebrate them, I want to get a head start on planning all of the Sabbats to celebrate with not only my deities but my family as well.
Most people list the Sabbats from the start of the Wheel of the Year, which is Samhain (October), then to the last Sabbat of the year, which is Mabon (Mah-bon) (September). With my list, I’ll just be sorting them by their dates. So I will start in January then end in December. I will only be talking about four out of eight Sabbats this week. The next newsletter will be the other four Sabbats.
Nothing for January
Because the Sabbats represent the major points, which consist of the Major Sabbats (Solar Holidays) and the Lesser Sabbats (Cross-Quarter Days), there are no Sabbats in the month of January.
First up: Imbolc!
In February, we have the Sabbat Imbolc, or Saint Brigid’s Day, or Candlemas. Imbolc is the term the Pagans and Wiccans typically use for this Sabbat. The date of this Sabbat is February 1st to the 2nd. This day is marked on the Wheel of the Year to represent the beginning of Spring and new life. This is also a day to celebrate the goddess Brigid, who is the deity of healing, poetry, fire, sun, hearth, and smithcraft.
A lot of you may know of the ‘spring cleaning’ that most people do in the spring. This is a common tradition for Imbolc. Making room for the newer, fresher things in your life is very important for this Sabbat. This can be from cleaning your home, your physical self, your mental self, your spiritual self, etc.
This is also a good time to make a wish or dedicate yourself to something. Maybe you’ve been wanting to learn the guitar. This would be a great time to make time for that. Perhaps you want to go on a vacation. Put in the effort and time to achieve this and make your wish come true.
If you work with the goddess Brigid or just want to celebrate her on her special day, you could make a Brigid Cross for Imbolc. They are usually made from reeds or thinner, bendable wooden sticks. These crosses are used for protection and you could leave them up all year-round if you wanted.
A very simple way to celebrate Imbolc is to just plant a seed! Seeds are completely magical - pure potential! Plant each one as representing your hopes, ideas, and dreams.
Another common and simple way to celebrate this Sabbat is by lighting a candle. It can be any color but if you are lighting this for Brigid, I recommend the colors green, red, yellow, and white. A major symbol for Brigid is fire, so of course, candles would be an excellent and easy way to celebrate Imbolc.
Sabbat of the Rabbits: Ostara
The next Sabbat is on March 19th and lasts until the 23rd. It is known as Ostara (awst-air-ah) or Easter as most of you may know it. This day is to celebrate the days becoming longer again and the nights becoming shorter. It is known as the official first day of Spring. This day is also a special day for the Germanic goddess Eostre or Ostara.
A very common way to celebrate this day is to color some eggs! This is especially fun if you have some little ones running around. Hiding eggs is also a common tradition for this Sabbat. If you have children, I’m sure they’ll love it too. Here’s a suggestion, you can write wishes on the boiled eggs and they say the wishes will come true. Another thing with eggs is you can bury one near the entrance of your home. This will ensure abundance for the forthcoming year and will bring fertility to your garden.
Very obvious symbols of Ostara are the hare and the egg. It is said that the hare is sacred to the Goddess within the Wicca/Pagan religion and that several other lunar goddesses like Hecate, Freyja, and Holda. Therefore, the hare is also associated with the moon. The goddess who is very close with the hare is Eostre herself. The Hare is a symbol of immortality. It is also a major symbol for fertility and abundance as the hare can conceive while pregnant.
My Yule Log cake was a big hit for Yule so I’ve decided to incorporate more cooking into my Sabbat celebrations. Here is a fun recipe I found to use when I celebrate Ostara this year.
Ostara Bread
You will need:
3 cups strong white flour
500 ml buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons ground almonds (optional)
3 tablespoons golden syrup
juice of 2 lemons
1 small beaten egg for glazing
soft brown sugar for sprinkling
Blend the ground almonds and flour together in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk/lemon juice and golden syrup. Now for the messy bit - mix together with a wooden spoon or with your hands - whichever you prefer. As you do so think of the emerging life we celebrate at this time and add the hopes, ideas, and wishes you have for the year to come. Repeat three times:
Out of Earth toward the Light, New Beginnings taking Flight...
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and pat into a circle. With a sharp knife lightly score the bread into two halves to represent the Equinox. Glaze with beaten egg and sprinkle sugar over the top. Bake in a moderate oven for about 20-25 minutes. When sharing this bread with friends or family you can invite them to add their own wishes to the loaf before it is divided up for all to share.
A Day of Love: Beltane
This Sabbat is another fire festival like Imbolc. The word 'Beltane' originates from the Celtic God 'Bel', meaning 'the bright one', and the Gaelic word 'teine' meaning fire. Beltane (bell-tain) is celebrated from April 30th to May 1st. Beltane honors Life. It represents the peak of Spring and the beginning of Summer. Earth energies are at their strongest and most active. All of life is bursting with potent fertility and at this point in the Wheel of the Year, the potential becomes conception.
Around this time of the year, a lot of Pagan and Wiccan couples marry because it is when the God and Goddess are together once again and the Goddess becomes pregnant. My fiance and my anniversary is actually May 7th, funny enough. We plan on getting married around this time this year (COVID allowing).
A lot of couples will involve the tradition of handfasting at their wedding. The act of handfasting always involves tying the hands - Handfasting ('tying the knot') - of the two people involved, in a figure of eight, at some point in the ceremony and later unbinding. This is done with a red cord or ribbon. Tying the hands together symbolizes that the two people have come together and the untying means that they remain together of their own free will.
Another common Beltane tradition when it comes to weddings is ‘Jumping the Broomstick.’ This is when two people who could not afford a church ceremony or want one, would be accepted in the community as a married couple if they literally jumped over a broom laid on the floor. The broom marked a 'threshold', moving from an old life to a new one.
Another tradition for a lot of ancient Pagans during Beltane was for couples to spend the night in the woods and fields, make love, and bring back armfuls of the first mayflower or hawthorn blossoms to decorate their homes and barns. This is called ‘Going A-Maying’ and isn’t near as common today as it once was. Hawthorn was never brought into the home except at Beltane - at other times it was considered unlucky. Young women gathered the dew to wash their faces, made Flower Crowns and May Baskets to give as gifts.
The Maypole is a popular and familiar image of May Day and Beltane. A phallic pole, often made from birch, was inserted into the Earth representing the potency of the God. The ring of flowers at the top of the Maypole represents the fertile Goddess. Its many-colored ribbons and the ensuing weaving dance symbolize the spiral of Life and the union of the Goddess and God, the union between Earth and Sky.
The Longest Day: Litha
The last Sabbat we’ll be talking about is Litha or Midsummer. This is the longest day and shortest night of the entire year. This is the peak of the Solar year and the Sun is at the height of its life-giving power. The Earth is awash with fertility and fulfillment and this is a time of joy and celebration, of expansiveness and the celebration of achievements.
A lot of people who celebrate Litha will stay up the night before and watch the sunrise come up over the horizon. Bonfires were lit on tops of hills, by holy wells, at places held sacred, to honor the fullness of the Sun. At Litha, the bonfire really represents a reflection of the Sun at the peak of its strength. Typically, people will light Oakwood and various herbs for the fire because of the Oak King. The herbs are mostly used for aromatic purposes but you can use this time to make a fire ritual for Litha!
Tree worship has always played a large role in Midsummer festivities. Trees near wells and fountains were decorated with colored cloths. The Oak King who has ruled the waxing of the year represents strength, courage, and endurance and the Oak has always been particularly significant at Litha. The Celtic name for Oak is 'Duir' which means 'doorway' - we are crossing the threshold, entering the doorway into the second, waning part of the year.
Although this is more align with the Druids (a religion under the Pagan umbrella), Mistletoe is a part of Litha as well as Yule and the Winter Solstice. It is regarded as particularly potent when it grows on Oak, the noblest of trees, growing between the worlds of Heaven and Earth. It is considered at the height of its power during Midsummer.
Our lovely bees are now making honey. The Midsummer full moon is known as the 'Honey Moon' for the mead made from honey now available. This is often part of handfastings performed at the Summer Solstice. Mead is regarded as the divine solar drink, with magical and life-restoring properties. Drink to celebrate and toast the life-giving abundance of the Sun.
Speaking of honey, here is a recipe I have found for Litha!
Ingredients:
1 cup Butter
1 cup Honey
1/2 cup Dark Muscovado Sugar
3 Eggs, beaten
1¾ cups + 2 tbsp Self-Raising Flour
Cut the butter into pieces and heat slowly, adding the honey and the sugar. When fully melted, turn up the heat and boil the mixture for one minute. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Add the beaten eggs to the cooled honey mixture. Sift the flour into a large bowl and beat the liquid honey mixture into it until you have a smooth batter.
Pour the mixture into a round lined sponge tin and bake in a preheated oven at 320f for about 50 mins - or until the cake is well-risen and springs back to the touch.
Cool on a rack and glaze with a few tablespoons of warm honey.
I can’t wait to taste this one!
And that is all we have for this week! We covered Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, and Litha so far. Next week, we will discuss Lughnasadh, Mabon, Samhain, and Yule. As the Sabbats get closer, I will have a newsletter for each one and go more in-depth with them. If you have any suggestions for traditions or have any you do yourself, I would love to know!
This week’s recommendation is….
This book is really great for beginners and it’s an easy read. It’s only about 300 pages and a wonderful guide for baby witches. I especially like this book because it talks a bit about covens and how to even start your own. You, unfortunately, don’t find a lot of books talking about covens.
I give The Modern Guide to Witchcraft: Your Complete Guide to Witches, Covens, and Spells (Modern Witchcraft) by Skye Alexander a 4 out of 5 Cauldrons.
If you want to learn more about the craft, interested in what I post, or want to share your own experiences, you can connect with me here…
On Medium, I post articles about witchcraft for baby witches.
On Twitter, I have segments like #TarotTuesday, #FridayFamiliars, and #WitchyWisdom which I post every Wednesday.
I am now currently doing Tarot readings if anyone is interested. All the details are on my Twitter page; they are pinned to my profile.
Blessed be, friends!