Festivals

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Celebrations for every Season It is important to study the how, why, when and where of doing magic. One of the "when" is on days that have a special meaning to many people. When a day is important to many people it already has more chi or thoughtful energy flowing, making it a day to use that energy for ritual work. In this lesson I will be giving you more information on another question I get asked many times also. I get questions asking if I believe in the Old Gods. I always answer, "My beliefs are personal, but I respect many beliefs." I will share some of my personal beliefs here about some of the holidays I celebrate. I don't have formal rites as my Wicca friends do. I do have a great love and respect for the Earth we live on and with. I feel our Earth is an aspect of the Goddess. I try to always show my love for this aspect of the Goddess by taking care of the Earth in any way I can. I enjoy all the seasons of the year. I admire the trees, flowers, mountains, rivers, oceans, deserts and all the living creatures and give thanks for them. I hurt when I see people disrespect Her by polluting Her rivers and waterways or dropping trash in Her woods. I hurt when I hear about Her trees being greedily destroyed and Her wild animals becoming extinct. I appreciate Her gifts of the beautiful gemstones that I use and enjoy so much and try to get them from people who take them gently from Her. Each stone is a part of the Earth and so a part of the Goddess and should always be respected. There are days in the year that I like to make a special thanks to Goddess Earth for all Her beautiful gifts to us. Most of these festivals have been celebrated since the beginning of history and probably even before. I borrow traditions and rites from many cultures, religions and peoples and make them my own with respect and joy. We also celebrate many other holidays, such as Christmas, July 4th and Father's Day among them. I like to make a very special day of birthdays too. I find ways of using the colors that are associated with each holiday, even if it is only the tablecloth and napkins at the meal. Almost every holiday has a meal as part of the celebration. Sharing food is a ritual. The kinds of foods severed are part of the ritual also. "Breaking bread together" is one of the oldest rituals there is. It is important that there are no disagreements at the meal. There should be a sharing of food and enjoyment; this will bring good luck to all. I like to give a gemstone or flower, sometimes a herb or plant, to each guest before they leave my house. I have stones and a bag for each guest if we are going to do a ritual together. October 31-- Samhaine Samhaine is a very powerful time of the year. This is the time to get ready for winter. In times past this was when the surplus stock was killed to have meat for the winter months. It is believed that the smell of the blood attracted the spirits. It is thought that this is the time when the path between the worlds of the dead and living is clear and easy to travel. I like to celebrate Samhaine is with a few fire works at sundown with family and special friends. I then bring everyone into my very clean house for wine and food. I light lots of black and orange candles and have a fire in the fireplace. I have some oaks leaves and a little holly around for decorations. This is the time for Crone face of the Goddess, so this is a party for adults only. Samhaine is the ending of a cycle and November 1 is the beginning of another. After the party I leave a glass of wine and a bite to eat for the spirits. When I prepare the food for the party I use some thyme for the departed souls and rosemary for remembrance. If anyone in the group has lost a loved one during the past year, we will do a ritul of remembrance. Before the guests arrive and after I have cleaned the entire house very well, I do a "good luck" ritual that will rid the house of any negative influence. I keep baskets of candy and fruit for the "trick or treaters" that come to our house. This is a good time of the year to do banishing spells. December 21 or 22-- Winter Solstice or Yule This is a wonderful and fun time of the year. My house is already decorated with a lot of holly and some ivy, mistletoe and pine. Friends and family come together for music, games and food. As this is the shortest or darkest day of the year we want a lot of red candles and sweet incense lit. I put pinecones on the fire in the fireplace. I like a nice thick soup with crusty bread and wine to start the meal. The meal is always tasty and filling, but this is a time for moderation, so I watch that we don't over eat or drink. Mostly there is much laugher and enjoyment. I feel the Goddess is not present at this festival, as she is resting in Her cave. Very early in the morning I do a forgiveness ritual. This is a very cleansing ritual for me. Afterwards I feel I have the power of the world on my side. This is a good time of the year to do healing spells. December 25-- Christmas Yes, I celebrate Christmas with a tree and presents. Red and green candles are all over the house. We use to have an open house, but now it is only family and a few close friends for an early afternoon brunch and buffet supper in the evening. I love to watch " A Christmas Carol". January 1-- New Year's Day This is a day I like to spend with my husband. When we were younger we would party on New Year's Eve, but now we don't always stay up until midnight. If we are awake at midnight on New Year's Eve we always set off a few firecrackers. I usually even put together a stew or casserole the day before; so on New Year's Day there is not much to cook besides a big breakfast. We lounge around, listen to music and talk about the past year and dream about the coming year. A short walk before supper is about as exciting as this wonderful day gets for us. I do a love ritual before midnight. Love should never be taken for granted. It has to be renewed often. February 2-- Imbolc The Goddess comes out of Her cave. We welcome the Goddess, as a young maiden, back to our festivals. The Sun is getting stronger and Spring will come. The time for planting and growing things is not far away. I like to celebrate Imbolc with a luncheon for my best female friends of all ages. I use lots of white with touches of violet, for the flowers that will be blooming soon. White candles, white flowers, white cloth and dishes and I even try to serve as much white or light colored food as I can find. After lunch if weather permits I like to take my friends for a slow walk and talk. We bond again as woman friends and also bond with the Goddess Earth. This is a time to think of all the things we have to be grateful for. I do a blessing and protection ritual for my home after sunset. This is a good time of the year to do blessing and protection spells for the home. March 21 or 22-- The Vernal Equinox Equinox This is the day when day and night are equal. I really like having a breakfast to celebrate the Equinox, but most of my friends are working so I usually have an early dinner, except when it falls on the weekend. I always have some type of egg dish, breakfast or dinner. I gather as many yellow flowers as possible; this is mostly daffodils and jonquils. I do look for violets and pick any I can find. I use green and yellow candles. The Goddess is still a maiden, young and fresh. She is seen more outside now that the trees may have a few buds and there are flowers blooming. The early dinner is with my closest friends and family and for some reason the talk is usually quite and sometimes serious. If it is a breakfast we always go for a walk, even in the rain. After the dinner we let the weather decide for us. We listen to music and talk about books and life and death. Before my friends leave we do a money ritual for all of us. I had my first past life reading on a Vernal Equinox. This a good time of the year to do spells for prosperity and wealth. April 30-- (May Day Eve) Beltaine This is the most magical of all the festivals. Beltaine means "fire of Bel", or bright fire. This is the time the Maiden Goddess takes her Lord God as her lover. The children of this mating can be seen in the beauty of the flowers and trees. We know that this joining will bring the crops of summer. There is always a fire, hopefully the weather will be nice and it can be outside, but there have been years that we had to stay inside. This night around the fire it is only the adults, tomorrow is with the children. We light the fire just before dark, and then we eat and drink, talk and laugh. The evening is a time of hope and laughter. Usually by midnight we let the fire burn down and go to bed, tomorrow is an early day. May Day-- The first day of May should be a daylong holiday, but in our world today most of us work on that day. The Goddess is in her full womanhood. I have already set the table in greens, blues and yellows. The apple blossoms are usually gone by now, but I have cut a few apple branches and oak branches to put in tall vases. Even if it is a workday, I get up a little earlier to fix a nice breakfast. It is a tradition to have pork sausages today. The pig is a Beltaine animal and a symbol of luck and material riches. On the rare time when May Day falls on a weekend we will have friends and family for breakfast with lots of food that will usually last until after noon. The kids have left the table after they have eaten, but the adults linger. We finally clean up and go for a long walk to work off some the sausages. There is a lot of talk about planting and new flowers we would like to try growing. In the evening we have a light supper around the fire. We give thanks for all we have and do a ritual for a good growing season. This is a good time to do spells for personal health and happiness. June 20 or 21-- Summer Solstice Solstice The longest day of the year. This day should start with the greeting of the sun and rituals for the happiness of everyone. I like to be outside to watch the sun at its height. This is when I feel the Goddess with me the strongest as the sun warms me. There is always a barbecue in the evening. I will make a salad from the lettuce in my garden. We will have all kinds of salads and fruit. Cold wine and beer will be in an old tub with lots of ice. I use yellow tablecloths and the food is the centerpiece, with the roses are blooming all around the tables. Children and adults join to roast marshmallows after dinner. Abundance spells of all kinds will have an increased power today. Love, money, health, protection, whatever you need an abundance of, will come to you stronger today. June 24-- Midsummer Day This a day I usually spend by myself. I want this to be a calm day and I will surround myself with cool colors, white and pastels. It is a day of quiet work and meditation. I may do some work in my garden. The roses will need attention and deadheading. I'll fix a salad supper with lots of parsley, no meat. I like the evenings that cool down so I can sit and watch the fireflies until bedtime. This is a good time for love spells, especially finding a new love. August 1-- Lammas or Lughnasad Lughnasad This is a serious holiday. Sometimes called first harvest. The Earth has given birth to many good foods. This is mostly a day of reflection and thanksgiving. I like to have a few friends for dinner. The menu varies, but I always have fresh corn and fresh baked bread. It can very hot where I live on this day, so we may have dinner outside after dark. I light some orange candles, but keep things simple. The table centerpiece is a big platter of corn on the cob. This is a good time to do protection spells for the home and especially protection for children. September 22 or 23-- Autumnal Equinox Equinox The sun is losing its warmth and the days are shorter. The Goddess will soon be going into her cave for the winter. We never know if the weather will be hot or cool, so sometimes we eat outside at other times inside. No matter which there are always lots of big yellow, green and red candles. There is usually more than one apple dish. Someone will make apple pies because my piecrust is not good. I use many of my fresh and dried herbs in tonight's dinner. I have bowls of apples and grapes for the table centerpiece. This is a festival of the vine, so there is wine and beer. It is a fun dinner, but a time of thanksgiving also. It is usually an early evening, because of school and work the next day. After dinner we all do a balancing ritual together. We feel this is an important ritual to help us keep our power and luck with us. September 29-- Michaelmas This is a day with very old roots. It is now known as the day we celebrate the Angel Michael. It is an ancient harvest festival also. It was thought the energies of the Earth re-balanced on this day. The Earth Dragon fines a new resting place. The Goddess is in her crone form now. We have only one or two couples for dinner, usually the same old friends every year. We do a potluck, but the dishes are much the same from year to year. We have fowl, chicken or duck and among the vegetables are always one or two carrot dishes. Berry cobbler is the desert. I will cut some of the flowers left in the garden and use candles the same color as the flowers. I like to have warm brown and golden colored accents. I always feel this is an in between time of the year, maybe the Dragon is restless. This is a good time to do protection spells that use herbs.

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No claims are made. These alleged powers are gathered from writing, books, folklore and various sources.