Spring Equinox, Light of the Earth, Alban Eilir, Ostara
March 21
It's the time of equality of day and night, when the forces of the light are on the increase. At the centre of the trio of Spring Feasts, Alban Eilir marks the more recognizable beginnings of Spring, when the flowers are beginning to appear and when the sowing begins in earnest. As the point of psychological development in our lives it marks the time of late childhood to, say, 14 years.
We are in the Spring of our lives - the seeds that are planted in our childhood time of Imbolc and Alban Eilir will flower from the Beltane time of adolescence onwards as capacities and powers that will help us to negotiate our lives with skill and accomplishment.
Spring officially begins on this day. Birds nest and lay their eggs and symbolize for us the egg which has been within the goddess growing since Midwinter. The fairies and Nature Spirits join in the celebration so food and milk offerings are left outside for them. This is a time of Balance, Sexual Awakening and Fertility -- the planting of Spring flowers is an excellent sign of understanding.
Colors: All Pastels
Customs: Painting/Collecting Birds Eggs, Bird Watching, Egg Hunts
Symbols: Rabbit, Chicks, Swallows, Colored Eggs
Sacred Foods: Light Foods, Fish, Maple Sugar Candies, Eggs, Sweet Cakes and Breads
Herbs: Acorn, Cinquefoil, Dandelion, Dogwood, Lavender, Broom, Honeysuckle, Iris, Jasmine, Rose, Tansy
Summer Solstice, Light of the Shore, Alban Heruin, Litha
June 21-22
Light is at its maximum, and this is the time of the longest day. It is at this time that Druids hold their most complex ceremony. Starting at midnight on the eve of the Solstice, a vigil is held through the night - seated around the Solstice fire. The night is over in a matter of hours, and as light breaks, the Dawn Ceremony marks the time of the sun's rising on his most powerful day. At noon a further ceremony is held.
Offerings of flowers, feathers, or colored stones are made to water in remembrance of healing.
Colors: Green
Customs: Needfires, Fairy Hunting, Rites of Inspiration, Picking St. John's Wort, Wild Roses and Oak Blossoms, Circle Readings
Symbols: Oak leaves/acorns/wood, Sun Face, Leaping Flames
Sacred Foods: Fresh Vegetables, Light Breads, Cheese
Herbs: Chamomile, Chickweed, Chicory, Cinquefoil, Dogwood, Elder Flower, Fennel, Lavender, Male Fern, Meadowsweet,
Mistletoe, Mugwort, Pine, Rose, St. John's Wort, Vervain, Oak
Autumn Equinox, Light of the Water, Alban Elfed, Mabon
September 21
Mabon represents the second of the harvest festivals - this time marking the end of harvest-time, just as Lughnasadh marked its beginning. Again day and night are equally balanced as they were at the time of the Spring Equinox, but soon the nights will grow longer than the days and Winter will be with us. In the ceremony we give thanks for the fruits of the earth and for the goodness of the Mother Goddess.
It is a time for finishing the business of Summer. The Green Man is honored for his gifts and outdoor shrines for fairies and elementals can be made. This is the Last Season that Lugh will be with us, so it is a more solemn celebration. This is the time where the finest clothes are worn and the best dishes set out on the table. Music is played, stories are told, and toasts are made with new wine. The goddess joins us in her crone aspect as Ceridwen.
Colors: Orange, Russet, Maroon
Customs: Harvest Feast, Harvesting Crops, Wine Making, Fishing
Symbols: Grape Cluster/Vine, Corn Bundles, Fish, Cornucopia, Gourds
Sacred Foods: Red Wine, Wild Game, Vine Vegetables, Rich Breads and Cakes, Stews
Herbs: Acorns, Berries, Fern, Grains, Honeysuckle, Calendula, Myrrh, Passion Flower, Rose, Sage, Thistle, Vegetables, Mugwort, Iris
Winter Solstice, Light of Arthur, Alban Arthuan, Midwinter, Yule
December 21
Alban Arthuan is one of the happiest times of the year. This is the time of death and rebirth. The sun appears to be abandoning us completely as the longest night comes to us. The year is reborn and a new cycle begins, which will reach its peak at the time of the Midsummer Solstice, before returning again to the place of death-and-birth.
After the darkness of Samhaim, the spark is ignited and brings the awareness that all is not dead, but will soon start anew. The Festival begins at Sunset with the lighting of a great bonfire. Yule logs are gathered and decorated with the greenery of the season: holly, ivy, mistletoe and pine. The greenery is carried on into the home as a symbol of immortality. Poinsettias in deep red color symbolize the beauty of the goddess as she accepts the spark of the god and conceives the child who will be their son.
Cloves are stuck into Oranges symbolizing the union, and these wonderfully scented gems are hung in the home for their scent and for remembrance. A sprig of holly is placed on the altar or on the mantle and symbolizes good luck. Stalks of wheat are tied and stacked against the home to symbolize the seed that the goddess now carries within her. The seed within her will grow into the son for nourishment of our spirits, while the seed of the wheat will grow into bread for the nourishment of our bodies. A dinner feast is prepared for celebration and will include red meat, root vegetables, cakes and cider.
A tree is brought into the house and decorated with color and light and should remain lit until the Sunrise when it is appropriate to go outside and watch the Sun rise above the horizon while thinking of the union of the Dagda and Brigit.
Colors: Red, Green and White
Customs: Yule Logs, Christmas Trees, Holly & Ivy, Kissing Under Mistletoe, Need fire at Dawn Vigil, Bell Ringing
Symbols: Yule Tree, Pine Branches, Stag Horns, Reindeer, Mistletoe
Sacred Foods: White Wine, White Cakes, Bitter Herbs, Mints
Herbs: Ash, Bay, Blessed Thistle, Chamomile, Frankincense, Holly, Juniper, Mistletoe, Pine, Cedar, Sandalwood, and Mint.