Lycian Wheel of the Year

The Wheel of the Year
(Move mouse over the features of the wheel for information on each one.)

The year begins at the Vernal Equinox, March 21. The older Goddess initiates the younger God into his manhood by means of the Great Rite. At Aries, the young God leaps out into the world ready to conquer all. He has the confidence of youth that has just entered the adult world. This is the time of the April Fool, which the God is. (This is also the time the Priest begins his time in the East.)

At Taurus, the God achieves maturity and loses that which distinguished him as fool. He is baptized in the blood of the bull and sets about achieving his status in society as priest.

At Gemini, the God begins his battle with his Dark Twin, the Lord of Death and Darkness, who is also his father. It is during this battle that he receives a wound to his leg and henceforth walks with a limp. Lamed, the God is now marked for sacrifice.

Cancer the scarab, represents time and it takes its toll on the Divine King, who is now aging and feeling those old wounds received in battle. The sun is pushed slowly across the sky by the scarab towards its death.

At Virgo, the now older and aging King meets with the young Goddess who is a virgin. He falls in love with her and her with him. He initiates her into the world of womanhood by means of the Great Rite.

At Libra, and now in the Underworld the God is judged for all his past deeds as king.

At Scorpio, after having been judged worthy to do so, the God takes his role as Lord of the Dead.

At Sagittarius, the young Goddess who has descended magically into the Underworld finds her lover in the Lord of the Dead, and becomes impregnated by him.

The Winter Solstice and the Goddess has returned from the Underworld still pregnant and now gives birth to the new born God at the beginning of Capricorn. He is son of the Lord of the Dead; the Old God.

At Aquarius, the Goddess suckles the newborn God and begins the process of raising him.

At Pisces, the Goddess is fully woman and decides to initiate the new God and release him into the world of men.

Vernal Equinox: The earth, our Mother, is being brought back to life and is being clothed anew in vestments of green. This is also the time of year that her son/lover emerges as the Divine Fool to begin his reign as King of Spring and who will in time achieve adulthood as Warrior/King in Summer.

May Eve: The Old and Young Gods battle for the favor of the Goddess. The younger God defeats his adversary and is coronated at the Summer Solstice.

At the Summer Solstice, June 22, the God has defeated his father/brother and now achieves the height of his strength; the sun has reached its highest point in the sky and the God is crowned the new King.

At Leo and August Eve, the King is undisputed ruler over all about him. The God having passed the peak of his virility at the Summer Solstice is now clearly on his way to his demise at the Autumnal Equinox.

At the Autumnal Equinox the King dies. Here is the gate of Death, through which he passes into the underworld.

Nov Eve: This is the feast enjoyed in honor of our beloved dead. We celebrate in the company of the souls of our family and friends that have passed over to the "World of the Dead."

February Eve: This feast specifically honors the bond between a mother and child, and the special kind of love that involves.

Earth: Qualities; dry and cold, Humour; melancholy, Tool; pantacle, Quadrant; east, Zodiacal Signs; Aries, Taurus, Gemini.

Fire: Qualities: dry and hot, Humour: choleric, Tool: wand, Quadrant: south, Zodiacal Signs: Cancer, Leo, Virgo.

Air: Qualities; moist and hot, Humour; sanguine, Tool; dagger, Quadrant; west, Zodiacal Signs; Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius.

Water: Qualities; moist and cold, Humour; phelgmatic Tool; cup Quadrant; north Zodiacal Signs; Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces.

In ancient times the sun, moon and stars were seen as deities. Today we in the Craft take them as symbolic representations of the Divine Forces of Nature. The Sun in western Europe has since time immemorial been thought of as masculine. The God, just as the sun, is born, lives and dies in accordance with the seasons of the year. He is the mate to the Goddess.

In ancient times the sun, moon and stars were seen as deities. Today we in the Craft take them as symbolic representations of the Divine Forces of Nature. The moon, in western Europe, has since time immemorial been thought of as feminine and represents the Goddess in her three aspects of Virgin, Mother and Crone. However all three of these Goddesses are the daughters of their Mother the Earth.

This is the Lycian Wheel of the Year. It is the foundation for all the rituals done in this tradition. The positions of the various elements on the Wheel will appear to many as no different than would be drawn on any zodiacal calendar. This is because we take the zodiac and the mythical pattern associated with it as almost universal, and as such, giving insight into a great many culturally diverse myths and rituals.

The Lycian Wheel of the Year is fairly recognizable to most people, at least in regards to the rings containing the zodiac, constellations and symbols for the elements. What makes the Lycian Wheel different is the attribution of elements to quadrants and also which half of the year is considered to be ruled by the God or Goddess. The elements are assigned to quadrants according to a pre- ptolemaic system. We also recognize a mythological story overlayed on the seasons, signs, constellations and Sabbats which may be of a different pattern than some other traditions. More on how this all fits together is in the Lycian Book of Shadows.