The Druids have eight markers, which means that every six weeks or so, we have the opportunity to step out of the humdrum of daily life, to honor the conjunction of Place and Time.
At the heart of Druidism lies a love of Nature and of her changing faces as the seasons turn. Eight times a year, once every six weeks or so, Druids participate in a celebration that expresses this love. These seasonal festivals usually are large public events with hundreds of adults and children gathering at sacred groves.
These eight seasonal festivals consist of the solstices and equinoxes - four moments during the year which are dictated by the relationship between the Earth and Sun and the four cross-quarter' festivals which are not determined astronomically, but are related to the traditional pastoral calendar.
At the Solstices, the Sun is revered at the point of its apparent death at midwinter - and of its maximum power at the noon of the year when the days are longest. At the Equinoxes, day and night are balanced.
The summer and winter solstices are celebrated when the sun is nearest and furthest from the Earth respectively. The summer solstice occurs on the longest day of the year, usually the 21st or 22nd June. The winter solstice occurs on the shortest day of the year, usually the 21st or 22nd December. The equinoxes occur when day and night are equal. At the Spring Equinox, the power of the sun is on the increase, and we celebrate the time of sowing and of preparation for the gifts of Summer. The spring equinox usually occurs on the 21st or 22nd March. The autumn equinox usually occurs on the 21st or 22nd September and although day and night are of equal duration, the power of the sun is on the wane, and we give thanks for the gifts of the harvest and prepare for the darkness of Winter.
The other four festivals are also related to the seasons, but they have evolved from traditional festival times linked to farming practices. At Samhaim, between October 31st and November 2nd, livestock for whom there was insufficient fodder were slaughtered and their meat salted and stored. At Imbolc, on February 1st, the lambs were born. At Beltane, on May 1st, it was the time of mating and of the passing of the livestock through the two Beltane fires for purification. Lughnasadh, on August 1st, was the time which marked the link between the agricultural and the livestock cycle - the harvest began and both human food and animal fodder were reaped and stored.
Of these eight times, four are solar and four are lunar - creating thereby a balanced scheme of interlocking masculine and feminine observances.
~Supply