The Wheel of The Year
Many of us who follow our spiritual paths on two legs often journey through the calendar year following the “turn of The Wheel”.
The weather changes, leaves turn colors, and animals gather food stores for the colder months. Hibernations provide rest and recharging, seeds are sown, nurtured, and then the harvest provides abundance in perpetual motion through the Wheel of the Year.
Pagans embracing the lessons that are encountered on the perpetual and flowing cycle of seasons may use the Wheel of The Year to map out points of the life’s journey’s focus. We develop our life styles; we look towards new lessons, and endeavor to expand our understanding of revisited spiritual growth. Balance and commitment to our Spirit’s journey are celebrated on Sabbats, marking a place in the calendar year to pay particular attention to one theme after another. The Wheel serves us well mapping out the cycle of metaphors parallel with Mother Earth’s seasons.
We begin our personal journey on the day we leave the warmth of the dark womb and take our first breath into the sun’s beams. A celestial camera, cleverly poised beside the belly of the mother as she gives birth, catches the planets radiating in the constellations. The snapshot of all the constellations in a wheel around the Earth is the fingerprint of the child’s journey in this incarnation. Thus the Wheel of The Year and the Natal Chart become synchronized.
The visual representation of The Wheel begins with a circle. The horizon on the left is the start of both The Pagan’s Wheel and the Astrological Wheel signifying the ego…how we view ourselves. It is superimposed by the Sabbats of the Fall, a time for self focus and preparation for the up and coming colder months. Harvests are a time for gathering stores to assure that the one’s “self” is fed. Our Spirit is preparing to take a new look within.
A babe’s eye view of their world begins in the first quarter of The Wheel. Our interactions with our world are focused on ourselves (ego). We discover what fundamental things we need to survive (mother’s milk) and develop rudimentary communication skills to be trumpeted for all to hear and announce our new presence.
The second quarter approaches, and the child within us has grown. The same child who has been the center of the Universe for the first turn of The Wheel now recognizes there is a bigger picture! The world has things to offer and we may try to partake in the pleasures and delights, and more importantly, interaction with others. The child discovers stumbling and recovering, consequences and rewards, and the cherished home. Bruises are earned (both physical and psychological) and the child breaths new and contagious energy to the balance of the Universe.
The coldest and darkest months are superimposed on this quarter. This is the time on the Pagan’s Wheel to turn inward looking into the darker corners, the shadows, of our Spirit and choosing to examine our goals and life lessons a little closer. The quiet of the colder months provides a blanket of solitude to slide beneath and formulate plans and ideas needing attention.
The Astrological Wheel moves along with the Pagan’s Wheel and the Natal chart provides insight as to the child’s tools brought to this incarnation to accomplish discovering that there is a world out there and our actions have a deliberate effect on the strong and interwoven balance of all her inhabitants.
The third quarter of The Wheel marks the threshold to the experiences of the adult. The world is no longer viewed as a crayon box of endless colors to paint a journey just for the self (ego), but the adult recognizes that their journey also has a significant effect on the balance of our Universe filled with so many Spirits. Growth comes in the form of laying claims for responsibility for our actions, whether the result is deliberate or unintentional. The Sabbats Spring forth on the Pagan’s Wheel and seeds are sown to cultivate the Earth as well as planting the seeds from the epiphanies of the previous months.
The Astrological Wheel talks of long trips and relationships. A parallel noting that we are more than just ourselves. This is the time to make conscious decisions regarding our personal interactions on a most intimate level. Our metaphysical journeys move to the forefront and parallel our physical travels.
The last turn of The Wheel, before we begin the cycle again, finds us stepping back and looking out at a world that is complex and wonderful. The Astrological Wheel points out a place where we are fully aware that we are a small yet significant (although not quite as significant as we perceived in the first quarter!) piece of a bigger Universe. Wisdom, born of experience, illuminates our perspective of our place in the world. The efforts of the previous turns of The Wheel are rewarded with insight, and equip us with more resources for tackling obstacles.
Summer Sabbats are upon us and the full heat of the Sun makes it a sure thing that He will not be ignored! All the contemplation, planning, planting, and feeding is present in a display of Mother Earth in full bloom.
Somewhere, in the back of our minds, even as we feel the warmth of the Summer Sun, we are aware that the Fall will return.
It’s all about the journey, one thoughtful and purposeful step at a time. The Wheel turns and the journey continues…….
~Lady Mithriel* HPS
Coven of The Enchanted Star
March 26, 2008
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