Book of Path -- Holidays and Rituals

Wheel of the Year

If you celebrate seasonal celebrations, what are their names? I tend to follow all 8 sabbats, though my personal focus tends to fall on Mabon, Samhain, Yule, and Ostara.

When do you celebrate them? On the day they happen, or a close before as possible. While I understand in the grand scheme of the universe that my gods probably won’t kill me for celebrating the holiday late, I find it disrespectful to do so. Therefore, if I celebrate a holiday with a group after-the-fact, I would do an individual celebration on or before the day.

How do you celebrate them? Honestly, it depends on a lot of factors from year to year: resources available, budget, people to be involved, my own personal energy level and health at the time. To me, the most important part of a spiritual celebration is acknowledgment (of the deities involved and the event itself) and living life as is appropriate for that time of year. Spending more time reflecting at Yuletide, for example, rather than trying to have a ritualfest, which seems more appropriate for Midsummer. I want very much for my reaction to an upcoming holy day never to be this: “Oh, shieza! Ostara is coming up and I don’t have anything planned. I’d better throw something together”. Pardon my language, but I think it is much worse to half-assedly show honor to a deity/season/being than it is to do nothing at all.

What is their significance? They signify a way for people to remain in tune with the rhythm of lady earth. And lastly, only half in jest: In the olden days, people lived by and on the land, and they needed something to celebrate….as we do now, and there could be far worse reasons for a party than the turning of the wheel.

Esbats

If you celebrate lunar holidays, how and when are they celebrated? I don’t do a lot of ritual at all anymore, outside of the group setting. I reached a point somewhere and began to feel ritual-saturated, and no longer enjoy ritual for the sake of ritual. That is something that I want to get back in touch with this summer and beyond. Therefore, I do not necessarily celebrate the phases of the moon, but I do consciously keep myself aware of her phases. I try to take a moment every day, and every night, to greet Lord Sun and Lady Luna. When I need/choose to do a spell or ritual, the lunar setting is a factor.

What is their significance? They reflect the ebb and flow of some of the energy in the world that connects all things. I think that both the sun and the moon hold power over my life, especially in connection to my mood and general welfare. I think that they have healing power to a level that is rarely found elsewhere.

Rites of Passage

Does your path recognize specific rites of passage? What is their significance? Yes, I think it is as important to celebrate rites of passage as it is to celebrate the seasonal holidays. Rites of passage are the seasons of a human’s life. While I do not get a chance to do these often, I think there are levels of rites of passage. There are the biggies (birth, death, marriage, puberty, and graduations), but there are others sometimes less acknowledged that I think can call for a ritualistic recognition, such as any big ‘first’ in a person’s life (first job, car, home, experience with sex).

If so, what are they and when are they celebrated? I have only been able to take part in two rites of passage, so far, and that would be my maidening and Ashley’s maidening. But I believe that the individual rite needs to be suited to the person it is for. I’ll have to return to this question after I have more experience with it.