The wheel of the year is an ancient way of marking the changing energy of the seasons throughout the yearly cycle. The wheel consists of 8 festivals that fall every 6 – 8 weeks. These can be divided into 4 Solar Festivals or quarter points ( 2 Solstices and 2 Equinoxes) and 4 Seasonal Festivals or cross quarter points (Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas and Samhain).
The Solar Festivals follow the Sun’s rise and fall throughout the year. With daylight reaching its height at the Summer Solstice (Litha), its lowest at the Winter Solstice (Yule) and reaching an equal balance with night length at the Spring Equinox (Ostara) and Autumn Equinox (Mabon).
The Seasonal Festivals are thought to have Celtic origins and are connected with seasonal and agricultural changes. Imbolc marks the height of Winter and birth of Spring, Beltane the height of Spring and birth of Summer, Lammas the height of Summer and birth of Autumn and Samhain the height of Autumn and birth of Winter.
The festivals can be thought of as natural points throughout the year where we can stop and observe what is going on in the outer world as well as our inner worlds. A moment to reflect on how things currently are, how they have been over the last season and how we would like to move ahead into the new one.
My most precious insight from observing the wheel of the year is the element of change within it. Light and dark, growth and decay, beginnings and endings. In the modern world we are often expected to be as productive and efficient no matter the season. A striving towards a fixed state of happiness, vibrancy and certainty that isn’t present in the natural world, certainly not all year round.
Connecting with in the energy and changes in the natural world, can help us to reflect on our own energy throughout the seasons which may naturally rise and fall. It can help us appreciate the change and flow of nature and learn to welcome and embrace these qualities in our own lives.
We have created 2 prints to celebrate the Wheel of the Year and a Seasonal Reflection card set aimed to support you in connecting with the energy of each festival, available now in our Etsy store.
Wild Fen 