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The 8 Festivals Of The Solar Year
- Spring Equinox, Vernal Equinox, Ostara, Goddess Ēostre.
- Beltane, Floralia, Walpurgis Night,Goddess Flora, goddess of flowers, May Day, known for maypole dancing and the crowning of the Queen of the May.
- Summer Solstice, Midsummer, Litha, one of the four solar holidays, the turning point when the sun shines longest.
- Lammas, Lughnasadh, August Eve – the first of three harvest festivals, (others are autumnal equinox and Samhain), festival and feast of thanksgiving for grain and bread, symbolising the first fruits of the harvest.
- Autumnal Equinox, Fall Equinox, Mabon – ritual 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 God during the coming winter months.
- Samhain, All Saints Day, Halloween, Day of the Dead – honoring the dead as part of a Samhain ritual, a time to celebrate the lives of those who have passed on, and it often involves paying respect to loved ones who have died. In some rituals 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. Many Pagans believe that at Samhain the veil between this world and the afterlife is at its thinnest point of the whole year, making it easier to communicate with those who have left this world.
- Winter Solstice, also Midwinter, Brumalia, and Saturnalia. Sol Invictus converted to Christmas Day.
- Imbolc, dedicated to Goddess Brigid or St. Brigitm the first stirrings of spring. purification and spring cleaning in anticipation of the year’s new life.
Timing
Dates on which festivals are celebrated are often flexible, aligned with the full or new moon.
Originally celebrated by people in the Northern Hemisphere, the traditional times for festivities don’t correspond with the Southern Hemisphere. However Pagans in the Southern Hemisphere flip seasonal celebrations to coincide with their own.