11/6/2023 0 Comments Fall equinox meaning wiccan![]() ![]() In the foreground we can see the strange pattern in the bedrock of the place. In the background to the right is a lighted torch. To the left are some of the participants. The boulder is used as a “blóting stone” during the ceremony, and is thus receiving libations. These are placed in front of the boulder. The altar consists of three cult images of the three Norns (Urð, Verðandi, and Skuld, the Norse goddesses of Fate) and three lighted cressets on the ground. ![]() By pausing to reflect upon gratitude for what one had been given in a year, as well as what one had lost but still cherished in memory, one maintained balance. As in the ancient Egyptian civilization (and others), the Celts believed that ingratitude was a ‘gateway sin’ which then led a person into the darkness of bitterness, pride, resentment, and self-pity. These eight festivals are designed to draw one’s attention to what one has gained and lost in the cyclical turn of the year. The wheel includes the following holy days (most dates flexible year-to-year): The modern-day Wheel of the Year was first suggested by the scholar and mythologist Jacob Grimm (1785-1863 CE) in his 1835 CE work, Teutonic Mythology, and fixed in its present form in the 1950s and early ’60s CE by the Wicca movement. Although time in the modern world is usually regarded as linear, the cyclical nature of life continues to be recognized. The seasons changed, people died, but nothing was ever finally lost because everything returned again – in one way or another – in a repeating natural cycle. In the ancient Celtic culture, as in many of the past, time was seen as cyclical. Contrary to modern-day Wiccan claims, there is no evidence of an ancient Wheel of the Year in its present form but it is clear that the Celts of thousands of years ago celebrated the festivals the wheel highlights, even if these celebrations were known by another name now long lost. ![]() The Wheel of the Year is a symbol of the eight Sabbats (religious festivals) of Neo-Paganism and the Wicca movement which includes four solar festivals (Winter Solstice, Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, Fall Equinox) and four seasonal festivals (celebrating or marking a significant seasonal change). Painted Wheel of the Year from the Museum of Witchcraft, Boscastle / Photo by Midnightblueowl, Wikimedia CommonsĬelts of thousands of years ago celebrated the festivals the wheel highlights. ![]()
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