The Wheel of the Year: High Holy Days
ADF Groves celebrate the 8 Neo-Pagan High Days: Samhain, Winter Solstice, Imbolc, Spring Equinox, Beltaine, Summer Solstice, Lughnassad, and Autumnal Equinox. The following description of those High Days shows the traditions that the Grove has for each High Day.
First Crossquarter (Nov. 1):
Neo-Pagan name: Samhain
Gaulish name: Trinoux Samoni (Three Nights of Samonios)
Samhian is the feast of the dead, the time when our ancestors are closest to us. The tension between Samos and Giamos breaks, the heat of the summer is a distant memory, and the cold of the winter is heralded an all-too-real taste of what is to come.
Traditionally, Samhain was a time of reflection and celebration: the harvest had come in, and there was fresh meat and lots of grain. There was respect and fear of the ancestors who were about at this time, and rituals to remember them and appease them were common.
The modern trappings of Halloween are ever-present now, and those, too, inform our practice. The Grove celebrates Samhain with our longest ritual of the year, dedicated to Cernunnos as the god who holds the opposites apart. Many of us also celebrate by cooking a meal for the ancestors and dining with them.
Winter Solstice (Dec. 21):
Neo-Pagan name: Yule
Gaulish name: Rivros
The winter solstice is a dark time, but a time full of hope and newness. The earth has descended into darkness, but at the moment of triumph, the darkness gives way once more to the light, and the momentum swings. It is the dawn on the morning of the winter solstice that assures us that winter cannot and will not last forever.
The ancients would celebrate in halls, or by wassailing between them. There may have been many associations with rebirth, as evidenced by the shaft of light that enters the Newgrange burial mound in Ireland. In Rome, social orders were reversed at Saturnalia.
In secular America, our rituals are mostly focused around family and kindness. Gift-giving is common, as are roaring fireplaces and kisses under the mistletoe. The Grove focuses on being together and giving to those less fotunate, holding a toy drive each Yule.
Second Crossquarter (Feb. 1):
Neo-Pagan Name: Imbolc
Gaulish Name: Ogranijâ
Imbolc is a time of the renewal of the earth, where the bounty of the world returns in full. The animals begin to give birth, the first shoots may begin to appear through the melting snow and ice, and though winter is still holding her grip, the world is obviously changing.
Historically, Imbolc is the time when the sheep begin to lactate, a sure sign that the winter will come to an end. Modern folklore also seeks signs that the winter will come to an end on this day, too: Groundhog Day is February 2nd in the US, and we celebrate a strange ritual where the length of winter is determined by whether a groundhog sees his shadow or not.
Three Cranes Grove, ADF, has always found this High Day to be of particular importance. It’s a time for us to come out of our winter hiding places, meet up again with our friends, and remember that even if the earth itself has not warmed up, there are friends and family who extend warm feelings to us. Imbolc is, for us, a time of renewal, and it’s also very much a time of giving thanks.
Our Imbolc rite is one of the most popular in Three Cranes history, often drawing our largest attendance levels, and we have not changed much about it from year to year. The patron for the rite is Brigando, lady of fire, healing, and inspiration. Imbolc is a rebirth of our creative spirits, and we celebrate each rite with a poem:
Your first candle lit, is your sunrise birth; the flame of your house reaching Ceugant’s bride.
Your second, is the spark of your union with Bres, son of Elathan.
Your third, is the pillar of fire, as you took the veil, rising high and clear.
Your fourth are brothers, with Dagda your father, Broadb the red, Bedar Ogma and Angus.
Your fifth is eternal life’s spring; that sings your name, in crystal gaze.
Your sixth, is the flame of your altar, that never dies.
Your seventh, is the Grove at Llandwynwn, on Mena’s shore, where lovers tryst.
Your eighth is the strength of your Oxen of Dil, Fea and Fearna, Red and Black.
Your ninth, is the sign of your breath, as new life grows from old, your bridge of truth.
Your tenth, is a milk white cow, of redden ears, The Earth Mother’s Nectar, sweet!
Your eleventh, is a girdle, that spans night and day, yet heals and remains.
Your twelfth, is a veil of truth, in a flowering thorn, your wearyall path.
Your thirteenth, is for your son, Ruardan, to be reborn.
Your fourteenth, is the white light of the flowing word, born at sunrise — the molten sky.
Your fifteenth, is the Grove at Kildare, with solid Oak and crystal spring.
Your sixteenth, are shrines throughout Albion, in church, Well and Wall.
Your seventeenth, is your will, of black iron, forged in the determination of a thousand
Your eighteenth, is a healing, The White Dog at the Portal, the Chalice of your smile.
Your nineteenth is a Clarsach, which spells and binds, the hours, days and signs, all in a silver bough.
Your last is your first, the beginning of the turning sea, the ending of the three in one
The Dancing Sun in the hearts of all! The candle that never dies!
—Colin Murray,
“Brigantia: Dea Nymphae Brigantiae – The Triple Muse”
The reading of this poem, along with the lighting of the candles is the highlight of the rite, and we encourage those participating in the rite to help us with it, whether they’re a Grove member or not. This is a joyous rite designed to bring the sun back into our lives, and to warm our hearts.
Spring Equinox (Mar. 21~ish):
Neo-Pagan name: Ostara
Gaulish name: Sonnocingos
The spring equinox is a time of planting, where the ground is thawed and new things can be initiated. It’s a time to think about plans for the future, and to gather together all the things you will need for the work you will do in the year to come.
In ancient days, the folk would bring their tools to the priests who would then “charm” them. This charming or blessing would keep those tools in good working order throughout the year, and would thus sustain the lives of the folk through the always dangerous time from planting to harvest.
The Grove celebrates by bringing forth the tools we use in our work and blessing them in the “working” portion of our rite. Many also celebrate by taking their first spring hikes in the crisp spring mornings.
Third Crossquarter (May 1):
Neo-Pagan name: Beltaine
Gaulish name: Centusamino
Beltaine is a liminal time of the year. Again, the tension between Samos and Giamos breaks, and the cold of the winter has become a lingering memory, while the promise of warm summers arrives in full force.
In ancient days, Beltaine was a time of separation. In Ireland, the women would leave the settlement with the animals while the men would stay and work the fields. This festival began the warring and hunting season, and the health and safety of animals and crops was vitally important: between harvest and planting, fears of sickness are almost tangible.
There is a tradition of Neo-Pagan marriages at Beltaine, but it’s firmly modern. The Grove usually celebrates with a maypole dance, and often with a processional through a pair of fires to represent the purification aspects of this High Day.
Summer Solstice (Jun. 21):
Neo-Pagan name: Midsummer
Gaulish name: Equos
The sun has reached its height on this day, overpowering the darkness and the night. But on the day of the sun’s greatest triumph, the sunset brings the first change in momentum in the constant battle of light and dark. After this sunset, the days will get shorter and the nights longer.
Often celebrated by bonfires and music in the ancient world, the concept of the “needfire” in Germanic tribes, which is a fire designed to ward off the plague. Bonfires are a common fixture in the ancient and modern celebrations of this holiday.
Our Grove has always focused this festival on community: there is a definite feeling of togetherness and family that permeates this festival, and we spend it picnicing in the park or at a local community festival. This is a festival of joy in each other that we will always hold dear.
Fourth Crossquarter (Aug. 1)
Neo-Pagan name: Lughnassadh
Gaulish name: Aidrinijâ
This feast is focused on the reaping and harvest traditions. It’s a time of much work, and much joy, as the lean summer months are ending and the bounty of fall is expanding. This time of the year is strongly focused on women: their heroism and their strength. It is also focused on marriage and sovereignty.
In Gaul, August 1 was a festival of sovereignty, the marriage of the king to the land. In Ireland, it was the funeral games held for Lugh’s foster mother.
Our Grove celebrates this rite at the Dublin Irish Festival, where we do ritual for the City of Dublin for the Sunday Druid Service. We hope you’ll be able to join us for this rite. If you’ve never seen a Pagan rite done for 300 people, this is your chance!
We also have a series of videos displaying our earliest rites [2010 | 2011 | 2012] on our YouTube channel!
Autumnal Equinox (Sept. 22~ish):
Neo-Pagan name: Mabon
Gaulish name: Cantlos
A time of harvests, it is also a time of reflection. As Pagans, we see this as the beginning of the “dark half” of the year, commonly a time when the world begins to change and hibernate. As moderns, this is a time eulogized by many teen-angsty songs as a time of separation from our summer loves, a return to isolation and “real life”.
Three Cranes Grove, ADF, was born on this day in 2002. Of all our High Days, we take special care in working this rite, in planning it out. We celebrate our inception, when two Druids who had never worked a ritual together before stood out on a cold night, struggling to read the familiar yet strange words in the darkness, only a fire to light their way.
On that night, mistakes were made. Names were mis-pronounced. We laughed at each other, and joked about our own unpreparedness. We swore that we would always have flashlights in the ritual kit, and we do to this day.
In the end, the rite was good. After the rite, we both stood, unsure of quite what to do. Finally, we smiled, and we sat down to eat together, knowing that the Kindred had been worshipped and were pleased with our efforts.
From two, we have grown. We have gone from a struggling pair of Druids to a group of dedicated people forming the Grove we are now. Often, I am amazed at the dedication our members show to the Grove. With each new member, the Grove has been able to serve the Kindred with more dedication and love, and we have opened doors to stronger connections with the Shining Ones, sometimes including deities we would never have imagined ourselves connected to.
When we returned to the Autumnal Equinox the next year, our Grove was 7 members strong. We decided to commemorate our Grove’s birth, the beginning of public ritual. As an ADF Grove is defined by public ritual, the rite should be a re-definition of who we are, built upon the past and looking to the future, seeking omens that further our development and remind us of who we are.
Our rite this time was more developed, more our own. Elements of the Three Cranes liturgical format were making their debut. No longer was our ritual a list of words repeated and forgotten; now, the rite was something we had created as a Grove. The rite held a little bit of all of us inside it, and a little bit of it was inside us all. We began a new tradition, seeking to put down the Grove’s history in verse. We committed ourselves to creating a new stanza each year, one that would reflect the manner in which the Grove grew, one that would show those who came after us, our children and thiers, that the Grove had a living history, not a stagnant and forgettable one.
We reflected on the Grove’s original purpose, and it rang true to us again as it did to the first rite. We had chosen the wording because it reflected what we could do in the future, but it grounded us, reminding us of the nourishment that we needed to provide in order to succeed. That nourishment is still required today, and we reflect on it as we did in the past. We called upon creativity, leadership, wisdom, and faith; these things still light our way. We know that the Grove may only fail us if we fail it, and so we supply it consistently with these things, and it grows stronger by the day.
For the first two rites, we called upon the God of the Tribe, Teutates. Teutates is a title, not a name: “the God of my people”. Other deities have stepped forward, sometimes quietly, sometimes not so, and laid claim to that title. It is possible that we might never know the true bearer, but we have thought about it often, and the Identity always seems clearer at this time of year. At an Autumnal Equinox rite in the next few years (it need not be this rite), I would like to install a Grove Patron. If we do that, then this is the rite we must do it in.
To watch this Grove grow and change has been one of my life’s greatest pleasures. It is to the other members of this Grove that I owe most of the credit, though. It is they who water it when I forget, they who tend it and weed it when I fall behind. Their pride in this Grove provides the sun that grows the trees, and their work provides the sweat that waters it. All this is done with faith in the Goddesses and Gods, a faith that shines brighter and stronger than any I have ever seen. I am proud to be a part of it.
So as we draw into the Autumn of the year, we remember that this is not a time of starvation and death, but one of bounty and life, where the earth gives of itself once more, and we reap the rewards of our hard work. It is an amazing time of year, and I am always deeply moved when it arrives.
These are the High Days as Three Cranes Grove, ADF, celebrates them. Please come join us for a rite.
Notes
The photos come from Three Cranes Grove, ADF, and a variety of members and friends have provided them over the years, including Rev. Jenni Hunt (Samhain, Sp. Equinox, and Summer Solstice), Anna Messinger (Imbolc), and Selene Tawney (Beltaine).
Samos and Giamos are Gaulish words that define the general cycles of the Wheel of the Year, which might be described well as a tension between between the light and the darkness. Simply, Samos is the summer light and Giamos is the winter darkness.
