Celebrating the Sacred Cycle of the Year
4 Seasons in a day cycle.
Yule
Beginning at the sunset preceding the Winter Solstice and lasting for twelve nights in total, Yule is our longest and – arguably – our greatest holiday. It is also the holday most different from all of the others. We call the longest night Mothernight, and we gather to sing in the darkness about the end of the world; then we light a fire to see us through not only that night, but all twelve.
We celebrate through all twelve nights with gifts and feasting, with traditions and songs hallowed by time. On the twelfth night we gather again to drive out the old year with noise and fragrant smoke, and to sing in the New Year with a hymn about the world’s making.
Sólmónaþ
On the Full Moon of Sólmónaþ (January~February), we gather to feast on round cakes and bid farewell to the Wild Hunt before the lean times of late Winter.
Easter
On the Full Moon of Éastermónaþ (March~April), and after lustrations and fasting, we celebrate the wooing of Éastre – the bride-goddess of Dawn and Spring – on behalf of the god Ing. We beseech her to leave the isolation of her bower and greet the god of growth. As the day dawns, we sing to the rising Sun and feast on eggs.
Summerday / May Day
One month after Easter, on the Full Moon of Þrimilcemónaþ, we celebrate the beginning of our Summer and the wedding of Ing & Éastre by setting up a Maypole, dancing around it, and drinking Maiwein. One of our less formal holidays, this one often concludes by watching the classic Christopher Lee film – a Theodish favorite – The Wicker Man.
Midsummer / Líþa
Beginning at sundown on the evening before the Summer Solstice, we celebrate the high point of the year with hymns and offerings to the three highest gods: Ing, Þunor, and Wóden. Through the night, we keep the fire burning and sing songs until the dawn.
Wéodmónaþ / Fôsite
At the Full Moon of Wéodmónaþ (July~August), we sing a hymn and make offerings to the god Fôsite, especially honored by the ancient Frisians. It is from his holy place on the island of Fôsitesland (these days known as Helgoland), that Axenthof Thiâd takes its name.
Harvest
At the Full Moon of Háligmónaþ (August~September), we celebrate the plenty that the Summer has given us with offerings of beer and bread to Ing, Þunor, Wóden, and especially of the produce of our gardens to the all-bearing, all-nourishing Earth. We also leave a sheaf of grain for Wóden’s horse, marking the coming turn of the year.
Winternights / Winterfylleþ
One month after Harvest, at the Full Moon of Winterfylleþ, we welcome the beginning of our Winter by making offerings to the dead of cakes, ale, and burnt grain. During this rather somber holiday, we remember our dead and welcome them into our homes with feasting and stories.
With the close of Winternights, we begin to prepare for Yule once again.
