Working with the elements and quarters, A year and a day
Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2015 2:11 am
Elements and Quarters
A year and Day Study
I have tossed this idea around for some time and thought it could be beneficial to those on the path of the wise to have a sort of interactive study AS we turn through the wheel of the year.
For instance, so many folks come here and wonder how to connect with say, fire.... we would address this element when we come to the south.
We would travel through the wheel of the year with some food for thought as we pass each element and quarter.
I will approach this study from the perspective of the Celtic tradition I am a part of.
Since we have just entered the season of Imbolc, now is the perfect time to jump on the wheel and follow it around. The holidays are more than just 8 days on our calender year. Each holiday is a span of time that lingers on either side of these eight days. There is the energy building up ...the sacred day arrives and there is energy lingering after. The lines are not hard and defined, they are wavy and permeable.
Imbolc is when we have the new dedicants make their vow to study for a year and day. What does year and a day mean?
I really like this term, its sounds super mysterious and is generally associated with those on the path of the wise. In reality it is your spiritual birthday.
For example ...If you dedicate at Imbolc...
(February 2nd) , then 365 days go by, it is now the day before Imbolc (February 1st).
Add one more day and it is Imbolc once again !!!...February 2nd, hence A year and a day.
This is the wheel of the year we will follow
Even though the light was reborn at Yule, the "light" HALF of the year begins with Imbolc. This is where there is enough light entering in the pupils of animals triggering certain hormonal responses, the ewes come into their milk, chickens start laying eggs, eagles are making their nests etc. Though much of the country is still in the grips of winter, it is the amount of light returned that determines the holiday. The light half of the year begins at Imbolc and ends with Lughnasadh.
The height of each season is in the middle of each quarter. Think of the wheel of the year in 4 basic pie slices, each with an elemental quality and each encompassing a seasonal quality.
Using the above diagram as a visual, the pie is divided like this...
Imbolc to Bealtaine- SPRING and AIR
...the height of the season is Ostara also known as the Vernal Equinox
Bealtaine to Lughnasadh- SUMMER and FIRE
...the height of the season is Litha, also known as the Summer Solstice
Lughnasadh to Samhain- AUTUMN and WATER
...the height of the season is Mabon, also known as the Autumnal Equinox
Samhain to Imbolc- WINTER and EARTH
...the height of the season is Yule, also known as Winter Solstice
There are 4 solar Holiday and 4 cross quarter Holidays. The solar holidays are on the Solstices and Equinoxes. The cross quarter days were very important, being "in between" these solar holidays that mark extremes and balances. The Celts found magic to reside in the tweeny places. The two holidays that are most often thought of to be the most magical are Bealtaine and Samhain. The veil between "this world and the next" is said to shimmer very thin on these two Holidays, and since the Celts were sensitive to these "tween" places, it is no surprise these 2 special holidays are half way between the light half of the year and the dark half.
stay tuned....
blessings, Firebird
A year and Day Study
I have tossed this idea around for some time and thought it could be beneficial to those on the path of the wise to have a sort of interactive study AS we turn through the wheel of the year.
For instance, so many folks come here and wonder how to connect with say, fire.... we would address this element when we come to the south.
We would travel through the wheel of the year with some food for thought as we pass each element and quarter.
I will approach this study from the perspective of the Celtic tradition I am a part of.
Since we have just entered the season of Imbolc, now is the perfect time to jump on the wheel and follow it around. The holidays are more than just 8 days on our calender year. Each holiday is a span of time that lingers on either side of these eight days. There is the energy building up ...the sacred day arrives and there is energy lingering after. The lines are not hard and defined, they are wavy and permeable.
Imbolc is when we have the new dedicants make their vow to study for a year and day. What does year and a day mean?
I really like this term, its sounds super mysterious and is generally associated with those on the path of the wise. In reality it is your spiritual birthday.
For example ...If you dedicate at Imbolc...
(February 2nd) , then 365 days go by, it is now the day before Imbolc (February 1st).
Add one more day and it is Imbolc once again !!!...February 2nd, hence A year and a day.
This is the wheel of the year we will follow
Even though the light was reborn at Yule, the "light" HALF of the year begins with Imbolc. This is where there is enough light entering in the pupils of animals triggering certain hormonal responses, the ewes come into their milk, chickens start laying eggs, eagles are making their nests etc. Though much of the country is still in the grips of winter, it is the amount of light returned that determines the holiday. The light half of the year begins at Imbolc and ends with Lughnasadh.
The height of each season is in the middle of each quarter. Think of the wheel of the year in 4 basic pie slices, each with an elemental quality and each encompassing a seasonal quality.
Using the above diagram as a visual, the pie is divided like this...
Imbolc to Bealtaine- SPRING and AIR
...the height of the season is Ostara also known as the Vernal Equinox
Bealtaine to Lughnasadh- SUMMER and FIRE
...the height of the season is Litha, also known as the Summer Solstice
Lughnasadh to Samhain- AUTUMN and WATER
...the height of the season is Mabon, also known as the Autumnal Equinox
Samhain to Imbolc- WINTER and EARTH
...the height of the season is Yule, also known as Winter Solstice
There are 4 solar Holiday and 4 cross quarter Holidays. The solar holidays are on the Solstices and Equinoxes. The cross quarter days were very important, being "in between" these solar holidays that mark extremes and balances. The Celts found magic to reside in the tweeny places. The two holidays that are most often thought of to be the most magical are Bealtaine and Samhain. The veil between "this world and the next" is said to shimmer very thin on these two Holidays, and since the Celts were sensitive to these "tween" places, it is no surprise these 2 special holidays are half way between the light half of the year and the dark half.
stay tuned....
blessings, Firebird