Wheel of the Year

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[Smoke]

Some great replies so I will just add my own practice.

As I practice my craft alone I can choose what feels right to me. My practice is also very nature and earth based and not at all ceremonial, It's quite simple and I like it that way.  I celebrate all of the changing seasons throughout the year and quite spontaneously, usually when I notice the changes happening, as soon as I begin to notice I usually go for a longer walk collecting terms such as stones and feathers, or anything I can find. However I do try and celebrate four on the day and also quietly observe the others: The four below are celebrated by me because they feel the closest to my practice

Samhain
My Ancestors and family mean a lot to me, so this is an important sabbat and usually a quiet one in that I spend time reflecting, I also like to get outside in my garden later in with some food and drinks and look at the moon. I put out photos of family that have passed on my Alter

Yule / winter solstice
I love this time of year and always have, its the magical feel that this time of year has. The  dark of the year is my favourite time and a time when we can show family and friends how important they are to us. Me and my Husband are going to give gifts this year on the winter solstice instead of christmas day. And for me its a time to celebrate the great goddess and the god through light. my Yule tree (rather than the christmas tree ) goes up before the winter solstice and I light candles in my garden to give thanks and celebrate the return of the light to the earth. My Yule tree decorates my Alter and this year I am looking for symbols of the god and the Goddess to hang on my tree.

Imbolc
This is important to me as it is also a day to honour the Goddess Brighid, its a time to celebrate the renewal of the earth, noticing the first signs of spring and when I can sow seeds, hopes, wishes and cast spells for the coming year. I also connect to the goddess Brighid as she is a Goddess I feel very close to. I love this time of year as much as I do the Autumn fall. Symbols that represent the Goddess Brighid decorate my Alter.

Mabon
This Equinox is very important to me as it marks the middle of the harvest and as my practice is very tied to the land around me, this makes very special to me. Its a time to give thanks to what the land has given and give back in preparing the land for the next spring. For me this means the soil gets fed a lot of compost. The birds also get to have a good feed as I dig over the soil and allow the flowers to drop their seeds, especially my sunflowers. I also share some of my harvest with the birds and animals that may be passing through my garden. This year I plan to decorate my Alter with Acorns, pines, leaves.    


  

Thanks for sharing

[yewberry]

Samnhain is a HUGE deal in our family.

Dia de los Muertos is a big deal to me and by association, my family.  It's hard to take over the whole house for a party without them noticing.  Like your husband, I take off work for our annual shindig.

Major derail:  helloooooooo HOAR!  <cough>  Sorry.  I completely forgot you post here. 

Brina

[Sekhmet's Servant]

I celebrate the full Wheel of the Year. Of course I've not done that in sometime due to my mother (still can't believe that she thinks that she can control my life). Samhain is coming up and I'm really looking forward to it.

[Nimue]

So do you like celebrate the things on it? Does every practice follow it or only a few?

   Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane, and Lammas are the only ones that I have a complete ritual for.  The others, while I may not a full ritual, I still commemorate it in some way, like with a meditation on what the festival is supposed to represent.  I find "marking" the seasons comforting since I am in an area that gets very cold, so it is nice to have a reminder in the middle of winter that spring is not too far away.

    I won't be surprised though if in future years I end up having a full ritual for all eight holidays, but for now these are the ones that work best for me.

[Sekhmet's Servant]

   Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane, and Lammas are the only ones that I have a complete ritual for.  The others, while I may not a full ritual, I still commemorate it in some way, like with a meditation on what the festival is supposed to represent.  I find "marking" the seasons comforting since I am in an area that gets very cold, so it is nice to have a reminder in the middle of winter that spring is not too far away.

Me too. What's nice about marking the year is that you don't feel like, especially in winter, that the cold will be around forever. I know that Samhain is coming up, though I'm planning on celebrating it on November 7, and then it will only be a couple of Sabbath's before Spring is here. I personally can't wait.

[Smoke]

I know that Samhain is coming up, though I'm planning on celebrating it on November 7, and then it will only be a couple of Sabbath's before Spring is here. I personally can't wait.

I'm pretty excited for Samhain too. It'll be the first Sabbat that I'm actually gonna celebrate...if I figure out how....

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