Wheel of the Year and Lunar Cycles

The Wheel of the Year

The term "Wheel of the Year" refers to the repeating cycle of eight holidays that make up the Pagan year.  The Wheel symbolically follows the cycle of life from rebirth to childhood, through youth, adulthood and parenthood, into old age and finally ending with death.  However, Pagans don't see death as the end.  This is why the year is symbolized by a wheel.  Life is seen as a constantly rotating cycle.  Death may be the ending of one life, but it is also the beginning of another. 

Below, you will find brief descriptions of the eight Pagan Holidays.  Beneath that, you will find an explanation of the Lunar Cycles.

Winter Solstice, or Yule (around Dec. 20), celebrates the renewal of the earth and the rebirth of the Sun God.  As this has much to do with the beginning of the symbolic life cycle of the Sun, this is a good place to begin.  The rebirth of the sun is symbolic of the return of all life through the love of the Gods.

Imbolc, Candlemas (Feb. 2), celebrates the awakening of nature.  We begin to emerge from the dark of the winter and the power of the sun is just starting to grow.  In ancient times, the herd animals would usually give birth around this time and milk was in good supply.  In fact, the origin of the word “Imbolc” is the word “oimelch” which means “ewe’s milk.”  This is the time when we “sow the seeds” of what we wish to manifest in the coming year.

Spring Equinox (around March 20), also Ostara or Eostara, is when the light and life of the coming year are equal to the darkness and death of winter.  The seeds that were sown at Imbolc are beginning to show the first signs of manifestation.  Nature is wide awake and ready to play!

Beltane, or May Day (May 1), is when the powers of light and life are coming into fullness.  The seeds have sprouted and the plants are beginning to flower.  Beltane is a celebration of the union of the Goddess and the God and much of the celebrations have to do with mating and fertility.  Typically, the Great Rite is performed at Beltane (either actually or symbolically).  Dancing the May Pole is an obvious symbolic enactment of the union of the masculine and feminine in nature.

Summer Solstice, also Litha (around June 20), is the peak of the Sun God’s power in his light aspect – He is crowned “Lord or Light” and there is much cause for celebration.  The flowers of Beltane are now the ripening fruits and grain that will soon be harvested.  This is also traditionally when hay is made.

Lammas, or Lughnassad (Aug. 1), is the first of the harvest celebrations.  This is the time of the first grain harvest.  Traditionally, there would be a feast of foods made from the first grains to be harvested.  We may now finally begin to reap the fruits of the seeds sown in the spring.  The Sun God has been slain and his blood nurtures the earth as he makes his way to land of the dead.

The Fall Equinox, also Mabon (around Sept. 20), is the second harvest celebration.  This is the second grain harvest and the time when fruits, such as grapes and apples are harvested.  It is also the time to harvest honey.  Consequently, it is often called the “Wine Harvest.”  Celebrations are often accompanied by the consumption of wine and mead.  It is time for us to reap the rest of what we have sown.  It is also a time to honor our elders and the approach of winter.

Samhain (Oct. 31) rounds out the year.  The old Sun God has found his way to the land of the dead and has taken his rightful place on the throne.  He is now the “Lord of the Wild Hunt.”  This is the time for us to celebrate the connection between life and death.  We honor those who have passed on and acknowledge the mystery of death.

And the Wheel turns and the Cycle repeats…again and again and again.

In more simplified terms, the Wheel of the Year can be seen as a model of human existence – At Solstice, we are born; at Imbolc, we are infants, just becoming aware; at Ostara, we are children at play; Beltane comes when we are coming into our own as developing youths; at the Summer Solstice, we have finally reached fulfillment as adults; as Lammas comes, we are parents and we are beginning to age; at Mabon, we become elders; finally, Samhain arrives and death takes us, that we may begin again.
 

Lunar Cycles

By this point, it is probably very clear that following the cycles of nature is a very important part of being a Pagan.  As we follow the cycle of the Sun and the seasons it controls throughout the year, we also follow the monthly cycles of the moon.  Contrary to the modern calendar year, the actual lunar year is composed of thirteen cycles.  For this reason, there is typically one month during the year where there are two Full Moons.  The second Full Moon in any given month is traditionally referred to as a "Blue Moon."

What follows are brief descriptions of each phase of the lunar cycle.  You may notice that, rather than listing them by "quarters," they are listed as "waxing" (becoming full) and "waning" (becoming less than full).  This is because works requiring the energies of the "waxing" or "waning" moon may be done during the entire cycle, rather than just on the actual quarter dates.  Some Pagans do celebrate each quarter in some way.  These celebration are traditionally done on the exact quarter dates.

New Moon/Dark of the Moon – This is a time of beginnings. A time of renewal and rejuvenation.  This is a good time to rejuvenate your personal energies or to work on self improvement.  It is also a good time to begin any new endeavor.
 

Waxing Moon – This is a time of growth and becoming.  This is a good time to work on motivation, inspiration or encouragement of any kind.

 

Full Moon – This is a time of fulfillment, fertility and completion.  The energies of the moon are now at their zenith.  This is a good time to work on divination, to charge divinatory tools and to perform any form of magic that requires an intense amount of emotional energy – particularly those dealing with love, romance or fertility.

Waning Moon – This is a time of tearing down and a time of removal.  This is a good time to work on ridding yourself of destructive patterns, such as bad habits and addictions.  Also, if you needed to end a relationship or a partnership, this would be the ideal time.