The Wiccan Year

The Wheel of the Year is how wiccans define their view of time, cylical in nature, a time for birth, growth and death. The cylical nature is celebrated on special days of the year called Sabbats, roughly six weeks apart. These Sabbats are not of history but of nature. There are eight Sabbats, four being the lesser Sabbats which fall on the solstices and equinoxes, the other four, the greater Sabbats, are the days when the seasons change. The word "Sabbat" was originally Babylonian and was used to designate the quarters of the lunar cycle - full, new, first and last quarter. What makes a wiccan's year different from most? Our sensitivity to the cycles of the moon and the sun. Nothing can keep a wiccan more in tune with the cycles of nature like observing the Old Holidays. Some of these holidays have been incorporated into society and even Christianity. Besides the popular association of Halloween ( Samhain ) and witches, there are also popular traditions such as Easter (easter bunny, easter eggs), May Day (maypole) and even Christmas ( Yule, yule log and the christmas tree)