Eight letters for
the turning of the year
The Wheel of the Year marks eight festivals: the solstices, the equinoxes and the four old fire festivals between them. A Sabbat Letter arrives shortly before each one, written to help you mark it.
These are the witches’ sabbats, the holy days of the craft. Each letter is the working I do at my own altar for that festival, written out for you: the ritual and spellwork for the day, what to gather and what to say, the festival’s folklore and history, a seasonal craft to make, and a blessing for the season ahead.
Five things in every letter
Each letter arrives a few days before its sabbat, sealed with the Blackthorn B, so you have time to gather what you need.
A full working for the festival, step by step: what to gather, where to stand, what to say and why.
Correspondences for the day: herbs, colours, stones and offerings, and how to weave them into your own spells.
Where the festival comes from, how it was kept in these islands, and the beliefs that cling to it still.
Something to make with your hands for the festival: a charm, a seasonal bake, a flower crown, a wreath or a dressed candle.
Words for the season ahead, to speak at your hearth or keep in your grimoire.
The eight festivals
The thinning of the veil and the start of the dark half.
The longest night and the return of the light.
The first stirrings of spring, and the hearth fires of Brigid.
Balance, seeds and the greening of the land.
Fire, blossom and the start of the light half.
The height of the sun and the old Midsummer magic.
The first harvest and the first loaf.
Balance again, and the gathering-in.
Dates are for the northern hemisphere. Each letter is posted to arrive in the days before its festival.