The Sabbats!

Welcome to the Sabbat Page!
With every new religion comes new holidays to learn and celebrate. Holidays are one of the most important aspects of any religion representing the celebrations of key spiritual aspects. Wicca is certainly no different. Wiccans celebrate either twenty or thirty two separate holidays. Standard holidays include the eight solar sabbats and the twelve full moon esbats. Some Wiccans choose to celebrate the additional twelve new moon esbats bringing the total to thirty two.
I know what you are thinking. How can I possibly remember thirty two holidays when I can't even remember my husband or wife's birthday. Well, trust me, it isn't as hard as it seems. Twenty four holidays fall on the full and new moons and the remaining eight fall very near to traditional Americanized holidays.
Many of the holidays we perceive to be traditional are actually Pagan in origin. Halloween, Groundhog's Day, Christmas and Easter were actually Pagan holidays before they became Christian or Americanized. During the early part of the Christianized Roman occupation of the old Celtic areas such as Great Britain, Christians moved their traditional holidays closer to that of the Pagan holidays in hope of making assimilation into the Christian faith a bit easier on the Pagans. They also assimilated many Pagan traditions into Christian traditions to make the transition easier to undersand. Now, Christian and Pagan have assimilated into general seasons. The Yule season encompasses the Winter Solstice (Pagan) and Christmas. Spring festivals such as Easter and Ostera have assimilated as well.
As new Pagans, it is our responsibility to our new faith to recognize the greater mythology and spirituality in these festivals and celebrate them as Pagans, not Christians. Although it is important to see the similarities of the holidays, it is equally important to distinguish the original meanings in Pagan holidays and celebrate the God and Goddess as they reflect the circle of life

Let's take a look at some definitions you might come across while researching the Sabbats....then, scroll down and take a look at each Sabbat in depth!

Balefire Any bon fire used for magickal purposes. They are most often used at the four quarter or fire festivals.

Circle of Life The circle of life is the representation of all the stages man and woman go through from birth to death including puberty, sexuality, and parenthood.

Cross QuarterEquinox The time when the sun crosses the plane of the Earth's equator, making night and day all over the Earth of equal length. Equinoxes occur twice in a solar year. The first is approximately September 21st and the second approximately March 21st.

Esbat Lunar holidays that occur twice a month on the full and new moon. These holidays are usually reserved for magickal endeavors or specifically work with the Goddess.

Fire Festival Alternate term for the four Quarter Sabbats.

Lunar Month The time between two full moons occurring approximately 28 and one fourth days apart. The usual lunar month is usually linked with a woman's menstrual cycle.

Quarters Those festivals that separate the solar year into quarters. These being Lughnassad, Imbolc, Samhain, and Yule.

Sabbat The eight solar oriented holidays that occur during the standard solar year. These holidays are reserved for celebration representing the seasonal changes, agricultural growing seasons, and the circle of life.

Solar Year The standard 365 and one fourth days that it take the Earth to make one full revolution around the sun.

Solstice The two days per solar year that the Earth is at its greatest and shortest distances from the sun. The summer solstice occurs when the Earth is the shortest distance from the sun occurring around June 21st. It is on this day that the day is the longest and the night is the shortest for the whole year. The winter solstice occurs approximately December 21st wherein the Earth is at it's greatest distance from the sun. It is on this day that the day is the shortest and the night the longest of the whole year.

Yule and Imbolc
Ostara and Beltane
Midsummer and Lughnassad
Mabon and Samhain
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