Wheel of the Year (rituals, mission, experience, pagans, spiritual)

[spiritually inclined]

Can anyone direct me to a good source of information about the wheel of the year and how pagans celebrate the cycles?

Also, why do some pagans still celebrate things like the Fall Harvest? Aren't we living in an age in which most people don't harvest anything? Or is it interpretted in a metaphorical way?

James

[Gentoo]

http://www.paganlibrary.com/rituals_...ualization.php

http://www.paganlibrary.com/referenc...f_the_year.php

Why do some celebrate things like the Harvest? A lot of pagans like to reach back to before industrialization to a more "simple" way of life; and it's another way to keep in touch with the natural world around us.

[MaddLlama]

I think it's both metaphorical and physical. Just because we live in the modern world, and most of us don't run farms doesn't mean nobody harvests. The produce you get from the grocery store was harvested by someone, and what produce is "in season" when hasn't really changed that drastically.

Like, the fall is still the apple harvest in many places. Around the time of the Autumn equinox, I go apple picking. Many Pagans also have gardens, and they harvest from their gardens.

The solar holidays are also about the seasons changing, which still happens whether we live in a city or on a farm. Each solar holiday, and even the non-solar holidays is a time for us as Pagans to reflect on specific things.

[spiritually inclined]

What do the four solstices and equinoxes represent? I have chosen to make my resolutions on these dates -- I'm more likely to remember and keep them than if I only do this once a year.

James

[Gentoo]

I hate to just give you another link, but they explain it a lot better than I could:

http://www.paganlibrary.com/reference/festivals.php

[Guitar's Cry]

Originally Posted by spiritually inclined

Also, why do some pagans still celebrate things like the Fall Harvest? Aren't we living in an age in which most people don't harvest anything? Or is it interpretted in a metaphorical way?

I celebrate the Fall Harvest with great zeal!

All the seasons have particular emotional associations with me. They each have their own feel and meaning. Thus, I celebrate the power that the change brings about in me! Autumn is assuredly my favorite.

[Dr. Nosophoros]

since you felt it before asking you need no permission or guidance from anyone, go from there, you will learn along the way through your own experiences.