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    Wheel of the Year question

    **I think this is the right place for this topic but if not can one of the mods move it for me please?**

    I am currently in the process of re-evaluating my beliefs and working out daily/weekly/monthly spiritual practices. One of the things I would like to keep is the Wheel of the Year celebrations but, as I do not follow the Wiccan beliefs about deity, I am struggling to fit this into a context that works for me. There is of course the option of scraping the wheel all together but I would like to try and make it work before going down this route.

    With this in mind I was wondering how those of you who follow the wheel but not the Wiccan 'story' behind it incorporate it in to your beliefs? Do you have different names for the 8 festivals? Do you connect them to specific deities or see them more as celebrations of the seasons? What kind of things do you do for each festival? Anything else you can share that you think may be of help?
    http://thefeministpagan.blogspot.co.uk/

    #2
    Re: Wheel of the Year question

    I knew I'd answered a similar question on here before - here's the linkage: Triple-God-Triple-Goddess-Wheel-of-the-Year
    The forum member formerly known as perzephone. Or Perze. I've shed a skin.

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      #3
      Re: Wheel of the Year question

      I do remember reading that thread now you've linked it. Will have another read though as at the time it wasn't something I was really thinking about. Thank you. :-)
      http://thefeministpagan.blogspot.co.uk/

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        #4
        Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
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          #5
          Re: Wheel of the Year question

          Thal, do you mind if I copy these? I think they would be a great starting point for me to work from.
          http://thefeministpagan.blogspot.co.uk/

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            #6
            Re: Wheel of the Year question

            Originally posted by shadow1982 View Post
            Thal, do you mind if I copy these? I think they would be a great starting point for me to work from.
            Go ahead! I've been meaning to post them on my blog, a little bit more fleshed out, and with activities and stuff...but I haven't gotten around to it yet...
            Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
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              #7
              Re: Wheel of the Year question

              I was just reading Tylluan Penry's book, Seeking the Green. She has an excellent section (actually, chapters 12 & 13) on the Wheel of the Year, and the Festivals. I'm going to put in a plug for a fellow PF'er & very fine author and recommend that... at least until Thalassa gets her blog post up .
              Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

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                #8
                Re: Wheel of the Year question

                I celebrate the Wheel of the Year, but purely in a nature concept. "Oh this is the time of the year that nature is turning into ___.... Thanks you Earth" "Oh, this is the time we can harvest.... Thank you Earth" --- That type of thing.

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                  #9
                  Re: Wheel of the Year question

                  (Well I didn't mean to write the longest post ever, but you know, these things happen sometimes... Hopefully it's helpful, at any rate, another point of view never hurts right?)

                  For me the wheel is really about celebrating the changing seasons, both what they bring physically and spiritually. I don't really connect any of them to a specific Deity or any sort of year long Deity cycle or anything like that.

                  For me the spiritual year starts with Yule, which I begin celebrating on the eve before the solstice, and on until the the end of the first day of the new calendar year. (The first day of the year is always a big celebration with my family, so I wanted to incorporate that into my personal traditions, too.)
                  It's a time to celebrate the rebirth of the year, as well as the start of winter. The winter solstice is the longest night, and it's the middle of the dark half of the year. The longest night I try to hold an all night vigil with candles and the lights on the Yule tree - symbolic of keeping the light alive on the darkest night. It's a quiet night of reflection on the past year, new beginnings, and the spark of light in the deepest darkness. I watch the sun rise at dawn, and it's a dual celebration of the triumph of the light, but heading into the coldest part of the year.
                  I associate Yule with midnight, the north, and the element earth.

                  Imbolc (Feb 2nd) is the deepest part of winter, yet also a time to look forward to the coming spring. In NH this is very much winter, and it is hard to see any early signs of spring... but the longer days are bringing little hints. It's a time of purification and cleansing to prepare for the warmer months of activity. Clearing out the old to make room for the new.
                  I associate Imbolc as the early hours before the sunrise, the north east, and the elements of earth and air.

                  Ostara is the start of spring. It's still pretty cold, but it's a day of balance that begins the light half of the year. The first real hints of warmer weather are clearly showing now. Buds on trees, the earliest flowers starting to show, the ground warming just a bit. A time to make plans for the coming warm months.
                  I associate Ostara with the sunrise, the east, and with the element of air.

                  Beltaine is the peak of spring. The season is in full swing, and it's a time to celebrate growth, fertility, and life which are abundant at this time. This is a time when the veil between the worlds is thin (as is it's opposite, Samhain), and for me is a time to honor the nature spirits.
                  I associate Beltaine with the morning, the south-east and the elements of air and fire.

                  Litha is the middle of the light half of the year, the longest day of the year, and the beginning of summer. It's a time to celebrate light. While it is the longest day, it's also the time that the light will begin to wane. A time to reflect on the darkness in light.
                  I associate Litha with noon, the south, and the element of fire.

                  Lammas is the height of the summer season, usually the hottest time of the year. It's the beginning of the harvest, mostly of berries at this point, but some other local crops (corn especially) are starting to be harvested, too. For me it's a time to celebrate food mysteries, the growth of seed into wheat into bread. Taking in the secrets of the earth, water, fire and air which come together to make the crop - which we then take into ourselves. Similar with wine, as well. This is also when I make special offerings to the spirits of rivers and wells.
                  I associate Lammas with the afternoon hours, the south-west, and with the elements of fire and water.

                  Mabon is the start of autumn, as well as the start of the dark half of the year. Harvest is in full swing. It's a time to give thanks to the abundance of the light half of the year, and welcome/prepare for the dark half of the year.
                  I associate Mabon with sunset, the west, and with the element of water.

                  Samhain is the peak of autumn. The final harvest. A time of death and endings. The second point of the year where the veil is at it's thinnest, this time it is a time to honor the ancestors, those who have gone before us. A time to commune with the unseen world. It is a time to make any final preparations before the winter months truly begin - bring in any final crops, make any necessary repairs to the home, make sure everything is put away... and of course, spiritually as well.
                  For me this is essentially the end of the year (or the beginning of the end perhaps), although again the rebirth of it doesn't happen until Yule. It's a quiet, still time of the year.
                  I associate Samhain with the hours after sunset (but before midnight), the north-west, and the elements of water and earth.

                  Of course it's also important to point out that I formed this from what's going on locally - as well as taking into account the holiday that sits on the other side of the wheel, and tried to connect themes that way as well. (Exmaple, Beltaine as life, Samhain as death. Yule as the spark of light in darkness, Litha as hint of darkness in light. Etc.) In other areas it may be totally different. (When I moved to western Washington and my daffodils, usually a Beltaine flower, were coming up at Imbolc? Really threw me off!) It's important to shift things and follow what's going on locally, otherwise celebrating the seasons won't really have much meaning, you know? It can take a few cycles to really figure out what themes belong where, and why.
                  Last edited by Gardenia; 16 Aug 2011, 11:20.
                  Hearth and Hedge

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                    #10
                    Re: Wheel of the Year question

                    Originally posted by Gardenia View Post
                    Of course it's also important to point out that I formed this from what's going on locally - as well as taking into account the holiday that sits on the other side of the wheel, and tried to connect themes that way as well. (Exmaple, Beltaine as life, Samhain as death. Yule as the spark of light in darkness, Litha as hint of darkness in light. Etc.) In other areas it may be totally different. (When I moved to western Washington and my daffodils, usually a Beltaine flower, were coming up at Imbolc? Really threw me off!) It's important to shift things and follow what's going on locally, otherwise celebrating the seasons won't really have much meaning, you know? It can take a few cycles to really figure out what themes belong where, and why.

                    This! x100

                    Which is why it changes too, from even from year to year...and with what one has going on in their lives. I also think that is what makes correspondences for the holidays different, and difficult when one chooses to depart from the "traditional"

                    Its interesting though Gardenia, that while there is some overlap in *what* each of us choose to celebrate and when, that our elements are almost flip-flopped...
                    Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
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                      #11
                      Re: Wheel of the Year question

                      Originally posted by B. de Corbin View Post
                      I was just reading Tylluan Penry's book, Seeking the Green. She has an excellent section (actually, chapters 12 & 13) on the Wheel of the Year, and the Festivals. I'm going to put in a plug for a fellow PF'er & very fine author and recommend that... at least until Thalassa gets her blog post up .
                      Thank you Corbin. In the UK and much of Europe (though it may well be different in the US) there are many lesser known festivals right through the year - Plough Monday, Devil's Nutting Day etc that can also provide a framework for you to work within. You don't have to work with the most popular version of the WOTY if it doesn't feel right to you. Indeed I would say that you shouldn't, because if something doesn't have real meaning for you then it isn't going to work in the long term.

                      Even if you don't have these smaller festivals in your part of the world then it's well worth reading up on them because you find little prompts in how they were celebrated (and the reasons for celebrating) that you can use in your own practice. I would recommend Ronald Hutton's Stations of the Sun as a good starting point - at least for the UK.
                      www.thewolfenhowlepress.com


                      Phantom Turnips never die.... they just get stewed occasionally....

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                        #12
                        Re: Wheel of the Year question

                        Tylluan, where is the best place to buy your book from? I looked on amazon but haven't had much luck so far. I will check out the Ronald Hutton book as well.
                        http://thefeministpagan.blogspot.co.uk/

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                          #13
                          Re: Wheel of the Year question

                          Originally posted by thalassa View Post
                          Its interesting though Gardenia, that while there is some overlap in *what* each of us choose to celebrate and when, that our elements are almost flip-flopped...
                          Do you mind explaining a bit about your elemental choices?
                          Hearth and Hedge

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                            #14
                            Re: Wheel of the Year question

                            Originally posted by shadow1982 View Post
                            Tylluan, where is the best place to buy your book from? I looked on amazon but haven't had much luck so far. I will check out the Ronald Hutton book as well.
                            I can send you an autographed copy myself if you're in mainland UK - just pm me!
                            www.thewolfenhowlepress.com


                            Phantom Turnips never die.... they just get stewed occasionally....

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                              #15
                              Re: Wheel of the Year question

                              Holy crap, I'm pissed...I spend a hot minute responding only to hit post and get this:

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                              Pagan Forum
                              ...which, of course means my message is lost.

                              I'll try again later, I have a busy day today...
                              Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
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