Recently, I've been really drawn to learning more about the rituals and traditions historically practiced in the places where I come from - the Celtic nations. As I uncover more and more, I'm loving the deep nature connection that people used to practice as part of their spiritual and practical lives.
A simple starting point is looking at the eight Celtic festivals which make up the 'wheel of the year' - ever cycling round and marking the passage of time. These ritual celebrations allow for moments of pause and reflection with self, community and the 'bigger picture'.
Many people these days live in a pattern that is very linear; forever moving forwards and expecting things to be always the same and always progressing. But this isn't really in our nature, we need fluctuations of activity and rest, light and shade. This is how we used to thrive, and it's a philosophy that's gaining popularity again as more and more people are recognising the inherent cyclical nature of everything that lives!
By honouring the natural rhythm of light and shade, these eight festivals can be thought of as naturally occuring check-in points in the year, where we can tune in and feel whether we're on the right track or whether we might be pushing against the grain.
Some might be more familiar than others, as they have in some cases woven themselves into the fabric of 'mainstream' popular culture - perhaps most famously the dive into 'shadow' that we all recognise at the end of this month!
SAMHAIN (October 31st)
One of the main predecessors of the popularised modern Halloween, Samhain holds the feeling of diving into and embracing the darkness. All the flurry and light of production and harvest is truly over and it's time to retreat inwards and hunker down.
This festival is also described as the time when the 'veil is thinnest' and there's more space and opportunity to connect with ancestors and spirits. The guides have been with us throughout the busier months of the year, but we now perhaps have more time to connect with and show gratitude towards them.
I picture it as a time to go deep within, but also connect upwards! It's a very reflective moment in the year, and one where the pace of life truly slows down. Fire is an important element of this festival, too.
YULE (December 20-22nd)
Also known as Midwinter, or Winter Solstice, Yule marks the shortest daylight hours we experience in the whole year. It often comes on the 21st December, but there can be some variability because of the way we round down to 365 days in our calendar year (and the Earth's orbit actually takes more like 365.2!)
Although some modern associations can be a bit negative and depressing 'shortest day, dark, dark dark...' the Celtic festival is traditionally a celebration of a return of the light! Candles are lit to celebrate the increasing hours of daylight that begin on the solstice.
It's also a traditional time to make a wreath - foraging from the evergreen nature that is still available for us even in the depths of winter. The circular shape reflects the wheel of the year and ongoing cycles of dark and light.
IMBOLC / CANDLEMAS (February 2)
Also known as Candlemas, this moment between midwinter and the spring equinox is a festival of purification, light and and new beginnings. In nature, it's when the earliest signs of growth are starting to happen, even though we can't see them yet. The word ‘Imbolc’ is thought to mean "ewe’s milk" or "in the belly", symbolising deep and hidden gestation.
There is an innocence to this time of year, linked with the Irish goddess Brigid in her 'Maiden aspect'. It's a time for early spring cleaning and getting mind, body, environment and intentions fresh for the start of the 'growth' section of the year...
I like to imagine it like the feeling of blowing the cobwebs away during a windswept walk on the Cornish cliffs!
Imbolc is traditionally a Fire festival, but elements of Air and Water are amazing for clearing out old energy once the fire has burned what it not needed away...
In this newly created space, it's a poignant time for setting intentions.
OSTARA (March 20-23)
Ostara falls on the Spring equinox where hours of light and dark are equal and balanced once again. The new beginnings from intentions set at Imbolc are starting to take shape and the new growth and fertility energy is about to bloom into action!
The timing and name are both linked with Easter, which is always held on the Sunday after the first full moon following the Spring equinox. Both are inspired by the fertility goddess Eostre, a Germanic deity associated with rebirth, and often pictured with the hare, and the egg!
To 'wake up' the energy of the new growing year, rituals include decorating, dancing and singing - an outward celebration and time of abundance and play.
BELTANE (May 1)
Another level of vibrant, joyful spring celebration which is also described as a time for lust, passion, fire, and abundance! At the start of May you can feel the energy of the year building towards its ultimate peak at the Summer Solstice, and this really is a time for getting into the swing of things and making headway!
I love imaging Beltane as a time for zest and enthusiasm for life, whether this is literally new life or the birth of a new project, idea, relationship or dream...
It's a time of possibility, busy activity and playfulness to inspire the Summer ahead. Very airy, light energy here!
LITHA (June 20-22)
Midsummer, the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. Rising up as the peak of energy and abundance, this is a day of outward celebration, gathering and worshipping the sun and the light. It's also a time of being busy, with often not much space for rest (those nights are very short, after all!)
This day is also seen as the tipping point from production and growth into harvesting and gathering. Healing herbs are said to be at their most powerful and potent when gathered on the solstice, so this is another ritualistic tradition for Midsummer. Incredibly, many plants also know when the longest day has passed and begin to move into their different life phases too - this is scientifically known as 'Photoperiodic Flowering' (knowing the periods of light).
Although solstice is still very much a busy time of year, the energy changes to gathering and drawing in rather than planting and 'sending out'. Perhaps a slight shift from 'Air' to 'Earth'...
I always notice that after the solstice I need to bring a grounding practice back into my life, landing again after all the 'high' outward energy earlier in the season.
LAMMAS (August 1)
This is the festival I find most jarring with our mainstream culture, because in the UK our traditional 'summer holidays' put August as the peak of summer. Traditionally though, Lammas is actually the first sign of harvest and time for many plants to finish this year's flourish. You notice seedheads starting to form in the wildflower hedgerows, and it makes sense that some Irish texts even refer to Lammas as the beginning of Autumn.
There is a strong theme of wheat harvest (one of the earliest crops) associated with this festival too; ritualistic baking of bread and sharing with your community. It's the start of the winding down, but with a sense that there is still much gathering to do before it's time to stop and relax! Gratitude comes through strongly at Lammas, thanking nature for another productive year.
MABON (September 20-22)
The Autumn Equinox (equal length of day and night) is a time of thanksgiving and celebration for the second harvest. I feel like it's a very grounding, earthy time of year where we really root into nature and the way she has held us so far.
Thematically similar rituals across other traditions are the Harvest Festival and the North American Thanksgiving, where offerings are made by in communities, and it's a time of coming together in gratitude.
It's also a time for preserving and protecting - on a practical level with our food and resources, but also energetically. The equalising of daylight hours helps us with a return to balance - noticing the need to rebalance our energy and re-calibrate before going inwards for Samhain and then the Winter.
Marking The Festivals
I'm going to be holding a series of women's circles in time with the Celtic Festival, giving us a chance to connect with each other and the transitions of nature. I'll be sharing the details (once finalised) on my email list which you can sign up to below if you'd like to come! I hope you can join us and share your own wisdom and reflections at each of these marking points as we move through them together.
Emily xx