Through the Eight Festivals of the Wheel of the Year with Cacao Rituals

The festivals of the Wheel of the Year

In the Northern Hemisphere, where we live, the Wheel of the Year consists of eight festivals that form the spokes of the wheel. They are celebrated in the rhythm of the seasons and approximately every six weeks according to the position of the sun and the moon. There are four sun festivals: Yule at the winter solstice, Ostara at the spring equinox, Litha at the summer solstice, and Mabon at the autumn equinox.

Alternating between the sun festivals, the four moon festivals are celebrated: Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane/Walpurgis Night, and Lughnasadh/Lammas. Among our ancestors, only the sun festivals were celebrated on a fixed date, as they were based on the position of the sun. The moon festivals, on the other hand, followed the rhythm of the moon and therefore had a flexible date in the past. Today, however, all festivals of the Wheel of the Year are mostly celebrated on fixed dates:

Even though we no longer celebrate the festivals of the Wheel of the Year in our culture today, some of them can still be found in the Christian faith and in our traditions: Samhain and All Saints’ Day and Halloween, Yule and Christmas, Imbolc and Candlemas, Ostara and Easter, Beltane and May Day, Litha and Midsummer, Mabon and Harvest Festival.

The sun festivals of the Maya and Inca

The solstices and equinoxes were also celebrated in the Southern Hemisphere in South America. For the Maya and Inca, the sun was sacred, and the summer and winter solstices as well as the spring and autumn equinoxes were the most important positions of the sun. The Inca celebrated the festival “Inti Raymi” on 21 June at the winter solstice in honor of the sun god Inti and the beginning of the new year, as the days now began to grow longer again. In rituals, they made offerings and also thanked Pachamama for the harvest and asked for protection and a good harvest for the coming year. In Machu Picchu, located above the Urubamba Valley, the first ray of light falls directly into the center of the room through one of the two windows of the Temple of the Sun at the winter and summer solstices. Even today, the descendants of the Inca celebrate the sun festival “Inti Raymi” around 21 June in Cusco, the former capital of the Inca Empire, with a colorful celebration.

The Maya, in turn, built the step pyramid in Chichén Itzá in honor of the feathered serpent god Kukulcán in such a way that at the spring and autumn equinoxes, a wave shaped shadow is gradually cast onto the balustrade of the pyramid’s stairs, ending in a serpent’s head. It appears as if a giant serpent is gliding down to the earth to make it fertile for the harvest of the coming cycle. The solstices also seem to have been of importance to the Maya, as at these times only exactly one half of the pyramid is illuminated for a short while.

Whether the Maya or Inca drank Cacao during their sun rituals is unfortunately not known, but we can certainly assume this, as they used the miracle plant and brown gold as medicine and for religious purposes.

We definitely love drinking Cacao during times of transition and special occasions, and that is exactly what the festivals of the Wheel of the Year are for us. In doing so, we celebrate Mother Nature and her many facets. We move into gratitude and humility for all the treasures she gives us.

The magic of the festivals of the Wheel of the Year: a connection to nature & self

In our present time, the original sun and moon festivals as festivals of the Wheel of the Year have unfortunately often lost their significance, even though they offer a wonderful opportunity to connect with the seasonal qualities of the nature around us and with our own nature.

We live in a time in which everything has to happen quickly, and through technologization we have become increasingly disconnected from the cyclical life of nature. This may also be one of the reasons why many people do not feel so well mentally and physically. We must not forget that we are part of nature, and the more we come back into harmony with it, the easier life becomes for us.

Celebrating the festivals of the Wheel of the Year gives us the opportunity once again to consciously perceive nature, to pause, to feel the qualities of each season within ourselves, and to become aware of our own needs.

We can reflect on where we stand, place ourselves within a larger context, and find new directions for our lives. Through connecting with the seasons, we strengthen our roots and intuition, nourish our soul, and experience strength, clarity, and connectedness. Each of the eight festivals of the Wheel of the Year has its own magic and energy from which we can draw strength and experience personal growth. They lead us into a heart connection with ourselves and with nature.