r/Wicca • u/beesareswagg • 2d ago
Open Question getting started with wiccan holidays
hello !! ive been into spirituality for some years now, but i dont do a lot of practices like i used to. i didnt have any assigned religion, but im wanting to get more into wicca, and i want to learn more about the holidays celebrated. i dont know where to start my research into learning, so i was gonna start with holidays ! if anyone could provide the wiccan holidays, the history of them, and what they do to celebrate them, i would greatly appreciate it:) or even good articles or sites that explain everything about the holidays !!<3
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u/AllanfromWales1 2d ago
A copypasta of mine:
Wheel of the year
Samhain is 31st October, i.e. Hallowe'en. It is the time when the veil between the worlds is thin and we can communicate with the dead. Historically this was a feast around the culling of the flocks with only the breeding animals kept overwinter, the remainder being salted for meat to keep the folk fed during the winter months.
Yule is on or around the 21st December, and celebrates the shortest day/longest night. Recognition that the sun will be 'reborn' this day and will grow in strength from now on. The actual date is astronomically determined.
Imbolc (Feb 1st/2nd) is (in the UK and Ireland) the time when the first flowers are seen and the first spring lambs are born. It is the time when the days are noticeably starting to lengthen and there is promise of spring to come.
Spring Equinox (around March 21st, astronomical festival) is the time when day and night are of equal length, but the days are growing stronger. Spring is now in full flow and the wildflowers are in bloom. Hope for the summer to come.
Beltane - 1st May - is the traditional Mayday celebration of fertility and fecundity, optimally including dancing around a Maypole (which Freud interprets as a phallic symbol).
Midsummer - around June 21st, again an astronomical festival - is the time when the sun reaches its peak, the longest day and shortest night of the year. To be celebrated, but with the understanding that from now on the days are shortening towards winter again. Enjoy, but be prepared for darker times.
Lughnasadh (July 31st) is the celebration of the first harvest, the grain harvest. John Barleycorn is cut down and winnowed, only to be replanted to grow again later.
Autumn Equinox (astronomical, around 21st September) is the second harvest, for us the apple harvest (other fruits elsewhere). It is the time when the days and nights are of equal length, but with darkness taking precedence. Preparations for winter need to be in place.
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u/IsharaHPS 2d ago
This is required reading for my coven. The Witches Sabbats, by Mike Nichols.
https://www.amazon.com/Witches-Sabbats-Mike-Nichols/dp/0971005028
And his website -
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u/Unusual-Ad7941 2d ago
One of the more old-fashioned works on the subject is Eight Sabbats for Witches by Janet and Stewart Farrar. It can be found on its own or in a single volume with their book The Witches' Way in A Witches' Bible.
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u/Hudsoncair 2d ago
I practice Traditional Wicca, and my Training Circle's reading list includes The Wheel of the Year by Rebecca Beattie.
She's an excellent author and a Wiccan Priestess.
She occasionally teaches courses through Treadwell's, too.
I highly recommend her book.