Year Wheel

A guide to the eight festivals

The wheel of the year, observed.

The Wheel of the Year is anchored by solar and agricultural events — the solstices, the equinoxes, and the cross-quarter days between. A practical almanac of all eight festivals, with background, stories, celebrations and recipes for each.

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☉OstaraAWAKENING❈BeltaneFLOURISHING☼MidsummerRADIANCE✧LughnasadhREAPING☾HærfestWANING✶SamhainVEILING❄YuleSTILLNESS✢ImbolcQUICKENING
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Hærfest

Waning — Decline and Preparation

Autumn equinox · Late September

Autumn forest reflected in a still lake

The scales pause. For one breath, light and dark are perfectly balanced — and then the dark begins to win.

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A myth in eight movements

The Story of the Year

One continuous story, told across the eight festivals. A new myth, built from history.

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From the next turning · Hærfest

"The last blackberries were always the sweetest and the hardest to reach, grown deep in against the old hedge where the thorns had had all summer to thicken, and Fern went in after them the way she had every year, sleeves pushed back, one hand steadying a branch while the other picked."
Read Hærfest in the story →

From the almanac

Seasonal recipes

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For Hærfest☾

Hærfest feast

Roast duck with apples and roots, an apple and pear crumble, and warmed spiced cider for the equinox.

For Samhain✶

Samhain feast

Pork and pumpkin stew, small spiced soul cakes for the sill, and a warm cup of lambswool for those who pass in the dark.

For Yule❄

Yule feast

Roast pork for the longest night, Christmas pudding and mince pies, and a pan of warm wassail passed around the fire.