Exploring the Eight Sabbats in the Witches Wheel of the Year 2023

The Witches' Wheel of the Year is a significant aspect of the Wiccan and pagan traditions. It revolves around the eight Sabbats, which are seasonal festivals celebrating the solstices, equinoxes, and points in between. These celebrations are based on the natural rhythms of the Earth and the changing seasons. Each Sabbat represents a unique energy and offers an opportunity for spiritual reflection and connection with nature. In 2023, the Witches' Wheel of the Year will follow its usual cycle. The year will commence with Imbolc on February 2nd, marking the beginning of spring and the return of light after the long winter.

Winter solstice illumination of the main altar tabernacle of the Spanish Royal Presidio Chapel, Santa Barbara, Calif. Rubén G. Mendoza , CC BY-ND

They are based on beliefs in invisible deities and on mystical experiences that can t be explained by one person to another but must be experienced for oneself. Certain Wiccan claims had seemed plausible, not to mention appealing my sister s high school uses a textbook that teaches this myth of a prehistoric woman-centered culture.

The year will commence with Imbolc on February 2nd, marking the beginning of spring and the return of light after the long winter. Imbolc is a time for purification, cleansing, and preparing for the growth of the upcoming season. Next comes Ostara, celebrated during the vernal equinox in late March.

Witches’ Brew at Winter Solstice

If, as linguists say, a language is just a dialect with an army, then a religion is just a madman’s fantasy that has failed to die out. Religions gain legitimacy by lasting, and by that measure Wicca is well on its way to being mainstream. Now 50 years old, the earth-centered faith (also known as paganism or witchcraft) has thousands of adherents and many more occasional dabblers in the United States and Europe. Dozens of new Wicca books are published every year. There are dozens of Wicca conferences and retreats. And solstice celebrations are now seen as normal in the United States—and in freethinking Unitarian churches, practically required.

But Wiccan teachings are for the most part a stew of demonstrably false historical claims. There’s no better time to examine this penchant for dissembling than at winter solstice on Dec. 21, which Wiccans say has been their holiday for thousands of years. For it’s just such unfounded claims to old age and continuous tradition that may keep Wicca from growing to be truly old. Wicca is not a unified movement; it comprises “good” witches who use spells and charms, feminist worshippers of a monotheistic Goddess, and earth-cultists who propound nature worship. But the many strands overlap. They’re gynocentric; they’re all concerned with nature; they all celebrate eight holidays, or “sabbats,” that include the equinoxes and the solstices. Adherents typically say that those eight holidays were celebrated by ancient Wiccans or pagans, primarily Celtics or Romans, whose traditions the contemporary Wiccans are carrying on. These seasonal festivals, they add, have been co-opted by Christians, who turned Samhain into Halloween and Yule into Christmas.

The rare Wiccan belief that pans out is that Christmas is an adaptation of a solstice celebration. We have no way of knowing when Jesus was born. Scholars generally agree that by the late fourth century his birthday was figured for Dec. 25, because that was already the day of the Roman feast of Sol Invictus (the “undefeatable sun”), a solstice holiday, as well as the time of Saturnalia, the festival for Saturn.

But in reaching for a usable past, Wiccans trumpet numerous other historical claims that are entirely without merit. The central claim that Wicca is descended from pre-Christian cultures and that it was driven underground by violent Christians was popularized by the writer Starhawk, whose 1979 book The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess is a foundational text for contemporary Wiccans. Starhawk based her teachings on the work of, among others, Marija Gimbutas, a UCLA anthropologist who in the 1970s and 1980s argued that in pre-Christian times there existed a unified, female-centered, Indo-European society that worshipped a Goddess.

Recent scholars, however, have shown that there was no prehistoric Goddess-centered matriarchy. They’ve also concluded that the Celts probably did not celebrate eight seasonal sabbats, and, alas, that contemporary Wicca was invented in the 1950s by Gerald Gardner, an English civil servant with a deep interest in the 19 th -century occult. One can read the brutal truth about all of these debunked theories in a fine article by Charlotte Allen in the Atlantic Monthly (available to subscribers only) and in The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory, a superb book by Cynthia Eller.

Wiccans heaped scorn on Eller, attacking her book as an unforgivable act of anti-Wiccan bigotry, even female self-loathing. By marshalling evidence against so much of the Wiccans’ claimed history, Eller was hitting a young religion where it hurts. Certain Wiccan claims had seemed plausible, not to mention appealing—my sister’s high school uses a textbook that teaches this myth of a prehistoric woman-centered culture. So, adherents had based their faith on what they considered a verifiable back story. Wiccans had believed, and built their faith around, shoddy feminist scholarship that had itself become an article of absolute belief. Faced with Eller, Wiccans could have taken an honestly religious position—”We have faith, Cynthia, and your facts can’t shake it.” Instead, they attacked her.

And therein lies the problem for Wiccans: Religions tend to succeed to the extent that they are not subject to tests of proof. They are based on beliefs in invisible deities and on mystical experiences that can’t be explained by one person to another but must be experienced for oneself. So, the more obscured by time or erosion a religion’s possible proofs are, the more freely the religion can succeed as a matter of faith. Mormonism could never flourish so long as Joseph Smith could be interrogated, face to face, about his visions. He needed to become a mythic—that is to say, long dead—figure. Jews should pray that we never find the Ark of the Covenant; the truth of a religious system should not be subjected to carbon-dating the tablets.

So long as Wiccans are hung up on whether Christmas is derived from old solstice rites (it is) or whether Christendom murdered 9 million alleged witches from the 14 th to the 18 th centuries (not even close), the religion will seem a little absurd. It’s one thing to have faith in things unseen; that’s human. It’s a whole other thing to have faith in an easily disproved historical conceit. There’s evidence that many Wiccans may be wising up. Starhawk has backed off her boldest assertions and now concedes that some part of her original historical matrix may not be true. The debatable notion that Hanukkah is also based on solstice celebrations has been floated but has not caught on, even among diehard Goddess worshippers. Both Starhawk and Carol Christ, another prominent Goddess evangelizer, told me they had no reason to believe the Hanukkah theory. Chastened by the attacks on their bad historiography, Wiccans are growing more likely to say that their faith is based on a love of Wiccan practices, rather than on particular historical claims. It’s a heartening development when religious belief isn’t dependent on the latest archaeological findings. Wiccans might no longer have to sacrifice intellectual rigor to get their spiritual sustenance.

The weeks leading up to the winter solstice can feel long as days grow shorter and temperatures drop. But it’s also traditionally been a time of renewal and celebration – little wonder that so many cultures mark major holidays just around this time.

It symbolizes the first day of spring and the balance between light and dark. It is customary to honor the fertility and new beginnings that come with this season. Beltane follows on May 1st, representing the peak of spring and the coming of summer. This Sabbat is associated with fertility, passion, and abundance. It is a time for celebrating the union of the divine feminine and masculine. Midsummer, or Litha, takes place on the summer solstice in June. As the longest day of the year, it signifies the height of the sun's power and the abundance of life. It is a time for honoring the element of fire, celebrating growth, and connecting with the natural world. Lammas, also known as Lughnasadh, is celebrated on August 1st and marks the beginning of the harvest season. It is a time for giving thanks for the abundance of the Earth and recognizing the cycles of life and death. Mabon, the autumnal equinox, takes place in late September. It is a time for honoring the balance between light and dark once again. Mabon is associated with the harvest, gratitude, and reflection on the diminishing daylight. Samhain, observed on October 31st, is one of the most well-known Sabbats. It represents the end of the harvest and the beginning of the dark half of the year. Samhain is a time for honoring the ancestors, communicating with the spirit realm, and embracing the cycle of death and rebirth. Finally, Yule, also known as the winter solstice, is observed on or around December 21st. It symbolizes the rebirth of the Sun and the return of light after the longest night of the year. Yule is a time for celebrating new beginnings, setting intentions for the future, and embracing the winter season. In conclusion, the Witches' Wheel of the Year in 2023 will continue to provide opportunities for witches and pagans to connect with nature, celebrate the changing seasons, and engage in spiritual practices that honor the cycles of life, death, and rebirth. By aligning with the rhythms of the Earth, individuals can deepen their connection to the natural world and embrace the wisdom and magic that it offers..

Reviews for "Planning Your Witchcraft Practice with the Witches Wheel of the Year 2023"

1. Alice - 2 stars - I was really looking forward to using the Witches Wheel of the Year 2023, but I was disappointed with the overall content and organization. The book seemed to jump around from topic to topic without giving proper explanations or background. I also felt like some of the information was outdated or inaccurate. Overall, it didn't provide me with the guidance and knowledge I was hoping for and left me feeling frustrated.

2. Mark - 1 star - I have been practicing witchcraft for several years now, and I was excited to explore the Witches Wheel of the Year 2023. However, I found the content to be extremely basic and repetitive. It felt like I was reading generic information that I could have easily found on the internet for free. There was no depth or insight provided, and it didn't offer anything new or innovative. I was really disappointed with the lack of substance in this book.

3. Emily - 2 stars - As a beginner witch, I was hoping that the Witches Wheel of the Year 2023 would provide me with a comprehensive guide to celebrate each festival throughout the year. Unfortunately, this book fell short of my expectations. The rituals and spells provided were repetitive and lacking creativity. I was hoping for more guidance and inspiration, but instead, I found myself bored and unengaged. I would not recommend this book to anyone looking for a meaningful and insightful exploration of the Wheel of the Year.

Festivals and Rituals in the Witches Wheel of the Year 2023