Basics of Wiccan Magic - 2023

Wiccan Magic Power Days

When people were living in close proximity to the natural world, the seasonal changes and lunar cycles had a significant impact on religious rituals.
Because the Moon was considered a representation of the Goddess, magical rituals and moon worship were carried out in the moon's light. Rituals were also observed to mark the beginning of fall, the coming of winter, the first indications of spring, and warm summers.
As the surviving members of Europe's pre-Christian folk religions, Wiccans continue to honor full moons and seasonal changes. There are eight sabbaths, or Days of Power, and thirteen full moon feasts on the Wiccan religious calendar.
The astronomical beginning of the seasons, the solstices and equinoxes, decide these four days (or rather, nights). The next four rites are scheduled to fall on ancient folk holidays, some of which have their roots in the Middle East. In addition to giving the Wiccan year structure and order, rituals serve as a reminder of the never-ending cycle that will carry on long after we are gone from this life.

Religious rituals began to incorporate the solstices and equinoxes (which roughly correspond to March 21, June 21, September 21, and December 21; the exact dates vary from year to year) after careful observation of the motion of the celestial bodies led to an understanding of the essence of the astronomical year.
Who started these days, doing rituals to worship the gods and raise energy? We are unable to provide a precise response for such a query. Nonetheless, Wicca's ritual holidays originated from these hallowed days and nights.
Numerous of these celebrations are still observed today on both religious and secular calendars.
Several widely observed American festivals, including May Day, Halloween, Groundhog Day, and Thanksgiving Day, have their roots in prehistoric pagan celebrations. In Catholicism, the sabbaths have been kept in Christianized variants.
Sabbats are rituals based on the sun that indicate significant points in the year; nonetheless, they make up only half of the yearly Wiccan ritual festivals. Wiccan full moon festivals are called esbates. We have gathered here to pay tribute to the One Who Is.
It would be incorrect to believe that we overlook God on Esbats; on any ceremonial holiday, we honor both of them.
There are twelve or thirteen full moons per year; a full moon happens roughly every twenty-eight days. The Moon is both a source of energy and a representation of the Goddess.
Consequently, Wiccans frequently engage in magic following the religious portion of the esbat in order to benefit from the potent energy flows that are thought to be created during these days.
Due to pressure from the dominant Christian church, some of these old pagan holidays have lost their sacred significance and have degraded. Yule changed from being one of the holiest days for the pagans to a time of considerable trade, and Samhain effectively became a celebration for candy makers in the United States. These days, even the echoes of a later festival honoring the birth of the Christian Savior are drowned out by the chirping of cash registers in retailers during this time.
However, the old magic still exists these days and nights, and Wiccans continue to celebrate them. Although there are many differences among the rites, they are all associated with the Earth, God, and the Goddess. To maintain a sense of secrecy surrounding the event, the majority of the ceremonies are restricted to the night, for both pragmatic and aesthetic reasons. As solar holidays, sabbaths are better observed at noon or dawn in the natural world, but this is rare these days.