Rituals & gentle witchcraft
Gentle witchcraft, no folklore-as-fact, no promise.
Rituals the way we like them here: simple gestures, their real history, the Wheel of the Year, and a grimoire closer to a notebook than a spellbook. Never spells on others, never a promise.
- Beltane Beltane, celebrated on 1 May, is one of the four great fires of the Celtic year, and one of the best attested: medieval Irish texts already describe its twin fires, between which the herds were driven before the summer transhumance.
- Gentle protection In gentle witchcraft, "protecting yourself" does not mean a defensive magic against people: that does not exist, and claiming it is the stock-in-trade of charlatans.
- Imbolc Imbolc is one of the four great fires of the Celtic year, celebrated on the night of 1-2 February, halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.
- Litha Litha is the sabbat of the summer solstice, between 20 and 22 June in the Northern Hemisphere: the longest day of the year, and the exact summit of the bright half.
- Lughnasadh Lughnasadh, celebrated on 1 August, opens the harvest season: it is one of the four great appointments of the Celtic year, long attested in Ireland, where it still gives its name to the month of August, Lunasa.
- Mabon Mabon is the sabbat of the autumn equinox, 22 or 23 September in the Northern Hemisphere: day and night balance one last time, then darkness gains.
- Ostara Ostara is the sabbat of the spring equinox, around 20 or 21 March in the Northern Hemisphere: day and night balance exactly, then the light wins out.
- Samhain Samhain is celebrated from 31 October to 1 November (Northern Hemisphere).
- Starting gentle witchcraft Gentle witchcraft is a contemporary practice of ritualized gestures: watching the seasons, keeping a notebook, marking the moons, making small things with intention.
- The grimoire The grimoire is the practice notebook of gentle witchcraft: you record observations, gestures, recipes, dates, and rereadings in it.
- The Wheel of the Year The Wheel of the Year organizes eight seasonal festivals: four solar ones (solstices and equinoxes) and four cross-quarter ones (Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh).
- Yule Yule is celebrated at the December solstice, between the 20th and the 23rd depending on the year (Northern Hemisphere): the longest night, after which the light starts gaining ground again.