At the Autumn Equinox, day and night are equal in length; dusk, darkness, dawn and lightness are held in balance. The sun is in descent; surrendering its position, for now. Darkness, poised to push upwards, brings a return inwards, to the mysteries of the soul. The lightness shimmers, readying its passage. We sit on the border between summer and winter, enjoying still the warmth of the sun and at the same time anticipating a return to darker days. It is a time when we consciously recognise the plentitude of vegetation, colour and liveliness within the external world, and also acknowledge its ending. The intuitive clarity of the spring equinox gives way to a clarity that can be expressed. Articulating consciously that which we have learned through the darkness of winter, the greening of spring and the abundance of summer, we prepare once more to turn inwards.

Bealtaine is the second most powerful time of the year after Samhain. At Beltaine and at Samhain, it was thought that the veil between this world and the other world is at its thinnest: the Good People of the Hills were roaming freely, and humans had to take care not to disturb or offend them. Bealtaine was a time of feasting and fires, and cattle were driven between fires to protect them against illness and unseen powers. Bealtaine is a magical time of fertility and of sexual union and presided over by the ancient earth goddess Maeve (Meadb) whose name means ‘intoxication’.

The Spring Equinox is one of the two points in the calendar when day and night are of almost but not quite equal length. Therefore, it is a time of balance and union; a time to experience night and day, dark and light, feminine and masculine, yin and yang in equal measure. From here until the summer solstice the sun will strengthen and the days grow longer and the Spring Equinox marks the beginning of this cycle of growth. It is a time of intuitive clarity that supports the turn outwards towards the external world. The Spring Equinox is associated with pregnant rounds, milk, the moon and first greenings.

Lughnasadh is the festival that Lugh, the great Celtic solar god of justice and skill, declared in honour of his foster mother, the goddess Tailtiu. Tailtiu is said to have cleared the forests of Ireland for agriculture, but to have died from exhaustion as a result. Her actions allowed the people of her land to survive, and when they harvest they remember the sorrows of the soil. Tailtiu is associated with grain and apples and with the earth, fertility and wildness. August is a sacred month, tinged with transformation inwards towards darkness. Although the active growth of the crops and fruit is slowing down, now is a time of abundance and plenty. It is the start of the harvest season when crops are gathered and stored for winter: when seeds from the ripe corn fall back into the earth to be hidden there until the first signs of spring. The soil renews.

As the darkness fades, the belly of the earth begins to quicken, and light pierces the gloom in anticipation of the return to warmth. The timing of Imbolg sometimes is guided by signs other than the calendar: some suggest that Imbolg be celebrated when the blackthorn blooms, and others suggest that the time for festivities is when snowdrops push their way through the snow. 1st February is also the feast day of the sixth century Celtic Saint Brigid who was the founder of several monasteries. On the eve of her feast day, also known as Bridie's Day, some people hang a strip of cloth called ‘brat Bhride’ (Brigid’s mantle) outside their door as it is believed that Brigid travels the earth with her red-eared cow bestowing blessings to those who take care of their souls.

The ancient Celts celebrated the beginning and ending of the year at Samhain (Sah-win) on 1st November each year. It is the most powerful time of the year, when crossing the veil between this world and the otherworld takes us yet deeper into the mysteries of the unknown; of our souls. If we have journeyed though the year with care and compassion, we celebrate its ending as transformed beings, ready to begin again.

The Celts celebrated the ending and the beginning of the year at Samhain (Sah-win) on the evening before the 1st November each year. On the even of Samhain the veil between this world and the Otherworld thins to a most fragile weave; a powerful time for journeying into the unknown. It marks a movement inwards; a time to welcome the coming darkness of winter and the spiritual journey of withdrawing; to the self. The winter months are under the rulership of Cailleach, the old woman of winter. In various Celtic traditions she is believed to live near to lochs and mountains. In Scotland she is known as Vera the spiky one.

The Winter Solstice marks the depths of darkness: the shortest day and the longest night. At the same time as holding us in the innermost depths of unknowingness, it also heralds the rebirth of light and an intuitive understanding of self. Solstice in Latin is solstitium, meaning Sun Stand Still and for three days the sun appears to rise and set in the same position in the sky before once again beginning it gradual journey north. From The Winter Solstice, onwards through the year, the sun will appear higher and higher in the sky until it comes to another standstill – the Summer Solstice. Now is the time to embrace our own inner darkness as a place where symbolic death and decay, of putrefaction and composting, is a necessary part of birth and emergence: It is a time to celebrate intuition, feeling, compassion and unconscious connections with others. It is a time of darkness and renewal.

The Summer Solstice celebrates the culmination of the sun’s power as the sun reaches its highest position in the sky, after which it appears to stand still in the skies before beginning its descent once more.  When the sun is at its fullest, and the days are at their longest, the dark part of the year fades to such an extent that it seems momentarily absent.  At the very moment the Sun reaches its fullness, the seeds of winter emerge: brightness and darkness ever interlinked.

The Summer Solstice marks the mid-point of the growing season; halfway between planting and harvesting. The air between earth and sky, full of life-giving properties, receives special attention at this time of year. Traditionally, hill-top bonfires were lit in honour of Áine, the Celtic goddess of summer, wealth, love and fertility, who was born from the sea. Smoke and ashes from these sacred fires were thought to protect the crops until harvest time.