Wiccan Life

Lammas: The Wiccan Holiday

Lammas is an important Wiccan holiday which is also known as Lughnasadh. It marks the beginning of hot days in August, which is the time of the year when the earth is parched and dry. Moreover, the bright yellows and reds of harvest season are honored during the holiday. It occurs when the apples start to ripen, and all the vegetables of summer have already been picked. A vegetable commonly thought of during the holiday is corn. Corn is known for its green color and tall height. Lammas celebrates the harvesting season. It is when you reap what has been sown. Everyone gathers around the first harvests of oats, wheat, grain, and other vegetables. Lammas is either celebrated for the harvest season or to honor Lugh, who is an important pagan god. 

Celebration of Grain

Since the beginning of civilization, grain has played an essential part in society. The grain is associated with rebirth and death. Tammuz is a Sumerian god that had been slain during this time, and Ishtar was his lover who had grieved so much so that Nature stopped bearing fruit.
According to legend, it is believed that Tammuz had been mounted by Ishtar and brought to the Underworld for rebirth. As for Greek Legend, Adonis is the grain god. Persephone and Aphrodite are the two goddesses that had fought to gain his love. To put an end to the fighting, Zeus had to order Adonis to spend the rest of his life with Aphrodite after he had spent about six months with Persephone. Continue reading

Litha: The Summer Solstice

Litha is a recognition of the Summer Solstice. It is the day of the year that experiences the shortest night and the longest day. Litha is the pinnacle of the power of the sun and is considered to mark the growing season. It is from this day onward that the sun will start to set a little earlier every night until it is Yule. Hence, Litha is celebrated to give thanks for warmth.

Just like the Winter Solstice, the Summer Solstice cannot be precisely determined as the day varies each year. However, generally, Litha is celebrated on the 21st of June. The reason why the exact date is not perceived is because of the misalignment among the actual rate at which the Earth rotates around the sun and the Gregorian calendar. Moreover, Litha is celebrated at different times, depending on where one lives. It is celebrated anywhere in the range of 20th – 22nd of June. Continue reading

Everything You Need To Know About the Wiccan Holiday Beltane

Beltane means fire of Bel, who is considered a Celtic deity. The Wiccan holiday celebrates the arrival of summer. Beltane is a special fire festival celebrated for the coming of fertility in the land. Tied with the community’s needs just like other Celtic festivals, Beltane is a festival that marks spring and welcomes the farming season. Families and followers of the pagan religion come together in hopes of a fruitful year.
Some of the Beltane rituals include courting where the youth collect blossoms and light fires during the evening. The rituals lead to marriages to be conducted in the coming season or even immediately. As the holiday marks fertility, marriage is often encouraged. Fire plays an essential part in the festival as it is thought to increase fertility, purify, and cleanse. Cattles pass between two fires. The smoke from the fire is believed to ensure that fertility.
Beltane is the time when pagans believe that the God achieves maturity and strength to become the lover of the Goddess. Fertility plays an integral role in the holiday, and pagans strive to highlight fertility through different ceremonies and rituals. There are many traditions that associate fire with the celebration. It helps purify and revitalize. By leaping over the fire, it is believed that the fertility of the spirit, body, and mind, as well as happiness and good fortune, can be achieved. Beltane is considered to be the most sexual festival. However, pagans barely have sex during the rituals, even though most of the rituals imply fertility and sex. There is sexual imagery involved in the dancing tradition, and many pagans still follow it. Continue reading

Imbolc

Imbolc is the launch of Spring and the return of the Sun. It is the celebration festival of the end of winter, the dawn of the agricultural season and the approaching light half of the year. Continue reading

Moon Magick in Wicca

It is said the Moon to have a very significant role in performing magick for the Wiccans or even witchcraft and Paganism. Wiccans use the Moon’s magick to honor and please the Goddess on the Esbats.

The Moon has constantly played a very vital role in myths, legends and magickal mysteries of the world. Along with the sun, the Moon has also been thought of as a God and was worshipped as well. Mythically, the Moon is viewed to be associated with time, death, rebirth, love, passion, mystery and the Afterlife.

The Power of the Moon

Many people know of the energy that the Earth has on it. It receives energy from the sun as well. But, many Wiccans and scientists, in fact, believe that the Moon is also its own source of energy. While the sun has a sort of masculine type of energy, the Moon has more of a soft and feminine feel to its energy. Wiccans often describe it as the energy of the Goddess. Some people tend to feel a tug or a kind of magnetic pull towards the Moon. Most sensitive people are drawn to the Moon during a Full Moon as if someone is literally pushing them towards the Moon. Some people tend to get emotionally and physically heightened senses during the Full Moon. Continue reading