Cross-quarter days

We are part of nature and seasons, even if we have forgotten. The ambiance of October days, blue sky and colored leaves falling. The veil between the worlds is thin now.  The harvest is over, the light is decreasing, we are entering the dark time of the year.

 

Halloween decorations are on display--ghosts and witches, skeletons and grinning faces of pumpkins are everywhere.

 

Trick or treat, we say. An offering to the spirits. The old name Samhain, marked the beginning of a new year, the thinning of the veil between the worlds of living and dead. A time of magic and renewal.

 

Halloween, All-Hallows Eve,  Samhain  falls between the September equinox and the December solstice. This is called a cross-quarter day.

The other cross-quarter days are---

 

Feb 2--halfway between the December solstice and the March equinox--also called Imbolc or Groundhog Day.  Celebrate increasing light, and the start of the growing season.

 

May 1--Halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice--also called Beltane. Celebrate the spring planting.

 

August 1--halfway between the summer solstice and the fall equinox--also called Lammas. Celebrate the first harvest of the growing season.

So the Wheel of the Year turns, and we still celebrate the changing seasons.