Samhain – Druid New Year (The ‘Feast of the Dead’) – October 31st – Today called Halloween by most

Alban Arthan – Midwinter/Winter Solstice (The ‘Rebirth of the Sun’) – December 21st – Today called Yule by some, similar to the Christian Christmas

Oimelc/Imbolic – (The ‘Candle Festival’) – Feburary 1st – Today some refer to it as Candlemas, Ground-hog day

Alban Eiler – (The ‘Bird Festival’) – March 21st – Vernal Equinox – Today similar holiday is Easter (Christian holiday)

Beltane – (The ‘Flower Festival’) – May 1st – The first day of the Celtic summer – Today some refer to it as May Day

Alban Heffyn – (The ‘Oak Festival’) – June 21st – Summer Solstice

Lugnassadh – (The ‘Grain Festival’) – August 1st – Christianised form is ‘Half-mass’      

Alban Elved – (The ‘Festival of the Vine’) – September 21st – Autumnal Equinox – Pagan Thanksgiving Day

As I said earlier this is a rough outline of the Wheel of the Year. I intend on extending this into individual entries of each holiday more in depth. I will note that every holiday that falls on either an equinox or a solstice has always been on that date. The others that fall on other days traditionally were celebrated on or near the closest full moon. However presently most Druids feel that having a specific date makes it easier, so we maintain the dates mentioned above.

I hope that this brief overview of Druid holidays is useful for those that are interested in learning more about the Druidic Arts.

This god can be referred to as Herne (British), and Dispater (Gaulish).

He is a fertility God and often called upon during Bealtaine rites. He is also seen as a death God and used as a metaphor for taking souls from here and to the Otherworld. He is most powerful in late Summer and early Fall. He is seen as a God of the animals, woodlands, revelry and male fertility.

Can be equated with Pan (the Greek God).

Call on him for help in rituals pertaining to; the Hunt, Woodland, Fertility, Magick, Sacrifice and Animals

Correspondences for Cernunnos include; The Stag, Pan Pipes, Oak Leaves, Ram’s Horns, Antlers

He is a very easy God to work with though he is often shy and timid. He especially can be found in conifer thickets or deep woods. The use of drums in calling him can be especially beneficial…

My next entry will give you the incantation called; The Call of Cernunnos…this spell will enable you to call on him for assistance.

Thank you for Reading!

Use caution when using The Morrigan in rituals as their collective energies have proven to be violent at times. They, either singly or together, can be called for passing over rituals, to overcome enemies. Military personnel can call on them for aid on the battlefront. Their use in banishment rituals are also quiet popular. It is advisable as I explained earlier to call on them one at a time. The best time to work with The Morrigan is during the waning moon and around the new moon.

Mythologically The Morrigan was seen by Celtic warriors as a crow or raven flying overhead during battles. In respect for The Morrigan the warriors would leave the battlefield until dawn once the battle ended, so that they may collect the heads of fallen warriors as trophies. 

In preparation for working with The Morrigan know that the following can be used to correspond with them, The raven, the crow, black dogs as animals. Also in gems or crystals, commonly used are obsidian, onyx and rubies.  Common herbs/plants are henbane, nightshade and yew. Favorable times to call upon them is during the dark moon or as it wanes.

I must stress once more, unless you are quite experienced in working with The Morrigan work with them one-on-one. I have had a lot of success working with them and enjoy it, so here’s hoping you will too. In the next entry, I’ll explain a simple pathworking spell to use with The Morrigan (individually of course). I also plan on elaborating the importance of Cernunnos to Celtic Druidism and Paganism.

Thank you for reading,

One I have been practicing Celtic Druidism and Paganism (CDP) for over 15 years, and to be honest I’ve mixed things up a bit.

Generally, CDP works with the entire Celtic panthenon. The main two is The Morrigan (see below for more info on this one) and her consort Cernunnos, The Horned God. (A tidbit of info for you Cernunnos, pronounced with a hard c like Kernunnos, is the god that Christians have decided is Satan. This is untrue, as CDP does not believe in an entity Satan nor in Hell as Christians are familiar with it).

Now about The Morrigan, The Morrigan is actually made up of three seperate goddesses, Macha, Nemain and Badb. I’ll explain all three in greater detail later. The Morrigan is also known as The Triple Goddess, because of this. She is most powerful at the dark moon and is usually associated with death, warfare, and a variety of other things. Her calling is usually the carrion crow and the color black, of course it’s a little more complicated than that. You know in fact, I think the next entry will be about The Morrigan.

I think I’ll let it go at that for this one, as it is meant to be a simple introduction. I’ll warn you though, I get excited discussing CDP with people and yes, we do perform magick, spells, divination, even necromancy. I’ll devote entries to each and explain the art of Pathworking with the Celtic panthenon. Just bear with me…

I’ll try to update this several times a week, but perhaps not every day. I’m shooting for five entries or so a week.

Wishing you the best and Blessed Be!