Celebrated on October 31, Halloween or Samhain is the Witches’ New Year and a time to play with our shadow selves and sit in the woods between the worlds, knowing all things are possible. It is a season to acknowledgethat the light and dark are necessary to our growth. Remember loves ones and their gifts, harvest strength, trust yourself, salute health, believe in enchantment, and tell stories. Symbols of the holiday are pumpkins, skeletons, marigolds, fall leaves, pomegranates, and witch hats. Herbs associated with this sabbat include: apple, broom, mint, mullein, nutmeg, oak, sage, thistle, and wormwood.

Celebrated December 20-22, Yule or Winter Solstice is a time to recognize that the wheel of nature and life will continue in spite of us. Life is ever evolving and circular. It is a season to join friends and family and appreciate them. Bring in the light and joy in your life as your divine right, trust the process, trust your faith, celebrate life in all forms, open doors, and ask for great things. Symbols of the holiday are wreaths, holly, yule logs, and lights. Herbs associated with this sabbat include: almond, ash, bay, chamomile, frankincense, hazel, holly, juniper, mistletoe, oak, pine, rosemary, sage,sandalwood, thistle, and walnut.
After we have enjoyed it for the month of December, we cut off its branches and save the trunk (sometimes using it as a May Pole during Beltane). Then we chop up the trunk and burn it at the beginning of every Yule season we burn last years' Yule or Christmas tree. In addition we throw in a few springs of tree or rosemary in gratitude of our blessings and confirmation for our new year's desires. Then I told my boys the story of the little rosemary who had faith through all the dark and cold days of fall and when the sun began to return to strength, it was only the little rosemary who did not lose her leaves and stayed green with hope and faith in the sun. Thus when the sun found rosemary waiting for Him, He blessed this little plant with the gift of remembrance. So whenever you smell rosemary, you will remember. In the morning I gave them a sprig of rosemary and had them read the words, "The Sun Teaches Us, Light Always Follows Dark." In the afternoon, I just had them smell the rosemary and both remembered the saying.

Celebrated on February 2, Imbolc or Bridgid’s Day is a time to acknowledge our individual gifts and feed our talents with supportive action. Imbolc is connected to the powerful new life awakening in the depths of the earth and thus also represents the rebirth and upsurge in personal power. Here we sit with energy building and yet no form. The dark night of the soul is a safe place to be, as it purifies and stills the monkey mind. This is a necessary process before great expressions can manifest. Now we plant seeds of inspiration, acknowledge first light, invoke patience, find virtue in perseverance, and inspire others. Symbols of the holiday are seeds, wells, and fire. Herbs for this sabbat include angelica, basil, bay, cinnamon, frankincense, myrrh, orris root, saffron, red nettle, rosemary, rowan, saffron. Imbolc reminds me of the darkest time before great light. This season offers us the opportunity to be graceful and learn how to enjoy the powerful presence of silence in out lives. I've heard Imbolc not only can be translated to mean in milk, referring to the baby animals being born and beginning to nurse, but it also means in the mother's womb. So understand that in these last few days of darkness before our collective rebirth in the Spring, you have the golden opportunity to gain more wisdom from your most inner knowing.

Celebrated March 20-22, Spring Equinox or Ostara is one of the two days of the year when night and day are of equal time. It is a time to rebirth our new selves, clear away the clutter of our minds and wipe the slate clean. See life as non-dual, neither too terrible, nor too fantastic. Ostara rejoices the beauty of our unique selves and play with impish delight. Find balance, plant individual expression, believe in abundance and fertility, face fears, cry, and allow for all emotions. This ceremony symbolizes Dawn on the Wheel of the Year. If the night owls in the group do not object, celebrate the holiday at dawn. But remember, ritual is a celebration not drudgery, and does not need to be a test of your determination. Symbols of the holiday are eggs, rabbits, and flowers. Herbs associated with this sabbat include: broom, cinquefoil, jasmine, lavender, lily, rose, sage, and violet.

Have you ever noticed how each season brings something different that you hadn't noticed before? The seasons build upon one another. Practice an earth spirituality or have a deep nature consciousness and you will see and feel how each sabbat offers a new and deeper understanding of yourself and Spirit. Wiccan mentorships last a year and day to serve the very purpose of understanding how your moods, creativity, and general life can blend with the changing and evolving weather patterns and their inherent harmony of rest and action. This year I intend to write a poem or little ditty if no rhymes come to mind about each sabbat as it relates to my life. The first poem will be for Ostara and was left for my children by the Ostara Faery.



Fill the baskets with the dirt of Mother Earth
To celebrate the Spring and Her Rebirth
Sprinkle with seeds and watch the grass grow
By Sunday after next full moon I'll know
If this task you followed and you will find
Treats from my friend who's both furry and kind

Celebrated April 30 and May 1, Beltane is a time to revel in life’s absurdities and have fun. Enjoy the beauty of life’s physical pleasures. Smell the flowers or dance in a secluded part of overgrown nature, as you relish in the light and laughter of faeries and children. Weave together the magick of the male and female aspects of yourself. Honor the collaboration and patchwork of you. Respect the soul’s journey, and always remember to take the ride of life lightly – it is only a dream after all. Symbols are the Maypole, strawberries, and flowers such as the daisy. Herbs associated with this sabbat include: almond, angelica, apple, ash, calendula, cinquefoil, red clover, frankincense, hawthorn, honeysuckle, rose, rowan, St. John's wort, and woodruff.

Beltane is a time to really let loose. Winter is over and its time to cast out the impurities of cabin fever and other doldrums. Set a bonfire and focus all your intent into the fire, imagining that this represents the life force that not only pulsates through you, but all the Universe. If you can safely do so, jump the flames and let go of winter, preparing yourself for the joy and lightness of the brighter days ahead. If that seems too much for you, then instead light two candles, tiki torches, or whatever is safe and place them a good three feet from each other. Walk between the flames as ancient pagans passed their livestock between two blazing bonfires to rid their animals of winter blahs and dis-ease. The faeries are most active during this time - make sure to dance a little for them and don't forget to leave out some sweets!!

Celebrated June 20-21, Summer Solstice, Litha or Midsummer is a time to spread the warmth, and enjoy the sun’s energy. Praise the opulence and abundance available to us for the asking. This is a day to celebrate our gifts of healing, whether intuitive or through plants. Make peace with the impermanence of life and changing relationships, knowing we are always guided and watched over. Bloom where you are planted. Respect male energy. Honor your light. Hug yourself. We are one with the infinite Sun. Symbols are the sun, and all things yellow, orange or round. Herbs associated with this sabbat include: basil, wood betony, chamomile, cinquefoil, dogwood, elder, fennel, fern, frankincense, lavender, lemon, lemon verbena, lily, mistletoe, mugwort, oak, pine, rose, St. john's wort, thyme, vervain, and yarrow.

On this longest day of the year, the earth is at her most opulent and lavish. Hence your wishes need to be correspondingly larger than you would normally dream. Reach for the furthest star. Light a bonfire to represent the sun. Infuse a stick with your grandest most ridiculous desire and throw it into the flames. Release it and know what you wish for will be returned to you with interest. You deserve joy. Do not be afraid to be happy, embrace the pleasure that life has to offer, because life moves in spirals and like the ferris wheel, some days you will be on top and other days you may find yourself on the bottom. All that really makes the difference is your attitude and the lens with which you see the world. Make sure you shine no matter what your day looks like.

Celebrated August 1-2, Lammas or Lughnasadh is a time to harvest your resources, assess your needs, and use your gifts wisely, releasing any burdens and grudges. Sacrifice the unwanted from your life by throwing symbols of them into the sabbat fire. Harvest fruits from your garden with your family. Bless the tools of your trade and bless them in order to bring a richer harvest next year. Share your harvest with others who are less fortunate. For now we make initial contact with the Dark Beauty, recognizing that nothing lasts. Every feeling and event passes through our awareness like clouds across a sky. Zero in on your truth. Make a commitment to honor your strengths and many skills. Find the beauty in the muggles and mundane. Symbols are corn, grains, and breads. Herbs associated with this sabbat include: acacia, blackberry, calendula, frankincense, mistletoe, oak, rose, and sandalwood.

Celebrated on September 20-22, Autumn Equinox or Mabon is the second time when day and night are once again equal, creating a mirror for us to seek balance and acceptance with the bounty of our own personal harvest weighted against our life's experience. It is a time to glean the knowledge from the gifts life presented to use, and separate this wisdom given from experience. This acknowledgment honors and makes holy the people, events, and experiences that have so impacted our being and our journey. It is a time to balance the light and the dark. Simplify your life and rid yourself of unnecessary activity and clutter in preparation for the silence of the darker months. Donate what you don’t need.

Clear the disorder of your mind and learn to sit with the quiet of the soul. Without rushing around, you will need to make peace with your shadow, and hopefully this will help you release a bit more of the mask and reliance upon appearances. Give thanks and harvest what is helpful. Symbols are leaves and cornucopias. Herbs associated with this sabbat include: apple, balm of gilead, calendula, cypress, mugwort, myrrh, oak, orris root, passionflower, pine, rose, sage, and thistle.

Connectedness and joy is our innate beingness. We can effect change in the world and our lives by paying attention to the vibrant aliveness of this now moment. Find joy, peace, harmony by following the impermanent now. The Mandala of Nature will reveal a new bounty at each turn. An abundant scene awaits you. Allow this moment to be the beauty of what is, and keep the knowingness and release the experience. Bloom where you are planted -- in the Now.

Blessings,
Jamie Dancing Butterfly Martinez Wood

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Magick is an intrinsic aspect of many earth spiritualities, including Wicca or Witchcraft. Both the words Wicca and Witch derive from the Anglo Saxon word wicce, meaning wise. This designation was given to those who observed the circadian rhythms, seasons and the natural cycles of earth, sea, plant and animal and concluded optimum times for administering medicine and developed traditions for comfort and connection to all of Life.

Magick spelled with a “k” differentiates from magic tricks performed for entertainment and is symbolic of the illimitable intersection of where heaven meets the earth. The “g” points to the ground or form, similar to the vortex triangle that points to the earth and is generally yin, female or resting energy. The “k” reaches for the sky, where ideas are born, similar to the apex triangle which is typically considered yang, male or active energy, and represents the male energy. The overlapping vortex and apex triangles create a symbol, known as the Star of David. The intersection of form or material and thought or spiritual is where magick happens.

Chanting and rhymes in magick speak to the right brain, the part of our consciousness that is creative, cyclical and imaginative - like the dreamtime world, when anything is possible. Spells are used to change circumstances. Rituals, such as a ceremony to let go of anger or achieve forgiveness are used to change consciousness. The etymology of the word spell simply means to cast or speak your word. Both spells and rituals are like prayers in 3D.

Magick is created through alignment of your desire with symbolic interpretation, the healing powers of plants, connection to the wild and wildlife, and the energy of the seasons and circadian rhythms and lunar cycles. Decades ago Starhawk wrote in the Spiral Dance, “Witchcraft can be seen as a religion of ecology. Its goal is harmony with nature, so that life many not just survive, but thrive…Love for life in all its forms is a basic ethic of Witchcraft.”

Love for life means creating a supporting a whole earth community, which includes not only humans, but animals, plants, soil, air and water. Earth religions place great value and importance on ecological synergy and balance that supports the interdependence and synergy of all life. We find our connection by tapping into the inherent energy of the four seasons, the elements and correlating factors, such as colors, animals, times of life and so on.

The four elements are the fundamental tools of magick. We are manifestation of this basic magick, a representation of the four elements working in sync: earth with our bodies, water as our blood, air is our breath, and fire our energy or spirit. Refer to the information below about Elemental Magick and create your own magick.

1. Spells and Rituals are used as a way to know ourselves as Divine children and give us an opportunity to co create a life of our choosing. Through magical spellwork and rituals we connect with the Divine within ourselves and every particle in the Universe. Not every witch performs spells. Spells are performed for a need, not necessarily a want. And first the spellcaster must be sure the spell is necessary, it will serve the highest good, will not harm anyone, and be willing to accept the responsibilities of the outcome. If you want to cast a spell, understand karma, the threefold law, and have solid answers for why you are casting the spell. Gather your tools, crystals, candles, images of Gods and Goddesses and wait for a need to arise. There is no point, nor is it respectful to the powerful elements of nature and Spirit, to randomly try any spell you read in a book, if you don’t really need for that outcome to manifest itself.
   
   
2. Pantheon is a group of Gods and Goddesses from a certain people, place or time. There is a Norse, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, African, Germanic, Sumerian, Celtic pantheon, among others. Each face of the God or Goddess allows for a different characteristic, expression or archetype (mother, warrior, etc.) of the Divine. By giving them human qualities, ancient people found a way to connect to the Divine within, not just some man in the sky, separate from themselves. We look to the Gods and Goddess for guidance and inspiration. It is okay to place on your altar Gods and Goddess from different pantheons. A Greek Deity of prosperity with a Celtic Deity of love will work just fine!
   
   
3. Gratitude is an important part of being a Witch. With the deep respect for our Earth Mother, witches see themselves as caretakers of the land and try to use her resources wisely. We plant trees, recycle, grow our own gardens, offer energy to healing the waters and air and try to work in harmony with animals, people, and the land. If a witch needed sage for a ritual, she would ask permission from the plant, thus respecting its life force and asking its power to assist her, and give water, food, a strand of her hair, a sprinkle of tobacco or something else. Showing thanks is an every day event in the life of a witch.

1. The Pentacle is a sacred, positive symbol of protection within witchcraft. The five-pointed star represents the four elements/directions and Spirit/Love, encircled by the never-ending circle of Life. It’s a symbol of life, love, and connectedness.
   
   
2. Witches worship Nature. In Europe, the male aspect of the Divine, God, was personified as the Green Man. He had a beard, horns and goat legs. (like Puck from Shakespeare Midsummer’s Night Dream or Tumnus from Chronicles of Narnia)When the Christians took over, they decided to destroy the core of what the witches believed in to take over the hearts and minds of the people. They turned the Green Man red, called him the Devil, and proclaimed all witches worshiped the devil.
   
   
3. Witches do not fly on Brooms, vacuums or dust busters. Back in the day, nature-loving pagans, dependant upon the land for survival, would go out into the fields at night with their buddies. They would straddle a broom and run in a circle, periodically jumping in the air to show the wheat or whatever vegetation how high they wanted it to grow. Onlookers thought they were flying and that’s how the whole rumor started.
   
   
4. Witches cannot cast a spell to make someone fall in love or make objects fly across the room.
   
   
5. Not all witches have 13 black cats, know where to get Eye of Newt, or have green faces with warts. I swear.