WHEEL OF THE YEAR – A Deeper Look
We’ve been exploring the Wheel of the Year for a while now, and I thought it might be time to properly layout how that wheel maps onto the zodiac. Hence, the “deeper look”.
The Wheel of the Year divides the twelve signs of the zodiac into eight equal sections. What this means is the four Major Sabbats all land in the middle of their respective signs (at 15°), whereas the Minor Sabbats mark the transition from one sign into another (and herald the modern seasons).
Minor* Sabbats
Yule – 0° Capricorn (from Sagittarius) – Winter Solstice
Litha – 0° Cancer (from Gemini) – Summer Solstice
Ostara – 0° Aries (from Pisces) – Vernal Equinox
Mabon – 0° Libra (from Virgo) – Autumnal Equinox
Major Sabbats
Imbolg – 15° Aquarius
Beltaine – 15° Taurus
Lughnasadh – 15° Leo
Samhain – 15° Scorpio
What does this mean for the energies? Well, among the many ways the signs of the zodiac are divided, the Trivinity is the most foundational. Traditionally, there are three modes (cardinal, fixed, and mutable), but I have adapted this and associate each sign with one of three symbols:
Line
raw, directed energies
these signs initiate
(Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn – cardinal signs)
Circle
contained and sustained energies
these signs concentrate
(Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius – fixed signs)
Spiral
integrated and disseminated energies
these signs transform/transition
(Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces – mutable signs)
(Each sign can also be subdivided into these same three energetic parts:
line is the first 10°, circle being the middle 10°, and the spiral the last 10°.)
So, we can see that the change of season comes when we transition out of a “spiral” and into an initiating “line” (quarter days), and the cross-quarter days happen at the peak of concentrated energies. The ebb and flow of the Wheel of the Year is just what makes it turn.
As above, so below…
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*It is common today for the Sabbats to be referred to as either “quarter days” or “cross-quarter days”. However, it is most often done incorrectly by imposing our current seasonal reckoning onto ancient beliefs. The ancients reckoned the seasons by the Major Sabbats, making these the quarter days (and, consequently, the solstices and the equinoxes the cross-quarter days). However, because of our current seasonal calculations, many modern pagans overlook their own history, opting instead to erroneously call the current seasonal demarcations the quarter days. To avoid confusion, I will stick with the Major and Minor descriptions of the Sabbats (though none are truly minor).