🔮 The Witch’s Wheel of the Year: Celebrating the Sacred Cycle of Seasons

The Wheel of the Year is an ancient spiral of time, a sacred cycle of seasonal festivals that witches, pagans, and nature-lovers follow to align their magick with the rhythms of the Earth. Rooted in Celtic, Norse, and agrarian traditions, the Wheel honors the eternal dance between light and shadow, birth and decay, rest and action.

Each of the eight sabbats—four solar (the solstices and equinoxes) and four fire festivals—invites us to honour the cycles of nature, reconnect with the divine, and harness potent energies for healing, manifestation, and deep soul work. I have included the dates for both the Northern hemisphere and Southern hemisphere, being an Aussie, and for all witches worldwide.

Let’s step into the circle of the year…

Wheel of the Year in the Northern Hemisphere

🌱 Imbolc | February 1–2 | S.Hemi : 1st August

Theme: Awakening, Purification, Sacred Flame

Key Symbols: Candles, snowdrops, milk, Brigid’s Cross

Crystals:✨ Moonstone – Encourages inner knowing and the reawakening of psychic gifts.

✨ Clear Quartz – Purifies and amplifies intention during the still, fertile hush of winter.

🔮 Spell: Seed of Intention Spell

Take a small biodegradable pot, some fresh soil, and seeds of a hardy herb (like lavender or rosemary). Write a one-sentence intention on a Bayleaf—something you wish to birth this year. Fold it gently and place it in the pot under the soil. As you plant the seed, whisper:

“From stillness comes bloom, from dark comes light. I plant this dream, and grant it flight.”

Water gently. Keep on a windowsill and tend daily as your dream grows with the light.

🌟 Ritual: Candle Purification Rite

Gather 3 white candles. Dress them with lavender or rosemary oil. As you light each one, call in Brigid:

“Lady of the Flame, keeper of healing and craft, guide my hands and purify my path.”

Write down what you want to cleanse away—habits, fears, patterns on a Bayleaf or small paper—and burn it safely in a flameproof dish. Discard the ashes outdoors at a crossroads or far from your home in nature.

🌸 Ostara | March 20–23 (Spring Equinox)

|S. Hemi: 20-23 Sept

Theme: Balance, Blossoming, Fertility

Key Symbols: Eggs, hares, daffodils, pastel colors

Crystals:✨ Rose Quartz – Encourages the blossoming of self-love and new relationships.

✨ Green Aventurine – A stone of growth and good fortune.

🔮 Spell: Egg of Abundance Spell

Make a small hole in an egg. Blow out the inside of an egg. Rinse and dry it. Paint it with spring symbols (rabbits, sun spirals, flowers). Fill the egg with dried basil, mint, and crushed bay leaf. Seal it with wax or a gum. Hold it in your palms and say:

“By leaf and bloom, by sun and womb, I birth my joy, I call in room.”

Bury it in your garden or a potted plant to nurture abundance.

🌟 Ritual: Equinox Balance Meditation

At sunrise, face east holding one pink crystal (love) and one green (prosperity). Breathe deeply and visualize a golden spiral flowing from heart to earth, anchoring balance and harmony. Journal what areas of life are asking for realignment. Where do you want to call in more abundance?

🔥 Beltane | April 30–May 1

|S. Hemi: 31st Oct - 1st Nov

Theme: Fire, Passion, Fertility, Sacred Union

Key Symbols: Maypole, bonfire, wildflowers, ribbons

Crystals:✨ Carnelian – Sparks sensuality and courageous creativity.

✨ Malachite – Transforms emotional blockages into open-hearted living.

🔮 Spell: Lover’s Knot Spell

Take two red cords, anoint with rose oil and intertwine them together, weaving in some rose or geranium petals in between the strands to make one rose infused cord. Attach a small heart shaped charm or rose quartz pendant to the cord. On a paper, inscribe your lover's name or a loving intention that you would like to manifest into your life. Say:

“As this knot is bound in bloom, so is my heart in sacred tune.”

This will help attract whatever love you need, be it the right partner or self love. Hang the cord near your bed or altar. It can help when searching for a soulmate, or to connect your divine masculine/feminine union, or as a self-love activation.

🌟 Ritual: Sacred Fire Jumping

Light a small ceremonial fire or candle flame (always observing fire safety first). Write your wildest desire on a Bayleaf or paper, then say it aloud, as then gently leap over the fire (or pass your paper above the flame if indoors), chanting:

“I leap with love, I leap with fire, I leap into all I truly desire!”

☀️ Litha | June 20–22 (Summer Solstice)

| S. Hemi 20-22 Dec

Theme: Radiance, Manifestation, Peak Power

Key Symbols: Sunflowers, fire, bees, solar disks

Crystals:✨ Citrine – Attracts abundance and radiates solar joy.

✨ Tiger’s Eye – Grounds your solar willpower into action.

🔮 Spell: Sun Talisman Creation

Place a citrine in a gold or yellow pouch with a bay leaf, orange peel, and a coin. Write your wish for the summer months and tuck it inside. Leave it under the sun at noon on Litha to charge with your intention. Chant:

“Bright sun above, charge this charm with radiant love and golden light. Shower me with abundance, both day and night."

Carry it with you through summer to draw in luck and light.

🌟 Ritual: Sun Bath Offering

Create a sun altar outdoors with solar herbs (like calendula, St. John’s Wort, or chamomile). At dawn's first light, sit with your palms turned upward and allow the sunrays to gently caress your hands for a few minutes and bathe your crown chakra in its light. Offer gratitude to the sun and place your crystals to charge. Remember to be sun safe and hydrate. Journal your thoughts and what you now wish to share with the world.

🌾 Lughnasadh / Lammas | August 1|S.Hemi: 1st Feb

Theme: First Harvest, Gratitude, Sacred Skill

Key Symbols: Wheat, bread, berries, sickles

Crystals:✨ Golden Calcite – Amplifies confidence and harvests your talents.

✨ Red Jasper – A grounding stone of vitality and stability.

🔮 Spell: Blessed Bread Abundance Spell

Bake a simple loaf of herb bread (infused with rosemary, thyme, or oregano. See the Sabbath recipes on Raizaredyoga.com). As you knead the dough, visualize everything you’ve grown this year—projects, relationships, healing. Before eating, say:

“This bread I've baked, this spell I weave, for all I’ve sown and now receive.”

Offer the first slice to the earth or a tree in nature.

🌟 Ritual: Harvest Altar Ceremony

Create an altar with wheat, grains, and fruits. Write a list of your accomplishments—no matter how small with deep gratitude. Light a gold candle and speak each one aloud, sealing the energy of harvest and gratitude, allowing it to fill you with a sense of accomplishment and motivating you for future goals.

🍂 Mabon | September 21–24 (Autumn Equinox)

| S. Hemi:20-23 March

Theme: Reflection, Balance, Gratitude

Key Symbols: Apples, wine, gourds, cornucopias

Crystals:✨ Smoky Quartz – For deep release and grounding.

✨ Amber – Carries ancient sunlight and warms the spirit.

🔮 Spell: Apple Release Spell

Cut an apple horizontally and find the pentacle star inside. On one half, write what you're ready to release. On the other, what you're ready to invite and place a small taper candle in the middle and light. Bury the one with your release, and keep the other half with the candle burning on your altar until the candle burns out. Keep it on your altar overnight or for a few days and then, removing the candle wax and placing it in a bin, dispose of the apple in nature.

“As the wheel now turns, I let go and learn. As apples fall, I rise renewed.”

🌟 Ritual: Equinox Gratitude Circle & Cider offering

Go outdoors in your garden and create a small circle big enough to stand in. It can be made of twigs, stones, flowers or any Eco saef , biodegradable material. Stand in the circle (alone or with others,*you can do this as a coven or solitary witch). Speak aloud three things you're thankful for, and one thing you’re ready to release. Pour yourself a glass of an apple cider or apple juice, then ground your intention into it by visualising something you are grateful for and what you wish to release. Pour some of the cider or juice into the ground, as a petition and offering to the Earth.

🕯 Samhain | October 31| S. Hemi: 30 April -1 May

Theme: Death, Ancestors, Mystery

Key Symbols: Skulls, pumpkins, bones, veils

Crystals:✨ Obsidian – For deep protection and ancestral work.

✨ Labradorite – Opens the veil between worlds and heightens intuition.

🔮 Spell: Ancestor Flame Spell

Carve an ancestor’s name (or “Beloved Dead”) into a black candle. Place photos, items of the deceased, or heirlooms around it. Light and say:

“From shadow to flame, I call your name. Guide me in dreams, protect my path unseen.”

Let the candle burn safely and offer incense or wine.

🌟 Ritual: Spirit Walk Meditation

Sit in a dimly, candlelit room with an obsidian or obsidian mirror. Gaze into it like a mirror and allow your eyes to blur as you enter a meditative state. Invite visions, whispers, or symbols from beyond. Keep an open mind and note the shapes, colours or symbols you may see. Write down anything that comes to you—a message, a sign, a dream fragment.

❄️ Yule | December 20–23 (Winter Solstice)|

S. Hemi: 20-21 June

Theme: Rebirth, Hope, Sacred Stillness

Key Symbols: Evergreens, holly, candles, yule logs

Crystals:✨ Garnet – Kindles hope, vitality, and the sacred flame within.

✨ Snowflake Obsidian – Brings calm clarity and inner reflection.

🔮 Spell: Yule Log Wish Burning

Write your wish or dream for the new year on a small piece of paper. Tuck it inside a decorated mini log or branch. Burn it with reverence on Yule night, saying:

“Darkness yields, and light is born. I plant this dream in sacred form.”

🌟 Ritual: Rebirth Ceremony

At night, turn off all lights. Sit in darkness with one unlit candle. In silence, reflect on your inner flame. When ready, light the candle and whisper:

“I carry the light, I am the dawn. From this stillness, I am reborn.”

🌙 In Closing…

As you walk the Wheel of the Year, you awaken to the rhythm of ancient wisdom pulsing through your bones, the stars, and the soil. Each sabbat is not just a festival—it’s an invitation to return to yourself, to the Earth, and to the mystery that never dies.

Stay aligned with the turning, and the turning will align with you.

✨ With sacred rhythm and magick,Aura Sukha™Crystals, Books, Tarot, Healing Arts🌿 www.aurasukha.com