#wheel of the year 2025

[thequeensgrimoire]

Wheel of the Year 2025

It's that time again! The only time in the year I do big readings and post on this account! Let's see what this year has in store...

I'm using The Alleyway Tarot by Seven Dane Osmond for my reading this year. I adore mismatched tarot and oracle decks, so most of my heavy use decks are from the Alleyman/Alleyway series.

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Year Cards

As always, I start with a start, middle, and end of the year three card spread at the center of my wheel. I like to think of these as the hub from which the spokes radiate outwards.

Beginning: 7 of Swords Starting off the year, I'm feeling unclear and unfocused. Things are scattered, and I'm better of rolling with the punches and acting (and reacting) instinctively rather than making an elaborate plan. Things are changing fast, and lots of things are going to happen - lots of playing things by ear.

Arc: The Cauldron (Queen of Cups) A continuation of uncertainty, but with more confidence and a guiding hand. Growth comes from acting on instinct to acting on intuition, and possibly with mentorship from someone else to help me trust myself more. Trusting myself to be my guide no matter what the universe throws at me, and being confident and assured when I make choices that I'm doing so for a reason.

End: Five of Swords, Reversed This card position is about being prideful, bragging or acting out excessively, and being punished for it in kind. I may become overly confident and forget my words have barbs or speak without thinking and be put in my place as a result. Be watchful for regrets for things said, words that hurt unintentionally, and be quick to make amends and apologize.

The year seems to be an evolution from reactive passivity, taking life one thing at a time, to learning to trust myself and be confident in my choices. In the process I may over-correct and end up hurting people by acting TOO brash and confident in myself, however - keep an eye on your how you're coming off to others, and note when you are dismissing or being hurtful. There's a fine line between confidence in your actions and being dismissive or bragful about your accomplishments. Stay humble!

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Monthly Cards

The Wheel will go into more depth for each month and how they may play into the larger theme of the year - growth of confidence without knowing boundaries - and what unique messages they have for me to keep in mind going forward.

January: The High Priestess, Reversed I have a longing for a single thing to come along and fix all my problems. A single answer to all my questions, one simple thing I can do to make my life perfect. But it never comes, and I need to learn to roll up my sleeves and take action for myself. Nothing will change without effort, and solutions are complicated. Get to it!

February: Five of Wands Conflict, discord, strife, and disagreement awaits! But luckily this is the type of conflict that largely stems from misunderstanding or opposing viewpoints, and thus can be talked through. I need to make sure to communicate through conflicts this month, and step back to allow discussions to happen. All conflict can be mediated, don't sweat the small stuff and be open to compromises.

March: Four of Cups, Reversed I've been in a rut, but now is the time to welcome the break the rut brings with it. I can't force it, and things went flat and stale, but I'm on the up and up and new inspiration and pathways will be open to me very soon!

April: Seven of Potions Self care is in the cards for this month, and not the hard kind - this month will be about using physical things to cure my ills and make myself feel better, even if just a little bit. Lotion on dry hands, medications for ailments, accepting physical assistance where I need it to be to make things just that little bit easier. The marvels of modern potions and apothecary - and a shower!

May: The Hanged I may find myself unable to make a big decision this month. I'm afraid of making a choice, committing myself and leaving the other option behind - sitting on the fence post until it and I both rot. Find a way to take action, even if it means being a little bit uncomfortable. Change is better than stagnation. Trust your gut.

June: Ace of Wands The ultimate tool to bring my visions into reality, but only I have the power to use it and set my plans into motion. I have the energy and drive, and must give myself permission to commit and use it. Set your intentions, finalize your plans, and set it all into motion.

July: Knight of Cups, Reversed The rapid close of a relationship or temporary beautiful thing that ends as quickly as it began. I'll find myself hurting with loss, with love and longing, but I must learn to be okay with the impermanence, even if it means I need to step back and take a break for a while to feel things out. Big emotional month with lots of rapid changes.

August: Ten of Crows The awakening from a dream. Something will be revealed here, something big, which re-contextualizes events for me and makes me realize how ridiculous or bad things were retrospectively. A looking through the mirror and finally seeing whats on the other side. Clarity, tinged with horror and absurdity.

September: Princess of Pentacles, Reversed A card about entitlement, and in this position, entitlement that has created a monster who cannot live without it. I'll need to confront my own entitlements, or be aware of it in others close to me. When those things are questioned it sometimes feels easier to destroy it in spite instead of accept the truth. Others matter, and you can't let your life experiences blind you from that.

October: Nine of Pentacles This card is about spiritual fulfillment and the accumulation of wisdom and knowledge. It's a deep knowing of myself, and awareness of who I am, that isn't shown or given but rather earned over time and experience. The end of a long, long inner journey.

November: Consumption The warning card of addiction, I may find myself in a battle with the devil of excess. Whether it's substance or escapism, I need to keep a watchful eye on the first step to that slippery slope that is the constant hunt for pleasure at the expense of the self. What am I running from? And why can I not confront it? What am I engaging with in excess beyond what is healthy?

December: Three of Cups Ah, December! What a fitting card - a card of love and merry-making with community, of leaving life behind to be joyful and happy and to rest. Allowing myself to be, and to be happily, with others, and to celebrate and play with them. A total freedom, just for now at least.

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Overall this year seems like it will be a big one for growth, especially inner growth and self-reflection, but also a pretty positive one. I'm happy to hear I may have a year without major disastrous cards in it for once, and I just hope I can make the most of it and heed all the things it has to say to me each month and keep it in mind each day.

Here's to better things in 2025, to growing assured in myself, pursuing my goals, finding joy and shaping my future by making the decisions that need to be made!!

[racecardilfs]

ok i HAVE to speak on some takes i've been seeing that i take serious issue with.

if you think the sport is boring without max crashing into people, watch nascar. if you think the sport is best when it's messy, it can be messy in ways that dont deliberately endanger others, like in indycar. if those are still boring to you, maybe racing isn't for you. interesting racing is when drivers make passes with inches of room, when teams make strategy gambles that pay off. it's not interesting to watch max lead races or divebomb others. open wheel racing is incredibly dangerous. dilano van 't hoff died in 2023. anthoine hubert died in 2018. jules bianchi and justin wilson died less than 10 years ago. dan wheldon 4 years before that. max's driving style directly led to his wheel being over lewis' head in the 2021 italian gp, and the halo is probably the only reason he's still here today. max isn't "haha funny cunty driving cancelled wife" its genuinely dangerous.

the thing that makes max different from other drivers like him before -like vettel, schumacher, and senna- is that he hasn't been penalized nearly as harshly as they were. he hasn't been disqualified, he didnt even get a drive-through for deliberately crashing into george, just a 10 second penalty. i don't hate max, and i don't think he's the villain some people make him out to be, but i also think he needs to grow up and regulate his emotions better on track. frankly, he doesnt make racing more interesting, he makes it more boring because everyone is hesitant to make a move against him knowing he could crash them out of the race just because they did better than him.

tldr: if you think max is what makes f1 interesting with his mess and his crashing, maybe f1 isnt for you. f1 drivers are not gladiators, they're athletes. they're real people who put their lives on the line all the time, and that needs to be understood and respected. no driver deserves to be further endangered on track by their colleagues, and no driver deserves the vitriol of fans thrown at them. learn your racing history and respect the drivers who have lost their career or died to get us the safety regulations we have now. they aren't for shits and giggles. they were written in the blood of drivers.

[greenwitchcrafts]

June 2025 Witch Guide

New Moon: June 25th

First Quarter: June 2nd

Full moon: June 11th

Last Quarter: June 18th

Sabbats: June 24th

June Lovers' Moon

Also known as: Aerra Litha, Brachmanoth, Dyan Moon, Flowering Moon(Ojibwe), Honey Moon, Meade Moon, Moon of Horses, Rose Moon & Strawberry Moon(Ojibwe & Oneida )

Element: Earth

Zodiac: Gemini & Cancer

Nature spirts: Sylphs & Zephyrs

Deities: Aine of Knockaine, Bendis, Cerridwen, Green Man, Ishtar, Isis, Neith & Persephone

Animals: Butterfly, frog, monkey & toad

Birds: Peacock & wren

Trees:  Maple & Oak

Herbs: Dog grass, meadowsweet, mosses, mugwort, parsley, skullcap & vervain

Colors: Gold, gold-green, orange, purple, red & yellow

Flowers: Lavender, orchid, tansy & yarrow

Scents: Lavender & lily of the valley

Stones:  Agate, alexandrite, cat's eye, chrysoberyl, emerald, fluorite, garnet, moonstone, ruby & topaz

Issues, intentions & powers:  Abundance, love, marriage, prosperity & relationships

Energy: Balance, change of residence, communication, decision making, education, family relations, full/restful energy, positive transformation, prevention, protection, public relationships, responsibility, strengthening, tides turning, travel & writing

 

Litha

Known as: Alban Heruin, Midsummer Gathering Day, & Summer Solstice

Season: Summer

Element: Fire

Symbols: Bonfire, besom, cauldron, faeries, God's eys, rosettes seashells, solar cross/sun wheel, spirals, sun symbols. & wands

Colors: Blue, gold, green, orange, red, tan, white & yellow

Oils/Incense: Cinnamon, frankincense, heliotrope, lavender, lemon, lily of the valley, musk, myrrh, orange, peppermint, pine, rose, saffron, sandalwood, spearmint & wisteria

Animals: Bee, bull, butterfly, cow crab, horse & octopus

Birds: Goldfinch, hawk, kingfisher, meadowlark, owl, robin, swallow & wren

Stones: Agate, alexandrite, aventurine,carnelian, cat's eye,citrine, diamond, emerald, fluorite, jade, lapis lazuli, moonstone, pearl, peridot, tiger's eye & topaz

Mythical: Faeries

Food: Ale, berries, bread, cheese, cinnamon foods, edible flowers, garden foods(fresh), grapes, honey, lemons, mead, milk, oranges, peaches, pears, pine nuts, pumpernickel bread, spinach, summer squash, sunflower seeds, sun-dried tomatoes & wine

Herbs/Plants: Anise, basil, betony, cinquefoil, copal, fennel, fern, frankincense, galangal, heliotrope, hemp, holly, ivy, larkspur, lemon, lemon balm, mistletoe, mugwort, mullein, nettle, rosemary, rue, saffron, St John's wort, thyme, verbena, vervain & ylang-ylang

Flowers:  Carnation, chamomile, daisy, foxglove, heather, honeysuckle, lavender, lily, marigold, meadowsweet, orchid, rose, wisteria & yarrow

Trees: Beech, elder, hazel, laurel, linden , oak & rowan

Goddesses: Aestas, Aine, Ameratasu, Amaunet, Anahita, Anuket, Aphrodite, Arani, Artemis, Astarte, Athena, Aurora, Bast, Bona Dea, Brighid, Cerridwen, Dag, Dana, Eiru, Eos, Epona, Fenne, Frigga, Gaia, Grania, Gwydion, Hathor, Hera, Hestia, Iarila, Inanna, Ishtar, Juno, Kupala, Mabd, Phoebe, Rhiannon, Saule,  Sekhmet, Solntse, Sul, Sunna, Vesta & Yemaya

Gods: Agni, Amun-ra, Apollo, Baal, Balder, Belinos, Bochina, The Dagda, Donnus, El, The Greenman, Hadad, Helios, Hodur, Hu, Huitzilopochtli, Huon, Hyperion, Janus, Jupiter, Kupalo, Lleu, Loki, Lugh, Marduk, Maui, Mithras, Oak King, Odin, , Ogmios, Orunjan, Perun, Prometheus, Ra, Shamash, Sol, Surya, Taranis Thor, Thunar, Vishnu, Woden, Xiuhtecuti & Zeus

Tarot cards: The Empress, The Emperor, The Sun & Strength

Spellwork:  Abundance, empowerment, energy, green magic, faeries, fertility, fire magic, growth, love & motherhood

Issues, Intentions & Powers: Agriculture, changes, divination, endings, fertility, life, light, manifestation, power, purpose, strength, success & unity

Activities:

•Charge and cleanse your crystals in the solstice sun

• Make Sun water

• Create crafts with natural elements such as flowers

• Burn a paper with things that no longer serve you or that you are trying to let go

•  Invite friends & family over for a bonfire and/or feast

• Gather & dry herbs(and flowers) for the upcoming year

• Clean, decorate & cleanse your altar with summer symbols

• Brew some sun tea

• Circle dancing

• Take a ritual bath/shower with flowers

• Make your own sun dial

• Craft a door wreath out of flowers & herbs

• Enjoy some sunrise/sunset yoga or stretching

• Volunteer at a food kitchen or animal shelter

• Plant trees (especially ones that may provide fruit or berries to feed the wildlife)

• Watch the sunset & say a blessing to nature

• Make flower infused anointing/spell oils

• Eat fresh fruits & berries

• Participate in a handfasting or weddings

• Create shadow art

The history of Litha reveals its deep connections to ancient agricultural societies & their reliance on the sun’s power. Celebrated as part of the Wheel of the Year, Litha symbolizes the balance between light & darkness. Throughout history  customs such as bonfires, herb gathering & the construction of sunwheels have marked this festival. Today, Litha continues to be celebrated by various communities, with gatherings at sacred sites & private rituals in natural settings. It serves as a reminder of our connection with nature and the cycles of life.

• The traditions of Litha appear to be borrowed from many cultures. Most ancient cultures celebrated the summer solstice in some way such as the Celts celebrated Litha with hilltop bonfires & dancing. Many people attempted to jump over or through the bonfires for good luck. Other European traditions included setting large wheels on fire & rolling them down a hill into a body of water.

Litha is often associated with Midsummer, a celebration that extends beyond the pagan & Wiccan traditions. Midsummer festivities are observed in many cultures around the world, including Scandinavian countries where it holds a prominent place in their cultural heritage. Midsummer dances, bonfires, & feasts are integral parts of these celebrations, often accompanied by folklore & traditional rituals that honor the sun’s energy & the abundance of nature during this time.

• In the Northern Hemisphere the Summer Solstice occurs when the Sun reaches its highest and northernmost points in the sky. It marks the start of summer in the northern half of the globe. (In contrast, the June solstice in the Southern Hemisphere is when the Sun is at its lowest point in the sky, marking the start of winter.)

Related festivals:

• Vestalia: June 7th -15th-

Was a Roman religious festival in honor of Vesta, the goddess of the hearth & the burning continuation of the sacred fire of Rome. It was held from 7–15 June & was reserved as a women’s-only event. Domestic & family life in general were represented by the festival of the goddess of the house & of the spirits of the storechamber — Vesta & the Penates .

On the first day of festivities the penus Vestae (sanctum sanctorum of the temple of Vesta which was usually curtained off) was opened for the only time during the year, at which women offered sacrifices. As long as the curtain remained open, mothers could come, barefoot and disheveled, to leave offerings to the goddess in exchange for a blessing to them & their family.

For the last day, the penus Vestae was solemnly closed, the Flaminica Dialis observed mourning & the temple was subjected to a purification called stercoratio: the filth was swept from the temple & carried next by the route called clivus Capitolinus & then into the Tiber.

Sources:

Farmersalmanac .com

Wikipedia

Llewellyn's Complete Book of Correspondences by Sandra Kines

A Witch's Book of Correspondences by Viktorija Briggs

Llewellyn 2025 magical almanac Practical magic for everyday living

aianta.org/native-american-moon-names

Llewellyn's Sabbat Essentials: Midsummer

[sinnerism]

Sky Italy did a brief interview with Aldo Costa after FP1, they asked him to tell a couple of anecdotes about his time at mercedes with Lewis and he mentioned stuff like Lewis calling him even on non-race sundays to discuss details of the car like the rear-view mirrors, Lewis wanting to know every single change they made every time he visited the wind tunnel or the simulator at the factory, or Lewis trying to guess how many millimeters they had lowered the position of the steering wheel from one car to the next …

[witchynyx]

2025 Witches Calendar

Seasonal Festivals: Southern Hemisphere

❤️ Lammas/Reflection: Feb 1 (traditional) / Feb 3 (astrological)

🩷 Autumn Equinox: March 20

💜 Samhain/ShadowFest: April 30 (traditional) / May 5 (astrological)

💙 Winter Solstice: June 21

💚 Imbolc/Quickening: August 1 (traditional) / August 7 (astrological)

🌿 Spring Equinox: September 23

💛 Beltane/Floralia: Nov 1 (traditional) / Nov 7 (astrological)

🧡 Summer Solstice: Dec 21

(Dates given are based on GMT+8 - Check the dates/times of the seasonal festivals in 15 different timezones)

...

Seasonal Festivals: Northern Hemisphere

💚 Imbolc: Feb 1 (traditional) / Feb 3 (astrological)

🌿 Spring Equinox: March 20

💛 Beltane: May 1 (traditional) / May 5 (astrological)

🧡 Summer Solstice: June 21

❤️ Lammas: August 1 (traditional) / August 7 (astrological)

🩷 Autumn Equinox: September 22

💜 Samhain: Oct 31 (traditional) / Nov 7 (astrological)

💙 Winter Solstice: Dec 21

(Dates given are based on GMT - Check the dates/times of the seasonal festivals in 15 different timezones)

...

New & Full Moons

🌑 December 31

🌕 January 14

🌑 January 29

🌕 February 12

🌑 February 28

🌕 March 14

🌑 March 29 - Super new moon

🌕 April 13 - Micro full moon

🌑 April 28 - Super new moon

🌕 May 13 - Micro full moon

🌑 May 27

🌕 June 11

🌑 June 25

🌕 July 11

🌑 July 25

🌕 August 9

🌑 August 23 - Black moon

🌕 September 8 - Total lunar eclipse

🌑 September 22

🌕 October 7

🌑 October 21

🌕 November 5 - Super full moon

🌑 November 20 - Micro new moon

🌕 December 5 - Super full moon

🌑 December 20

(Dates given are based on GMT+8 - Check the dates/times in your local timezone)

...

About the Calendar Wheel

The image on this post is the calendar I made for 2025, based on my location in Boorloo (so-called Perth, Western Australia), on Wadjuk Noongar boodjar.

From the centre, outwards, you'll see:

The 6 Noongar seasons

The 8 seasonal festivals (I've used the common names for the cross-quarters, since I'll probably use this on my business socials)

The 12 months of the year

The 52-ish weeks of the year

The 365 days of the year

The new, full, and quarter moons for 2025

Depending where in the world you're from, you might also notice some things look a little different than you expect...

The wheel is arranged Southern Hemisphere sunwise. Because the sun skewing towards the equator at midday take it to the north, the sun's path over the course of each day appears to move counter-clockwise (because clocks were made based off northern hemisphere sundials).

The quarter-moon icons seem inverted, because we're viewing the moon from a different vantage point. Southern hemisphere moon phases look like:

🌘🌗🌖🌕🌔🌓🌒

Likewise some dates might seem a little off - Astrological events occur at the same instant, regardless of where in the world we are, but how we mark that instant on our calendar will depend on what timezone we're located in (and which side of midnight that timezone places us).

I'm located ~12hrs ahead of the Eastern United States, so a lot of the events above might be the date before for folks in earlier timezones (likewise for folks in Eastern Australia and New Zealand, a handful of events might be the date after if they're in the early a.m.)

[animinarts]

New Year, New Rider 🍮

Happy 2025 🎉

[notbecauseofvictories]

there's something calming about reading blog posts from last year, and realizing that I was in this exact same headspace at the exact same time for very similar reasons (ie, the weather isn't great, I tend to want to stay inside which makes me unhappier, my company goes a little bit insane at the end of the fiscal year, etc.)

obviously it doesn't fix the feelings, and there are particular wrinkles unique to 2025 vs. 2024, but still....sometimes you have to sit back, take a deep breath, and acknowledge that February simply isn't your month.

[tamburnbindery]

Drawing a Wild Hunt panel for my 2025 Norse calendar. This is one of the companion pieces I'm working on for the Poetic Edda project on Kickstarter, launching in a couple of weeks.

[wilderbas]

imbolc oc

[yakkolicious]

Is it me, or does Orion's kart look like a Cybertruck?

[queer-book-character-tournament]

Character, book, and author names under the cut

Song Ci/Rong Bai- Fox Demon Cultivation Manual by Feng Ge Qie Xing

Meidani Eschede/Elaida do Avriny a'Roihan- Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan 

Henry Gaunt/Sidney Ellwood- In Memoriam by Alice Winn

Xiao Fuxuan/Wu Xingxue- Unseen Immortal of 300 Years by Mu Su Li

[greenwitchcrafts]

February 2025 Witch Guide

New Moon: February 27th

First Quarter: Feb 5th

Full moon: February 12th

Last Quarter: February 20th

Sabbats: Imbolc- February 1st

February Ice Moon

Also known as:  Cleansing Moon, Deep Snow Moon(Mahican), Eagle Moon(Cree), Bear Moon(Ojibwe), Black Bear Moon(Tlingit), Bony Moon(Cherokee), First Flowers Moon(Catawba), Goose Moon(Haida), Groundhog Moon(Algonquin), Hungry Moon(Cherokee), Ice Moon, Midwinter Moon(Oneida), Raccoon Moon(Dakota), Sleet Moon(Comanche), Solmonath, Suckerfish Moon (Ojibwe) & Quickening Moon

Element: Fire

Zodiac: Aquarius & Pisces

Nature spirts: House Faeries

Deities: Aphrodite, Brigid, Demeter, Diana, Juno, Kuan-Yin, Mars & Persephone

Animals: Otter

Magical: Unicorn

Birds: Chickadee & Eagle

Trees:  Cedar, laurel, myrtle & rowan

Herbs: Balm of Gilead, hyssop, myrrh, sage & spikenard

Flowers: Primrose

Scents: Heliotrope & wisteria

Stones:  Amethyst, jasper, moonstone, obsidian, onyx, pearl, rose quartz, red zircon &topaz

Issues, intentions & powers: Astral travel, banishing, beginnings, empowerment, fertility & purification

Energy: Breaking bad habits, creative expressiveness, energy working to the surface, forgiveness, freedom, friendships, future plans, growth, healing, problem solving, purification, responsibility & science

The explanation behind February’s full Moon name is commonly known as the Snow Moon. This is due to the typically heavy snowfall that occurs in February. On average depending on location & climate conditions, February can be one of the snowiest months of the year according to data from the National Weather Service.

• In the 1760s, Captain Jonathan Carver, who had visited with the Naudowessie (Dakota), wrote that the name used for this period was the Snow Moon, “because more snow commonly falls during this month than any other in the winter.” 

 

Imbolc

Known as: Brigid’s day, Feast of Torches, Feast of Waxing Light & Oimelc

Season: Winter

Element: Air

Symbols: Besoms, Brigid’s cross, candles, candle wheels, corn dolls, cauldrons, fire, ploughs, priapic wands & white flowers

Colors: Black, brown, green, lavender, orange, pink,  red, white & yellow

Oils/Incense: Apricot, basil, bay, carnation, chamomile, cedar, cinnamon, dragon's blood, frankincense, heather, jasmine, myrrh, neroli, peppermint, red sandalwood, sage(green), styrax, vanilla, violet & wisteria

Animals: Badger, cow, deer, groundhog, sheep & snake

Birds: Lark, robin & swan

Stones: Amethyst, bloodstone, ×citrine, clear quartz, garnet, green tourmaline, hematite, iron, lodestone, onyx, red zircon, rose quartz, ruby, turquoise & yellow tourmaline

Mythical: Dragon

Food:  Ale, breads, chives, cider, cornmeal, curry, dairy products, dried fruit, dried meats, eggs, garlic, grains, herbal teas, honey cakes, lamb, mead, muffins, nuts, onions, peppers, poppy seed cakes, pork, potatoes, poultry, pumpkin seeds, raisins, scones, spiced wine & sunflower seeds

Herbs/Plants: Angelica, ashleaf, balsam, basil, bay, benzoin, blackberry, celandine, clover, coltsfoot, coriander, dragon's blood, garlic, lemon, myrrh, reed, rosemary, sage, vervain, wheat, witch hazel & wormwood

Flowers:  Chamomile, crocus, daffodil, heather, iris, rose hips, sunflower, tansy & violet

Trees: Blackthorn, cedar, rowan & sycamore

Goddesses: Anu, Aradia, Arianrhod, Artio, Athena, Branwen, Brigid, Danu, Februa, Gaia, Inanna, Juno, Selene, Selu, Sirona & Vesta

Gods: Aengus Mac Og, Bragi, Cupid, Dian Cecht, Dumuzi, Eros, Februus & Pax

Tarot cards: Death, The Empress & The Star

Spellwork: Air magick, cleansing, divination, fertility & new beginnings

Issues, Intentions & Powers: Awakening, animals, banishing, beginnings, change, fertility, healing, hope, illumination, inspiration, light, patience, pregnancy/childbirth, prophecy, prosperity, purification, transformation, well-being & youth

Activities:

•Make & light white candles

• Clean/decorate your altar & consecrate your  altar tools

• Go on a walk in nature & look for signs of spring

• Make a Brigid’s Cross

• Have a feast with your family/friends

• Give thanks & leave offerings to the Earth

• Set intentions, reflect & look deeper into your goals for spring

• Start a bonfire

• Bless new projects

• Clear snow/ice from public walkways

• Gather & distribute warm clothes, hand warmers & blankets to those who need it

• Pepare plans for your upcoming garden

• Craft a priapic wand

• Spend time with children celebrating Imbolc by making crafts & or baking

• Make or buy new magical tools

• Practice divination & fire scrying

• Draw a cleansing ritual bath for yourself

• Meditate, reflect & say your farewells to winter

• Cleanse & clean your house to prepare for spring

• Create a Brídeóg: a doll of Brigid made of straw

• Make Bride’s bouquet satchets & exchange as symbols of good luck and fertility

• Set aside seasonal food & or drinks as an offering to Brigid to invite her in your home

• Find Imboloc prayers & devotionals that bid farewell to the winter months & honor the goddess Brigid

Imbolc is a Gaelic festival marking the beginning of spring. Most commonly it is held on January 31 – February 1, or halfway between the winter solstice & the spring equinox. The holiday is a festival of the hearth, home, a celebration of the lengthening days & the early signs of spring. 

•  It is suggested that Imbolc originally marked the onset of the arrival of fresh sheep milk after a period of food shortage & the beginning of preparations for the spring sowing.

The word “imbolc” means “in the belly” and refers to the pregnancy of ewes at this time of year. The term “oimelc” means ewe’s milk. Around this time of year, many herd animals give birth to their first offspring of the year or are heavily pregnant & as a result, they are producing milk.

Imbolc is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature and it is associated with important events in Irish mythology. It is believed that Imbolc was originally a pagan festival associated with the lambing season and the goddess Brigid. It's believed that Imbolc was Christianized as a festival of Saint Brigid, who herself is thought to also be a Christianization of the goddess.

• Joseph Vendryes and Christian-Joseph Guyonvarc'h suggested that it may have also been a purification festival, similar to the ancient Roman festival Lupercalia which took place at the same time of year.

Some scholars argue that the date of Imbolc was significant in Ireland since the Neolithic. A few passage tombs in Ireland are aligned with the sunrise around the times of Imbolc & Samhain.

Related festivals:

•Groundhog Day: February 2nd- 

Is a tradition observed in the United States & Canada every year. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day & sees its shadow, it will retreat to its den & winter will go on for six more weeks; if it does not see its shadow, spring will arrive early.

• While the tradition remains popular in the 21st century, studies have found no consistent association between a groundhog seeing its shadow & the subsequent arrival time of spring-like weather.

•St. Brigid’s Day: February 1st-

Celebrates the beginning of spring and the celebration of Lá Fhéile Bríde, St Brigid’s Day. The day has long symbolised hope, renewal and the feminine.

•Because Saint Brigid has been theorised as linked to the goddess Brigid, some associate the festival of Imbolc with the goddess.

St. Brigid is the patroness saint (or ‘mother saint’) of Ireland. She is patroness of many things, including poetry, learning, healing, protection, blacksmithing, livestock & dairy production. In her honour, a perpetual fire was kept burning at Kildare for centuries & a recent campaign successfully established her feast day as a national holiday in 2023.

The customs of St Brigid's Day did not begin to be recorded in detail until the early modern era. In recent centuries, its traditions have included weaving Brigid's crosses, hung over doors and windows to protect against fire, illness, and evil spirits. People also made a doll of Brigid (a Brídeóg), which was paraded around the community by girls, sometimes accompanied by 'strawboys'. Brigid was said to visit one's home on St Brigid's Eve. To receive her blessings, people would make a bed for Brigid, leave her food and drink, and set items of clothing outside for her to bless. Holy wells would be visited, a special meal would be had, and the day was traditionally linked with weather lore.

•  Candlemas: February 2nd-

 Is a Christian feast day on February 2nd commemorating the presentation of Jesus at the Temple. It is based upon the account of the presentation of Jesus in Luke 2:22-40. 

•While it is customary for Christians in some countries to remove their Christmas decorations on Twelfth Night, those in other Christian countries historically remove them after Candlemas.

On Candlemas, many Christians also take their candles to their local church, where they are blessed and then used for the rest of the year. For Christians, these blessed candles serve as a symbol of Jesus Christ, who is referred to as the Light of the World.

•Setsubun: February 2nd-

Is the day before the beginning of spring in the old calendar in Japan. The name literally means 'seasonal division’, referring to the day just before the first day of spring.

Both Setsubun & Risshun are celebrated yearly as part of the Spring Festival (Haru matsuri ) in Japan. In its association with the Lunar New Year, Setsubun, though not the official New Year, was thought of as similar in its ritual & cultural associations of 'cleansing’ the previous year as the beginning of the new season of spring. Setsubun was accompanied by a number of rituals & traditions held at various levels to drive away the previous year’s bad fortunes & evil spirits for the year to come.

• The commonly practiced tradition of throwing of roasted soybeans (called "fukumame") in order to drive away evil spirits & bring good fortune into one's home is upheld by both places of worship & regular people. Then, as part of bringing luck in, it is customary to eat roasted soybeans, one for each year of one's life (kazoedoshi), plus one more for bringing good luck for the year.

Other celebrations:

• Lupercalia: February 13-15th-

In ancient Rome, this festival was conducted annually on February 13th through 15th under the superintendence of a corporation of priests called Luperci. The origins of the festival are obscure, although the likely derivation of its name from lupus (Latin: “wolf”) has variously suggested connection with an ancient deity who protected herds from wolves & with the legendary she-wolf who nursed Romulus & Remus. As a fertility rite, the festival is also associated with the god Faunus to purify the city, promoting health & fertility.

Each Lupercalia began with the sacrifice by the Luperci of goats & a dog, after which two of the Luperci were led to the altar, their foreheads were touched with a bloody knife & the blood was wiped off with wool dipped in milk; the ritual required that the two young men laugh. The sacrificial feast followed, after which the Luperci cut thongs from the skins of the sacrificial animals & ran in two bands around the Palatine hill, striking with the thongs at any woman who came near them. A blow from the thong was supposed to render a woman fertile.

In 494 CE the Christian church under Pope Gelasius I forbade participation in the festival. Tradition holds that he appropriated the form of the rite as the Feast of the Purification (Candlemas), celebrated on February 2, but it is likely that the Christian feast was established in the previous century. It has also been alternately suggested that Pope Gelasius I replaced Lupercalia with St. Valentine’s Day, celebrated on February 14th, but the origin of that holiday was likely much later.

Sources:

Farmersalmanac .com

Llewellyn's Complete Book of Correspondences by Sandra Kines

Wikipedia

Encyclopedia Britannica

A Witch's Book of Correspondences by Viktorija Briggs

Encyclopedia britannica

Llewellyn 2025 magical almanac Practical magic for everyday living

Llewellyn's Sabbat Essentials: Imbolc

Note:

This guide was written with Moon phases and dates corresponding to North America. These guides are supposed to be a generalized stepping off point to do your own research & help celebrate the way you feel called to.

•THIS IS CONDENSED INFORMATION AND SPECIFICS MAY NOT BE MENTIONED

This isn't based off what I do personally & I'm by no way suggesting people celebrate a certain way. It's stuff I've read & put together from books so people of different traditions & practices can get an idea of what to do for the sabbat, months or research for themselves.

Note that for Native American names, each Moon name was traditionally applied to the entire lunar month in which it occurred, the month starting either with the new Moon or full Moon. Also the name of the lunar month might vary each year or between bands or other groups within the same nation.

Some names listed here may reflect usage at once in history but may no longer be used by a designated group today. Many of the names listed here are English interpretations of the words used in Native American languages. They are only roughly aligned here with the months of the Gregorian calendar; you’ll notice that some names are repeated in multiple months.

The ones listed are the ones that were used in the books I used for correspondences & there are many more that are not mentioned.

[windsweptinred]

My 2024 Art

It's been a quiet year art wise, just a few pieces. But I'm immensely happy with what I have made and how I've improved over the twelve months.

[witcherwheeloftheyear]

A Witcher Wheel of the Year 2025

A Witcher Wheel of the Year will be a series of events all through the year 2025 - prompts for Imbolc and Ostara are now revealed!

There will be prompts based on every festival of the Wheel of the Year, and you are invited to create fics or art of whatever strikes your fancy for those. Prompts will be smutty and non-smutty, you can pick one or several. If you feel like creating something not based on the prompts, go ahead! We only ask that there is some connection to the festival, however you choose to interpret it.

All themes and genres are welcome, from G to E and from fluff to whump. This is a kink and darkfic friendly event, as long as you tag/warn accordingly.

No upper or lower word count limit for writers

All canons are welcome - games, TV shows, books

All ships are welcome, as are gen fics

Please be kind to each other - no bashing or kinkshaming ect.

On the date of each festival, there will be an event where you can share your work. Tag with #witcherwheeloftheyear so people can find it! Follow us on @witcherwheeloftheyear and @ us when you post so we can reblog!

Prompts will be revealed throughout the year, around three months ahead so you have time to create.

There is an AO3 collection here and a canonical tag: A Witcher Wheel of the Year Challenge

Mod: @bookscorpion

If you want to send me an anon message and you have no Tumblr account, please do so via a reply the Dreamwidth post for the event, 'More Options' will let you select anon). Also runs on Pillowfort

Prompts and Dates

Dates

Imbolc February 2nd

Ostara March 20th

Beltane May 1st

Litha June 21st

Lammas August 1st

Mabon September 22nd

Samhain November 1st

Yule December 21st

Prompts

Imbolc

vows - first time - candles - bed

lamb - weaving - thunder - ashes

Ostara

bathing/drowning - strawman - evergreen

eggs - leaving a mark - smoke - succession

-

Beltane

handfasting/promise - ribbons - cakes - cast out

(re)kindle - dancing - circles - grove

-

Litha

springs/wells - berries - water spirits

burn/brand - wreath - fortune telling - flower of the fern

-

Lammas

hunger - reaper/reaping - noon wraith

ploughing - herbs - thunder - crops

-

Mabon

harvesting - circles - scythe - pancake

blessing - cutting - gratitude

-

Graphics for the moodboard by Crimsonherbarium, Sun Cross from Wikipedia, moodboard put together by bookscorpion. All base images free to use.

[feral-ferengi]

Armor and wings ready!

Entering the new Wheel of the Year ✨️🧚🏼‍♀️☸️

[stripesysheaven]

one of my best friends moved back to town im going to cry