Holiday's/ Sabbath/ Ritua

As usual,Lark, a couple of posts that are absolute gems!

Kayleigh, the way to "know yourself better" is by meditation and study.Take note of what Lark is saying, that not many of us are farmers now!
I live in a village surrounded by farms, and believe me,the farmers still do keep to the old ways of rest periods and festivals.Not that the work stops entirely. Farming still has work to do, even in "rest periods". Animals still have to be fed, and cared for. Cows still have to be milked.The next period of "rest" is Ostara; after the ploughing, and getting ready for the main planting. Early planting has already taken place.
A lot of beer drinking during Ostara!

i have rarely used tarot cards but for starting out i suggest oracle cards. They have less cards so are a smaller deck and my decks always seem to know me really well. look through some decks and purchase one that you are drawn to most. i have four oracle card decks two out of four i am not very intune with. They are a form of divination and help you figure out where you are, and where you are going

Thank you Brysing it helps a lot!

I'll Deffinately put on my study shoes and have a look at the decks, though I prefere to master the meditation part first, I'll them move to the decks!

Kayleigh, I'm not certain you are getting the point. Resting periods in the agricultural year aren't really important in terms of your personal mythology unless you are yourself a farmer. If you live in a town or city trying to use such things as a basis for your rituals isn't going to be meaningful to you.

I would start working with the Sabbats by first reading the myth cycle that goes with them so that you understand why the Sabbats are important and what they represent. This site talks about the God and Goddess at each of the Sabbats. http://www.thewiccanway.org/bos/sabbats.html This site also might prove helpful. http://www.themagickshop.com/Sabbats.html

The agricultural year, while vital to our ancestors, is far less important to most of us. So if you're thinking about the concepts of "planting", "tending the fields", "harvesting", etc then you need to look at your own life. What corresponds to those concepts in your life? As an example, I am currently writing my thesis. It began with "planting" the ideas and concepts that I wanted to write about, then I went about my research and writing "tending, and I hope to bring it to fruition "harvest" later this year. One could also think of New Year's resolutions as a form of "planting" as well. Take a look at your life and see what cycles are present there. That's where you will find the deeper meaning of the Sabbats.

And since you said you are from South Africa, here are the dates for the Sabbats where you are.

Yule - Jun 21-23

Imbolc - Aug 1

Oestara - Sep 21-23

Beltane - Oct 31

Midsummer/Litha - Dec 21-23

Lammas/Lughnassad - Feb 1

Mabon - Mar 21-23

Samhain - May 1

A really good resource with a ton of valuable information for those in the Southern Hemisphere can be found here: http://www.applegroveonline.com/articles.asp

In regards to the Tarot, it certainly can help you learn more about yourself, but I agree with Brysing that meditation is just as good if not better. Not all Witches or Wiccans use the Tarot. It's not one of my favorite tools, I prefer the runes or the Ogham. Any divinatory tool can be used to help with understanding yourself better, don't limit yourself to the Tarot if it doesn't appeal to you or speak to you. As for which deck to use, it is often easier to start with the Rider-Waite deck, but go with any deck that appeals to you. Personally I like the Sacred Circle deck.

Oracle cards are also useful as a tool to be used in conjunction with meditation. I like the Druid Oracle Deck, but again use the deck that draws you to it.