In preparation for this lesson, please read the following two articles: The Sabbats: Part I and The Sabbats: Part II
As we look at the Sabbats, we find we have eight magickal days which divide the solar year. Beginning with Winter Solstice (when the sun is symbolically born, represented in the growing hours of daylight in the natural world and the birth of the Oak King in the divine myth) the energy of the solar cycle waxes and wanes throughout the solar a year. Modern witches often refer to this cycle as The Wheel of the Year and the changing seasons are often labeled, "The turning of the Wheel."
To understand the Sabbats fully, we need not to just understand why we celebrate them or even the modern Traditions associated with them (The Sabbats: Part II). Both of these concepts are important pieces of the puzzle, but they are only a small part of the overall picture. Like much of what we've covered in this guide, we're interested in energy, in the application of the magick of these days, and in how we can add this sacred site to our personal tool box of magickal tools.
One of the difficult things about teaching the Sabbats to a wide audience is, much like the naming of the moons, learning how to apply the Sabbats where you live is based on environmental factors. I didn't come to discover this issue until a couple of years ago when I was discussing magickal theory with a Los Angeles based Wiccan. We were discussing the shifting of energy in the Wheel of the Year and how it was tied to the changing energy of the seasons. She informed me that Southern California has fairly static seasons; one day is much like the next. And for my friends in the Southern Hemisphere, the symbolism of the Sabbats is reversed. While we're celebrating Winter Solstice in the Pacific Northwest, they're in the middle of their summer. So you will need to adjust the concepts that you use to celebrate the Sabbats according to the environmental factors in the area you live.
While Esbats are usually (but not always) celebrated at night, I teach that four of the Sabbats (the Solstices and Equinoxes) are most appropriately observed at sunrise. And here's why.
In our modern world, we often think of the Solstice and Equinox Sabbats as being days when the hours of sunlight are at their greatest extremes (Solstices) or when the hours of daylight and darkness are equal (Equinoxes). However, if we look back to our homework, we find that the magick of these days isn't found by using a stop watch to determine how many hours of sunlight we experience, but in the journey of the sun as it peaks over the horizon. It's at that moment, when the sun begins to appear in our world, when the heralding light predawn is joined by the fiery orb of our closest star, that the magick is born into our world.
While we have no way of being certain, it was most likely these four days that gave birth to our modern Sabbats. Determining the days of the Cross-Quarter Sabbats (non-Solstice and non-Equinox) takes an understanding of the concepts of astronomy, something our Pagan ancestors may have developed in time, but something they most likely didn't develop until we began our shift into an agricultural society and developed traditions and lore associated with the Pagan view of life and Nature.
When you find a Sabbat approaching and are trying to determine how you will celebrate it, you need to look at two factors. First of all, consider what is going on in the natural world. Is it a Solstice and the sun is beginning its journey once more after stopping at it's most distant point? Is it an Equinox where the hours of daylight and darkness are equal? Imbolc when the life of spring is beginning to stir? Samhain, when the last harvest has been gathered and the natural world begins to "die?" By applying many of the same techniques to the natural world that you learned to determine if spellwork was appropriate, you can analyze the energy around you. Once you have a handle on what is happening in the natural world, it is a simple task to build your ritual around the symbolism of that energy.
The second thing you will want to consider is when the most appropriate time to hold the ritual falls. Is it a Solstice or Equinox when we honor the sunrise? Samhain when our rituals often take place in the darkest part of the night? As you begin to look at the symbolism behind each time of day, you may find additional inspiration in creating your rituals. And if you're not sure what the symbolism is, simply go through the same process you used to connect with the items on your altar or the various types of energy we studied. Simply focus on the time of day and let yourself feel what it means to you. It's no more difficult than that.