"We tried to find the yearly pattern--and apply what we learned to our Sabbat rituals. And as we did so, the Sabbats began to come to life for us." Janet and Steward Farrar. A Witches Bible Compleat.
In modern witchcraft we have the god represented by a bright youth in the spring who is like the stalk of wheat in the fields. He grows to ripeness and is harvested by the Goddess. This god exists during the spring and summer. As a result of the harvest, the Goddess now has seeds from the wheat that she plants; these seeds are like the dark god of fall and winter. He dwells beneath the soil, knowing that in the Spring he will die as a seed, or dark god, and in the soil; which represents the womb of the Goddess, he grows into a stalk of wheat, representing the bright god, again. This fertility theme is typical of most pagan belief systems. Although the Sybline Witches replace the seed and stalk of wheat, which represents the bright and dark gods, with Greek gods they follow the same concept of birth as a stalk of wheat, death by harvesting the wheat, and rebirth from the seed of the harvest wheat. Only the imagery is changed.
In ancient times, this theme was acted out in a series of rituals called 'mysteries', held at key points in the year. Over time, these 'mysteries' became more complex and sophisticated as people became more civilized and advanced. The religious rituals began to take on a more secular air of celebration. As the rituals became less solemn and serious, and holy days became holidays, civilized people forgot the mysteries and religious significance of these holy days. Other holidays were established that had nothing to do with the key points of the year, some holy days were changed or rescinded due to political concerns or practicalities. As a result the reasons for these holy days and their original purpose were lost.
Greece had many holidays, but they no longer reflected the theme of Birth, Life, Death, and Rebirth that I mentioned at the beginning of this chapter. Nor were they all situated during key points in the year, as their original holy days were. As a result, it is necessary to change them. These holidays have been advanced and moved around to correspond with the eight Sabbats established by Wiccans that fall on the key points of the year.
Four of these Sabbats are known as Lesser Sabbats. They fall on the solstices and equinoxes of each year. During the solstice the sun is in it's most extreme North or South position in the sky, during the equinoxes the sun travels across the celestial equator of the Earth and the time of night and day are equal. For obvious reasons these four lesser Sabbats represent key points in the natural year. The Greater Sabbats tend to center around mating of animals, planting, harvesting, etc.
Ancient witches celebrated the theme of Birth, Life, Death, and Rebirth around these Sabbats in ancient times and it is only fitting that modern witches keep this tradition. It is during these eight Sabbats that modern witches celebrate the Great Cycle or theme that I mentioned earlier. That Great Cycle is broken down into a series of 'mysteries' that are celebrated during the Sabbats. These 'mysteries' are like chapters in the divine story, which is the Great Cycle. These chapters are celebrated during each of the eight Sabbats.
The First Chapter involves the Goddess emerging as a maiden during the spring, with all of her memories of the past washed away to make her as a Maiden. Independent and innocent.
Her Son, conceived by the Dark God and born in the Underworld, before her transformation back into a Maiden, with her memories cleansed, comes to her and explains who she is and her purpose. That is Chapter 1 of the Great Cycle Story. The name of this Chapter is called Panathena.
Chapter 2 of the Great Cycle consists of the Sacred Marriage between the Goddess and her Consort. It concerns the conception of the Dark God who is the Son of the Goddess. This is called Flora Festiva or the Festival of Flowers.
Chapter 3 concerns the apex of the Bright God's power. It is at his height that the Dark God surrenders and succumbs to the Bright God. Only to be reborn as a result of the Sacred Marriage between the Goddess and Her Consort and continue the cycle. The name of this chapter is Leandra.
Chapter 4 is the decline of the Bright God. He sees his end and the fact that the Goddess must choose the Dark God, eventually.
Chapter 5 involves the Death of the Bright God Consort of the Goddess. He passes and she mourns his passing. This Chapter is the Mourning of Eos or Wan of Apollo.
Chapter 6 is the return of the Dark God as the Consort of the Goddess. This Chapter is called Hecate's Night.
Chapter 7 is called Aleous Demeter or Wandering of Demeter. It concerns the acceptance of the Dark God by the Goddess and the conception of the Bright God in Sacred Marriage.
Chapter 8 deals with the Goddess leaving the Dark God, to return to the world of the Bright God. She lures the dark god into sleep, baths in the sacred spring of Lethe or forgetfulness and emerged to be reunited with the Bright God. As a result we return to chapter 1 again and begin the process all over again. Ad infintum.
Naturally since the Great Cycle is divided into 'eight' mysteries, it only makes since that these eight mysteries would fall on each of the eight Sabbats. Oddly enough the New Year for the Sybline witch does not begin during the First Chapter, but during the second. The Wiccan New Year begins in Chapter 6, during the transition between the Bright and Dark God forms. The Sybline New Year occurs during the Summer Solstice and the Height of the Bright God's power. After this point the god's power declines and the Dark God's power increases.
Sabbat Dates for the Sybline Traditions are listed below:
June 21: New Year. Apollo Rising. Leandra. Dance of Eos.
August 13: Heliosseus. Dance of Apollo. Feast of Hecate.
September 21: Eleusinian Mysteries starting on the 15. Apollo Waning. Mourning of Eos.
October 29: Hecate's Day, Abduction of Kore, Feast of Hades. Preferred as Hecate's Night.
December 21: Aleous Demeter, Wandering of Demeter, Halcyon, or even Yule.
February 1-3: Lesser Eleusinian Mysteries. Kore Priam, Imbolc, or Feast of the New Moon.
March 22: Celebration of Athena, Demeter's Reunion, Panathena, and Dionysia.
April 30: Flora Festiva, Festival of Flowers, Feast of Flowers.
The Wiccan Sabbat Dates are as follows:
Samhain: Beginning of Wiccan New Year. Oct 31 or Nov. 1
Yule: Wiccan Christmas. Dec 21.
Imbolc: Wiccan Festival of Lights. Feb. 3.
Eostar: Wiccan Easter. March 23.
Beltaine: Wiccan May Day.
Lithra: Mid-Summer Day, a Wiccan Thanksgiving. June 21.
Lammas or Lughnasadh: Wiccan Harvest Festival. August 1.
Mabon: Second Wiccan Harvest Festival. Sept. 22.
Traditionally, every other Sabbat falls on a solstice or equinox. So, the dates of Aleous Demeter, Panathena, Flora Festiva, and The Mourning of Eos would have their dates changed accordingly, but for convenience I have supplied dates that are fairly close to the usual solstice or equinox dates on the calendar. It is always suggested to hold these Sabbats as close to the solstices and equinoxes as possible.
In addition to the traditional eight Sabbats, witches hold weekly meetings known as Esbats. It is usually preferable to hold these rituals on the various phases of the moon, but in some covens, the esbat is held every Friday. This type of esbat was developed for nine-to-fivers who had weekends off. Since the tradition of the workplace concerning weekends has changed over the years the Friday esbat is not as practical as it used to be, but the moon phase esbat often occurs sporadically during the week and many people like a day set in stone. So, in modern times, the esbat could occur at any time that is convenient for the practitioner.
YOU ARE READING
Witchcraft Using Greek Mythology
Non-FictionThis is a non-fictional manuscript which describes a Greek Mythology based form of witchcraft. I wrote this manuscript twenty years ago. I have only made changes to the introduction the material may be somewhat antiquated. Anyone interested in a s...
