The Wheel of the Year

Holidays are a big deal for most people. It’s a time to get together with family and friends. It’s a time for revelry and feasting and comradery. Some holidays commemorate national events, and some have religious roots. For me, holidays acknowledge the cycles of the seasons.

            Prior to industrialization, humans were an agricultural people. Their lives were driven by planting and caring for crops and harvesting and storing foods for the cold days. Although we no longer have to grow all our own, we still rely on farmers to supply us with our food, and farmers still follow the cycle of the seasons.

            My spirituality is also still focused on the changing of the seasons, the turning of the wheel of the year. Even though my day-to-day life is not driven by actual planting and harvesting, my spiritual life is driven by it. When I live without conscious connection to the Earth, I create stress and disharmony for myself and for all life on this planet.

            There is something inherently human about recognizing the seasons of the Earth – an instinct in our genetic make-up that responds to the changing temperature and darkening days. The pull of Mother Earth is strong. We are of the Earth, not separate from her. Her rhythms are our rhythms, and all nourishment and strength comes from Mother Earth. It feels natural to me to take the time to recognize and show respect for that which sustains us.

            The Wheel of the Year begins at Samhain on October 31^st – when the last of the crops have been harvested, and the fields have been readied for the cold dark days. All the work for the year has been completed, and we can direct our energies to focusing on the upcoming year’s tasks.

            As the wheel of the year turns, each subsequent holiday – or Sabbat as they are called – brings a new phase of the changing seasons. The celebration of the return of longer days and the light on Yule (Winter Solstice) or the spring festival of Beltaine to insure the fertility of the animals and the earth for the upcoming planting time. Each has a poignant meaning for the earth and all her creatures – including humans.

By observing the eight sacred holidays or festivals which mark the Wheel of the Year, we can begin to tune deeply to this foundational cycle and learn to work with rather than against the natural currents of life on Mother Earth. For me personally, it is a way to step apart from the mundane or stressful day-to-day. It is a time for tranquil reflection or raucous rejoicings or simply honoring our Mother Earth.