Wheel of the Year

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[Áine]

For me, the Wiccan Wheel of the Year doesn't fit right, so I am searching for an alternative
I was wondering if anyone would like to share their opinion or belief on the "wheel", "the cycle of Life", etc.

[Dania]

I'm not Wiccan but I'm giving very serious consideration to creating a Wheel of the Year cloth for long-term Rune casting. It has very little to do with religion, I just think a circular calendar like this is very good way to break up the year into easy segments, and makes a bit more sense than throwing darts at a wall calendar.

In that vein, does anyone know of any alternative Wheels of the Year?

[Jenett]

For me, the Wiccan Wheel of the Year doesn't fit right, so I am searching for an alternative
I was wondering if anyone would like to share their opinion or belief on the "wheel", "the cycle of Life", etc.

In what way doesn't it fit right for you? I ask, because it'd probably help people make better suggestions - no point in us suggesting something with the same problems.

Personally, *some* approaches to the Wiccan Wheel of the Year don't work for me either. Some do. There's enough different interpretations out there that you usually need more details.

[Silberschein]

Hi,

Just to get the right understanding:
- What is for you the wheel of the year?
- What does not fit?

Silberschein

[Darkhawk]

I was wondering if anyone would like to share their opinion or belief on the "wheel", "the cycle of Life", etc.

"Someone else's liturgical calendar."

[Altair]

For me, the Wiccan Wheel of the Year doesn't fit right, so I am searching for an alternative
I was wondering if anyone would like to share their opinion or belief on the "wheel", "the cycle of Life", etc.

I'm not Wiccan, but a similarly minded pagan. I use the Wheel of the Year, but the emphasis is switched.

As I understand it, for Wiccans the cross-quarter days are more important, based on the agrarian cycle --when to sow, when to harvest, etc. I'm not a farmer (a city boy, in fact), so those mean little to me, whereas I'm keenly aware of how many hours of daylight I'm getting.

So, since my experience of nature is a bit different, so's my calendar: For me, it's the quarter days that matter most, with summer and winter solstices being the most important days of the year.

I still love Halloween and May Day, however!

[Áine]

Hi,

Just to get the right understanding:
- What is for you the wheel of the year?
- What does not fit?

Silberschein

Well, Im trying to buy into the "Maiden in the spring, Mother in the Summer, Crone in the Fall and Rests in the Winter, God is born at the Winter Solstice while the Goddess is in the Crone Aspect..."  I have a lot of issues because I just don't see it reflected in the "natural" world (and I am giving a lot of poetic licensing lol plus taking in the fact that the climates do not match exactly).

I was just curious if there was any other myths

[Áine]

"Someone else's liturgical calendar."

Yes! That's the phrase I was looking for! Thank you

[Silberschein]

Hi Darkplume,

Hm, the wheel makes sense to me. Taking into consideration, that Wicca is based on the old, pre-christian religion of northern Europe, this does reflect their climate:

Maiden in the Spring = Nature is young, bringing forth new life
Mother in the Sommer = Nature is mature, bringing forth food
Crone in the Fall = Nature is growing old, harvesting what was grown during the year. Old age stood for wisdom in the old days.
God is born in the Winter Solstice: The light is reborn again. From the Winter Solstice on it starts to grow again. Here, God stays for the Sun.

The female part of God is Nature.

..... and - there are other myths..... Christians celebrate the wheel of the year with Ascension "Lichtmess", February 2nd (Wicca: Imbolc), Easter (Wicca: Ostara), Beltane is only Wicca, no christian festivities, but, in the old days, it was the preferate marriage day. Beltane is a celebration of fertility. Midsummer is Wicca, but in Sweden an important Bankholiday, Lugnashad is Wicca, but in Switzerland the National Day, Samhain is Wicca, but many countries celebrate the day of their ancestors, finaly Christmas is the 2nd important Christian festival (Wicca: Jul).

Silberschein

[Mari]

"Someone else's liturgical calendar."

Exactly!

[Jenett]

I was just curious if there was any other myths

There are! A couple of options:

1) There are the oak king and holly king cycle myths. I know less about this one, because it's not an element in our practice, but basically, the idea is that there are two kings, one for the light half of the year, and one for the dark. (Depending on your choice, they 'change places' at either the solstices or the equinoxes: personally, the equinoxes always made more sense, because then they also have a time - the solstices - where they're at their height, and then start fading.) The Goddess is then seen as the consort of both of them, in turn, in recognition of the balance. Some versions of this myth have her bearing and raising each of them in turn, some don't.

2) A view of the Wheel as God-centered, and based on the life of the God - and that the Goddess is seen in roles interacting with that life-span, while she is eternal. This is where the Maiden/Mother/Crone thing in its most simplified form comes from, but looking at it from this perspective (ever changing/dying/being reborn counterpointed with eternal existence) is a little different.

In this case, the God is born at solstice, grows up, is young and growing through Imbolc and Ostara. He becomes Her lover at Beltane, her *husband* in many traditions at Litha, and is sacrificed at either Lammas or Mabon depending on tradition. (Or, actually, sometimes Samhain.) and waits and rests in the underworld until it is time to be born again. She, in turn, goes from Mother (Solstice through Ostara) to Maiden (lover) at Beltane and Litha, and older, wiser, widow (and crone) for the remaining time. It's not a straight progression, though, it's more about the lens of focus.

3) Another way to look at it (and Maria Kay Simms has a really good outline of this in her "In the Witch's Circle") is as the Wheel as a cycle of personal development, with different deity interactions being lenses through which we learn and work on the lesson of that time of year. So, for example, (taking Samhain as the end of the old year), you spend time in introspection. At Yule, you begin thinking of what new things you want to focus on, illuminate, etc. At Imbolc, you plant the seed. You watch it grow through the harvest cycle, pause to reflect and readjust at Litha (when the crops are traditionally in the ground, and you get a little break), then work on harvesting your work at Lammas and Mabon, to bring it to a close at Samhain. You can adjust this a fair bit to echo your own local harvest and agricultural cycles, just make sure you leave time for the introspection part, and for the growing and harvest parts.

We do a combination of 2 and 3 interwoven: personal development cycle with a view of the life of the Gods we work with, with reference to local agricultural cycles. (We're in Minnesota, so we're relatively close to much of northern Europe's cycles, except that Imbolc is "Oh, dear Gods, let there be no more snow, ice, and frigid winds sometime soon" rather than "let's think about planting" - it's often unsafe to plant here until well after Beltane due to spot late freezes, but usually right around then, the trees go green.)

[EverFool]

For me, the Wiccan Wheel of the Year doesn't fit right, so I am searching for an alternative
I was wondering if anyone would like to share their opinion or belief on the "wheel", "the cycle of Life", etc.

Well, I'm an atheist, and I have no myth structures around yearly cycles.   That said, I live on the same planet as everyone else.   (although seasons do occur differently across the planet)  The seasons where I live follow a roughly similar pattern each year.  In winter I can look forward to a lack of desire to wake in the morning on one hand, but also fireworks night, Christmas and Halloween on the other.  I enjoy these on a secular level.

In summer, I despise the heat.  On the other hand, it's easier for me during this time to practice martial arts in the garden.

There are events I associate with times of the year that have significance to me.  They have nothing to do with myth or religion *to me.*

Why not ditch the religious associates, and just think about the patterns your life, and the lives of those around you, follows?

[joshuatenpenny]

(We're in Minnesota, so we're relatively close to much of northern Europe's cycles, except that Imbolc is "Oh, dear Gods, let there be no more snow, ice, and frigid winds sometime soon" rather than "let's think about planting" - it's often unsafe to plant here until well after Beltane due to spot late freezes, but usually right around then, the trees go green.)

Yep. Here in Massachusetts the main shift is Imbolc being in the thick of Winter and hoping for the end. We're likely to refer to it as "Midwinter" even though it is a little late to really be considered Midwinter. It seems like the midpoint, because the second "half" drags on to feel as long if not longer than the first. The first half of winter is kind of neat - "Hey, snow! Let's go sledding!" - but by Imbolc, most folks are thinking, "Gee, is it only February? It isn't March yet? How much longer till spring?" But it is still beautiful, with the white snow and frozen trees and bright blue sky, but brutal to be out in. So the beautiful but cruel "Snow Queen" type imagery is really meaningful to us.

Ostara is sort of the light at the end of the tunnel, so it is a "start of spring, time of new beginnings". Ostara is a strange mix of beauty and ugliness. The grey slush on contrast with the little patches of brilliant green grass and the first few flowers. Winter is beautiful and perfect and dead. There is something eternal and unchanging about winter. New life coming in to being is an awkward, difficult, and risky. Many times we see fresh green sprouts and think, "Oh, you little fools. You'll all be dead and under snow by the end of the week." In some areas, Winter yields easily to Summer, but here it is a prolonged bitter fight that goes on for months. Just when you think Summer has won and the days are warm and spring-like, Winter comes back with a week of snow.

Beltane is when you really can be confident that Summer has won. It is the day we look to and say, "Come on now, the snow has to be melted by Beltane!" We've had some close calls, and an occasional flurry in May, but I don't think we've ever had snow thick on the ground at our Beltane campout. Maybe some snowpiles still here and there, but Beltane is in the middle of "mud season" because all the snow is melting.

We don't have a singular "myth cycle" really, but specific mythic/metaphoric associations with each holiday. We sometimes make reference to the Oak King / Holly King thing, but it isn't primary for us.

-- Joshua

[CrescentFae]

God is born at the Winter Solstice while the Goddess is in the Crone Aspect..." 

not true. according to astrologers, jesus was born around labor day. the only reason it is celebrated in the winter is because when the early christians tried to convert "heathens" they adopted similar holidays at similar times, saying "you can still do this, but worship OUR god", which is also why christ's ressurection is celebrated during Ostara

[HeartShadow - Cutethulhu]

not true. according to astrologers, jesus was born around labor day. the only reason it is celebrated in the winter is because when the early christians tried to convert "heathens" they adopted similar holidays at similar times, saying "you can still do this, but worship OUR god", which is also why christ's ressurection is celebrated during Ostara

the Wiccan God is not Jesus, though.  it's a completely different god.

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