Blessed Mabon, everyone! Tonight the sun crosses the equator, day and night stand nearly equal, and the year tips toward its dark half. It feels like a good moment to step back and look at the whole Wheel of the Year: the eight Sabbats witches celebrate, what each one means and how we mark them at the Church of The Eternal Circle.
What is the Wheel of the Year?
The Wheel of the Year is the cycle of eight seasonal festivals at the heart of Wiccan practice. Four of them are solar: the two solstices and the two equinoxes, when the sun reaches its turning points. The other four fall roughly halfway between, and they match the great fire festivals of the old Irish calendar: Samhain, Imbolc, Bealtaine and Lughnasadh.
Each of these festivals is old, but celebrating all eight together as a single wheel is a twentieth-century idea, worked out by Wiccans and Druids in England in the 1950s. Some of the names are newer still: Litha and Mabon were only given to their festivals in the 1970s. None of that makes the Wheel less meaningful. It is a way of paying attention to the year, and the seasons themselves haven't changed.
The Wheel also tells a story. The God is born at midwinter, grows with the strengthening sun, meets the Goddess in the green of spring, reaches his height at midsummer and gives his life with the harvest, while the Goddess turns from Maiden to Mother to Crone and back again. Different traditions tell it in different ways, and over time you will find your own way into it.
At the CEC we use the Welsh names for the festivals alongside the familiar ones, and we hold a teaching circle for each Sabbat, usually on a Friday evening close to the date. The dates below are for the Northern Hemisphere. The solstices and equinoxes shift by a day or so from year to year, so check our Wheel of the Year 2026 dates thread for this year's exact days.
The eight Sabbats
Samhain (Calan Gaeaf), October 31
Many witches count Samhain as the beginning of the new year. The harvest is in, the land goes quiet and the veil between the worlds is said to be at its thinnest. Above all, it is the festival of the beloved dead.
Simple ways to mark it: light a candle on your altar on the night of October 31 and speak aloud the names of those who have gone before you. Set a place for them at dinner, or spend the evening telling their stories.
At the CEC: we hold an Ancestors circle in mid-October, then celebrate Calan Gaeaf, the first day of winter in the Welsh calendar.
Yule (Alban Arthan), around December 21
The winter solstice is the longest night of the year and the rebirth of the sun. From here the days begin to lengthen again. Evergreens, the Yule log and candlelight all carry the same message: the light comes back.
Simple ways to mark it: bring evergreens indoors, sit up through the longest night with friends and a lamp lit, or get up early to watch the sunrise the next morning.
At the CEC: Alban Arthan is one of the best-loved circles of the year. It is also the circle where the summer light comes home, as we bring back crystals that were charged at midsummer. This is the season of the Mari Lwyd, too.
Imbolc (Gŵyl Fair), February 1 to 2
Imbolc marks the first stirrings of spring under the snow. It belongs to Brigid, goddess (and later saint) of poetry, healing and smithcraft, and keeper of the hearth fire. The name is often linked to ewes' milk, since lambing begins around this time.
Simple ways to mark it: weave a Brigid's cross from rushes or straw, give the house a thorough cleaning, light a candle for Brigid or start seeds on a sunny windowsill.
At the CEC: we call this circle Gŵyl Fair, the Welsh name for Candlemas. In our old circle schedules you will often see it written as Gwyl Mare.
Ostara (Alban Eilir), around March 20
At the spring equinox light and dark stand in balance, and the year turns toward growth. Eggs, hares and seeds are its symbols. The name Ostara was coined from Eostre, an Anglo-Saxon goddess whom the monk Bede mentions only briefly.
Simple ways to mark it: decorate eggs, plant seeds with an intention for each one, or take a walk and look for the first green shoots.
At the CEC: past Alban Eilir circles have included a meditation with the egg, a symbol of what we hope to hatch in the coming months. It was also on Ostara this year that we reopened the CEC Forums.
Beltane (Calan Mai), May 1
Beltane is the great festival of fertility, fire and life in full flood. In Ireland the Bealtaine fires were lit and cattle were driven between them for protection before going out to summer pasture. May Day brings the maypole, flower crowns and hawthorn blossom, and it is a favorite season for handfastings.
Simple ways to mark it: gather flowers, wash your face in the morning dew, share a meal outdoors or tie ribbons on a tree with a wish for the summer.
At the CEC: Calan Mai is the first day of summer in the Welsh calendar. When the weather allows, we take circle outside and dance the maypole.
Litha (Alban Hefin), around June 21
The summer solstice is the longest day, when the sun stands at the height of its power. From here the days slowly shorten. Midsummer has long been a time for gathering herbs, especially St John's wort, and for staying up to greet the sunrise.
Simple ways to mark it: watch the sunrise or the sunset, gather and dry herbs, or simply spend as much of the longest day outdoors as you can.
At the CEC: Alban Hefin is the circle where we capture the summer light in a crystal, to be carried through the dark months and brought back to circle at Alban Arthan.
Lughnasadh or Lammas (Gŵyl Awst), August 1
This is the first harvest. Lughnasadh honors the Irish god Lugh, who by legend held funeral games in memory of his foster mother Tailtiu, who died clearing the plains of Ireland for farming. Lammas, from the Old English for "loaf mass", is the English name for the day, when bread from the first grain was blessed.
Simple ways to mark it: bake bread and share it, make a corn dolly, or give thanks for what has come to fruit in your own life this year.
At the CEC: Gŵyl Awst is the Welsh feast of August. By now many of us are up to our elbows in our gardens, and the forums fill up with harvest talk.
Mabon (Alban Elfed), around September 22
The autumn equinox is the second harvest, of fruit and nuts. Light and dark are balanced again, but this time the dark is gaining. It is a festival of thanksgiving and of letting go. The name is borrowed from Mabon ap Modron, a figure of Welsh legend whose name means simply "son of the mother".
Simple ways to mark it: go apple picking (the Hudson Valley is generous at this time of year), write a list of what you are thankful for, or let go of something that no longer serves you, the way the trees let go of their leaves.
At the CEC: our Alban Elfed circle gives thanks for the harvest of the year and begins the turn toward Samhain and the ancestors.
Between the Sabbats
The Sabbats are the great festivals, but the Wheel has smaller turnings as well. Between them come the Esbats, the circles held at the full and new moons, when much of the teaching and working of the Craft happens. Many of our Esbats carry tree names as well as moon names, following the tree-month calendar that runs alongside the Wheel. You can read more about the tree lore and the Welsh names in our introduction, What Is Celtic Wicca? Beliefs and Practices.
Celebrating the Wheel yourself
You don't need a coven or an altar full of tools to celebrate the Wheel of the Year. Pay attention to what is happening outside your own door, mark each festival in some small way and write down what you notice. After a year or two you will find that the Sabbats have taken on their own meaning for you, rooted in the place where you live.
If you would like company, you are welcome to celebrate with us. Our Wiccan fellowship in New Paltz page explains who is welcome and what to expect, and the Our Circles page has the guidelines for joining a circle.
Blessed Mabon, and may your harvest be a good one.