Esbats: What are they?
Esbats are rites held for the purpose of communing with the Moon's energies and are regarded as the time for most magickal workings. As opposed to the Sabbats, which are fire or sun festivals, Esbats are dedicated to the Moon in her various phases. These are considered the 'working' celebrations, the time in which to attract, banish, invoke protection, or to perform any other magickal workings. Most Sabbat festivals are held in order to celebrate the changing of the seasons, the gathering of the harvest, etc. The Esbats are held in honor of the Goddess. The Lunar Year contains 13 Full Moons.
The Blue Moon is considered the 'goal moon', at this time it is customary to set specific goals for yourself and to review your accomplishments and failures since the last one.
January is the time to conserve energy by working on personal problems that involve no one else. It is also a time for protection rites and reversing spells. During this month the energy flow is sluggish and below the surface.
February is the time for loving the self, accepting responsibility for past errors, forgiving yourself, and making future plans. At this time the energy flow is working toward the surface; good for purification, growth, and healing.
March is the time for new beginnings, breaking illusions, and seeing the truth in your life however much it may hurt. The energy flow breaks into the open, a good time for growing, prospering, and exploring. Light and Dark are in balance now.
April is the time for working on your temper, emotional flare-ups, and selfishness. The energy is flowing into creating and producing; a good time for change, self-confidence issues, taking advantage of opportunities, and realizing self-reliance.
May is the time for strengthening the connections with supernatural protectors and beings around you. The energy is in full flow making this a good time for intuition, propagating, and connecting with faeries and nature spirits.
June is the time for decision making, taking responsibility for present happenings, working on personal inconsistencies, and for strengthening and rewarding yourself for your positive traits. The energy is in full, but restive, flow, the Earth tides are turning making this a good time for protection, strengthening, and prevention spells.
July is the time for dream-work, divination, and meditation on spiritual goals and plans. The energy is slower and more relaxed, proper for success and prosperity spells. This month is the time to start preparing for the colder and darker months ahead.
August is the time for harvesting, gathering, and appreciating. The energy flow is slowing more and now is the time of vitality, health, and friendships.
September is the time for organizing and straightening up physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual clutter. The energy flow is resting and Light and Dark are in balance.
October is the time for inner cleansing. Meditate on the laws of Karma and thoughts of reincarnation. This is the time of letting go, justice, balance, and inner harmony.
November is the month of transformation. It is time to prepare for the coming winter and a time to strengthen communication with the god or goddess closest to you. The energy flow is taking root and preparing to flow once more.
December is the time of Spiritual Paths. The Earth tides are turning and it is time to reach out to friends and family, the lonely, and the needy. This is the month of death and renewal. Spells should should be aimed at endurance and provision.
-Full Moon-
Full Moon energy is used for banishing unwanted influences in your life; protection magick; and divination. Planning, releasing, and working backwards in time are done on the full moon as well.
It is said theat the best Full Moon magick can be conjured for seven days: the three days prior to the Full Moon, the night of the Full Moon itself, and three days after the Full Moon. Sometimes the results of Full Moon magick can take aproximatel one moon cycle to take hold and come to completion.*
The Full Moon is the time to invoke the Mother Goddess at the height of her glory, this is when the ceremony called "Drawing Down the Moon" is performed. During this ceremony the energy and essence of the Full Moon is drawn into oneself, when done properly you will feel a heightened trance state combined with a power surge that radiates through your whole body. Traditionally this is only done within a protective circle.
-New Moon-
The New Moon is used for personal growth, healing, the blessing of a new project or venture, etc. If done correctly, success should be obtained by the first Full Moon.*
This is the time when the Crone is transformed into the Maiden. It is a time of renewal and new beginnings
-Dark Moon-
The three days before the New Moon is known as the dark of the moon. This is when you can't see the moon at all in the heavens. Traditionally, this is a time when no magick is performed. It is a period to give yourself a break; a time of rest. Deep meditation and vision questing can be performed now, but not for a specific magickal purpose. However, The Crone, or the Dark Mother, rules this time, and if her magick is needed, now is the time when you should use it.
-Waxing Moon-
The period between the New Moon and the Full Moon is called the Waxing Moon. This is a good time for attraction magick, especially between the New Moon and the First Quarter.
-Waning Moon-
The period between the Full Moon and the New Moon is called the Waning Moon. This is a time for banishing and rejecting things in our lives that we no longer wish to carry around with us. Negative emotions, bad habits, diseases, and ailments can successfully be banned during this time.
The Blue Moon is considered the 'goal moon', at this time it is customary to set specific goals for yourself and to review your accomplishments and failures since the last one.
January is the time to conserve energy by working on personal problems that involve no one else. It is also a time for protection rites and reversing spells. During this month the energy flow is sluggish and below the surface.
February is the time for loving the self, accepting responsibility for past errors, forgiving yourself, and making future plans. At this time the energy flow is working toward the surface; good for purification, growth, and healing.
March is the time for new beginnings, breaking illusions, and seeing the truth in your life however much it may hurt. The energy flow breaks into the open, a good time for growing, prospering, and exploring. Light and Dark are in balance now.
April is the time for working on your temper, emotional flare-ups, and selfishness. The energy is flowing into creating and producing; a good time for change, self-confidence issues, taking advantage of opportunities, and realizing self-reliance.
May is the time for strengthening the connections with supernatural protectors and beings around you. The energy is in full flow making this a good time for intuition, propagating, and connecting with faeries and nature spirits.
June is the time for decision making, taking responsibility for present happenings, working on personal inconsistencies, and for strengthening and rewarding yourself for your positive traits. The energy is in full, but restive, flow, the Earth tides are turning making this a good time for protection, strengthening, and prevention spells.
July is the time for dream-work, divination, and meditation on spiritual goals and plans. The energy is slower and more relaxed, proper for success and prosperity spells. This month is the time to start preparing for the colder and darker months ahead.
August is the time for harvesting, gathering, and appreciating. The energy flow is slowing more and now is the time of vitality, health, and friendships.
September is the time for organizing and straightening up physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual clutter. The energy flow is resting and Light and Dark are in balance.
October is the time for inner cleansing. Meditate on the laws of Karma and thoughts of reincarnation. This is the time of letting go, justice, balance, and inner harmony.
November is the month of transformation. It is time to prepare for the coming winter and a time to strengthen communication with the god or goddess closest to you. The energy flow is taking root and preparing to flow once more.
December is the time of Spiritual Paths. The Earth tides are turning and it is time to reach out to friends and family, the lonely, and the needy. This is the month of death and renewal. Spells should should be aimed at endurance and provision.
-Full Moon-
Full Moon energy is used for banishing unwanted influences in your life; protection magick; and divination. Planning, releasing, and working backwards in time are done on the full moon as well.
It is said theat the best Full Moon magick can be conjured for seven days: the three days prior to the Full Moon, the night of the Full Moon itself, and three days after the Full Moon. Sometimes the results of Full Moon magick can take aproximatel one moon cycle to take hold and come to completion.*
The Full Moon is the time to invoke the Mother Goddess at the height of her glory, this is when the ceremony called "Drawing Down the Moon" is performed. During this ceremony the energy and essence of the Full Moon is drawn into oneself, when done properly you will feel a heightened trance state combined with a power surge that radiates through your whole body. Traditionally this is only done within a protective circle.
-New Moon-
The New Moon is used for personal growth, healing, the blessing of a new project or venture, etc. If done correctly, success should be obtained by the first Full Moon.*
This is the time when the Crone is transformed into the Maiden. It is a time of renewal and new beginnings
-Dark Moon-
The three days before the New Moon is known as the dark of the moon. This is when you can't see the moon at all in the heavens. Traditionally, this is a time when no magick is performed. It is a period to give yourself a break; a time of rest. Deep meditation and vision questing can be performed now, but not for a specific magickal purpose. However, The Crone, or the Dark Mother, rules this time, and if her magick is needed, now is the time when you should use it.
-Waxing Moon-
The period between the New Moon and the Full Moon is called the Waxing Moon. This is a good time for attraction magick, especially between the New Moon and the First Quarter.
-Waning Moon-
The period between the Full Moon and the New Moon is called the Waning Moon. This is a time for banishing and rejecting things in our lives that we no longer wish to carry around with us. Negative emotions, bad habits, diseases, and ailments can successfully be banned during this time.
The second wheel of the year is made up of thirteen lunar cycles occurring within the solar year—called “esbats” by Pagans. Covens usually meet either on the full or the new moon and a few manage both. Solitary practitioners are urged to commemorate the moon’s journey through the sky at both times, but the merrymaking and festival night has always been that of the full moon. Never forget that the word “lunatic” means “moon madness.”
The great night light in the sky was humanity’s first calendar. In many pre-patriarchal cultures, it was considered a feminine symbol, representative of the Goddess due to the fact that its synodic, or relational, revolution around the earth takes twenty-nine days, twelve hours, and forty-four minutes, which closely matches the female menstrual cycle of twenty-eight to thirty days. Its waxing phase symbolized the virgin aspect of the Goddess, the full moon symbolized the fullness of the mother aspect, and the waning moon symbolized the aged and wise crone aspect.
In cultures that had male moon deities as well as or instead of female lunar deities, the waxing moon was the horned God of the woodlands and son of the Goddess, the full moon was the warrior and the father, and the waning moon corresponded to the hunter and teacher who was the elder God.
Many cultures have assigned names to each of the thirteen full moons that usually occur within our standard solar year. The Irish have one set of names, West Africans have another set, and North Americans have created several of their own moon names, some taken from the spiritual traditions of Native Americans.
However, the fact remains that thirteen lunar months is a longer period of time than our solar year of 365 days. Thirteen full lunar cycles takes approximately 374 days. Some traditions have divided their full moons into twenty-eight days, disregarding the moon’s phase just so the solar and lunar years will begin and end at the same time. This occurs frequently among North American practitioners using the Irish-Celtic lunar calendar. Other Witches will simply choose to acknowledge two separate New Year’s Days, or will use the Blue Moon—a second full moon falling within the same solar month—as a point to make any adjustments. For example, if the lunar months and solar months begin to diverge, they will acknowledge or ignore the Blue Moon. This keeps the Cold Moon from appearing in July, or the Harvest Moon falling in February.
For more than six thousand years, the Jewish calendar has allowed for periodic adjustments, while the Islamic lunar calendar makes none. The result being that in Islam a holy day can, and eventually will, fall within the corresponding season of the solar year.
No matter how hard we try, the two will never be an exact match, nor is there any reason they should be. In Witchcraft, we honor dual realities, why then can we not honor two separate and different, though equally important, wheels of time?
The great night light in the sky was humanity’s first calendar. In many pre-patriarchal cultures, it was considered a feminine symbol, representative of the Goddess due to the fact that its synodic, or relational, revolution around the earth takes twenty-nine days, twelve hours, and forty-four minutes, which closely matches the female menstrual cycle of twenty-eight to thirty days. Its waxing phase symbolized the virgin aspect of the Goddess, the full moon symbolized the fullness of the mother aspect, and the waning moon symbolized the aged and wise crone aspect.
In cultures that had male moon deities as well as or instead of female lunar deities, the waxing moon was the horned God of the woodlands and son of the Goddess, the full moon was the warrior and the father, and the waning moon corresponded to the hunter and teacher who was the elder God.
Many cultures have assigned names to each of the thirteen full moons that usually occur within our standard solar year. The Irish have one set of names, West Africans have another set, and North Americans have created several of their own moon names, some taken from the spiritual traditions of Native Americans.
However, the fact remains that thirteen lunar months is a longer period of time than our solar year of 365 days. Thirteen full lunar cycles takes approximately 374 days. Some traditions have divided their full moons into twenty-eight days, disregarding the moon’s phase just so the solar and lunar years will begin and end at the same time. This occurs frequently among North American practitioners using the Irish-Celtic lunar calendar. Other Witches will simply choose to acknowledge two separate New Year’s Days, or will use the Blue Moon—a second full moon falling within the same solar month—as a point to make any adjustments. For example, if the lunar months and solar months begin to diverge, they will acknowledge or ignore the Blue Moon. This keeps the Cold Moon from appearing in July, or the Harvest Moon falling in February.
For more than six thousand years, the Jewish calendar has allowed for periodic adjustments, while the Islamic lunar calendar makes none. The result being that in Islam a holy day can, and eventually will, fall within the corresponding season of the solar year.
No matter how hard we try, the two will never be an exact match, nor is there any reason they should be. In Witchcraft, we honor dual realities, why then can we not honor two separate and different, though equally important, wheels of time?