Just like any religion, Wicca has it's own special days of worship. These holidays, or Sabbats as they are more commonly called, are usually related to the Sun God, but in no way means that you cannot honor the Goddess during these days. Here I will list the 8 sabbats, some of the other names they commonly go by, and a little information about each one.
NOTE: The sabbat information is taken from "To Ride a Silver Broomstick" by Silver Ravenwolf
Since this is a solar festival, it is celebrated by fire and the use of teh Yule Log. The colors of the season, red and green, are of original Pagan descent. The act of cutting and decorating the Yule Tree and exchanging giftss are also Pagan derivitives. Wreaths of holly and fancy cookies and breads are a part of our tradition as well. Food is prepared specially for the after-dinner Yule celebration when the tree is lighted and the Yule log is burned. A portion o fthe Yule log is saved to be used in lighting next year's log. This piece is kept throughout the year to protect the home.
Bayberry candles are also burned to ensure wealth and happieness throughout the following year. They can be placed on the dining table at sunset and burned until they go out by themselves. Anothe pair can be set upon the mantle and lit at the beginning of the Yule ceremony.
The reindeer stag is also a reminder of the horned God, so if you find yourself trying to choose a card for both Christian and pagan friends, choose a nature scene that includes the stag - an easy way not to offend anyone! You will find that many traditional Christmas cards have some type of Pagan ancestry or significance that can be added to your Yule holiday.
In October our (Silver's) family goes to a country market where we choose pumpkins for Samhain. We also purchase 3 ears of dried corm in different colors, each color representing a stage of the Goddess - Maiden, Matron, and Crone. The corn is stored in our magickal cabinet until Candlemas when the 3 ears are tied together with spring colored ribbons and used in the Candlemas ceremony. Hang the corn outside the house for wealth and protection until the day after the Fall Equinox, then bury it in the garden.
An easy way to remember Craft Holidays is to associate them with seasons. For instance, Candlemas, Ostara, and Beltane are the 3 Spring festivals. Candlemas welcomes the change from old to new. Ostara invites the fertility energy of the earth to awaken, and Beltane represents teh fertility and love energy awakening in humans. Count me stupid, but ti took me a while to figure out that six of the holidays were related in groups of 3.
Lavendar and white candles can be burned in honor of the holiday. This is a good time to work in the house, changing tablecloths adn curtains, room painting and wallpapering and fixing furniture.
Candlemas is one of those holidays that creeps up on you as you are finally breathing a sigh of relief from the steady roll of celebration from October through December.
the Candlemas Sabbat sabbat marks the time to welcome the spring. This festival is for fertility and to celebrate the things that are yet to be born, just barely waking under winter's cold shroud. This is also a good time to look over your magickal cabinet to determine what you are low an and what you may need for the coming months.
This is also the time to treat yourself to a new broom if you are a woman, and a staff if you are a man. Both must be ritually consecrated. The broom is used to sweep a magick circle clean and is given a name as you would name a familiar. A naming ceremony can also be included in your Ostara festivities.
Twisted bread and sweet cakes are prepared to be served at dusk - or better yet, prepare a family breakfast that coincides with sunrise on this day.
Ribbons of bright blue, lavender, warm pink, lemon yellow and white are nice representatives of the season, but the traditional colors are red and white, representing the blood that flows from the woman when her purityis taken. Pick a particular tree in your yard and adorn it with ribbons and bows. This particular holiday represents the Divine Union of the Lord and Lady.
House decorations on that day can include a large bowl of floating flowers and white floating candles. Baskets of fresh flowers picked moments before dawn can be hung on the front door, and the mantle can be laden with greens and flowers. Flower petals can be strewn about the circle and later swept into a pile and distributed around the perimeter of the house for protection.
Money tree plants can be harvested and strung above the mantle for monetary wealth, or tied in a bunch with green ribbon, provided there has been an early planting season. If not, wait until mid-July for harvest.
Midsummer Night's Eve is also a time to commune with field and forest sprites and faeries.
Bread is traditionally baked for this holiday, and the altar is decorated with the first fruits of garden labor. Canning goes into full swing, and magickal cabinets are stocked with herbs before the onset of fall. Herbs for magickal use should be harvested this day. You may wish to empower some of them in your ritual.
Most of the flowers are gone; however, there are still some varieties available. An altar decorated with pots of yellow and red cockscomb is truly arresting as the tassel of the plant resembles a flame.
This is also the time to prepare your house for the fall season by replacing curtains, tablecloths, rugs, etc.
Depending on when the leaves turn in your area, you may wish to parafin them and add them to your house decorations. Dip the leaves quickly in melted parafin, and put them on wax paper. When the leaves are dry you can put them in a huge, decorative jar with a sigil of protection carved lightly on some or all of the leaves.
Colors used for candles should be brown, orange, gold, or red. Altar cloths can be made of material with fall designs. River and stream stones gathered over the summer can be emmpowered for various purposes.
I'll not kid you, Halloween is my favorite sabbat. Celebrations to honor the dead are done at this ritual, along with speaking with those who have passed over; divination is heightened on this night.
It is said that on this night the veil between the worlds is weakest. Jack-o-lanterns, gourds, cider, and other fares of the season can be used in ritual and family celebration. Black candles are used to ward off negativity.
I start preparing for Samhain in Sept. I hand sew all the children's costumes and decorations to be hung about the house. I begin putting these decorations out faithfully on the first of Oct. There are Witches plastered all over the front and sides of my house, and windsocks I have made for protection depicting Halloween scenes. I hang a pentacle wreath above my wall altar decorated with ravens, little brooms, and orange feathers and ribbons.
Pots of large golden-yellow mums are placed about the house, and some of the rooms are repainted for the celebration if it is necessary.
I buy my new house broom now; it is always black. Close to Samhian, I tape a balloon on the top and stick teh proverbial Witch's hat atop, and set in on my front stoop. I give this Witch a name and ask her to protect the house during our community mischief night. I started this little ritual because one year I had a skeleton on my one and only favorite rocking chair on our stoop. He was covered in fake cobwebs and spiders, and lighted for the occasion. He really did look fine! Well - too fine, I suppose, because after mischief night not only was my skeleton missing, but so was my rocking chair!
At dinner on Samhain our family sets an empty place for those who have departed who were dear to us. Since that passing of another family member last year, we have begun to set a separate table for them as they were crowding out the hungry living tummies at the main table.