The Wheel of the Year is an annual cycle of seasonal festivals in contemporary Paganism. It consists primarily of eight festivals based around the solstices and equinoxes, known as the quarter days, and the midpoints between, known as the cross quarter days.
Within Paganism, many festivals are celebrated. They can vary considerably in name and date amongst specific traditions, however the eight festivals of the Wheel comprise the most adhered and important annual celebrations. They are a unifying feature of modern Paganism. The Wheel has been important to many people, both ancient and modern, and its festivals are based to varying degrees on folk tradition.
In the context of Witchcraft, the festivals have also commonly been referred to as sabbats /ˈsæbət/ since the Middle Ages, when the terminology for Jewish Shabbats was commingled with that of other heretical celebrations. See Witches' Sabbath.
Read more about Wheel Of The Year: The Festivals, Dates of Celebration, Origins
Famous quotes containing the words the year, wheel and/or year:
“‘Tis not to see the world
As from a height, with rapt prophetic eyes,
And heart profoundly stirred;
And weep, and feel the fullness of the past,
The years that are not more.”
—Matthew Arnold (1822–1888)
“The wheel and the brake have different duties, but also one in common: to hurt one another.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“Every New Year is the direct descendant, isn’t it, of a long line of proven criminals?”
—Ogden Nash (1902–1971)