Holiday's/ Sabbath/ Ritua

Don't forget that all the Pagan feasts, wheel of the year, were "stolen" by the Catholic Church. Yule became Christmas, Samhain became All Hallows Eve (Halloween), and so on.
Nevertheless, the original were the "resting periods" of agriculture, Such as Mabon becoming The Harvest Festival.

(Look at each of the feasts in the Wheel, and think about what is happening in the world around the celebrants as the time for the feast draws near, and you will draw new insights into the meaning of, and the reason for the feast.)

I know my questions might be superficial, but I guess One has to know all the detail there is to know. That which is in brakets, does that mean that each individual should have their own "ritual" on these "festivals, holidays" Seeing that the path of witches is to be yourself and bring your individuality to the divine which makes us ONE?

Celebrating the Sabbats is indeed one that is done on multiple levels. Certainly it marks the changes of the seasons, but it also marks the ongoing cycle of life and death both of ourselves and also the mythological story of the God and Goddess.

We do draw upon how the rituals might have been practiced by our ancestors or throughout our traditions. But it is also important to have the rituals be personally meaninful to you. The Wheel follows the agricultural year, but most of us are not farmers nor are we in danger of starvation if our crops fail to prosper. So we need to look at ways to make these Sabbats meaningful in our own lives. One way to do this might be to view the planting/harvesting as being our ideas and projects which we plant as our "crops". Samhain, being linked to the descent of the God into the underworld and a time for honoring our dead can become a Sabbat where you honor your own ancestors and others important to you that have passed on.

You might find these two essays to be thought-provoking:

http://proteuscoven.com/sabbats.htm

http://proteuscoven.com/Season-0.htm

SO if I go and Google "resting periods" of agriculture it will be more applicable for me? and then another thing, im sorry this is way of topic, but im from South-Africa and on this side of the country things tend to take muc longer. anyway, I have this friend that I know has been walking this path quite a while, she is only 21 but she explained to me that I should start working with tarot cards in order to "get to know myself better" I dont't have at the moment but I would like to go and by myself a deck, Ive learned that there is quite a variety of decks you can choose from so you have to make sure that it is the right one for you because you are going to be "stuck" with it for the rest of your live.

Like I said previously I know individuality plays a big roll, seeing that I still need to learn a lot I would like to know what you guys think of the tarot cards? how do I pick the right deck? I don't even know how to read tarot cards. And thank you for your advise and assistance.

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.