Celtic Wheel of the Year

Attuning to Earth’s Rhythm through the Celtic Seasons

The Celtic Wheel of the Year is a way of mapping Earth’s seasonal rhythms into a framework. The Celts observed the four traditional Quarter points of the year-Equinoxes (Spring and Autumn) and Solstices (Summer and Winter). And they added additional festivals-Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas- at the Cross Quarter points between these four Quarter Days.

The result is a rhythm of eight seasons that shift about every six weeks through the year. The seasons are placed in a circular pattern to remind us of the cyclical nature of marking these seasons. The Celts began their year with Samhain and work around the Wheel until the Autumn Equinox.

The Wheel of the Year also shows us how the Elements-Water, Earth, Air and Fire- and the Cardinal Directions-West, North, East, South- are overlaid with our seasons to provide further understanding and wisdom.

This practice of paying close attention and attuning myself to the Earth’s rhythms has been transformative for me. I hope you might find it supportive for you as well.

field guide to the Celtic Seasons

This began as my final project for my spiritual direction program at The Haden Institute. I wrote it over the course of the 2023-2024 Celtic Year. I did a limited run of copies to offer to friends and family in October 2024. This guide has not yet been officially published, but please contact me if you want more information.

Celtic Seasons

  • Samhain is one of the  great Celtic fire festivals and marks the Celtic New Year. We begin this new year and new season with a descent into the dark. Samhain invites us into the work of composting, unmaking, grief, disintegration, stillness and imagination. 

    The questions I am holding this season are what might arise if I sit still in the dark and what does disintegration feel like?

    My practice will be to find a few moments each night to go outside in the dark before I go to bed. 

  • Winter Solstice is marked by the shortest day and the longest night. The sun seems to stand still while we wonder if the light will return. And then it does. This longest night, the bottom of a deep exhale, holds both an ending and a beginning. The dark has descended on us yet at this deepest moment the light begins its return. This season invites us into the work of stillness, quiet, incubation, fermenting, patience and trust.

    Questions: How can I rest? What is fermenting in me?

  • The Celtic season of Imbolc is the cross quarter point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. It is the time when Winter and Spring tussle creating a mucky, muddy season where the energy of the Earth is slowly emerging. This season invites us into paying attention to the mundane, ordinary earthy moments in our lives that give us wisdom and vision for what is arriving.

    The question I am holding for this season is what is stirring within me that I need to listen to?

  • Coming March 2025

  • Coming May 2025

  • Coming June 2025

  • Coming August 2025

  • Coming Sept 2025