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According to Anton LaVey, the self-proclaimed high priest of the Church of Satan in San
Francisco, the two major Satanic observances are also Halloween and Walpurgisnacht.
There are two other minor feasts, which divide the half-year into quarters. February 2nd,
Imbolg, the Winter festival (also known as Imbolc or Oimelc), which was a pagan celebration
marked with a torchlight procession to honor the various deities associated with agriculture,
which was to purify and fertilize the fields prior to the planting season. As the Catholic Church
Christianized pagan celebrations, it became known as the Feast of Purification of the Blessed
Virgin Mary which is celebrated by the Roman, Creek, and Anglican churches, It is supposedly
held to observe the event described in the 2nd chapter of Luke, when Mary went to the Temple
for purification, which according to tradition iy happened forty days after the birth of Jesus.
It was originally observed on February 14th, when Jesus was thought to have been born on
the day of Epiphany. But when the date of his birth was changed to December 25th, the day was
moved. It became known as Candlemas, because church candles are blessed that day, due to
Simeon’s reference to the “light to lighten the Gentiles.” It was believed that these blessed
candles, when put in a home, would protect it from evil. Pope Innocent XII (1691-1700) said:
“Why do we in this feast carry candles? Because the Gentiles dedicated the month of February to
the infernal gods, and at the beginning of it Pluto stole Proserpine, and her mother Ceres sought
her in the night with lighted candles, so they, at the beginning of the month, walked about the
city with lighted candles. Because the holy fathers could not extirpate the custom, they ordained
that Christians should carry about candles in honor of the Blessed Virgin; and thus what was
done before in honor of Ceres is now done in honor of the Blessed Virgin.”
The other day is August 1st (July 31st according to A Witches’ Bible) the Summer festival,
when the first corn was harvested. This was the Druid festival of Lughnasadh, which was
dedicated to Lugh, the Celtic sun god. It has become known as Lammas (‘loaf-mass’). Witches
celebrate this day to honor the sacred union of the goddess and the horned god.
Also celebrated, to a lesser extent, are the four solar fire festivals: The vernal equinox of
March 21st (Alban Eilir, or the spring festival), and the autumnal equinox of September 23rd
(September 21st according to A Witches’ Bible, Alban Elfrad, or the autumn festival); and the
two solstices (a Latin word which means “the sun stops”).
June 22nd (Alban Hefin, or the mid-summer night festival) has become associated with the
eve of St. John’s Day (June 24), which is when the Feast of Saint John the Baptist is held. This is
the oldest Church observance, and is celebrated on the day of his birth. The exact day is
unknown, but the Bible indicates that he was born six months before Jesus. It became part of the
mid-summer celebrations because of the summer solstice, which is the beginning of summer
(June 20), and the longest day of the year.
December 22nd, known as Yule (Alban Arthan or the mid-winter festival), has become
associated with the eve of St. Thomas Day (December 21), which is when the Feast of Saint
Thomas is held. The observance was initiated in the 12th century to honor the apostle Jesus
appeared to and showed his wounds after the Resurrection, because of his doubts. He is known
as the patron saint of masons and architects. It became part of the winter celebrations because of
the winter solstice, which is the beginning of winter (December 21), and the longest night of the
year.
Whether you know it or not, the Church of Wicca, the largest church in the country devoted
to the practice of Witchcraft, is a federally recognized, tax exempt, non-profit, religious
organization in the United States. The Church of Satan, which was founded in San Francisco in
1966, is also considered a tax exempt religious organization.