Editing Wheel of the Year (section)

==Festivals==
[[File:Eight-spoked wheel.svg|thumb|right|The eight-armed [[sun cross]] is often used to represent the modern pagan Wheel of the Year.]]
[[File:Phases of the Sun (NHemi).png|thumb|right|The annual cycle of insolation for the northern hemisphere (Sun energy, shown in blue) with key points for seasons (middle), [[quarter days]] (top) and cross-quarter days (bottom) along with months (lower) and Zodiac houses (upper). The cycle of temperature (shown in pink) is delayed by [[seasonal lag]].]]
In many traditions of [[Modern Paganism|modern pagan]] [[Religious cosmology|cosmology]], all things are considered to be cyclical, with time as a perpetual cycle of growth and retreat tied to the [[Sun]]'s annual [[Death-rebirth deity|death and rebirth]]. This cycle is also viewed as a [[Macrocosm and microcosm|micro- and macrocosm]] of other life cycles in an immeasurable [[Recursion|series]] of cycles composing the Universe. The days that fall on the landmarks of the yearly cycle traditionally mark the beginnings and middles of the four [[season]]s. They are regarded with significance and host to major communal festivals. These eight festivals are the most common times for community celebrations.<ref name="harvey_rpe"/><ref name="Zell (2006):the Wheel">{{cite book |last1=Zell-Ravenheart |first1=Oberon |author-link=Oberon Zell-Ravenheart |last2=Zell-Ravenheart |first2=Morning Glory |title=Creating Circles & Ceremonies: Rituals for All Seasons And Reasons |year=2006 |publisher=Book-Mart Press |editor=Kirsten Dalley and Artemisia |page=192 |chapter=Book III: Wheel of the Year |isbn=1-56414-864-5}}</ref><ref name=DruryModernMagicalRevival>{{cite book |last= Drury |first=Nevill |editor1-last=Pizza |editor1-first=Murphy |editor2-last=Lewis |editor2-first=James R |title=Handbook of Contemporary Paganism |year=2009 |chapter=The Modern Magical Revival: Esbats and Sabbats|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rwzttsI9-NwC |pages=63–67 |location=[[Leiden]], Netherlands|publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |isbn=9789004163737}}</ref>

In addition to the quarter and cross-quarter days, other festivals may also be celebrated throughout the year, especially in the context of [[polytheistic reconstructionism]] and other [[Ethnic religion|ethnic]] traditions. While festivals of the Wheel are steeped in solar [[mythology]] and [[symbol]]ism, many Wiccan [[esbat]]s are commonly based on [[lunar cycle]]s. Together, they represent the most common celebrations in Wiccan-influenced forms of modern paganism, especially in [[Neopagan witchcraft]] groups.<ref name="Zell (2006):the Wheel"/><ref name=DruryModernMagicalRevival />

===Winter Solstice (Midwinter / Yule)===
{{Main|Winter solstice|Yule}}
{{see also|Midwinter|Brumalia|Saturnalia}}

The [[winter solstice]], falling on or about 21 December in the Northern hemisphere, is celebrated by neopagans  under various names, including ''[[Midwinter]]'' and ''[[Yule]]''. A name used by neo-druids is ''[[Alban Arthan]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.druidry.org/druid-way/teaching-and-practice/druid-festivals/winter-solstice-alban-arthan|title=Winter Solstice - Alban Arthan|date=2012-01-10|website=Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids|access-date=2019-02-20}}</ref>

It has been recognised as a significant turning point in the yearly cycle since the [[Neolithic|late Stone Age]]. Ancient [[megalith]]ic sites [[Newgrange]] and [[Stonehenge]] were carefully aligned with the winter solstice sunrise and sunset.<ref>{{cite book |last=Johnson |first=Anthony |title=Solving Stonehenge: The New Key to an Ancient Enigma |publisher=Thames & Hudson |year=2008 |pages=252–253 |isbn=978-0-500-05155-9}}</ref> While commonly referred to as "Yule", after the Germanic and later Northern European winter festival of the same name, those celebrations by [[Germanic paganism|Germanic heathens]] likely followed the [[Christianisation of the Germanic peoples]]. Historical sources indicate those observances coinciding with the full moon of the lunisolar month following the winter solstice, ranging between January 5 and February 2 in the Gregorian calendar.<ref name=Nordberg>{{cite journal |last1=Nordberg |first1=Andreas |title=Jul, disting och förkyrklig tideräkning |journal=Acta Academiae Regiae Gustavi Adolphi |date=2006 |volume=91 |pages=155–156|url=https://www.academia.edu/1366945}}</ref> The reversal of the [[Sun]]'s ebbing presence in the sky symbolises the [[Death-rebirth deity|rebirth of the solar god]] and presages the return of fertile seasons.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}} From Germanic to Roman tradition, this is the most important time of celebration.<ref name="Zell 2006:Yule">{{cite book |last1=Zell-Ravenheart |first1=Oberon |last2=Zell-Ravenheart |first2=Morning Glory |title=Creating Circles & Ceremonies: Rituals for All Seasons And Reasons |year=2006 |publisher=Career Press |pages=250–252 |chapter=7. Yule (Winter Solstice) |isbn=1-56414-864-5}}</ref><ref name="OEAGR">{{cite book |last=Gagarin |first=Michael |title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome: Volume 1 |year=2010 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |page=231 |chapter=S |isbn=978-0-19517-072-6}}</ref>

Practices vary, but [[Sacrifice|sacrifice offerings]], feasting, and gift giving are common elements of Midwinter festivities. Bringing sprigs and wreaths of [[evergreen]]ery (such as [[holly]], [[ivy]], [[mistletoe]], [[Taxus|yew]], and [[pine]]) into the home and tree decorating are also common during this time.<ref name="Zell 2006:Yule"/><ref name="ERE6 Gifts">{{cite book |last=Selbie |first=John A. |title=Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics, Volume 6 |year=1914 |publisher=[[Charles Scribner's Sons]]; [[T. & T. Clark]] |location=[[New York City|New York]]; [[Edinburgh]] |editor-last=Hastings |editor-first=James |editor-link=James Hastings |page=212 |chapter=Gifts (Greek and Roman) |title-link=Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics}}</ref><ref name="Harvey 2000:Midwinter">{{cite book |last=Harvey |first=Graham |title=Contemporary Paganism: Listening People, Speaking Earth |year=2000 |publisher=[[NYU Press]] |pages=6–8 |chapter=1: Celebrating the Seasons |isbn=0-8147-3549-5}}</ref>

===Imbolc (Candlemas)===
{{main|Imbolc|Candlemas}}
{{see also|Dísablót}}
''Imbolc'' is the traditional Gaelic name for 1 February and traditionally marks the first stirrings of [[Spring (season)|spring]]. In Christianity it is [[Brigid of Kildare|Saint Brigid's]] Day, while 2 February is [[Candlemas]]. It aligns with the contemporary observance of [[Groundhog Day]]. It is time for purification and [[spring cleaning]] in anticipation of the year's new life. In ancient Rome, it was a shepherd's holiday,<ref name="Plutarch">{{cite book |last=Plutarch |title=Life of Caesar |series=[[Parallel Lives]] |volume=[[Alexander and Caesar]] |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Caesar*.html#61}}</ref> while the Gaels associated it with the onset of ewes' lactation, prior to birthing the spring lambs.<ref name="Chadwick and Cunliffe">{{Cite book |last1=Chadwick |first1=Nora K. |last2=Cunliffe |first2=Barry |title=The Celts |year=1970 |publisher=Penguin |location=Harmondsworth |page=181 |isbn=0-14-021211-6}}</ref><ref name="Rabinovitch and Lewis:232">{{cite book |last1=Rabinovitch |first1=Shelley T. |last2=Lewis |first2=James R. |title=The Encyclopedia of Modern Witchcraft and Neo-Paganism |year=2004 |publisher=[[Citadel Press]] |pages=232–233 |isbn=0-8065-2407-3}}</ref>

For [[Celtic neopaganism|Celtic neopagans]], the festival is dedicated to the goddess [[Brigid]], daughter of [[The Dagda]] and one of the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]].<ref name="Rabinovitch and Lewis:232"/>

In the [[Reclaiming (neopaganism)|Reclaiming tradition]], this is the traditional time for pledges and rededications for the coming year<ref name=Starhawk>{{cite book |author=Starhawk |author-link=Starhawk |title=The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess |url=https://archive.org/details/spiraldancerebir00star/page/7 |url-access=registration |year=1979 |publisher=[[Harper and Row]] |location=New York, New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/spiraldancerebir00star/page/7 7–186, 246] |edition=1989 revised |isbn=0-06-250814-8}}</ref> and for [[initiation]] among [[Dianic Wicca]]ns.<ref name="Budapest 1980">{{cite book |last=Budapest |first=Zsuzsanna E. |title=The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries |year=1980 |publisher=Wingbow Press |isbn=0-914728-67-9}}</ref>

===Spring Equinox (Ostara)===
{{main|March equinox}}
{{see also|Liberalia|Hilaria|Nowruz}}
''Ostara'' is a name for the [[March equinox|spring equinox]] in some modern pagan traditions. The term is derived from a reconstruction produced by linguist [[Jacob Grimm]] of an Old High German form of the Old English ''[[Ēostre]]'', an [[List of Anglo-Saxon gods|Anglo-Saxon goddess]] for whom, according to [[Bede]], feasts were held in her [[Ēosturmōnaþ|eponymous month]], which he equated to April in the [[Julian calendar]].<ref name=Sermon>{{cite journal |last1=Sermon |first1=Richard |title=Eostre and the Matronae Austriahenae |journal=Folklore |date=3 April 2022 |volume=133 |issue=2 |pages=139–157 |doi=10.1080/0015587X.2021.1959143 |s2cid=249536135 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0015587X.2021.1959143 |issn=0015-587X}}</ref>

Known as ''Alban Eilir'' in strands of neo-druidry, this holiday is the second of three spring celebrations (the midpoint between Imbolc and Beltane), during which light and darkness are again in balance, with light on the rise. It is a time of new beginnings and of life emerging further from the grips of winter.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.druidry.org/druid-way/teaching-and-practice/druid-festivals/spring-equinox-alban-eilir/deeper-alban-eilir|title=Deeper into Alban Eilir|date=2012-01-18|website=Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids|access-date=2019-02-20}}</ref>

===Beltane (May Day)===
{{main|Beltane}}
{{see also|May Day|Floralia|Walpurgis Night}}
''Beltane'' comes from the Gaelic name for [[May Day]] ({{langx|ga|Bealtaine}} and {{langx|gd|Bealtainn}}), with the Welsh names being {{lang|cy|Calan Mai}}, {{lang|cy|Calan Haf}}, or {{lang|cy|Cyntefin}}. Traditionally, it marked the beginning of summer. It is known as [[Walpurgis Night]] in [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] countries.<ref name="Zell (2006):Beltane">{{cite book |last1=Zell-Ravenheart |first1=Oberon |author-link=Oberon Zell-Ravenheart |last2=Zell-Ravenheart |first2=Morning Glory |title=Creating Circles & Ceremonies: Rituals for All Seasons And Reasons |year=2006 |publisher=Book-Mart Press |editor=Kirsten Dalley and Artemisia |pages=203–206 |chapter=Book III: Wheel of the Year |isbn=1-56414-864-5}}</ref> Ancient Rome observed [[Floralia]] at the same time of year.

Following the [[Christianisation]] of Europe, the May Day festival was generally associated with [[maypole]] dancing and the crowning of the [[Queen of the May|May Queen]].

May Day is celebrated in many neo-pagan traditions; in neo-druidry, it recognises the power of life in its fullness, the greening of the world, youthfulness, and flourishing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.druidry.org/druid-way/teaching-and-practice/druid-festivals/beltane/deeper-beltane|title=Deeper Into Beltane|date=2012-01-18|website=Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids|access-date=2019-02-20}}</ref>

===Summer Solstice (Midsummer / Litha)===
{{Main|Midsummer|Summer solstice}}
The [[summer solstice]], falling on or about 21 June in the Northern hemisphere, is celebrated by neopagans  under various names, including ''[[Midsummer]]'' and ''Litha''. A name used by neo-druids is ''[[Alban Hefin]]''.

The name ''Litha'', is found in [[Bede]]'s ''[[The Reckoning of Time]]'' (''{{lang|la|De Temporum Ratione}}'', eighth century), which preserves a list of the (then-obsolete) Anglo-Saxon names for the months of the [[early Germanic calendar]]. ''{{lang|ang|Ærra Liða}}'' (''first'' or ''preceding'' ''{{lang|ang|Liða}}'') roughly corresponds to June in the [[Gregorian calendar]], and ''{{lang|ang|Æfterra Liða}}'' (''following'' ''{{lang|ang|Liða}}'') to July. Bede writes that "Litha means ''gentle'' or ''navigable'', because in both these months the calm breezes are gentle and they were wont to sail upon the smooth sea".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Beda |first1=Venerabilis |title=Bede, the reckoning of time |date=1999 |publisher=[[Liverpool University Press]] |location=Liverpool |page=54 |isbn=9781846312663}}</ref>

In some neo-druid traditions the festival is called ''Alban Hefin''. The sun in its greatest strength is greeted and celebrated on this holiday. While it is the time of greatest strength of the solar current, it also marks a turning point, for the sun also begins its time of decline as the wheel of the year turns. Arguably the most important neo-druidic festival, due to the focus on the sun and its light as a symbol of divine inspiration. Neo-druid groups frequently celebrate this event at Stonehenge.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.druidry.org/druid-way/teaching-and-practice/druid-festivals/summer-solstice-alban-hefin/deeper-alban-hefin|title=Deeper into Alban Hefin|date=2012-01-18|website=Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids|access-date=2019-02-20}}</ref>

===Lughnasadh (Lammas)===
{{main|Lughnasadh|Lammas}}
''Lughnasadh'' or ''Lúnasa'' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|uː|n|æ|s|ə}}) is the Gaelic name for a [[harvest]] festival held on or around 1 August.<ref name="Hutton"/><ref name="SpiralDance lammas">Starhawk (1979, 1989) ''The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess''. New York, Harper and Row {{ISBN|0-06-250814-8}} pp.191-2 (revised edition)</ref> Its Welsh name is {{lang|cy|Calan Awst}}. In English it is ''[[Lammas]]''. Some Wiccan traditions base their celebrations on the Celtic deity [[Lugh]], for whom the holiday is named, while others draw on more eclectic sources. While ''Lughnasadh'' is one of the most common names for the holiday in Wicca currently, in early versions of Wiccan literature, the festival is referred to as ''August Eve''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/gbos/gbos10.htm|title=Gardnerian Book of Shadows: The Sabbat Rituals: August Eve|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=20 September 2017}}</ref>

Lammas is often referenced interchangeably with Lughnasadh, though the two are sometimes recognised as distinct and separate holidays. While Lughnasadh has Celtic origins, Lammas has Anglo-Saxon origins, and was often marked with the blessing of loaves of bread by the church. The name ''Lammas'' (contraction of ''loaf mass'') implies it is an agrarian-based festival and feast of thanksgiving for grain and bread, which symbolises the first fruits of the harvest.<ref name="SpiralDance lammas"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Lammas (n.) |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Lammas&allowed_in_frame=0|publisher=etymonline.com|access-date=25 November 2012}}</ref>

===Autumn Equinox (Mabon)===
{{Main|September equinox}}
The holiday of the autumnal equinox is known variously among neopagans as ''Mabon'', ''Harvest Home'', or ''Feast of the Ingathering''. A name used by neo-druids is ''Alban Elfed''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Druid Calendar - The Eightfold Wheel of the Year |url=https://druidry.org/druid-way/teaching-and-practice/druid-festivals/the-eightfold-wheel-of-the-year |website=[[Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids]]}}</ref> It is a neopagan festival of thanksgiving for the fruits of the earth and a recognition of the need to share them to secure the blessings of the Goddess and the Gods during the coming winter months. The name ''Mabon'' was coined by [[Aidan Kelly]] around 1970 as a reference to {{lang|cy|[[Mabon ap Modron]]}}, a character from Welsh mythology.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Zell-Ravenheart|first1=Oberon Zell-Ravenheart & Morning Glory|title=Creating circles & ceremonies : rituals for all seasons & reasons|date=2006|publisher=New Page Books|location=Franklin Lakes, NJ|isbn=1564148645|page=227}}</ref>

===Samhain (All Hallows)===
{{Main|Samhain|Halloween}}
[[File:Candelabra and Grave Dirt (58205188).jpg|upright|thumb|Neopagans honoring the dead as part of a Samhain ritual]]

''Samhain'' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɑː|w|ɪ|n}}), or ''Sauin'', is the name of a traditional Gaelic festival held around 1 November. Its Welsh name is {{lang|cy|Calan Gaeaf}}. For Wiccans, it is a time to celebrate the lives of those who have passed on, and it often involves paying respect to ancestors, family members, elders of the faith, friends, pets, and other loved ones who have died. Aligned with the contemporary observance of [[Halloween]] and [[Day of the Dead]], in some traditions the spirits of the departed are invited to attend the festivities. It is seen as a festival of darkness, which is balanced at the opposite point of the Wheel by the festival of [[Beltane]], which is celebrated as a festival of light and fertility.<ref name="SpiralDance samhain">Starhawk (1979, 1989) ''The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess''. New York, Harper and Row {{ISBN|0-06-250814-8}} pp.193-6 (revised edition)</ref> Many neopagans believe that the veil between this world and the afterlife is at its thinnest point of the year at Samhain, making it easier to communicate with those who have departed.<ref name=DruryModernMagicalRevival />

Some authorities claim the Christian festival of [[All Hallows' Day]] (All Saints' Day, Hallowmas), and All Hallows' Eve, are [[Cultural appropriation|appropriations]] of Samhain by early Christian missionaries to the British Isles.<ref name="Smith2004">{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Bonnie G.|title=Women's History in Global Perspective|access-date=14 December 2015 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7Q8Ix-M8LWcC |year=2004|publisher=University of Illinois Press|isbn=978-0-252-02931-8|page=66|quote=The pre-Christian observance obviously influenced the Christian celebration of All Hallows' Eve, just as the Taoist festival affected the newer Buddhist Ullambana festival. Although the Christian version of All Saints' and All Souls' Days came to emphasise prayers for the dead, visits to graves, and the role of the living assuring the safe passage to heaven of their departed loved ones, older notions never disappeared.}}</ref><ref name="Roberts1987">{{cite book|last=Roberts|first=Brian K.|title=The Making of the English Village: A Study in Historical Geography|access-date=14 December 2015|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CjbYAAAAMAAJ|year=1987|publisher=Longman Scientific & Technical|isbn=978-0-582-30143-6|quote=Time out of time', when the barriers between this world and the next were down, the dead returned from the grave, and gods and strangers from the underworld walked abroad was a twice- yearly reality, on dates Christianised as All Hallows' Eve and All Hallows' Day.}}</ref>