An eleven-lesson course in keeping the Wheel of the Year · Wyrd House Witchcraft

Welcome

You have come to the turning of the year. Welcome in.

This course is for the person who has felt the seasons pull at them and wanted to answer. Who notices the first frost, the first blackbird, the first long evening of summer, and feels that something ought to be done about it. Who has read about Samhain and Beltane and wondered what people actually did, and what they could do now, in their own home, on their own ground.

Over eleven lessons you will learn to celebrate the eight festivals of the witches’ year: Samhain, Yule, Imbolc, the spring equinox, Beltane, Midsummer, Lammas, and the autumn equinox. You will learn where each festival comes from, what is known and what is guessed, what country people did, what the church made of it, and what it means to a witch today. Then you will celebrate it, with a meditation, a full ritual, and something to make with your hands.

You do not need any experience. You do not need a coven, a temple, or a forest. You need a corner of a room, a candle, a notebook, and the willingness to go outside and look.

How the course works

There are eleven lessons. The first two lay the foundations. The next eight follow the festivals, starting at Samhain. The last one closes the year.

1. Turning with the Year: where the eight festivals come from, and choosing your place in nature
2. Shaping a Celebration: the circle, the quarters, the altar, and the basic rite you will use all year
3. Samhain
4. Yule
5. Imbolc
6. Ostara, the spring equinox
7. Beltane
8. Litha, Midsummer
9. Lughnasadh, Lammas
10. Mabon, the autumn equinox
11. Walking the Wheel: looking back, and carrying the festivals forward

Each lesson follows the same shape, so you always know where you are.

• Teach. The history of the festival, its folk customs, its Christian connections, what it means to witches today, notes for the Southern Hemisphere, and a section on your own land. Each festival also teaches one magical skill, which builds on the ones before it.
• Meditation. A guided journey to read aloud or record and play back, about fifteen to twenty minutes.
• Ritual. A complete ritual, written for one person, with notes on celebrating as a group and a shorter version for busy years.
• Make. Food, crafts, and incense for the festival, with quantities and steps.
• Before you go. Journal questions to close the lesson.

After each of the first ten lessons there is a short check-in quiz of three questions. Aim for two out of three. It is there to make sure the key points, especially the safety ones, have landed.

A word about history

Wyrd House cares about the truth. Many books and websites repeat claims about the festivals that do not hold up: that Halloween was the Celtic New Year, that Easter was named for a widely worshipped goddess, that the maypole is a phallic symbol from the Stone Age. In this course we tell you what the sources actually say, where scholars disagree, and where a popular idea comes from. When something is a modern invention, we say so, and we say why it is still worth doing.

The Wheel of the Year as witches keep it today was put together in the twentieth century. Its parts are much older, and they come from different places and different centuries. Knowing this does not make the festivals less real. It makes them yours.

Pacing

This course follows the real year. The best way to take it is to begin with whichever festival comes next and celebrate each one as it arrives.

• Read Lessons 1 and 2 first, whenever you start.
• Then turn to the next festival on the calendar. Begin reading its lesson at least four weeks before the date, so you have time to gather materials, visit your place in nature, and prepare.
• Work around the year from there. If you start in spring, your year will begin with Ostara and end with Imbolc. That is fine.
• Finish with Lesson 11 when you have celebrated all eight.

If you want to read the whole course first, go ahead, but do the rituals in their seasons. The point is to live the year, not to read about it.

What you need

For the whole course:

• A notebook with good paper, for your festival journal
• A small table, shelf, or cloth for an altar
• A box or basket to keep your festival things together (your celebration box)
• Candles in safe holders: four for the quarters, one or two for the altar, and eight tealights for later in the year
• A small bowl of water and a small bowl of salt
• A heatproof dish with sand, charcoal discs, and tongs if you want to burn loose incense, or simple incense sticks
• A cup or goblet and a plate for bread
• A broom or a bundle of twigs (you will make one in Lesson 2)
• Comfortable clothes you keep for ritual, or a simple robe
• Matches or a long lighter, and a fire extinguisher or fire blanket within reach

For each festival, every lesson gives a list. Most of it is food, flowers, plants, and household materials.

Safety ground rules

Read these now. They apply to every lesson.

1. Fire. Never leave a candle burning unattended. Keep hair, sleeves, and paper away from flames. Use a fire-safe surface. Outdoors, check local fire rules and burn bans, use an existing fire pit where you can, and have water ready.
2. Alcohol is always optional. Every cup in this course can be filled with juice, cider without alcohol, or water. Do not drive after a ritual where you have drunk alcohol.
3. Smoke. Incense smoke can trigger asthma and irritate lungs. Ventilate the room. If you or anyone present is sensitive, use a bowl of herbs or a candle instead.
4. Herbs and essential oils. This course is educational, not medical advice. Several plants named here are not safe for everyone. Check with a qualified practitioner before you take any herb by mouth if you are pregnant, nursing, or on medication. Essential oils always need to be diluted and never go in food or drink.
5. Gather with care. Only pick plants you can name with complete certainty. Do not gather on protected land or from roadsides. Take a little and leave the plant standing.
6. Outdoors, follow the law and leave no trace. Ask permission on private land. Do not leave candles, ribbons, or offerings that harm animals or litter the place. Take everything home.
7. Look after yourself. Meditations and rituals can stir strong feelings. Ground afterward, eat something, and stop if you feel unwell. If a festival touches grief or trauma, it is fine to keep it simple, or to ask someone you trust to sit with you.

How this fits with the rest of Wyrd House

Wyrd House teaches the roots of the old ways: the folk knowledge of European households and countryside, made usable for life today. This course is the festival branch of that work. You do not need any other course to take it.

If you are a Year and a Day student, Part 10 of that training gives you an overview of the Wheel and a short rite for each feast. This course goes much deeper into the history, the customs, and the practice, with a full ritual and meditation for every festival. The two sit happily side by side.

When you are ready, open Lesson 1. Bring a notebook, and look out of the window first.