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Wheel of the Year
Pagan Culture
Wheel of the Year
The Pagan seasonal cycle is often called the Wheel of the Year. Almost all Pagans celebrate a cycle of eight festivals, which are spaced every six or seven weeks through the year and divide the wheel into eight segments.
Four of the festivals have Celtic origins and are known by their Celtic names, Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh and Samhain.
The other four are points in the solar calendar. These are Spring and Autumn Equinox (when the length of the day is exactly equal to the night), Summer and Winter Solstice (longest and shortest days of the year). Neolithic sites such as Stonehenge act as gigantic solar calendars which marked the solstices and equinoxes and show that solar festivals have been significant dates for hundreds of thousands of years.
(The seasonal differences between the hemispheres mean solar festivals are celebrated opposite different dates in the southern hemisphere.)
Winter Solitice
Wheel of the Year
The Pagan celebration of Winter Solstice (also known as Yule) is one of the oldest winter celebrations in the world.
Ancient people were hunters and spent most of their time outdoors. The seasons and weather played a very important part in their lives. Because of this many ancient people had a great reverence for, and even worshipped the sun. The Norsemen of Northern Europe saw the sun as a wheel that changed the seasons. It was from the word for this wheel, houl, that the word yule is thought to have come. At mid-winter the Norsemen lit bonfires, told stories and drank sweet ale.
The ancient Romans also held a festival to celebrate the rebirth of the year. Saturnalia ran for seven days from the 17th of December. It was a time when the ordinary rules were turned upside down. Men dressed as women and masters dressed as servants. The festival also involved decorating houses with greenery, lighting candles, holding processions and giving presents.
The Winter Solstice falls on the shortest day of the year (21st December) and was celebrated in Britain long before the arrival of Christianity. The Druids (Celtic priests) would cut the mistletoe that grew on the oak tree and give it as a blessing. Oaks were seen as sacred and the winter fruit of the mistletoe was a symbol of life in the dark winter months.
It was also the Druids who began the tradition of the yule log. The Celts thought that the sun stood still for twelve days in the middle of winter and during this time a log was lit to conquer the darkness, banish evil spirits and bring luck for the coming year.
Many of these customs are still followed today. They have been incorporated into the Christian and secular celebrations of Christmas.
Imbolc
Wheel of the Year
Imbolc (pronounced 'im'olk' also known as Oimelc) comes from an Irish word that was originally thought to mean 'in the belly' although many people translate it as 'ewe's milk' (oi-melc).
Imbolc was one of the cornerstones of the Celtic calendar. For them the success of the new farming season was of great importance. As winter stores of food were getting low Imbolc rituals were performed to harness divine energy that would ensure a steady supply of food until the harvest six months later.
Like many Celtic festivals, the Imbolc celebrations centred around the lighting of fires. Fire was perhaps more important for this festival than others as it was also the holy day of Brigid (also known as Bride, Brigit, Brid), the Goddess of fire, healing and fertility. The lighting of fires celebrated the increasing power of the Sun over the coming months. For the Christian calendar, this holiday was reformed and renamed 'Candlemas' when candles are lit to remember the purification of the Virgin Mary.
Imbolc is still a special time for Pagans. As people who are deeply aware of what is going on in the natural world they recognise that there is strength in cold as well as heat, death as well as life. The Horned God reigns over the Autumn and Winter and although the light and warmth of the world may be weak, he is still in his power.
Many feel that human actions are best when they reflect the actions of nature, so as the world slowly springs back into action it is time for the small tasks that are neglected through the busy year. Rituals and activities might include the making of candles, planting spring flowers, reading poetry and telling stories.
Spring Equinox
Wheel of the Year
Spring Equinox celebrates the renewed life of the Earth that comes with the Spring. It is a solar festival, celebrated when the length of the day and the night are equal (this happens twice a year, at Spring and Autumn Equinox).
This turn in the seasons has been celebrated by cultures throughout history who held festivals for their gods and goddesses at this time of year. Aphrodite from Cyprus, Hathor from Egypt and Ostara of Scandinavia. The Celts continued the tradition with festivities at this time of year.
Today, Pagans continue to celebrate the coming of Spring. They attribute the changes that are going on in the world to an increase in the powers of their God and Goddess (the personifications of the great force that is at work in the world). At the time of Spring Equinox the God and the Goddess are ofter portrayed as The Green Man and Mother Earth. The Green Man is said to be born of Mother Earth in the depths of winter and to live through the rest of the year until he dies at Samhain.
To celebrate Spring Equinox some Pagans carry out particular rituals. For instance a woman and a man are chosen to act out the roles of Spring God and Goddess, playing out courtship and symbolically planting seeds. Egg races, egg hunts, egg eating and egg painting are also traditional activities at this time of year.
Beltane
Pagan Culture
Beltane is a Celtic word which means 'fires of Bel' (Bel was a Celtic deity). It is a fire festival that celebrates of the coming of summer and the fertility of the coming year.
Celtic festivals often tied in with the needs of the community. In spring time, at the beginning of the farming calendar, everybody would be hoping for a fruitful year for their families and fields.
Beltane rituals would often include courting: for example, young men and women collecting blossoms in the woods and lighting fires in the evening. These rituals would often lead to matches and marriages, either immediately in the coming summer or autumn.
Other festivities involved fire which was thought to cleanse, purify and increase fertility. Cattle were often passed between two fires and the properties of the flame and the smoke were seen to ensure the fertility of the herd.
Today Pagans believe that at Beltane the God (to whom the Goddess gave birth at the Winter Solstice) achieves the strength and maturity to court and become lover to the Goddess. So although what happens in the fields has lost its significance for most Pagans today, the creation of fertility is still an important issue.
Emma Restall Orr, a modern day Druid, speaks of the 'fertility of our personal creativity'. (Spirits of the Sacred Grove, pub. Thorsons, 1998, pg.110). She is referring to the need for active and creative lives. We need fertile minds for our work, our families and our interests.
Fire is still the most important element of most Beltane celebrations and there are many traditions associated with it. It is seen to have purifying qualities which cleanse and revitalise. People leap over the Beltane fire to bring good fortune, fertility (of mind, body and spirit) and happiness through the coming year.
Although Beltane is the most overtly sexual festival, Pagans rarely use sex in their rituals although rituals often imply sex and fertility. The tradition of dancing round the maypole contains sexual imagary and is still very popular with modern Pagans.
The largest Beltane celebrations in the UK are held in Edinburgh. Fires are lit at night and festivities carry on until dawn. All around the UK fires are lit and private celebrations are held amongst covens and groves (groups of Pagans) to mark the start of the summer.
Every year on 30th April on Calton Hill in Edinburgh thousands of people come together for a huge celebration to mark the coming of summer. The evening begins with a procession to the top of the hill led by people dressed as the May Queen and the Green Man (ancient God and Goddess figures representing fertility and growth).
The May Queen crowns the Green Man, in a ritual similar to that carried out by Wiccan Pagans (who follow a structured set of rituals). The winter ends when the Green Man's winter costume is taken from him and he is revealed in his spring costume. A wild dance takes place and the Green Man and the May Queen are married.
The main element of any Beltane celebration is fire. On Calton Hill torchbearers carry purifying flames and fire arches are used to represent the gateways between the earthly world and the spirit world.
Most of the imagery used in the costumes and rituals comes from the Celts and from Scottish folklore. Other influences come from indeginous people world wide. For instance, the symbol of Ogun, the Yoruba god of iron, can be seen on the faces of some of the performers, and the Geisha traditions of Japan are evident in the dress of the White Women (assistants of the May Queen). Due to the ecclectic nature of the celebrations, Edinburgh's Beltane is not recognised as a religious ritual by many practising Pagans.
- The blue paint of the Blue Men refers to the woad used by Celtic warriors.
- The May Queen's male consort is the Green Man, sometimes called the May King, Jack-in-the-Green, Robin Hood or the woodland faery Puck.
- The Red Men represent mischief makers, Pan-like figures who live for the moment without a care in the world or inhibitions.
- The White Woman and her handmaidens protect the May Queen and attend to her later in the evening. They are the order and discipline in the face of the Red Men's chaos.
- Torch Bearers are an important, trusted group. Dressed from head to foot in black, with blacked out faces, their hair covered, they are protected from fire and other elements.
Summer Solstice
Wheel of the Year
Solstice, or Litha means a stopping or standing still of the sun. It is the longest day of the year and the time when the sun is at its maximum elevation.
As the sun spirals its longest dance,
Cleanse us
As nature shows bounty and fertility
Bless us
Let all things live with loving intent
And to fulfill their truest destiny
Wiccan blessing for Summer
This date has had spiritual significance for thousands of years as humans have been amazed by the great power of the sun. The Celts celebrated with bonfires that would add to the sun's energy, Christians placed the feast of St John the Baptist towards the end of June and it is also the festival of Li, the Chinese Goddess of light.
Like other religious groups, Pagans are in awe of the incredible strength of the sun and the divine powers that create life. For Pagans this spoke in the Wheel of the Year is a significant point. The Goddess took over the earth from the horned God at the beginning of spring and she is now at the height of her power and fertility. For some Pagans the Summer Solstice marks the marriage of the God and Goddess and see their union as the force that creates the harvest's fruits.
This is a time to celebrate growth and life but for Pagans, who see balance in the world and are deeply aware of the ongoing shifting of the seasons it is also time to acknowledge that the sun will now begin to decline once more towards winter.
Summer Solstice rituals
When celebrating midsummer, Pagans draw on diverse traditions. In England thousands of Pagans and non-Pagans go to places of ancient religious sites such as Stonehenge and Avebury to see the sun rising on the first morning of summer.
Summer Solstice at Stonehenge
Revellers typically gather at Stonehenge, the ancient stone circle in Wiltshire, to see the sun rise. The Heel Stone and Slaughter Stone, set outside the main circle, align with the rising sun.
SUMMER SOLSTICE AT STONEHENGE
The remains of Stonehenge lie on a sacred site dating back 5,000 years, predating the Druids
It is believed to have been used as an astronomical calculator, as certain stones align with key dates in the seasons.
At dawn on 21 June - the summer solstice - the central Altar stone aligns with the outer Heel stone and the rising sun.
Local Summer Solstice celebrations
In addition to the large events at major sites such as Stonehenge, many more Pagans hold small ceremonies in open spaces, everywhere from gardens to woodlands.
In this clip the Sunday Programme follows the Oak and Feather Grove, a Druid group whose members come from across Lancashire, as they visit a stone circle at Turton Heights near Bolton to celebrate the Summer Solstice.
Midsummer day
Midsummer day is marked around the time of the summer solstice but should not be confused with it. European celebrations of Midsummer take place on a day between 21st June and 24th June, depending on regional traditions. In the United Kingdom Midsummer day takes place on 24th June, the feast of St John the Baptist.
LAMMAS, AUTUMN EQUINOX, SAMHAIN
Wheel of the Year
Lammas, also called Lughnasadh (pronouced loo'nass'ah), comes at the beginning of August. It is one of the Pagan festivals of Celtic origin which split the year into four.
Celts held the festival of the Irish god Lugh at this time and later, the Anglo-Saxons marked the festival of hlaefmass - loaf mass or Lammas - at this time.
For these agricultural communities this was the first day of the harvest, when the fields would be glowing with corn and reaping would begin. The harvest period would continue until Samhain when the last stores for the winter months would be put away.
Although farming is not an important part of modern life, Lughnasadh is still seen as a harvest festival by Pagans and symbols connected with the reaping of corn predominate in its rites.
Autumn Equinox
Autumn Equinox (also known as Mabon or Harvest Home) is celebrated when day and night are of equal duration before the descent into increasing darkness and is the final festival of the season of harvest.
In nature, the activity of the summer months slows down to the hibernation for the winter. For many Pagans, now is time to reflect on the past season.
It is also a time to recoginse that the balance of the year has changed, the wheel has turned and summer is now over.
Astrologers will recognise this as the date the sun enters the sign of Libra - the Scales of Balance.
Samhain (pronounced 'sow'inn') is a very important date in the Pagan calendar for it marks the Feast of the Dead. Many Pagans also celebrate it as the old Celtic New Year (although some mark this at Imbolc). It is also celebrated by non-Pagans who call this festival Halloween.
Samhain has been celebrated in Britain for centuries and has its origin in Pagan Celtic traditions. It was the time of year when the veils between this world and the Otherworld were believed to be at their thinnest: when the spirits of the dead could most readily mingle with the living once again. Later, when the festival was adopted by Christians, they celebrated it as All Hallows' Eve, followed by All Saints Day, though it still retained elements of remembering and honouring the dead.
To most modern Pagans, while death is still the central theme of the festival this does not mean it is a morbid event. For Pagans, death is not a thing to be feared. Old age is valued for its wisdom and dying is accepted as a part of life as necessary and welcome as birth. While Pagans, like people of other faiths, always honour and show respect for their dead, this is particularly marked at Samhain. Loved ones who have recently died are remembered and their spirits often invited to join the living in the celebratory feast. It is also a time at which those born during the past year are formally welcomed into the community. As well as feasting, Pagans often celebrate Samahin with traditional games such as apple-dooking.
Death also symbolises endings and Samhain is therefore not only a time for reflecting on mortality, but also on the passing of relationships, jobs and other significant changes in life. A time for taking stock of the past and coming to terms with it, in order to move on and look forward to the future.
Ancient Celtic celebrations
Not only did the Celts believe the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead dissolved on this night, they thought that the presence of the spirits helped their priests to make predictions about the future.
To celebrate Samhain the Druids built huge sacred bonfires. People brought harvest food and sacrificed animals to share a communal dinner in celebration of the festival.
During the celebration the Celts wore costumes - usually animal heads and skins. They would also try and tell each other's fortunes.
After the festival they re-lit the fires in their homes from the sacred bonfire to help protect them, as well as keep them warm during the winter months.
EVERYTHING EFFECTS WHO WE ARE
DO YOU HAVE THE RH - BLOOD TYPE
Do you know your blood type?
If you don't know (for sure) it may be of interest to find out!
Nearly 85% of all human beings have RH positive blood. Which merely indicates that their red blood cells contain a substance called the RHesus (rhesus) blood factor. Simply put, their positive blood contains a protein that can be linked to the Rhesus monkey. It is acknowledged that blood factors are transmitted with more exactitude than any other human or animal characteristic. It is not generally known from where the negative RH factor derived, although tantalizing evidence exists that it arrises from genetic experimentation a little over 5,000 years ago.
Only 15% of the entire world´s population is known to have the RH negative blood factor. While it is known that RH negative blood – (type ‘O’) is the purest blood known to mankind, it is not known from where the negative factor originates, as it is generally theorized by evolutionists that there is an unbroken bloodline from early human prototypes (pre-humans) to present day human beings.
As previously mentioned, ‘Rh negative’ blood indicates no protein connections exist to the Rhesus monkey, whereas ‘RH positive’ blood does carry protein linked to the Rhesus monkey – hence the ‘RH’ designation, ie. rhesus. All other earthly primates have this RH factor. Thus if all humans evolved from that line, all would have the RH factor. Obviously, that is not the case. Therefore, there must have been some manner of intervention giving rise to Rh-negative blood groups.
Blood type ‘O’ is the most common of the blood groups. When we separate the ‘O’ types into ‘negative’ and ‘positive’ we find that ‘O’ negative (the universal donor blood) constitutes less than 7% of the world´s population. Science at this very time is attempting to create a synthetic RH negative ‘O’ blood, but without success. For while the protein in positive blood can be cloned, that of negative blood cannot – which is quite interesting, and may be indicative of an alien origin, or more probable, from early genetic experimentation during previous advanced human civilization(s).
If the RH negative factor does not derive from any known earthly link (seemingly outside of the theorized evolutionary process) – from where did it originate? Geneticists generally claim the RH-negative factor is a mutation of unknown origin which apparently happened only a few thousand years ago. These ´negative´ blooded people spread heavily into the area of what is now Spain, England, Ireland, France and later into America, Canada and Australia. Basque peoples contain the largest concentration of known ‘O’ negative blooded people today because, they for the most part, have confined themselves to one area, whereas the Celtic people have branched out among all of the new world.
WHAT DOES THE ABSENCE OF RHESUS MONKEY FACTOR MEAN?
No solid scientific explanation exists as to how or why Rh- blood came about. It is presumed to be the result of a random mutation. Have you ever felt you were weird or different? It may be due to your DNA ... 85% of humans have the monkey gene (RH+) and 15% do not (RH-) and maybe have an alien gene instead. RH- people are characterized by higher IQs, sensitive vision, lower body temperatures, sensitivity to heat and sunlight, psychic power, ability to stop watches and electrical appliances and having extra vertebrae...
Of the human blood types, O is the most common. It is a universal blood type. Blood types are further broken down into two groups, negative and positive. This is called the RH factor. The RH factor is the Rhesus (rhesus as in monkey) blood factor. If your blood tests positive for this, you have the factor in your blood. If you test negative, you do not have the factor in your blood. The RH factor is a protein found in the human blood that is directly linked to the Rhesus Monkey.
When blood type is inherited from your parents, it is known that this factor element of the blood is the most consistent human or animal characteristic passed on to the off spring. There are VERY few aberrations. It rarely changes.
Most people, about 85%, have RH-positive blood. That could support the idea that humans evolved or were derived from Primates. 15 % of humans have RH-negative blood. If blood type is one of least mutable human characteristic, where did the RH negative come from? This question has puzzled scientists for years. There is some evidence that suggests the RH-negative blood group may have appeared about 35,000 years ago. And the appearance was regional and seemed to, originally, be connected with certain groups/tribes of people.
Northern Spain and Southern France is where you can find some of the highest concentration of the RH-negative factor in the Basque people. Another original group were the Eastern/Oriental Jews. In general, about 40 – 45% of Europeans have the RH-negative group. Only about 3% of African descendent and only about 1% of Asian orNative American descendent has the RH-negative group. Due to the larger European numbers, it is a safe bet that was where it was introduced into the human genetic code. Could this also be where the Caucasian was introduced? Is the introduction of Caucasian related to the RH-blood factor.
If the RH-negative factor is a ‘normal’ presentation of blood, then why is there a problem when a mother of the RH-negative blood group gives birth to an RH-positive blood group baby. This Hemolytic disease, actually an allergic reaction, can cause death when the two different blood groups are mingled during pregnancy. When the antigenic substances attack the negative blood group it can destroy the blood cells. So why does the human body produce antigens to this blood type? Is the blood group alien?
The only other time this occurs in nature is, as an example, when donkeys and horses are crossed to produce mules. This is not ‘natural’ because left alone in the wild, these animals would never cross breed. Only with intervention would this happen. Was there a cross breeding of two human like beings, similar but genetically different?
People with RH-negative blood group have certain characteristics that seem to be common among the majority. Here is a brief list of the most common.
• A feeling of not belonging
• Truth seekers
• Sense of a “Mission” in life
• Empathy & Compassion for Mankind
• An extra rib or vertebra.
• Higher than average IQ
• ESP Ability
• Love of Space & Science
• More sensitive vision & other senses.
• Increased of psychic/intuitive abilities
• Cannot be cloned
• Lower body temperature
• Higher blood pressure (some say lower either way one extreme to another never quite right)
• Predominance of green or hazel eyes that change color
• Red or reddish tint to hair color
• Increased sensitivity to heat & sunlight
• Unexplained Scars
• Piercing Eyes
• Tend to be Healers
• Empathetic Illnesses
• Ability to disrupt electrical devices
• Prone to Alien Abductions
• Experience unexplained phenomenon
• Physic Dreams and/or Ability
Philosophical Treatise on the Derkesthai Nature
JASON LAMONTE
Let ill will be absent, for light is to be nourished where liberty has arisen. Remember the stars incline us, but they do not bind us, and nothing is heavy for those with wings. Fortune favors the bold striving towards the sun, and blessed are those who possess knowledge, but blessed with happiness are they who find wisdom. From within the depths of the soul let knowledge grow, let life be enriched. Holding the infinite, we plunge our heads into the clouds; faster, higher, stronger, and ever upwards. In control of the mind, and in harmony with truth. For happy are they who can discover the causes of things; from ancient history, the teacher of life. We enter the circle at night and are consumed by sacred fire, in the furthest reaches of existence. In a void of nothing to infinity, from the shadow into the light, to our faith add knowledge, and may it be perpetual. There has been no great wisdom without an element of madness, so let them hate so long as they fear, for they condemn what they do not understand, and scorn the world. Raised from the waves and the mountains, under the wide open sky, we surpass everything. And by the power of truth, we, while living, have conquered the universe, for he who conquers himself, truly conquers. We should not give in to evils, but proceed ever more boldly against them. So let others wage war, for war only feeds itself. Let us overcome evil deeds with good, and let military arms yield to civilian power; for one best corrects certain customs by laughing at them. But he who wants everything, loses all though, so we lead in order to serve, not to rule. Esteem is the reward of virtue, but honesty before glory. The truth will set you free, as truth is life's teacher; so let the teacher teach to learn the causes of things. Dare to be wise, for knowledge is the adornment and protection of the empire. If any can better these principles, tell me, if not, please join me in following them. Principles prove, they are not proved; so actions not words, for mortal actions never deceive the gods. To set forth from false principles is light and truth. Free yourself and let your light shine in the image of the gods. In the beginning of the new world order of the ages, the peace of the gods will be with us all, for out of chaos comes order. Everything changes, nothing perishes; death, therefore, is nothing to us; so nothing is to be despaired at. The dead teach the living, so hear, see, be silent; and hear the other side, for the secret behind a good mood is from beyond the earth. Nothing comes from nothing; and from the stars comes knowledge, and from knowledge, truth. Learn as if always going to live, live as if going to die tomorrow. In necessary things unity, in doubtful things liberty, and in all things charity. Let there be light! Light from darkness! Light of the mind, light of the world. Launch forward into the deep void of love, for true love conquers all adversity. May he love tomorrow who has never loved before; and may he who has loved, love tomorrow as well. It is how well we live that matters, not how long, for he whom the gods prize especially dies young, while he is healthy, perceptive, and wise. What nourishes us, destroys us, but for those whom true love has held, it will go on holding. By the shield of the gods' love, mythology, religion and knowledge unite; as the akashic sea yields to knowledge with sacred simplicity. If I had remained silent, I would have remained a philosopher, but the same spirit intercedes incessantly for all of us, with equally inexpressible groans. From eternity's point of view, the times are changing, and thus we change with them. But though the constellations change, the mind is universal, so we use what is ours as to not harm what is of others. We stand against past evils, and thus we shall go to the stars towards pleasure. We hurry slowly though, for those who hurry across the sea change only their sky, not their soul or state of mind. Much as the hood, does not necessarily make the monk. Free from having been oppressed, it grows as it goes; light is ever increasing. May it live, grow, flourish, and promote one's innate power. If you want to be loved, love, for ever and ever. May the earth be light to you, for without knowledge, skill is nothing. Further beyond knowledge, wisdom. It is learned by teaching, and the insatiable desire to write. Fearless through faith, through unity and truth, there is strength. Thine own self know, not for self, but for all. Remember to live without fear, for in the end not all of thee will die. Life is certain, and death is most certain. From whence you came, you shall remain, until you are complete again... In becoming artisan of our fate and that of several others, beware, the rest is missing. May the gods give us peace, and well-being through harmony. Be bright, daring, and joyful, with united powers and good morals. Make art for art's sake; for art is long, life is short. Actions speak louder than words, as words fly away, but writings remain...as the hour finishes the day, the author finishes his work. -A Philosophical Treatise on the Derkesthai Nature. Edited by Jason LaMonte...Dragon kin
