The Wheel of the Year is a neo-pagan representation of the seasonal cycle. The wheel is a metaphor for the circle of being. Time is not linear, but cyclical, progressing through the stages of birth, growth, decline and death only to begin again.

The wheel of the year consists of eight festivals, or” sabbats”, spaced at even intervals throughout the year. Four of these festivals mark turning points in the yearly solar cycle: Yule (Winter Solstice), Ostara (Spring Equinox), Midsummer, and Mabon (Fall Equinox) celebrate the turning points in the sun’s progression from the dark of winter to the heat and light of high summer.

The other four festivals mark turning points in the growth cycle of the earth. Imbolc, midway between Yule and Ostara, celebrates the very first signs of spring, when new lambs are born, and the earth begins to wake from its winter death. Beltane, at the beginning of May, heralds the start of the summer season, when the seeds that were planted in spring begin to burst with life and growth. Lughnasa, in August, celebrates the full ripening of the earth and the harvest of its gifts. Samhain, or Hallowe’en, marks the end of the growth cycle, when the life-force ebbs and the earth subsides once more into its winter sleep.

Celebrating the yearly cycle helps us stay connected to the earth. The neo-pagan Wheel is just one way to represent the ebb and flow of life. Other cultures and traditions will have different names for these seasonal passages, and different festivals that celebrate them. The important thing is to stay attuned to the earth’s rhythms, wherever you live, and in whatever way seems meaningful to you.