The Sabbat Meanings

Yule (circa December 21)
The Goddess gives birth to a son, the God, at Yule. Yule is a time of the 
greatest darkness and is the shortest day of the year. Since the God is also the 
Sun, this marks the point of the year when the Sun is reborn as well. Thus, the 
Wicca light fires or candles to welcome the Suns´ returning light. The Goddess, 
slumbering through the winter of Her labor, rests after Her delivery. To 
contemporary Wiccans it is a reminder that the ultimate product of death is 
rebirth.

Imbolc (February 2)
Candlemas
Imbolc marks the recovery of the Goddess after giving birth to the God. The 
length-ning periods of light awaken Her. The God is a young, lusty boy, but His 
power is felt in the longer days. Imbolc is also known as Feast of Torches, 
Oimelc, Lupercalia and Brigid´s day.

Spring Equinox (circa March 21)
Ostara, or Spring Equinox marks the first day of true spring. The Goddess 
blankets the Earth with fertility, bursting forth from Her sleep, as the God 
stretches and grows to maturity. On Ostara the hours of day and night are equal. 
Light is overtaking darkness.

Beltane (April 30)
Beltane marks the emergence of the young God into manhood. Stirred by the 
energies at work in nature, He desires the Goddess. They fall in love, lie among 
the grasses and blossoms, and unite. The Goddess becomes pregnant of the God. 
The Wiccans celebrate the symbol of Her fertility in ritual. The flowers and 
greenery symbolize the Goddess; the May Pole the God. Beltane marks the return 
of vitality, of passion and hopes consummated.

Summer Solstice (circa June 21)
Is also known as Litha, arrives when the powers of nature reach their highest 
point. The Earth is awash in the fertility of the Goddess and God. Midsummer is 
a classic time for magic of all kinds.

Lughnasadh/Lammas (August 1)
Lughnasadh is the time of the first harvest, when the plants of spring wither 
and drop their fruits or seed for our use as well as to ensure future crops. 
Mystically, so too does the God lose His strength as the Sun rises farther in 
the South each day and the nights grow longer. The Goddess watches in sorrow and 
joy as She realizes that the God is dying, and yet lives on inside Her as Her 
child.

Autumn Equinox (circa September 21)
Mabon is the completion of the harvest begun at Lughnasadh. Once again day and 
night are equal, poised as the God prepares to leave His physical body and begin 
the great adventure into the unseen, toward renewal and rebirth of the Goddess. 
Nature declines, draws back its bounty, readying for winter and its time of rest 
The Goddess nods in the weakening sun, though fire burns within Her womb. She 
feels the presence of the god even as He wanes. 

Samhain (October 31)
At Samhain, the Wicca say farewell to the God. This is a temporary farewell. he 
isn't wrapped in eternal darkness, but readies to be reborn of the Goddess at 
Yule. Samhain is a time of reflection, of looking back over the last year, of 
coming to terms with the one phenomenon of life over which we no control - 
death. The Wicca feel that on this night the separation between the physical and 
spiritual realities is thin. Wiccans remember their ancestors and all those who 
have gone before.