Solitary Wicca For Life by Arin Murphy-Hiscock

Author:Arin Murphy-Hiscock
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: F+W Media
Published: 2011-06-30T04:00:00+00:00

• Celebrate Imbolc when the sun reaches 15 degrees of Aquarius.

• Celebrate Beltaine when the sun reaches 15 degrees of Taurus.

• Celebrate Lughnassadh when the sun reaches 15 degrees of Leo.

• Celebrate Samhain when the sun reaches 15 degrees of Scorpio.

Evaluate the difference both in the natural energies around you and in your own energies as you perform the ritual. You may well discover that the astronomical date of the sabbat better reflects the flow of the year's energy and your personal energy than the calendar date does.

The cross-quarter days fall halfway between successive quarter days. The cross-quarter days were added to the calendar much more recently. While the ancients built massive earth mounds and stone circles to mark the precise moment of one or both solstices, there is no proof that they commemorated the equinoxes in either structure or ritual. In fact, Ronald Hutton, in his book Stations of the Sun, assigns the importance of the equinoxes to the influence of American culture:

During the twentieth century the notional beginning of spring came itself to be moved backwards to the vernal equinox, by a slow process induced by the mass media. This was part of an adoption of the American system of reckoning seasons from the solstices and equinoxes, which works admirably in the climate for most of the USA, but is nonsensical in the rhythm of the British year. (Hutton, pp. 145)

Likewise, many residents of North America are puzzled by the traditional British association of spring with the sabbat of Imbolc, for the climates rarely match up. Think of the Wheel of the Year as a metaphor for the life cycle, whether it is reflected in your geographical locale or not.

Following is a sabbat-by-sab bat exploration of the themes and symbolic actions that you can incorporate into your sabbat celebrations as a solitary Wiccan.

Yule

December 20–23: when the sun passes into the sign of Capricorn

The word Yule comes from the Norse jol, which was a Germanic feast with merrymaking to honor the gods and to encourage plenty and peace. This term likely traveled to the British Isles with the Saxons and became attached to what would become the twelve-day Christmas season. The jols took place more than once a year, often around Midwinter and again around Midsummer, but the name only persisted with the native winter festival.

Also referred to as Midwinter (because it falls halfway between Samhain and Beltaine), Yule occurs on the astronomical date of the winter solstice, which means the date varies from year to year. Most calendars will note the precise time of the winter solstice and of the other three seasonal dates. Many cultures associate the winter solstice with the rebirth of the sun and the return of the light after the days have grown shorter and the nights longer. From approximately this point onward, the sun will wax larger and brighter once again until Midsummer. Yule celebrates the joyful promise of new growth in the darkness of winter.

The Wiccan mythos situates the Goddess's birthing of the new God at this time of the year.

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