Pagans and the Wheel of the Year

[RedDragon94]

I've heard it said that all Wiccans are Pagan, but not all Pagans are Wiccan. My question is, do you use the wheel of the year for anything in your practice? And if so what will you be doing for Lammas?

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I've heard it said that all Wiccans are Pagan, but not all Pagans are Wiccan. My question is, do you use the wheel of the year for anything in your practice? And if so what will you be doing for Lammas?

I am starting to. I created a pagan meetup group and we will be celebrating the Lammas at our first meetup. We'd probably do some social gathering and planning what we will do for the rest of the year. I try to live holistic so I probably find good healthy organic recipes that go with my rituals. Things like that.

Do you celebrate the seasons?

 

[Quintessence]

I don't tend to call it "the wheel of the year" so much, but absolutely!

Inevitably, I will be working with the OBOD ritual for MidSummer provided to me as part of my Bardic grade training. Inevitably, what the OBOD ritual is and what I actually end up doing for a ritual will be two different beasts, but a major reason I joined OBOD was for inspiration and to help me build more potent and meaningful rituals for the solar cycle. So far, that has worked fantastically and I have some much better traditions built up that I can use in future seasons. I'll probably start looking at their ritual this weekend and deciding how (if at all) I want to adapt it. I'm fortunate to be able to take time off from work for my holy days, so next week Friday I'll be able to dedicate solely to religious practice (I use the true cross-quarter dates instead of fixed dates).

Truth be told, though, the ritual celebration marking the occasion is only one component of honoring the solar cycle. I call each of the eight phases "tides" and they are to be acknowledged and celebrated for their full duration. They'll be various activities and stuff throughout. As an example, one of the themes of MidSummer is practical science, or engineering. Last year I binged on books about the history of invention. Who knows what I'll do this time the tide rolls around? I let the inspiration flow as it wills.

 

[RedDragon94]

Do you celebrate the seasons?

Well, besides the holidays I like to like candles that correspond to the seasons. I only have one for when I think fall/halloween rolls around at the moment. (pumpkin spice) My plan is to get seven other scents though.

 

[RedDragon94]

I don't tend to call it "the wheel of the year" so much, but absolutely!

Inevitably, I will be working with the OBOD ritual for MidSummer provided to me as part of my Bardic grade training. Inevitably, what the OBOD ritual is and what I actually end up doing for a ritual will be two different beasts, but a major reason I joined OBOD was for inspiration and to help me build more potent and meaningful rituals for the solar cycle. So far, that has worked fantastically and I have some much better traditions built up that I can use in future seasons. I'll probably start looking at their ritual this weekend and deciding how (if at all) I want to adapt it. I'm fortunate to be able to take time off from work for my holy days, so next week Friday I'll be able to dedicate solely to religious practice (I use the true cross-quarter dates instead of fixed dates).

Truth be told, though, the ritual celebration marking the occasion is only one component of honoring the solar cycle. I call each of the eight phases "tides" and they are to be acknowledged and celebrated for their full duration. They'll be various activities and stuff throughout. As an example, one of the themes of MidSummer is practical science, or engineering. Last year I binged on books about the history of invention. Who knows what I'll do this time the tide rolls around? I let the inspiration flow as it wills.

So, if you don't mind me asking, is one of the reasons why you chose Druidry as your path because you have celtic roots?

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

The cycle of time is very important to me, but I many years ago realized that the cycles are not perfect numbers, and the exact astronomical transition points are largely not detectable by humans without technological assistance. I therefore keep track of the astronomical changes, but also look for the changes in the weather, which in the American Midwest can be fairly easily divided into eight seasons (Winter, followed by Wonder (as in, I wonder when this winter is going to end?), followed by Spring, Sprang, Summer, Simmer, Fall, and Fell). I celebrate the changes, but the terms commonly used are not important to me.

Last two season-changes got rained out, so I'm hoping to have a good little fire to dance around one night this weekend. Time for Simmer to start!

 

[Jainarayan]

I might bake a loaf of bread to leave as an offering and do a blót. Ásatrú has more holidays than you can shake a drinking horn at, some of which have points on the Wheel of the Year, but the Wheel of the Year isn't a Heathen thing.

 

[RedDragon94]

I might bake a loaf of bread to leave as an offering and do a blót. Ásatrú has more holidays than you can shake a drinking horn at, some of which have points on the Wheel of the Year, but the Wheel of the Year isn't a Heathen thing.

I've heard there's plenty of alcohol at the rituals.

 

[Riverwolf]

I tend to follow the Wheel, though certain holidays have greater emphasis. I'm not very good at actually doing anything on the days, though. I want to incorporate more, though.

As far as it relates to the seasons, the place I live, San Francisco Bay Area, East Bay, only has two seasons these days: 10 months of heat, and 2 months of some cold and wet. That certainly doesn't help, and I hope to move to an area someday where the four seasons actually manifest in some form.

 

[Quintessence]

So, if you don't mind me asking, is one of the reasons why you chose Druidry as your path because you have celtic roots?

Not even slightly. Contemporary, Neopagan Druidry =/= Celtic.

 

[RedDragon94]

Not even slightly. Contemporary, Neopagan Druidry =/= Celtic.

Really so there's not even a connection?

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I tend to follow the Wheel, though certain holidays have greater emphasis. I'm not very good at actually doing anything on the days, though. I want to incorporate more, though.

As far as it relates to the seasons, the place I live, San Francisco Bay Area, East Bay, only has two seasons these days: 10 months of heat, and 2 months of some cold and wet. That certainly doesn't help, and I hope to move to an area someday where the four seasons actually manifest in some form.

Ha. Probably got the same problem here on the other side, VA. We are finally getting are fall back. Spring and summer dont want to makw up their minds and winter seems to hit hard but short lived.

I guess if we dont have a seasonal calender, we can do it ol' fashion. Observation. I tried that by not bringing my watch and cell phone all day out the house. Tried to figure the time by the sun.

Oh, advice: never do that when you are broke. Cant check your account for fast cash; fast food. Trial and error.

 

[Quintessence]

Really so there's not even a connection?

For some there is. It depends on the Druid, and it depends on the Druidic organization they're a part of (if they are part of one at all). AODA doesn't require adherence or interest in any particular Pagan pantheon, Celtic or otherwise. ADF only requires adherence to some sort of Indo-European pantheon, which could be anything from Celtic to Hellenic to Norse. OBOD, while it utilizes Britannic lore in its training, does not explicitly limit itself to it, and the Celtic aspects are not why I decided to join OBOD.

In terms of the history of Neopagan Druidry itself... there is a connection. Sort of. In a round about way. It's complicated. The Druid revival actually started as a non-religious fraternal order in... some time in the 1800s or something? Only later did it get rebooted as something Neopagan and explicitly religious (or "spiritual" if you prefer). When that happened, yes, the initial reboot was inspired by the Romantic movement and, in particular, interest in pre-Roman, pre-Christian Britain.

 

[RedDragon94]

For some there is. It depends on the Druid, and it depends on the Druidic organization they're a part of (if they are part of one at all). AODA doesn't require adherence or interest in any particular Pagan pantheon, Celtic or otherwise. ADF only requires adherence to some sort of Indo-European pantheon, which could be anything from Celtic to Hellenic to Norse. OBOD, while it utilizes Britannic lore in its training, does not explicitly limit itself to it, and the Celtic aspects are not why I decided to join OBOD.

In terms of the history of Neopagan Druidry itself... there is a connection. Sort of. In a round about way. It's complicated. The Druid revival actually started as a non-religious fraternal order in... some time in the 1800s or something? Only later did it get rebooted as something Neopagan and explicitly religious (or "spiritual" if you prefer). When that happened, yes, the initial reboot was inspired by the Romantic movement and, in particular, interest in pre-Roman, pre-Christian Britain.

And ADF is the American version of OBOD right? Somewhat?

 

[The Hammer]

I do celebrate the wheel of the year, when I don't get so busy with work that I forget... I missed Midsummer in June and I am very disappointed I did. But I will be celebrating in August, just not sure exactly what I will be doing yet. I am still building and constructed my personal path so it is very much a work in progress.

 

[Quintessence]

And ADF is the American version of OBOD right? Somewhat?

Not really; both ADF and OBOD operate internationally, though OBOD has a stronger international presence than ADF does, perhaps because it's the larger organization from what I understand. I looked at the two as closely as I was able before deciding which to join, though obviously now I'm more familiar with OBOD than with ADF. A major difference between the two is that ADF pretty explicitly trains members to select a historical Pagan pantheon to work with, including finding a "patron" at some stage of the journey and doing culturally-specific rituals; and in working with said pantheons, sound scholarship and reconstructionism is valued. OBOD on the other hand is very much about free-flowing inspiration and cares a lot less about historicity than it does artistry and storytelling; the saying "never let the truth get in the way of a good story" might be a good phrase to describe that.

 

[The Hammer]

Not really; both ADF and OBOD operate internationally, though OBOD has a stronger international presence than ADF does, perhaps because it's the larger organization from what I understand. I looked at the two as closely as I was able before deciding which to join, though obviously now I'm more familiar with OBOD than with ADF. A major difference between the two is that ADF pretty explicitly trains members to select a historical Pagan pantheon to work with, including finding a "patron" at some stage of the journey and doing culturally-specific rituals; and in working with said pantheons, sound scholarship and reconstructionism is valued. OBOD on the other hand is very much about free-flowing inspiration and cares a lot less about historicity than it does artistry and storytelling; the saying "never let the truth get in the way of a good story" might be a good phrase to describe that.

Hmm, I actually appreciate that insight, as I am still looking at both options as a way to extend my path.

 

[Quintessence]

Hmm, I actually appreciate that insight, as I am still looking at both options as a way to extend my path.

I'm sure they're both solid organizations, though OBOD strikes me as the more professional of the two given things like the quality of their website and podcast. A big reason why I went with OBOD was precisely its open-endedness. I didn't want to join something where I'd feel like I would need to abandon my path as I've developed it already just to fit someone else's paradigm. Although I have dim interest in Hellenic Paganism, I didn't (and still don't) want to revamp my path into being Hellenic. Further, the intellectualizing that goes on from the ADF angle is more of what I do not need, as I have an innate tendency to do that anyway and certainly do not need more of it. And, just in general, as much as I appreciate and respect the academic and scholarly approach, more and more I recognize it is ill-suited for living religion. It's good to study things like that to get an impartial foundation in a subject, but if one doesn't move past the logos and into the realm of mythos, it makes for a "religion" barren of its passion and emotionality.

 

[Politesse]

I've heard it said that all Wiccans are Pagan, but not all Pagans are Wiccan. My question is, do you use the wheel of the year for anything in your practice? And if so what will you be doing for Lammas?

Yep! Wiccans are really cool, but they did not invent the sun, or the change of seasons. My Pagan group celebrates the holidays with a ritual, and by bringing too much food to the potluck. I'm not sure what exactly we have planned for Lughnasad (our Lammas), but last year we dressed up in yellow and did a really pretty variant on cakes and wine (well, mead and cupcakes), culminating in offerings of food and libations to the earth in gratitude for the harvest she was about to give us. We practice out in a field next to an orchard, so the harvest imagery would be really intense if only Irish seasons matched up to ours better. We're a long way from Fall yet. We actually had a convo about this, but realized that if we moved Lughnasad to the local start of the harvest, we'd be celebrating it after the equinox and only a couple of weeks before Samhain, making things feel lopsided. So someone suggested thinking about it more as an honoring of the sun energy that is now going into the crops even if the harvest is some time away still.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Yep! Wiccans are really cool, but they did not invent the sun, or the change of seasons. My Pagan group celebrates the holidays with a ritual, and by bringing too much food to the potluck. I'm not sure what exactly we have planned for Lughnasad (our Lammas), but last year we dressed up in yellow and did a really pretty variant on cakes and wine (well, mead and cupcakes), culminating in offerings of food and libations to the earth in gratitude for the harvest she was about to give us. We practice out in a field next to an orchard, so the harvest imagery would be really intense if only Irish seasons matched up to ours better. We're a long way from Fall yet. We actually had a convo about this, but realized that if we moved Lughnasad to the local start of the harvest, we'd be celebrating it after the equinox and only a couple of weeks before Samhain, making things feel lopsided. So someone suggested thinking about it more as an honoring of the sun energy that is now going into the crops even if the harvest is some time away still.

I was wondering if it was just me with flip floping the holidays to match where we live. It doesnt seem like the start of harvest here yet...still summer. But youre right, it would go into Samhain if pushed forward.

Good idea though.