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Mabon
Mabon celebrates the autumn equinox, a time when daylight and darkness will stand in balance, after which our days will grow darker and colder as our half of the Earth moves further from the Sun. The date for equinoxes can be tricky to gauge, since they can occur at different times in different places in…
Lammas
Lammas¹ is traditionally celebrated on August 1st and is the midway point between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox. It is also one of four Gaelic seasonal festivals, along with Imbolc, Beltane, and Samhain. It is dedicated (in part) to honoring the sacrifices made by the gods, the world, our ancestors, our communities,…
Litha
Litha is the summer Solstice, the longest day of the year (typically June 20th/21st). The term solstice comes from the Latin words sol (“Sun”) and sistere (“to stand still”). The Sun, having reached its apex, will now start to quiet sooner and rise later until balance is restored again at the Autumn Equinox (aka, Mabon).…
Pleiades
In Greek mythology, the Pleiades were the seven daughters of the Titan Atlas and the Oceanid Pleione, the protectress of sailing. The daughters were companions of the Goddess Artemis, joining Her on hunts, as well as the nursemaids who raised the God Dionysus as an infant. Many of the seven sisters bore children to the…
Beltane
Beltane (AKA May Day; derived from the Irish Gaelic “Bealtaine” or the Scottish Gaelic “Bealtuinn,” among a variety of other spellings I’ve come across) is the cross-quarter between Ostara (Spring Equinox) and Litha (Summer Solstice). For Wiccans (including Blue Star Wiccans), it is the time the Lady and Lord come together to create new life,…