The Wheel of the Year: Living with Nature

The Wheel of the Year

Learning more about the Wheel of the year will not only help you feel more in-tune with nature, but it will give you rituals to use year-round to connect with yourself and Mother Earth.

The Wheel of the Year is celebrated by many spiritual seekers all over the world, including pagans, Wiccans, witches of all kinds, and also nature-lovers who do not follow a specific spiritual tradition.  You don’t have to identify with any of these in order to develop a practice which aligns with the festivals, seasons or sabbats.

Put simply, it celebrates the turning of the seasons, using ritual, ceremony,  and festivals.

It includes four solar festivals (Winter Solstice, Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, Fall /Autumnal Equinox) and four seasonal festivals (celebrating or marking a significant seasonal change). The dates for these celebration days are different in the northern and southern hemispheres, for example the Winter Solstice Yule time is 20-22 December, which also marks the Summer Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere.

Where did the Wheel originate?

The Wheel of the year is rooted in several cultures and combines festivals from Romans, ancient Greeks, Germanic cultures of northern Europe, and the Celts. It’s for this reason that you’ll see a variety of names for some of the festivals and differing dates. For example, Lughnasadh also goes by Lammas or Lughnasa, and Litha also goes by Midsummer.

The full Wheel of eight festivals is a relatively new creation that came about in the 1950s, as a means to align the celebrations around the globe.

How to celebrate the Wheel of the Year

Learning to implement the Wheel of the Year can feel overwhelming, but the way that you work with it can be as simple or complex as you want it to be. There are countless ways to celebrate each celebration on the Wheel of the Year, at each seasonal change, equinox, solstice or mid point. A great way to look at this is that there are 8 quarters to the year, each has a spiritual, solar and seasonal significance.

We will explore further, some of the festivals associated with the Wheel  of the Year  in our Nest Community Membership – you can join The Nest and to learn how you may bring to life, through practices and understanding, a more connected and centered life cycling with nature and ancient traditions. Including the spiritual significance of Halloween.

Wild Love

Nic

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