Really? Hmm. I never really looked all that deep into it as Wicca, while on the surface appealed to me, didn't resonate with me or at least the material I was reading at the time didn't. If you don't mind, which two cycles were merged?
Basically, the solstice/equinox cycle is one set, and the 'fire festivals' (Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas, Samhain) are the other set. They got merged relatively early on by Gardner, but there's some documentation about it. (The basic theory, as I understand it: More chances to get to together and celebrate? Yay!)
The latter cycle is more conventionally Celtic influenced (as you might guess by the names we use). The Solstice/Equinox set is more Northern-European/Germanic influence.
Personally, I think there's a lot of benefits (especially on a group dynamic aspect) and some cyclical ones, once you figure out how to give all of them sufficient focus and 'point' (reason they're there).
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