Monthly Calendar For Ada Etienne

Thu. 12/31 - New Years' Eve

When: Thursday December 31, 2009 All day
Event Description:

New Years' Eve

Fri. 1/1 - New Years' Day

When: Friday January 1, 2010 All day
Event Description:

New Years Day

Tue. 2/2 - Imbolc

When: Tuesday February 2, 2010 All day
Event Description:

It is the time of Blessing of the seeds and consecration of agricultural tools. It marks the center point of the dark half of the year. It is the festival of the Maiden, for from this day to March 21st, it is her season to prepare for growth and renewal.

Home hearth fires are put out and re-lit, and a besom is place by the front door to symbolize sweeping out the old and welcoming the new. Candles are lit and placed in each room of the house to honor the re-birth of the Sun.

Symbolism of Imbolc:

Purity, Growth and Re-Newal, The Re-Union of the Goddess and the God, Fertility, and dispensing of the old and making way for the new.

Activities of Imbolc:

Candle Lighting, Stone Gatherings, Snow Hiking and Searching for Signs of Spring, Making of Brideo'gas and Bride's Beds, Making Priapic Wands, Decorating Ploughs, Feasting, and Bon Fires maybe lit.

Sun. 2/14 - Valentine's Day

When: Sunday February 14, 2010 All day
Event Description:

Valentine's Day

Wed. 3/17 - St. Patrick's Day

When: Wednesday March 17, 2010 All day
Event Description: St. Patrick's Day

Sun. 3/21 - Sarah's Birthday

When: Sunday March 21, 2010 All day
Event Description:

Sarah's 19th Birthday

Sun. 3/21 - Ostara

When: Sunday March 21, 2010 All day
Event Description:

As Spring reaches its midpoint, night and day stand in perfect balance, with light on the increase. It is a time of great fertility, new growth, and newborn animals.

Special Activities:

Planting seeds or starting a Magickal Herb Garden. Taking a long walk in nature with no intent other than reflecting on the Magick of nature and our Great Mother and her bounty.

Fri. 4/30 - Beltane

When: Friday April 30, 2010 All day
Event Description:

In old Celtic traditions it was a time of unabashed sexuality and promiscuity where marriages of a year and a day could be undertaken but it is rarely observed in that manner in modern times.

In the old Celtic times, young people would spend the entire night in the woods "A-Maying," and then dance around the phallic Maypole the next morning. Older married couples were allowed to remove their wedding rings (and the restrictions they imply) for this one night. May morning is a magickal time for wild water (dew, flowing streams, and springs) which is collected and used to bathe in for beauty, or to drink for health.

Think of the May pole as a focal point of the old English village rituals. Many people would rise at the first light of dawn to go outdoors and gather flowers and branches to decorate their homes. Women traditionally would braid flowers into their hair. Men and women alike would decorate their bodies. Beltane marks the return of vitality, of passion.

To celebrate, a wedding feast, for the God and Goddess must be prepared. Let Them guide you! Breads and cereals are popular. Try oatmeal cakes or cookies sweetened with a dab of honey. Dairy foods are again appropriate...just make a lovely wedding feast and you are sure to enjoy yourself! An early morning walk through a local park or forest could be fun for everyone. Gather up some plants or flowers to display in your home. Mom and daughter could braid their hair, and weave in a few tender blossoms.

Sat. 5/22 - Kassie's Birthday

When: Saturday May 22, 2010 All day
Event Description: Kassie's 17th Birthday

Mon. 6/21 - Litha

When: Monday June 21, 2010 All day
Event Description:

Although the name Litha is not well attested, it may come from Saxon tradition -- the opposite of Yule. On this longest day of the year, light and life are abundant.

Special Activities:

An Ideal time to reaffirm your vows to Freyja or your dedication to following the old traditions.

Sun. 7/4 - Independence Day

When: Sunday July 4, 2010 All day
Event Description: Independence Day

Sat. 7/31 - Lughnasadh

When: Saturday July 31, 2010 All day
Event Description:

Lughnasadh means the funeral games of Lugh (pronounced Loo), referring to Lugh, the Irish sun god. However, the funeral is not his own, but the funeral games he hosts in honor of his foster-mother Tailte. For that reason, the traditional Tailtean craft fairs and Tailtean marriages (which last for a year and a day) are celebrated at this time.

Special Activities:

As summer passes, many Pagans celebrate this time to remember its warmth and bounty in a celebrated feast shared with family or Coven members. Save and plant the seeds from the fruits consumed during the feast or ritual. If they sprout, grow the plant or tree with love and as a symbol of your connection with Freyja. Walk through the fields and orchards or spend time along springs, creeks, rivers, ponds and lakes reflecting on the bounty and love of Freyja.

Tue. 9/21 - Mabon

When: Tuesday September 21, 2010 All day
Event Description:

Mabon is the Autumn Equinox.

The Autumn Equinox divides the day and night equally, and we all take a moment to pay our respects to the impending dark. We also give thanks to the waning sunlight, as we store our harvest of this year's crops. The Druids call this celebration, Mea'n Fo'mhair, and honor the The Green Man, the God of the Forest, by offering libations to trees. Offerings of ciders, wines, herbs and fertilizer are appropriate at this time. Wiccans celebrate the aging Goddess as she passes from Mother to Crone, and her consort the God as he prepares for death and re-birth.

At this festival it is appropriate to wear all of your finery and dine and celebrate in a lavish setting. It is the drawing to and of family as we prepare for the winding down of the year at Samhain. It is a time to finish old business as we ready for a period of rest, relaxation, and reflection.

Mabon is considered a time of the Mysteries. It is a time to honor Aging Deities and the Spirit World. Considered a time of balance, it is when we stop and relax and enjoy the fruits of our personal harvests, whether they be from toiling in our gardens, working at our jobs, raising our families, or just coping with the hussle-bussle of everyday life.

Activities of Mabon:
Making wine, gathering dried herbs, plants, seeds and seed pods, walking in the woods, scattering offerings in harvested fields, offering libations to trees, adorning burial sites with leaves, acorns, and pine cones to honor those who have passed over.

Spellworkings of Mabon:

Protection, prosperity, security, and self-confidence. Also those of harmony and balance.

Sat. 10/9 - My 18th Birthday!

When: Saturday October 9, 2010 All day
Event Description:

The 18th celebration of my birth.

Sun. 10/31 - Halloween

When: Sunday October 31, 2010 All day
Event Description:

Halloween- Dress Up

Sun. 10/31 - Samhain

When: Sunday October 31, 2010 All day
Event Description:

It is one of the two "spirit-nights" each year, the other being Beltane. It is a magical interval when the mundane laws of time and space are temporarily suspended, and the Thin Veil between the worlds is lifted. Communicating with ancestors and departed loved ones is easy at this time, for they journey through this world on their way to the Summerlands. It is a time to study the Dark Mysteries and honor the Beautiful Mother Goddess.

Originally the "Feast of the Dead" was celebrated in Celtic countries by leaving food offerings on altars and doorsteps for the "wandering dead". Today a lot of practitioners still carry out that tradition. Single candles were lit and left in a window to help guide the spirits of ancestors and loved ones home. Extra chairs were set to the table and around the hearth for the unseen guest.

Bonfires were built, (originally called bone-fires, for after feasting, the bones were thrown in the fire as offerings for healthy and plentiful livestock in the New Year) and stones were marked with peoples names. Then they were thrown into the fire, to be retrieved in the morning. The condition of the retrieved stone foretold of that person's fortune in the coming year.

Tue. 12/21 - Yule Lore

When: Tuesday December 21, 2010 All day
Event Description:

Yule, (pronounced EWE-elle) is when the dark half of the year relinquishes to the light half. Starting the next morning at sunrise, the sun climbs just a little higher and stays a little longer in the sky each day. Known as Solstice Night, or the longest night of the year, much celebration was to be had as the ancestors awaited the rebirth of the Oak King, the Sun King, the Giver of Life that warmed the frozen Earth and made her to bear forth from seeds protected through the fall and winter in her womb. Bonfires were lit in the fields, and crops and trees were "wassailed" with toasts of spiced cider.

Activities of Yule:

Caroling, wassailing the trees, burning the Yule log, decorating the Yule tree, exchanging of presents, kissing under the mistletoe.

Spellworkings of Yule:

Peace, harmony, love, and increased happiness.

Fri. 12/24 - Christmas Eve

When: Friday December 24, 2010 All day
Event Description:

Christmas Eve Day

Sat. 12/25 - Christmas

When: Saturday December 25, 2010 All day
Event Description:

Christmas Day

Fri. 12/31 - New Years' Eve

When: Friday December 31, 2010 All day
Event Description:

New Years' Eve

Sat. 1/1 - New Years' Day

When: Saturday January 1, 2011 All day
Event Description:

New Years Day

Wed. 2/2 - Imbolc

When: Wednesday February 2, 2011 All day
Event Description:

Symbolism of Imbolc:

Purity, Growth and Re-Newal, The Re-Union of the Goddess and the God, Fertility, and dispensing of the old and making way for the new.

Activities of Imbolc:

Candle Lighting, Stone Gatherings, Snow Hiking and Searching for Signs of Spring, Making of Brideo'gas and Bride's Beds, Making Priapic Wands, Decorating Ploughs, Feasting, and Bon Fires maybe lit.

Mon. 2/14 - Valentine's Day

When: Monday February 14, 2011 All day
Event Description:

Valentine's Day

Thu. 3/17 - St. Patrick's Day

When: Thursday March 17, 2011 All day
Event Description: St. Patrick's Day

Mon. 3/21 - Sarah's Birthday

When: Monday March 21, 2011 All day
Event Description:

Sarah's 19th Birthday