Pagans and Wiccans love to celebrate, and as the Wheel of the Year turns, a number of milestones are reached. Each is a time for gathering together with friends and family, working on our spiritual development, and feasting and merrymaking! The following is a list of dates for 2009, as well as resources for celebration in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
Also, before you go to an event, make sure you read about proper Pagan and Wiccan Festival Etiquette. It'll make your experience even more enjoyable.
January
- 1: Birthday of folkorist Sir James Frazier, 1854
- 10: Full moon -- Cold Moon at 10:27 pm
- 13: Last of Austria's witchcraft laws repealed in 1787
- 19: Birthday of Dorothy Clutterbuck
- 25: Birthday of poet Robert Burns, 1759
- 26: New moon at 2:35 am
- 27: Up Helly Aa celebration, Shetland Islands, Scotland
- 30: Birthday of Z Budapest, founder of Dianic Wicca
- 30 - Feb. 2: Roman celebration of Februalia
February
- 2: Imbolc
- 2: Lammas or Lughnasadh (Southern Hemisphere)
- 9: Full moon -- Quickening Moon at 9:49 am
- 12: Death of Gerald Gardner in 1964
- 13 - 16: PantheaCon (San Jose, CA)
- 14: Valentine's Day
- 15: Lupercalia
- 21: Birthday of author Patricia Telesco
- 24: New moon at 8:35 pm
March
- 1: Matronalia, the Festival of Women
- 6: Birthday of "official witch of Salem" Laurie Cabot in 1933
- 10: Full moon Storm Moon at 10:38 pm
- 20: Ostara
- 20: Mabon (Southern Hemisphere)
- 20: Ostara at Dragonmarsh (Riverside, CA)
- 26: New moon at 12:06 pm
- 26: Birthday of author and folklorist Joseph Campbell in 1904
- 28: Death of author Scott Cunningham in 1993
- 28: Earth Hour
April
- 6: National Tartan Day
- 9: Full moon -- Wind Moon at 10:56 am
- 16: Birthday of author Margot Adler
- 22: Earth Day
- 23: Wiccan pentacle is officially added to the list of VA-approved emblems for gravestones, 2007
- 24: New moon at 11:22 pm
- 25: Beltane Celebration with Wendy Rule (Salem, MA)
- 30: Walpurgisnacht celebrated by German witches
May
- 1: Beltane
- 1: Samhain (Southern Hemisphere)
- 3: Beltane Celebration at Dragonmarsh (Riverside, CA)
- 9: Full moon -- Flower Moon at 12:01 am
- 10: Mother's Day
- 24: New moon at 8:11 am
June
- 1: England's Witchcraft Act of 1563 goes into effect
- 7: Full moon -- Strong Sun Moon at 2:12 pm
- 10: Hanging of Bridget Bishop, first victim in the Salem Witch Trials
- 13: Birthday of Gerald Gardner in 1884
- 14 - 21: Pagan Spirit Gathering (Salem, MO)
- 14 - 21: Wisteria Summer Solstice Gathering (Southern Ohio)
- 16 - 21: Free Spirit Gathering (Darlington, MD)
- 17: Birthday of Wiccan author Starhawk
- 21: Father's Day
- 21: Litha
- 21: Yule (Southern Hemisphere)
- 22: New moon at 3:35 pm
- 22: England's last Witchcraft Law is repealed in 1951
- 27: Birthday of author Scott Cunningham in 1956
July
- 3 - 5: GoddessFest 2009 (Anderson, SC)
- 4: Independence Day
- 7: Full moon -- Blessing Moon at 5:21 am
- 19: Rebecca Nurse is hanged in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692
- 21: New moon at 10:34 pm
- 22: Solar eclipse
- 29 - August 2: Wisteria Cornstalk Festival (Southern Ohio)
- 31 - August 2: Dublin Irish Festival (Dublin, OH)
- 31 - August 3: House of Danu Gorsedd (Watsonville, CA)
August
- 1: Lammas or Lughnasadh
- 1: Imbolc (Southern Hemisphere)
- 1: Dragonmarsh Lughnasadh Celebration (Riverside, CA)
- 1: Birthday of medium Edward Kelley, 1555
- 5: Full Moon -- Corn Moon at 8:55 pm
- 15: Birthday of Charles Leland, folklorist and author, 1824
- 20: Birthday of author Ann Moura in 1947
- 20: New moon at 6:01 am
- 31: Birthday of author Raymond Buckland
September
- 4: Full Moon -- Harvest Moon at 12:02 pm
- 5: Pagan Pride Day Chicago (Park, Ill.)
- 5: New England Pagans & Witches Harvest Festival (Salem, MA)
- 12: Arkansas Pagan Pride Day (Little Rock, AR)
- 17: Television welcomes Bewitched in 1964
- 18: New moon at 2:44 pm
- 18 - 20: Mountain Mysteries Mabon Festival (Stanardsville, VA)
- 19 - 20: Central NC Pagan Pride Day (Raleigh, NC)
- 20: Dragonmarsh Mabon Celebration (Riverside, CA)
- 21: International Day of Peace
- 22: Fall Equinox or Mabon
- 22: Ostara (Southern Hemisphere)
- 26: Oklahoma City Pagan Pride (Norman, OK)
October
- 1: Birthday of Isaac Bonewits, founder of Ár nDraíocht Féin
- 3: Stanislaus Pagan Unity Festival, Modesto, CA
- 4: Full moon -- Blood Moon at 2:10 pm
- 10: Atlanta Pagan Pride Day (Atlanta, GA)
- 10: Austin Pagan Pride Day (Austin, TX)
- 12: Birthday of occultist Aleister Crowley
- 15 - 18: Autumn Fires (Southern Ohio)
- 18: New moon at 1:33 am
- 20: Birthday of Selena Fox of Circle Sanctuary
- 24: New England Samhain Gathering (Manchester, NH)
- 31: Samhain
- 31: Beltane (Southern Hemisphere)
- 31: Covenant of the Goddess formed in 1975
November
- 1: Dragonmarsh Samhain Celebration (Riverside, CA)
- 2: Birthday of Wiccan author Sirona Knight
- 2: Full moon -- Mourning Moon at 2:14 pm
- 7: Lowcountry Pagan Unity Day (Charleston, SC)
- 16: New moon at 2:14 pm
- 30: Birthday of Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, founder of Church of All Worlds
- 30: Festival of Hecate Trivia
December
- 2: Full moon -- Long Nights Moon at 2:30 am
- 16: New moon at 7:02 am
- 17: Beginning of Saturnalia
- 21: Winter Solstice or Yule
- 21: Litha (Southern Hemisphere)
- 25: Christmas Day
- 25: Feast of Frau Halle, Germanic goddess
- 31: Full moon -- Blue Moon at 2:13 pm
- 31: Partial lunar eclipse
- 31: Festival of Hogmanay
