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27 April 2011 PAGAN ANTI DEFAMATION NETWORK AFFILIATED TO SAFF
SEASONAL CYCLES & THE PAGAN FESTIVALS THAT MARK THEM
THE PAGAN WHEEL OF THE YEAR
The word "Pagan" has been used for many centuries as an uncomplimentary title to throw at mainly rural persons remaining outside the iron grip of intolerant Church Authority. This is largely because of early Church-biased propaganda aimed at the total vilification of non-Christians and their native festivals. Pagan originally meant ‘one who dwells in the country.’ The old Roman word ‘Pagus,’ that is associated with a group of villages in the country, may also have a connection with the term Pagan herein. Alternatively, the word was frequently substituted for "Heathen" meaning ‘Heath dweller.
In its mad rush to evangelise the indigenous masses the Church soon made sure that these titles would stick in the national consciousness as bywords for evil, corruption, brutality and general profanity against the newly established faith system from the East! This clandestine piece of mind manipulation was highly successful and still is. Numerous contemporary dictionaries prefer to define the term ‘Pagan’ in a prejudicial Christian fashion. Sadly, the compilers of these reference books have often ignored genuine information on the subject freely supplied by well-meaning Pagan organisations whose only desire is to rectify the situation in the name of social harmony and progress. Old prejudices are hard to conquer especially when we realise that anti-Pagan bias, deeply ingrained into all levels of our establishment, has been accepted as ‘Gospel Truth’ by the masses for many hundreds of years.
SEASONAL CYCLES
Paganism is a spiritual path (or more correctly a ‘field’ of spiritual paths) originating from the very dawn of time. Paganism is man’s Spiritual Home and basis of evolutionary change. Ancient man saw the sun rise, the rains fall, rivers flow and summer flowers bloom. He/she felt the deep yearning to relate and synchronise intimately with the ever-changing cycles of nature. This was essential for to ignore nature could lead to his eventual extinction. Man needed to discover his special place in the natural scheme of things and how he linked to the universal scale of events in order to fully understand his own inner self. The cycle of the ‘PAGAN YEAR’ is based on the changing face of nature. It links to the old agricultural calendar, which was always based on common sense, good husbandry of the land and personal survival.
Below we now supply a popularly accepted, but by no means strictly adhered to, listing of the eight main festivals commonly held by modern Pagans/Witches/Druids etc. It must be remembered however that Paganism is not (like suppressive monotheistic faiths) dogmatic or doctrinal in any way, thus each Pagan individual or group may celebrate the year in a different fashion.
THE WHEEL OF THE YEAR IMBOLG – 2nd FEBRUARY. Celtic fire festival later christened as ‘Candlemas.’ This ‘Festival of First Light’ is the time when we see the earliest spring growth appear. The Christian Saint Brigid, who was celebrated at this time, was based on the much older Goddess of Spring – Brigid/Brid. SPRING EQUINOX – 21st MARCH
A time when day and night are of equal length with light gaining prominence. The Christian Easter celebration is named after the Teutonic Goddess Ostara/Eostre. Many sacrificial Gods (such as Attis) were lamented at this period long before the Jesus Christ myth was created.
BELTANE/BEALTINE (FIRE OF BEL) – 30th APRIL Start of summer festival held on May Eve. The Celtic Fire celebration has long associations with Pagan fertility rites such as the Maypole dance and Greenwood marriages. This is a particularly happy time marked by the flowering of the Hawthorn (White Goddess Tree). The early Christian Fathers realised this day to be most important to the indigenous folk so they Christianised it as St. Walpurgis Night. In order to further suppress Pagan tradition the Church demonised Beltane (as with Samhain) into a time associated with evil or so-called devil worship.
MIDSUMMER 22nd JUNE The life-giving solar orb is now at its zenith and all organic growth of earth at full power. From this point on the year must head down once again to its lowest time of midwinter. The Summer Solstice has been thinly disguised by the Church as St John the Baptist’s Day because of its associations with water. In ancient times many rites were performed to seek aid from the Gods to help the crops grow - via abundance of water. LUGHNASADH (FESTIVAL OF FIRST FRUITS) – 31st JULY
Named after the Celtic God ‘Lugh.’ A corn festival later to be Christianised as Lammas/Loafmas. The rich bounty of nature’s harvest now heralds the sun’s slow descent back to winter’s chill. AUTUMN EQUINOX –21st SEPTEMBER As with the spring equinox, light and darkness are once more in harmony yet now darkness takes the leading role. The first leaves now start to fall as nature begins to close her doors to the darker months to come. Now is the time to harvest for the winter. SAMHAIN (HALLOWEEN) 31st OCTOBER
The start of the Celtic winter season. A special time of magick and divination when the thin veil betwixt the living and death is at it’s thinnest. Although not recognised by all Pagans, this is an important celebration in the seasonal calendar that always attracts the most ludicrous vilification from the Christian fundamentalist machine. The reason for this is simple. Killjoy evangelical zealots always get their knickers in a twist about this festival because it is the only Pagan celebration that they have failed to fully adopt as their own. Please see PAN’s extensive writings on this feast day.
YULE – 22nd DECEMBER
The ‘Midwinter Solstice’ is the time when the sun is at its lowest point in the sky. From now on the days can only get lighter. Most modern day Christmas customs and traditions are based on the older Roman Pagan feast of the Saturnalia (in honour of the God Saturn). Northern cultures have also had a strong bearing on the traditions associated with this icy time of year. For instance, the contemporary Father Xmas figure is largely based on the God Odin/Woden from Nordic mythology who rode the night sky on his white steed. The red and white costume of Father Xmas may have its origin in the hallucinogenic mushroom (Fly Agaric) which was used by Viking warriors and many a Norse shaman. The word "Yule" is believed to come from the Nordic word for ‘Wheel’ which is ‘Iul’. Yuletide brings us to a fitting end for this brief study in the seasonal cycle.
Living closer to nature than us our ancestors would have had to rely on the returning geese of winter, the first buds of spring and power of the sun’s warmth to know when best to celebrate the seasonal changes to best effect. With this in mind we must reiterate the fact that ‘man-made’ days can never replace the special feelings of actually KNOWING when one seasonal change is replaced by the next. Understanding the subtle vibrations that run throughout the universe is the very essence of understanding one’s place within the scheme of cosmic events. Joyous celebration of our most ancient festivals is but one method of achieving this goal! PAN sincerely hopes that all genuine seekers will discover their own truths about our native Pagan festivals. These vital celebrations of the natural cycle have been, in most cases, stolen by the Church and converted into Saint’s Days etc in order to give the ‘man-made’ Christian Faith a credible link to the older Pagan ‘Wheel of the Year’ which it certainly does not actually possess. The seasonal rites of Paganism have always been copied by later monotheistic faith structures simply because they are such an effective way to link to the awesome mysteries of life, creation, divinity and ultimately our inner selves.
For further information into the old Pagan festivals please checkout this link:
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Bookshop (6-8 Burley Lodge Road, Leeds, Yorkshire, LS6 1QP, U.K.) is also an excellent source of reference books on this subject.
Disclaimer:
PAN realises that the vast majority of Christians are not fundamentalist or evangelical in make up and we only criticise religious extremists who seek to disenfranchise other faiths whilst bolstering their own. PAN does not in any way condone violence against any persons or property and we must state that we have always worked towards a more tolerant and equal society.
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