Sabbat Rituals & Family Activities

Links below will take you to a page with general information, ritual guides & fun family activities that are associated with each Sabbat.
The descriptions of these festivals is concise & the rituals & preparations are based on our own personal practices.  
For more formal & in-depth information of them refer to the reference list at the end of each festival/ritual page.

Samhain
Yule
Imbolc
Ostara
Beltane
Litha
Lammas
Mabon

Samhain - May 1st
(Northern Hemisphere October 31st)
Also known as All Hallow's Eve, Halloween.The Pagan year begins (and ends) with Samhain. It is a time of reflection, of looking back over the last year. This is the time when the boundary is thinnest between the worlds of living and dead; the powers of divination, the Sight, and supernatural communication are strengthened on Samhain night, and it is considered a powerful but dangerous time to communicate with lost loved ones. Pagans celebrate Samhain as an acknowledgement that without death, there can be no rebirth. At Samhain, the darkness increases and the Goddess reigns in her powerful aspect of the Crone. The God passes into the underworld to become reborn of the Goddess again at Yule. This is a time for honouring our ancestors & remembering those gone before us.

Find out more about Samhain from Wikipedia or visit our link above.


Yule (Winter Solstice) - June 20th to 23rd
(Northern Hemisphere December 20th to 23rd) 
Winter solstice or Yule is the shortest day, and also the longest night of the year. It marks the return of the Sun's warmth and light, and the promise once again of a productive Earth. Pagans celebrate these aspects with candles, fire, greenery and feasting. At this time, Yule logs are burned. The Yule log must traditionally be the root of a hardwood tree, and in Australia mallee roots are ideal for this purpose, as are all types of Eucalyptus. The Yule log is burned down until nothing but a small piece remains, which is saved and kept to be used as a lighter for the following year's Yule fire. A Yule tree is placed within the traditional Wiccan home, with a pentagram (five pointed star) at the top, symbolizing the five elements. Presents are exchanged and many Witches stay up all night to welcome the sun. This is symbolic of the Goddess giving birth to the God and then resting after her ordeal.

Find out more about Yule from Wikipedia or visit our link above.

Imbolc - August 1st
(Northern Hemisphere February 2nd)
Also known as Imbolg, Candlemas, Feast of Torches, Oimelc, Lupercalia and Brigid's Day.  Imbolc is the time of the beginning of beginnings, the time to consider carefully what you will do with the year stretching before you. Imbolc brings the awakening of the life force when the first green shoots of bulbs appear. Life is stirring again and this marks the Goddess recovering after giving birth while the newborn God is depicted as a small child nursing from his mother. The God is growing, spreading sunshine all around causing things to grow. It is a time to honour the feminine and get ready for spring. At lmbolc, the Australian forests are bright with the colour yellow, the Acacia trees coming into full flower. Until fairly recently, the 1st of August was "Wattle day" in Australia (it has now been moved to the 1st of September).

Find out more about Imbolc from Wikipedia or visit our link above.

Ostara (Spring/Vernal Equinox) - September 20th to 23rd
(Northern Hemisphere March 20th to 23rd)
Also known as Eostre.The Equinoxes are the balancing points in the cycle of the seasons, when the day and night are of equal length, reminding us of the harmony of the whole. Buds of flowers and leaf, all manner of eggs and just-born life are celebrated in decorations and imagery as Pagans rejoice in the Earth's reawakening. The urge of spring is to do, create and bring in the new. Here light overcomes darkness with lengthening days bringing the magic of new growth. Ostara is associated with childhood and new life, and the God and Goddess are perceived as children, personifying youth and innocence before their entry into adulthood. The Goddess, as the Maiden, covers the earth with flowers and love while the God grows to maturity. This is a time to honour the masculine and to celebrate everything that is great about being alive.

Find out more about Ostara from Wikipedia or visit our link above.

​Beltane - October 31st
(Northern Hemisphere May 1st)
Also known as Bealtaine, Walpurgisnacht, May Day, (Northern Hemisphere) & Novey Eve (in Southern Hemisphere).Beltane, the beginning of the summer months is at the November cross-quarter. This is the festival of the Great Rite - of sexual union between Goddess and God. Beltane is the spring fertility festival and there is feasting and celebration - a great festival for lovers! Beltane is the most popular time for Witches to be handfasted. This is the time when the brilliant red flowers of the Flame Trees highlight Australian forests and gardens. 

Find out more about Beltane from Wikipedia or visit our link above.

Litha (Summer Solstice) - December 20th to 23rd
(Northern Hemisphere June 20th to 23rd)
Also known as Midsummer.This is the longest day of the year, and a time of joy and strength for the light. It is a time when the powers of nature are at their fullest. In the past this was often marked with bonfires and celebrants staying awake through the short night. To leap over the bonfire was to assure a good crop; some said the grain would grow as tall as the leapers could jump. Due to fire restrictions in Australia throughout summer, celebrations for this Sabbat tend to be quite different from those throughout the rest of the year. No candles can be lit, no cauldrons burned, and no open flames are allowed outside throughout much of the country however inside symbolic fires constructed as table centres are common. Litha falls in the dry stifling heat of summer in the southern part of our land, but in the north, Litha falls in the hot, wet season, and represents fruitfulness. In Australia the Sturt Desert Pea is a sacred flower of this time. This is a time of ascendancy of the God, at his most powerful now, while the burgeoning Goddess brings forth the bounty of the Earth.

Find out more about Litha from Wikipedia or visit our link above.

Lammas - February 2nd
(Northern Hemisphere August 1st)
Also known as Lughnasadh or Lunasa.  Lammas is the "cross-quarter" day marking the first harvest of early grain, where the first loaf of the bread from the harvest is broken and shared in the name of the Goddess. All crops associated with grain and of the season are sacred to this time.  It is a time to reflect on the successes of the year and to reward yourself for jobs well done. Lammas magic can be magic of facing up to change. The God gives his energy to the crops to ensure life while the Goddess, as Mother, prepares to transform into her aspect as the Crone. The God loses his strength as the days grow shorter.

Find out more about Lammas from Wikipedia or visit our link above.
Find out more about Lughnasadh from Wikipedia

Mabon (Autumn Equinox) - March 20th to 23rd
(Northern Hemisphere September 20th to 23rd)
Also known as Madron.  Mabon is a balancing point in the light and dark of the year, the day when the sun has equal hours in and out of the sky. It is also the second harvest. At this time food is prepared for storage, jams and pickles are made, and fruits are candied and preserved for the coming winter. Pagans celebrate this as a rite of Thanksgiving, a celebration of harvest abundance, an appreciation of hearth, home, and family. It is a time to reflect on what it means to be a Witch and re-affirm your commitment to the Craft. This is the time when the Goddess is mourning the God even though she carries him within her, to be born again at Yule.

​Find out more about Mabon from Wikipedia or visit our link above.