Wicca by Scott Cunningham

the God.
    Midsummer
    Midsummer, the summer solstice (circa June 21), also known as Litha, arrives when the powers of nature reach their highest point. The earth is awash in the fertility of the Goddess and God.
    In the past, bonfires were leapt to encourage fertility, purification, health, and love. The fire once again represents the sun, feted on this time of the longest daylight hours.
    Midsummer is a classic time for magic of all kinds.
    Lughnasadh
    Lughnasadh (August 1) is the time of the first harvest, when the plants of spring wither and drop their fruits or seeds for our use as well as to ensure future crops.Mystically, so too does the God lose his strength as the sun rises farther in the south each day and the nights grow longer. The Goddess watches in sorrow and joy as she realizes that the God is dying, and yet lives on inside her as her child.
    Lughnasadh, also known as August Eve, Feast of Bread, Harvest Home, and Lammas, wasn’t necessarily observed on this day. It originally coincided with the first reapings.
    As summer passes, Wiccans remember its warmth and bounty in the food we eat. Every meal is an act of attunement with nature, and we are reminded that nothing in the universe is constant.
    Mabon
    Mabon (circa September 21), the autumn equinox, is the completion of the harvest begun at Lughnasadh. Once again day and night are equal, poised as the God prepares to leave his physical body and begin the great adventure into the unseen, toward renewal and rebirth of the Goddess.
    Nature declines, draws back its bounty, readying for winter and its time of rest. The Goddess nods in the weakening sun, though fire burns within her womb. She feels the presence of the God even as he wanes.
    Samhain
    At Samhain (October 31), the Wicca say farewell to the God. This is a temporary farewell. He isn’t wrapped in eternal darkness, but readies to be reborn of the Goddess at Yule.
    Samhain, also known as November Eve, Feast of the Dead, Feast of Apples, Hallows and All Hallows, once marked the time of sacrifice. In some places this was the time when animals were slaughtered to ensure food throughout the depths of winter. The God—identified with the animals—fell as well to ensure our continuing existence. *
    Samhain is a time of reflection, of looking back over the last year, of coming to terms with the one phenomenon of life over which we have no control—death. The Wicca feel that on this night the separation between the physical and spiritual realities is thin. Wiccans remember their ancestors and all those who have gone before.
    After Samhain,Wiccans celebrate Yule, and so the wheel of the year is complete.
    Surely there are mysteries buried here. Why is the God the son, and then the lover of the Goddess? This isn’t incest, this is symbolism. In this agricultural story (one of many Wiccan myths) the ever-changing fertility of the earth is represented by the Goddess and God. This myth speaks of the mysteries of birth, death, and rebirth. It celebrates the wondrous aspects and beautiful effects of love, and honors women who perpetuate our species. It also points out the very real dependence that humans have on the earth, the sun, and the moon and of the effects of the seasons on our daily lives.
    To agricultural peoples, the major thrust of this myth cycle is the production of food through the interplay between the Goddess and God. Food—without which we would all die—is intimately connected with the deities. Indeed, Wiccans see food as yet another manifestation of divine energy.
    And so, by observing the sabbats,Wiccans attune themselves to the earth and to the deities. They reaffirm their earth roots. Performing rituals on the nights of the full moon also strengthens their connections with the Goddess in particular.
    It is the wise Wiccan who celebrates on the sabbats and esbats, for these are times of real as well as symbolic power. Honoring them in some fashion—perhaps with rites similar to those suggested