Sabbaths
In the old days, when the God and Goddess were as real as the Sun and Moon, rituals were unstructured - they were a joyful and spontaneous communion with the Divine. Afterwards, the rituals began to observe the cycle of the Sun through the astrological year and seasons, as well as the monthly lunar cycles.
Today, similar rituals are observed by Witchcraft - and these celebrations create a magical proximity to the Deities and the power behind them.
The primary purpose of Witchcraft is to be in harmony with Nature and the divine energies contained in it. And the best way to achieve this harmony is to observe natural cycles. That's what Esbats and Sabbats are for.
"Esbat" is the name of each of the monthly meetings (or solitary celebrations) on the first day of the Full Moon or New Moon of each month. On these dates the lunar cycles are celebrated; the basic purpose of the Esbats is the celebration of the cycles of the Goddess, in its three aspects: Maiden, Mother and Crone (Ascending, Full and Waning moon). In addition, these are favorable times for meetings, editing and study.
"Sabbat" is the name of each of the 8 great solar festivals that take place annually and mark a Wheel of the Year of the Witches.
During the Sabbats the cycles of the God's birth, maturity, death and rebirth, and his deep relationship with the Goddess, are celebrated in groups or alone.
One more important clarification: Sabbat is not synonymous with black mass. It doesn't hurt to repeat: no Christian symbol or object is used. No Christian prayer is read - neither backwards nor backwards. Neither sacrifices nor orgies are made.
To better understand the Wheel of the Year celebrated by the Sabbats, we can look at the periods demarcated by the 4 seasons:
During the winter, the trees are without their leaves, the animals retreat, the days are very short and the nights are long. Slowly, as the days get longer and spring approaches, Nature seems to be stretching. It's time to prepare the soil. With the arrival of summer, Nature explodes in life and fertility. It's the sowing time. As the year continues its wheel, autumn arrives and again the leaves begin to fall. It's harvest and store season for the coming winter again.
Even though here in the southern hemisphere - especially in our tropical and naturally beautiful country - the seasons are not so clearly defined, you can see the subtle changes that take place. Just pay attention. Anyone who has lived or spent a long vacation in the countryside knows this. The seasons, the times for preparing the land, for sowing, for planting and harvesting are very well defined.
The Sabbaths
SAMHAIN - Celebrated on the 1st. of May in the southern hemisphere and on October 31 in the northern hemisphere (Note: pronounced "Sow-in").
YULE - Winter Solstice - Celebrated on the first day of winter (+ or - June 21 in the southern hemisphere and December 21 in the northern hemisphere)
IMBOLC (ou Imbolg) - Celebrated on August 2nd in the Southern Hemisphere and February 2nd in the Northern Hemisphere
EOSTAR (ou Ostara) - Spring Equinox - Celebrated on the first day of spring (+ or - September 21 in the southern hemisphere and March 21 in the northern hemisphere)
BELTANE - Celebrated on October 31st in the southern hemisphere and 1st. May in the Northern Hemisphere
LITHA - Summer Solstice (Mid Summer) - Celebrated on the first day of summer (+ or - December 21 in the southern hemisphere and June 21 in the northern hemisphere)
LUGHNASAD (ou Lammas) - Celebrated on February 2nd in the Southern Hemisphere and August 2nd in the Northern Hemisphere
MABON - Autumn Equinox - Celebrated on the first day of autumn (+ or - March 21 in the southern hemisphere and September 21 in the northern hemisphere)
I learned a lot about the Wheel of the Year simply by looking at a specific tree. I was lucky enough to find an oak tree near where I live (my oak!) - and the oak tree is almost emblematic of this cycle. Observing its metamorphosis, from opulence to scarcity, and from the shoots and seeds that lead back to opulence, I have had a vivid illustration, for many years, of the eloquence of this infinite cycle.
The main lesson I learned from this observation was to change the dates of the Sabbaths to fit the reality of the southern hemisphere.
I used to celebrate the Sabbats according to the English calendar, and Yule time was coming. I was already preparing for the celebration, when I "happened" to pass in front of my oak tree: it was leafy, lush, full of leaves, full of life, pulsing with fertility! And in a tropical heat of almost 35 degrees in December!
To try to understand the rituals, first of all, we cannot overlook the concept that today's celebrations are based on extremely ancient Celtic rituals (they have much, much more than a mere 2000 years of Christianity...), and that they originated in a time when the basic subsistence activity was agriculture.
Let's start with SAMHAIN, in 1st. of May. This Sabbat marks the beginning, the harbinger of the season of death: winter. It represents the symbolic death of the God and, in Nature, the least fertile season - the Goddess is without her consort!
Samhain was also the ancient Celtic feast of the dead. In Celtic tradition, Samhain was the night of death and resurrection: the dead had to wait until that date to make the crossing to "Summer Country", where the hope of new life awaited them - so in Witchcraft, this is the time when and you know that the veils between the worlds grow thinner. It is a time to reflect, to look back on what has been done in the past year, and a time to remember the dear ones who have already gone to other planes.
The night of Samhain is considered by the Witches as New Year's Eve because of this connotation of "passing" from death to the promise of a new life of abundance.
The date of Samhain in the Celtic tradition was so strong in the northern hemisphere (October 31st) that it was adapted by Christianity in the Middle Ages and became the "night of All Saints", or "night of all Souls".
The next Sabbat is YULE, celebrated on the night of the Winter Solstice, the 21st of June. Since this date occurs on the longest day of the fourth day of the year, and being the Sun, representations of God, or Yule mark the time of year, or God is reborn - because, from Solstice, as nights will become progressively shorter, and the days (in the presence of the Sun) longer.
O IMBOLC, on August 2, it is a Sabbat of cleansing after winter's hardships. It is a time to celebrate the heat that warms the Earth through the renewed power of the Sun, which was reborn from the Goddess at Yule. The days are longer and the beginning of spring can be felt in Nature, which seems to be stretching. It is a festival of fire, light and fertility, where bonfires and many candles are lit, representing both our own personal illumination and the light and heat that is increasing.
The Spring Equinox, EOSTAR, marks the first day of spring (close to 21 September). Nature's energies subtly emerge from the sleep they were immersed in during the winter. The Goddess covers the Earth with promises of fertility, while the God - reborn in Yule - begins to pass from infancy to maturity. In Eostar, the length of night and day are the same. Light begins to overcome darkness; the growth of the God and the receptivity of the Goddess inspire creatures on Earth to reproduce. It is the time to start, to act, to plant the seeds for the future.
BELTANE, on October 31, represents the entry of the young God into adulthood. Incited by the energies of Nature, by the force of the seeds and flowers that bloom, the Goddess and God fall in love. On this date, fertility rituals are celebrated and huge bonfires are lit. Beltane's fires symbolize the heat of passion and the intensity of the interaction between the Goddess and God, and the growing fertility of the Earth.
The summer solstice, or LITHA (near December 21), is celebrated when the power and strength of Nature reach their highest point. The Earth is replete and abundant with the fertility of the Goddess and God. Once again, bonfires are lit honoring the energy of the Sun, which reaches its peak: this is the shortest night and the longest day of the year.
LUGHNASAD, on February 2nd, is the time of the first harvest, when the seeds planted in spring bear the first fruits or generate other seeds that will ensure future results. But the God starts to lose his strength and so the days start getting shorter and the nights longer.
The Autumn Equinox, or MABON (first day of autumn, close to March 21) represents the fullness of the harvest begun at Lughnasad. Again, day and night are of equal length. Nature begins to decline, preparing for the approaching Samhain, preparing again for winter, the time of recollection... and for a new cycle that begins.
The Sabbats are a fantastic way to get to know, respect and celebrate the natural cycles that almost everyone doesn't even see passing by... and they are a unique chance to learn how to tune and harmonize your own life, your own vital cycles, with the energies of the Whole .