Wheel of the Year
Lore and Legends

Select here to return to the Wheel of the Year	Wheel of the Year Lore and Legends The Wheel of the Year is a way many pagan paths refer to the ever changing cycle of natural renewal as reflected in the seasonal changes of nature moving from Spring to Summer to Autumn to Winter and back to Spring. This cycle of renewal is reflected in the legends of the Wheel of the Year which tell a simple story of birth, growth, decline, death, and ultimate re-birth. To return to the Wheel Legend page, please select the image icon to the left. If you would like to go directly to a more detailed description of the quarter and cross quarter celebrations of the Wheel of the Year, please select the links to the left of each of the brief descriptions.
Select here for Yule	Winter Solstice (Yule) Generally, the Wheel legend begins with the son (sun) of the goddess born into the world on the Winter Solstice or Yule. This is the longest night of the year and from this night on, light returns to the earth with the lengthening of the daylight hours after the long dark of winter. So too, does the goddess in her aspect of the Enchantress of the Mystery return the Sun Child to be born to the world after her long sojourn in the underworld where she went seeking to bring life from death, light from darkness. The world celebrates this return as a promise of the light of life and growth to come. Whatever your tradition, the Yule sabbat is the perfect time to encourage the re-birth of those aspects in your life that you value the most. Just as the return of the sun heralds the lengthening of daylight and season of growth, so does this time in the wheel of the year signify an opportunity for self-growth, abundance, fertility, and above all, hope for the future. Indeed, many Yule Night celebrations last until dawn, when the first rays of the sun reveal a new day filled with fresh opportunities. As it is our goal to provide you with a working resource, you will find a link to a sample ritual for Yule on the left. We also believe that the only "right way" is the way that works best for you. This sample happens to be for a "solitary" ritual, and can and should be modified in any way that works for you. Take what you like, leave the rest.
Select here for Imbolc	Imbolc (Candlemas) The Wheel now turns to Candlemas or Imbolc which is said to mean "quickening" or "ewe's milk". Perhaps you have noticed how the very first buds and plants of spring seem to be struggling to get out into the sunshine from deep within the womb of the earth. Certainly lambs (and other babes) begin kicking to get out of their mothers' wombs in the springtime, and in the legend of the Wheel of the Year, the goddess awakes, no longer the Crone of Wisdom who descended into the mysteries of the underworld, but refreshed and renewed in her most youthful aspect as the Child of Spring. However you choose to acknowledge this turn of the wheel, you cannot help but feel the ancient impulse to prepare in readiness for the activity and growth promised by the approach of Spring. This celebration is a perfect time for dedication or rededication to to your own unique path through life and the restoration of alignment with tis particular turn of the wheel. This is a time most suited to reassessment, redirection, rededication, and self-blessing. As it is our goal to provide you with a working resource, you will find a link to a sample ritual for Imbolc on the left. We also believe that the only "right way" is the way that works best for you. This sample happens to be for a "solitary" ritual, and can and should be modified in any way that works for you. Take what you like, leave the rest.
Select here for Eostara	Vernal Equinox (Eostara) The Wheel turns again and with this turn comes the Vernal Equinox or Eostara. At this time the hours of daylight and night are balanced against each other. After this time, and until the Autumnal Equinox, daylight will have the ascendent influence. The goddess awakened from her deep winter slumbers and returned from the underworld, now wears the aspect of the Maiden of Spring and meets the young god, now the Youth of Spring, who was born into the world at Yule. Together, the coupling of masculine and feminine energies will plant the seeds of life and growth upon which all the continued survival of the world depends. Whatever your path, you will welcome the balance of the light against the dark as an indication that longer days, required for greater growth and productivity are soon on the way. The theme of renewal has not been lost throughout all the changes this world has seen and this is a traditional time for people, pagan and non-pagan alike, to look toward those things they would like to renew in their own lives and to nurture the things they would like to see grow stronger. As it is our goal to provide you with a working resource, you will find a link to a sample ritual for Eostara on the left. We also believe that the only "right way" is the way that works best for you. This sample happens to be for a "solitary" ritual, and can and should be modified in any way that works for you. Take what you like, leave the rest.
Select here for Beltane	Beltane (Mayday) Once more, the Wheel turns and now brings Beltane. This is one of the most important holiday observances in many pagan beliefs and may be seen as an unashamed celebration of the pleasures of life with a focus designed to highlight the physical joys of womanhood and manhood. The goddess and god, now the May Queen and her beloved Sun Prince (the sun child now grown to manhood) are wed. The seed of new life that they planted together at the Vernal Equinox is celebrated all through the night and the world revels in the joy of being alive. In keeping with this time, Beltane is a terrific opportunity to enrich any aspect of your life requiring fertilization or to celebrate those activities which encourage abundance. Of course, certain fertility celebrations are more satisfying when accompanied by a partner, but this need not limit your creativity or your enjoyment if it so happens that you are celebrating Beltane in a more solitary manner. However you choose to acknowledge this turn of the wheel, it's clear that this is a time to welcome the return of life's pleasures shared by all living things, and to share those pleasures most generously with one another. As it is our goal to provide you with a working resource, you will find a link to a sample ritual for Beltane on the left. We also believe that the only "right way" is the way that works best for you. This sample happens to be for a "solitary" ritual, and can and should be modified in any way that works for you. Take what you like, leave the rest.
Select here for Litha	Summer Solstice (Litha) The Wheel turns yet again to bring the Summer Solstice, or Litha. It is said that on this day, the longest day of the year, the veil between this world and the fairy world of magic is stretched thinnest and for this reason some believe that on midsummer night "all wishes are granted". On this day the god in his aspect as the Sun King is at his most powerful and at his side rules the goddess as the Summer Queen whose cauldron is filled with the bounty of the season of growth, ripe fruit and golden grain. In keeping with this time, Litha is a wonderful opportunity for taking stock of ones' own life, bringing forward those desires that you'd like to see to fruition, and also banishing or getting rid of those aspects that hamper or deter you from your goals. However you choose to acknowledge this turn of the wheel, it's evident in virtually every tradition, both pagan and non-pagan alike, that this is a time to gather, sing, dance, feast, and revel in the magic of life itself. As it is our goal to provide you with a working resource, you will find a link to a sample ritual for Litha on the left. We also believe that the only "right way" is the way that works best for you. This sample happens to be for a "solitary" ritual, and can and should be modified in any way that works for you. Take what you like, leave the rest.
Select here for Lammas	Lammas (The Feast of Bread) Once more the Wheel turns to bring Lammas, the first of three harvest holidays. Often known as the "Feast of Bread", this celebration brings the god in his aspect of the Harvest King along with the goddess, now full with child in her aspect of Mother (just as the fields and trees are full with ripening bounty) to the season of harvest. As the first blows are struck to bring in the harvest, so does the Harvest King begin to weaken, to wane, and eventually to sacrifice himself so that others will survive the dark infertile winter season. This is a sacrifice he makes willingly for the continued good of the land. However you choose to mark your celebration at this turn of the wheel, you will know this to be a time to harvest the peak of the season's bounty and preserve it against the hardship of the dark winter months to come. Whatever your path may be, this is a time most suited to those things which will ensure the survival of your community through charitable contributions, and other efforts intended for the betterment of your self and your neighbors. As it is our goal to provide you with a working resource, you will find a link to a sample ritual for Lammas on the left. We also believe that the only "right way" is the way that works best for you. This sample happens to be for a "solitary" ritual, and can and should be modified in any way that works for you. Take what you like, leave the rest.
Select here for Mabon	Autumnal Equinox (Mabon) The Wheel continues to turn and this time brings the Autumnal Equinox or Mabon, the second day of balance in the cycle of the seasons which matches light against darkness. From this point on, the hours of darkness will gain in length and influence heralding the inevitable death which must follow birth and growth. At this time the god and goddess in the aspects of the Autumn Sage and Wisdoms Crone prepare for the sacrifice which ensures continued renewal, birth and growth of the next season. The Autumn Sage sacrifices himself through the final harvest of the land he represents as he offers to carry the community's regrets and sorrows to the underworld with him, and the Crone mourns the loss of her consort, flowers wither, leaves fall, and darkness descends. Whatever your particular path, you will most likely, be aware of the significance of the balance between daylight and darkness as a warning of greater darkness to come. This then, is a most opportune time to balance those aspects of light and dark in your own life, releasing sorrows and regrets which no longer serve you and need not be carried into the next turn of the wheel. As it is our goal to provide you with a working resource, you will find a link to a sample ritual for Mabon on the left. We also believe that the only "right way" is the way that works best for you. This sample happens to be for a "solitary" ritual, and can and should be modified in any way that works for you. Take what you like, leave the rest.
Select here for Samhain	Samhain (Hallowe'en) Another turn of the Wheel brings Samhain or Hallowe'en. This is the dark twin of Beltane, the end of Autumn which is the final season of life and the beginning of Winter, the season of death. At this time the veil between this world and the mystery of death is stretched thin. Standing on the threshold between life and death, the goddess, in her aspect of Dark Enchantress, the keeper of the mysteries of birth, life, death, and rebirth looks back at the year that has "died" and forward to the ultimate mystery of renewal which the next turn of the Wheel will bring as it rolls back around to Yule. She prepares to descend into the mystery of this darkness herself still carrying the child that will become the sun child of the next season. The theme of entry into the mystery of the otherworld is much celebrated at this time of the year and whatever your path or belief, you will find it most natural to incorporate the themes of the mystery of the endless cycle of birth, growth, life, decline, death, and rebirth. Many will use the magic and mystery of this time to divine their needs for the future and determine which preparations will best meet these needs. As it is our goal to provide you with a working resource, you will find a link to a sample ritual for Samhain on the left. We also believe that the only "right way" is the way that works best for you. This sample happens to be for a "solitary" ritual, and can and should be modified in any way that works for you. Take what you like, leave the rest.