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Celtic Wheel of the Year

© Virginia Marin

To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven... (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).

In folklore, legends and mythology, the wheel, circles and spirals are powerful symbols of creation, change and the constant movement of the universe.

People of ancient times viewed the heavens as a giant wheel turning on an axis which pointed to the north polar stars. At this northernmost point, the Celestial Pole, Heaven was deemed to be located. Even today, many Christians believe that Heaven is located in the North, and that when the Messiah returns, He will be seen as coming from the North.

But to the Ancients, at the base of the axis was the temple of their goddess and in the temple, her circular altar. From this spot a virtual spiral staircase of stars rose into the heavens - providing a clockwise path for deceased souls into their Otherworld abode.

The spirals seemed to entertain no beginning or ending thereby signifying that as one cycle ended another began - eternal life.

The Celtic people who embraced Seasonal Days of Celebration made up the Celtic Nations of Alba (Scotland); Breizh, (Brittany); Cymru, (Wales); Eiru, (Ireland); Kernow, (Cornwall); and Mannie, (Isle of Man).

To the Celts, the never-ending spirals were also symbolic of information and knowledge which were always on the increase. Symbols were devised to speak for them, as they did not possess a written language. Many of their symbols often appeared in triplicate, a sign of divinity. Working with symbols evolved into a way to catalogue their days and cycles, and is known as the Celtic Year Wheel.

The Celtic Year Wheel comes to us from the pages of distant time. Though shrouded in age, mystery, mystique, religious significance, myths, legends and folklore, the wheel contains astronomical and seasonal data that is reconizable today. A study of the Wheel can consume time, thought and energy.

The Celtic Wheel is divided into eight sections which represent four lesser solar festivals and four principal lunar festivals.

The four lunar festivals are Ibolc, Beltaine, Lughnasash and Samhain. The four solar celebrations are the Winter Solstice, the Vernal Equinox, the Summer Solstice and the Autumnal Equinox. These latter four mark the sun's path through the year.

I WINTER SOLSTICE

The Winter Solstice brings the Snow King and symbols of the Christmas season - the Christmas tree with decorations, an angel at its top, which Celtic lore purports to represent a goddess, the various representations of Father Christmas, the Holly King, the Yule Log and evergreens.

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