The Witches’ Celebrations (And Your Strengthening Bond With Magick)

This section is based heavily on Wiccan beliefs, but if you practice some other Magick path, you can adapt some of the celebrations discussed here to your own versions, celebrating your own deities.

Esbats are celebrations of the moon and the Goddess energy, Sabbats are celebrations of the sun and the God energy.

Most people are familiar with the Lesser Sabbats, which are held on the Vernal (Ostara) and Autumnal (Mabon) Equinoxes, and the Summer (Midsummer) and Winter (Yule) Solstices.

Then there are the Greater Sabbats, held at Samhain (Halloween – October 31), Imbolc (Ground Hog’s Day – February 2), Beltane (The night before May Day – April 30), and Lughnassad (August 2).

The Sabbats are the main wiccan holidays – a time for celebration and ritual, but magickal casting is not usually done during the Sabbats except in the case of emergencies. The Sabbats are a time to relax and recharge your energies, while honoring the ones you connect to in order to use those energies. The Sabbats are purely a time of celebration and for holding rituals to honor deity. As opposed to man-made rituals that often coincide with the Sabbats, the witches’ holidays were specifically set up to follow the natural cycles of the Earth and the seasons.

Tuning into the energies available during the Sabbat celebrations are extremely important. First, it offers rest – and second, your energies “recharge” to prepare for the Magick work you do in the coming weeks after the Sabbat is over.

To give you a taste of a sabbat celebration, I will walk you through a simple version of the Midsummer Honoring.

A Simple Midsummer Honoring

Step 1:

Choose a bright sunny place outdoors. A grassy place is best, for comfort and connecting, but sitting on something like a bench is fine, too. Begin your meditation starting exercises to bring you to a place of inner power and peace.

Step 2:

When you are ready, cast your circle around yourself, visualizing it circling you and keeping you protected within its confines. See the glow of it closing around you, as you call in the Elements, the Guardians at the Gates, or however else you would normally cast your circle in the physical.

To get the examples please go here to get the wiccan holidays celebrations steps!