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Author Topic: How Do You Refer to the Celebrations Within the Wheel of the Year?  (Read 8729 times)

CozyWitch

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For those of you who use the Wheel of the Year, how do you refer to the Celebrations within it?
 
I know the traditional Wiccan Wheel of the Year is as follows:
 
Samhain
Yule
Imbolc
Ostara
Beltane
Litha
Lammas/Lughnasadh
Mabon
 
I personally just use the Equinox/Solstice Celebrations and the Cross Quarters as follows:
 
Hallowmass (Samhain)
Wintermass (Winter Solstice)
Candlemass (Ostara)
Springmass (Spring Equinox)
Wortmass (Beltane)
Summermass (Summer Solstice)
Loafmass (Lammas)
Fallmass (Fall Equinox)
 
I began referring to them as "-mass" because they are feasts for me. That is how I made my connections with them. I know, I'm a weird one. But that's okay, I am fine with being weird.
« Last Edit: July 28, 2011, 10:37:20 am by CozyWitch »

Auress

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Re: How Do You Refer to the Celebrations Within the Wheel of the Year?
« Reply #1 on: July 28, 2011, 11:49:27 am »
Quote from: CozyWitch;8941
For those of you who use the Wheel of the Year, how do you refer to the Celebrations within it?
 
I know the traditional Wiccan Wheel of the Year is as follows:
 
Samhain
Yule
Imbolc
Ostara
Beltane
Litha
Lammas/Lughnasadh
Mabon
 
I personally just use the Equinox/Solstice Celebrations and the Cross Quarters as follows:
 
Hallowmass (Samhain)
Wintermass (Winter Solstice)
Candlemass (Ostara)
Springmass (Spring Equinox)
Wortmass (Beltane)
Summermass (Summer Solstice)
Loafmass (Lammas)
Fallmass (Fall Equinox)
 
I began referring to them as "-mass" because they are feasts for me. That is how I made my connections with them. I know, I'm a weird one. But that's okay, I am fine with being weird.


I really like your references to them. The wheel of the year celebrations are feasts for me as well. I've always had a lot of problems with the names and what I've called them has changed over the years.

All Hallow's (This is November 1 for me because IMO, Halloween is it's own holiday, now. I refer to it as Samhain here just so I don't confuse people.)
Yule(Up until last year. It was just Winter Solstice, last year.)
Imbolc(I don't like calling it that and never have, I've even skipped celebrating it because the name doesn't fit, for me.)
Vernal Equinox(I haven't called this Ostara for years.)
May Day(Haven't used Beltane for about 2 years.)
Summer Solstice
Lughnasadh and/or Lammas(But, your "Loafmass" really rings with me, here.)
Autumn Equinox (Like Imbolc, I'm highly uncomfortable with "Mabon")


I really like what you call them. Really, really. :D:

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Re: How Do You Refer to the Celebrations Within the Wheel of the Year?
« Reply #2 on: July 28, 2011, 01:16:56 pm »
Quote from: CozyWitch;8941
For those of you who use the Wheel of the Year, how do you refer to the Celebrations within it?

 
Really brief answer here, because I am in the middle of packing chaos, but my trad uses a cycle of Sabbats as a cycle of transformation, and because we largely don't honor Celtic deities, I've been wanting to get away from the deity names and Celtic names for Sabbats

My current list, which I'm still not entirely happy with (and will probably get more adjustment once I'm settled post-move) is designed to keep certain counter points between different parts of the year balanced.

All Hallows (October 31st)
Midwinter (winter solstice)
First Seeds (February 2nd)
Springtide (spring equinox)
All Joys (May 1st)
Midsummer (summer solstice)
First Fruits (August 2nd)
Harvest home (fall equinox)
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Re: How Do You Refer to the Celebrations Within the Wheel of the Year?
« Reply #3 on: July 28, 2011, 05:28:13 pm »
Quote from: CozyWitch;8941

Hallowmass (Samhain)
Wintermass (Winter Solstice)
Candlemass (Ostara)
Springmass (Spring Equinox)
Wortmass (Beltane)
Summermass (Summer Solstice)
Loafmass (Lammas)
Fallmass (Fall Equinox)

 
I really like your list! :)

I'm in the process of sort of figuring this out, actually. In my personal religion I'm finding less and less need to mark these holidays in anyway; sometimes I'll do something but by and large...they're not terribly important to me.

In ADF, however, they are pretty important. I've just chosen the Gaulish hearthculture, and the high days (Ivostoves) are as follows:

November Feast: Samonis
Winter Solstice: Devoriuros
February Feast: Usmolgos/Ambivolcos
Vernal Equinox: Dius Aratri
May Feast: Belotenes
Summer Solstice: Mediosamos
August Feast: Oinacos Lugous
Autumnal Equinox: Diocomrextios


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Nyktelios

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Re: How Do You Refer to the Celebrations Within the Wheel of the Year?
« Reply #4 on: July 28, 2011, 06:13:41 pm »
Quote from: CozyWitch;8941
For those of you who use the Wheel of the Year, how do you refer to the Celebrations within it?
 
I know the traditional Wiccan Wheel of the Year is as follows:
 
Samhain
Yule
Imbolc
Ostara
Beltane
Litha
Lammas/Lughnasadh
Mabon
 
I personally just use the Equinox/Solstice Celebrations and the Cross Quarters as follows:
 
Hallowmass (Samhain)
Wintermass (Winter Solstice)
Candlemass (Ostara)
Springmass (Spring Equinox)
Wortmass (Beltane)
Summermass (Summer Solstice)
Loafmass (Lammas)
Fallmass (Fall Equinox)
 
I began referring to them as "-mass" because they are feasts for me. That is how I made my connections with them. I know, I'm a weird one. But that's okay, I am fine with being weird.


My preferred names for them are pretty generic:
 
Hallowe'en/All Hallow's Eve
Winter Solstice
Candlemas
Spring Equinox
May Eve
Summer Solstice
August Eve
Autumn Equinox

CozyWitch

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Re: How Do You Refer to the Celebrations Within the Wheel of the Year?
« Reply #5 on: July 28, 2011, 09:07:12 pm »
Quote from: Vermillion;8951
I really like what you call them. Really, really. :D:

Vermillion and Morag, glad you both like what I refer to them as. It took a lot of studying and mixing and matching for me to feel comfortable with it. I can give you guys more in depth definitions in regard to them if you would like, later on.
 
You know Vermillion, if you want to use what I call them or parts of it (or anyone else for that matter) . . . feel free! I'm not a very greedy witch because I've always been taught if what you learn is valuable, teach it to others.

monsnoleedra

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Re: How Do You Refer to the Celebrations Within the Wheel of the Year?
« Reply #6 on: July 28, 2011, 09:35:49 pm »
Quote from: CozyWitch;8941
For those of you who use the Wheel of the Year, how do you refer to the Celebrations within it?...


After thinking this over I have to say I don't use any of them in a spiritual / religious capacity.  I don't work with Celtic or Germanic gods / goddesses so that removes the entire Wiccan wheel and those recognized names.

I acknowledge the celestial rotations but I don't persay mark the rotation by the equanox points.  If any thing on a celestial alignment its more along the line of the 13 moons of the lunar year.  Nor do I really pay much heed to retorgrade as there are always things in retrograde within the heavens and usually more than one at a time even though every one likes to point out Mercury being retrograde.

For the pantheon's I work with the Wiccan wheel simply does not work.  The Egyptian year was built around three quarters not four.  To a large extend even the Greek year is built about 3 quarters when you consider the growing seasons there.

I also tend to not recognize the Wiccan wheel outside of high Northern & Low Southern regions as it is a failure on a global scale.  The very fact it does not apply nor hold truth about the equatorial regions is one reason Wicca is disputed to be a global religion and practice.

Nyktelios

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Re: How Do You Refer to the Celebrations Within the Wheel of the Year?
« Reply #7 on: July 28, 2011, 09:55:05 pm »
Quote from: monsnoleedra;9080
After thinking this over I have to say I don't use any of them in a spiritual / religious capacity.  I don't work with Celtic or Germanic gods / goddesses so that removes the entire Wiccan wheel and those recognized names.

 
I'm in a similar boat, as I follow the Greek pantheon with a few Egyptian deities,  nothing Celtic or Germanic whatsoever. That's why I use the generic English names for the holidays rather than Celtic or Germanic names for them.

I find that there is a lot of overlap among the cultures. The festival of Isis giving birth to Horus occurred around the winter solstice, as did the Rural Dionysia, which may have originally been a festival for his birth. The Eleusinian Mysteries were celebrated around the Autumn Equinox in Attica, although for that area it would have been the beginning of the cooler growing season after the hot, barren months, so it's more of a Spring festival. Around the spring equinox was the City Dionysia (although the Greeks used lunar calendars so these holidays weren't directly on the solstices/equinoxes), and the Panathenaia and Adonia happened around the summer solstice. The Lenaia occurred around Imbolc, so there's another overlap.

The reason I like the Wheel of the Year is that because, living in Canada, I relate better to holidays based on northern climates, even though the gods I follow are Mediterranean. I tend to reinterpret how the gods relate to the changing seasons based on my own environment rather than a foreign climate I'm not used to.

Also, for interest's sake, I don't remember where I read this, but I heard that Gerald Gardner was much more influenced by Mediterranean mystery cults, like those of Demeter and Persephone of Eleusis, Dionysos, and Isis and Osiris. It was actually Doreen Valiente who added the more Celtic aspects of Wicca, but originally its main influence was Mediterranean (Greek, Egyptian, Mesopotamian).

Micheál

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Re: How Do You Refer to the Celebrations Within the Wheel of the Year?
« Reply #8 on: July 29, 2011, 02:01:37 am »
Quote from: CozyWitch;8941
For those of you who use the Wheel of the Year, how do you refer to the Celebrations within it?
 

I do follow it being a Traditional Wiccan. Since we're of the Farrar line, and live in Ireland, we use the proper Irish titles. I also listed separately some of the Irish terms for the days known as the 'Lesser Sabbats,' as I'm also a Gaelic Traditionalist, and there is traditional Irish folklore behind them despite the fact many other Celtic pagans don't acknowledge them.  

Samahin
Yule(Meán Geimhridh)
Imbolg(Oímelg)
Spring Equinox(Cónocht an Earraigh)
Bealtaine
Midsummer(Grianstad an tSamhraidh)
Lughnasadh
Autumnal Equinox(Cónocht an Fhómhair)
Semper Fidelis

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Re: How Do You Refer to the Celebrations Within the Wheel of the Year?
« Reply #9 on: July 29, 2011, 07:59:01 am »
Quote from: CozyWitch;8941
For those of you who use the Wheel of the Year, how do you refer to the Celebrations within it?


Count me as another who likes your names.

Interestingly (since normally I'm a guy who's very into naming things), I don't feel a strong urge to have particular names for the Wheel of the Year holidays. Two of the cross-quarter days (Feb & Aug) I hardly notice, so that may have something to do with it.

The solstices, on the other hand, are huge with me, and I usually refer to them just as Winter Solstice and Summer Solstice...or when I'm feeling more poetic, "Longest Night" or "Night of Nights", and "Longest Day" or "Day of Days", respectively.

The rest are just Spring Equinox and Autumn Equinox, Halloween, and May Day.
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Melamphoros

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Re: How Do You Refer to the Celebrations Within the Wheel of the Year?
« Reply #10 on: July 29, 2011, 08:27:41 am »
Quote from: CozyWitch;8941
For those of you who use the Wheel of the Year, how do you refer to the Celebrations within it?
 

 
I am another that likes your names  for these particular days.

I only recognize two of the days for now (Samhain and the Winter Solstice) because there are aspects of those days that resonate with me.  And since I don't use a Wiccan framework nor am I heavily influenced by Celtic or Germanic Paganisms, I don't really feel the need to incorporate any of the others at the moment.

I call the Oct. 31/Nov. 1 day Samhain because I do have beliefs that are in line with the Ancient Celtic holiday (namely that the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest).  I tend to call the Winter Solstice (a sort of religious/spiritual new year's for me) either by that name or the Longest Night.  Now, however, I think I may start calling it "Wintermass."


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CozyWitch

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Re: How Do You Refer to the Celebrations Within the Wheel of the Year?
« Reply #11 on: July 29, 2011, 07:21:27 pm »
Quote from: Melamphoros;9210
I am another that likes your names  for these particular days.
 
Now, however, I think I may start calling it "Wintermass."

Wow. Who would've thought the ways I refer to the quarters and cross-quarters would be popular?
 
The biggest reason why I began referring to them as "-mass" is largely due to the fact that I don't work within a framework of Wiccan tradition or any specific pantheon. I celebrate those as feasts to celebrate the solar cycles.
 
Here's a bit more of a breakdown, bits and pieces from my Grimoire:
 
Hallowmass (Samhain) - Feast of Hallows
 
   This is the Feast in which all things are Sacred as the Veil becomes thin. Ancestors begin to return to join in the celebrations and magics. The ground in which the dead walk upon becomes Hallowed.

Wintermass (Winter Solstice) - Feast of Winter
 
   This is the feast in which Winter is welcomed into our lives with joy as we begin to see life wane, to allow ourselves to become more reflective and endure the dark. It is also the time in which things begin to be reborn after the Sacrifice. Night becomes longer than day.

Candlemass (Ostara) - Feast of Candles (Return of Light)
 
   Light begins to burst through the darkness and albeit beautiful it starts as small as a candle until its light fills up the room. Joy is returning as the darkness fades. The rebirth process is almost here.

Springmass (Spring Equinox) - Feast of Spring
 
   
This is the Feast of Spring in which its glory is welcomed once again after the endurance of the cold, dark Winter. Light has returned. Things are reborn. Magic is aloof. Celebrate and dance around the Maypole and partake in that which is sensual, good, and glorious.

Wortmass (Beltane) - Feast of Wortcunning
 
   A witch's brew begins to boil as herbs and oils are added to create a magical flow of power. Those who gain their knowledge in herbs during the dark of Winter can prepare themselves to reap and sow their own gardens. This is considered the first harvest. Mortal and pestle lie upon altars as powders, sachets, incense, etc. are being prepared.

Summermass (Summer Solstice) - Feast of Summer
 
   
Dance and be merry as fruitfulness has been multiplied. The heat of the Sun has returned and we may bask in it and be joyous. Light has come to its fullness and day is once again longer. Fervently do all that you must do for the dark of Winter is not too far away.

Loafmass (Lammas) - Feast of Feasts
 
   Raise your sickles and prepare your staffs. This is the time in which the final harvest is intiated before the cold of winter and all dies. The Sacrifice of Life begins. Death begins to knock at doorsteps and call out to those who have passed on.

Fallmass (Fall Equinox) - Feast of Fall
 
   The Sacrifice has been done on this day. Death has come as a welcome guest into the homes of many and into the coffins does he gather his beloved. They are being prepared to come in fullness when the Veil is thin to those who call for them and prepare to welcome them at the seats of their tables.
 
 
I'm sure that was common sense, but I wanted to break down so that maybe y'all can understand more why I call them what I call them.

Auress

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Re: How Do You Refer to the Celebrations Within the Wheel of the Year?
« Reply #12 on: July 30, 2011, 12:06:39 am »
Quote from: CozyWitch;9066

You know Vermillion, if you want to use what I call them or parts of it (or anyone else for that matter) . . . feel free! I'm not a very greedy witch because I've always been taught if what you learn is valuable, teach it to others.


Thank you! I might do that. I have taken to Googling a couple of them, turns out that there are people out there who use -mas but with 1 "s", also, but only for a couple of those same feasts. I've struggled for years with "mabon" and "imbolc" specifically, so calling them something along these lines would really help me connect to those times better, I think.

CozyWitch

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Re: How Do You Refer to the Celebrations Within the Wheel of the Year?
« Reply #13 on: July 30, 2011, 12:32:58 am »
Quote from: Vermillion;9378
Thank you! I might do that. I have taken to Googling a couple of them, turns out that there are people out there who use -mas but with 1 "s", also, but only for a couple of those same feasts. I've struggled for years with "mabon" and "imbolc" specifically, so calling them something along these lines would really help me connect to those times better, I think.

Glad to be of assistance! Yeah, I ended up using the extra "s" because it felt right for me.

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Re: How Do You Refer to the Celebrations Within the Wheel of the Year?
« Reply #14 on: July 30, 2011, 01:32:20 pm »
Quote from: CozyWitch;8941
For those of you who use the Wheel of the Year, how do you refer to the Celebrations within it?


Interestingly, a fellow Vanic-focused Pagan suggested this Heathen version of the Wheel of the Year (although, it should be noted that most Heathens view it as a Wiccan concept that isn't relevant to their tradition). The holytides are arranged thusly:

The Charming of the Plow/Disting (February)
Summer Finding/ Eostre (March)
Walburga/May Day (May)
Midsummer/Summer Solstice (June)
Freyfaxi/Thing’s Tide (August)
Harvest (September)
Winter Finding/Winter Nights (October)
Yuletide (Jul, Jól) (December)
 
Also note that technically we only have concrete evidence that a couple were celebrated, (I believe Yule, Winternights. and Midsummer are the ones) but as far as I know only the strict recons take issue with the rest, and maybe not even then.

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