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 2012, 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
- 9: Full moon -- Cold Moon at 2:30 a.m.
- 13: Last of Austria's witchcraft laws repealed in 1787
- 19: Birthday of Dorothy Clutterbuck
- 20: Celtic Tree Month of Birch ends
- 21: Celtic Tree Month of Rowan begins
- 23: New Moon
- 25: Birthday of poet Robert Burns, 1759
- 30: Birthday of Z Budapest, founder of Dianic Wicca
- 30 - Feb. 2: Roman celebration of Februalia
- 31: Up Helly Aa celebration, Shetland Islands, Scotland
February
- 2: Imbolc
- 2: Lammas or Lughnasadh (Southern Hemisphere)
- 7: Full moon -- Quickening Moon at 4:54 pm
- 12: Death of Gerald Gardner in 1964
- 14: Valentine's Day
- 15: Lupercalia
- 17: Celtic Tree Month of Rowan ends
- 18: Celtic Tree Month of Ash begins
- 21: Birthday of author Patricia Telesco
- 21: New moon
- 22: Birthday of author Sybil Leek
March
- 1: Matronalia, the Festival of Women
- 6: Birthday of "official witch of Salem" Laurie Cabot in 1933
- 8: Full moon Storm Moon at 4:39 am
- 17: St. Patrick's Day
- 17: Celtic Tree Month of Ash ends
- 18: Celtic Tree Month of Alder begins
- 20: Ostara
- 20: Mabon (Southern Hemisphere)
- 22: New moon
- 26: Birthday of author and folklorist Joseph Campbell
- 28: Death of author Scott Cunningham in 1993
April
- 6: National Tartan Day
- 6: Full moon -- Wind Moon at 3:19 pm
- 14: Celtic Tree Month of Alder ends
- 15: Celtic Tree Month of Willow begins
- 16: Birthday of author Margot Adler
- 21: New moon
- 22: Earth Day
- 23: Wiccan pentacle is officially added to the list of VA-approved emblems for gravestones, 2007
- 30: Walpurgisnacht celebrated by German witches
May
- 1: Beltane
- 1: Samhain (Southern Hemisphere)
- 5: Full moon -- Flower Moon at 11:35 pm
- 5: Cinco de Mayo
- 12: Celtic Tree Month of Willow ends
- 13: Celtic Tree Month of Hawthorn begins
- 13: Mother's Day
- 20: New moon
June
- 1: England's Witchcraft Act of 1563 goes into effect
- 4: Full moon -- Strong Sun Moon at 7:12 am
- 4: Lunar eclipse
- 9: Celtic Tree Month of Hawthorn ends
- 10: Celtic Tree Month of Oak begins
- 10: Hanging of Bridget Bishop, first victim in the Salem Witch Trials
- 13: Birthday of Gerald Gardner in 1884
- 17: Father's Day
- 17: Birthday of Wiccan author Starhawk
- 19: New moon
- 20: Litha
- 20: Yule (Southern Hemisphere)
- 22: England's last Witchcraft Law is repealed in 1951
- 27: Birthday of author Scott Cunningham in 1956
July
- 3: Full moon -- Blessing Moon at 2:52 pm
- 4: Independence Day
- 7: Celtic Tree Month of Oak ends
- 8: Celtic Tree Month of Holly begins
- 13: Birthday of Dr. John Dee in 1527
- 19: Rebecca Nurse is hanged in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692
- 19: New moon
- 31: Birthday of author JK Rowling
August
- 1: Lammas or Lughnasadh
- 1: Imbolc (Southern Hemisphere)
- 1: Full Moon -- Corn Moon at 11:27 pm
- 1: Birthday of medium Edward Kelley, 1555
- 3 - 5: Dublin Irish Festival (Dublin, OH)
- 4: Celtic Tree Month of Holly ends
- 5: Celtic Tree Month of Hazel begins
- 15: Birthday of Charles Leland, folklorist and author, 1824
- 17: New moon
- 20: Birthday of author Ann Moura in 1947
- 31: Birthday of author Raymond Buckland
- 31: Full Moon -- Blue Moon at 9:58 am
September
- 1: Celtic Tree Month of Hazel ends
- 2: Celtic Tree Month of Vine begins
- 10: Birthday of Carl Llewellyn Weschcke
- 14: New moon
- 14: Birthday of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa in 1486
- 14: Birthday of author Ellen Dugan
- 17: Television welcomes Bewitched in 1964
- 21: International Day of Peace
- 22: Fall Equinox or Mabon
- 22: Ostara (Southern Hemisphere)
- 29: Full Moon -- Harvest Moon at 11:19 pm
- 29: Celtic Tree Month of Vine ends
- 30: Celtic Tree Month of Ivy begins
October
- 1: Birthday of Isaac Bonewits, founder of Ár nDraíocht Féin
- 12: Birthday of occultist Aleister Crowley, 1875
- 15: New moon
- 18: Birthday of Nicholas Culpeper, noted herbalist, in 1616
- 20: Birthday of Selena Fox of Circle Sanctuary
- 27: Celtic Tree Month of Ivy ends
- 28: Celtic Tree Month of Reed begins
- 29: Full moon -- Blood Moon at 3:49 pm
- 31: Samhain
- 31: Beltane (Southern Hemisphere)
- 31: Covenant of the Goddess formed in 1975
November
- 1: Mexico's Day of the Dead
- 2: Birthday of Wiccan author Sirona Knight
- 11: Veteran's Day
- 13: New moon
- 22: Thanksgiving day (United States)
- 24: Celtic Tree Month of Reed ends
- 25: Celtic Tree Month of Elder begins
- 28: Full moon -- Mourning Moon at 8:17 pm
- 30: Birthday of Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, founder of Church of All Worlds
- 30: Festival of Hecate Trivia
December
- 6: Krampusnacht
- 13: New moon
- 17: Beginning of Saturnalia
- 21: Winter Solstice or Yule
- 21: Litha (Southern Hemisphere)
- 22: Celtic Tree Month of Elder ends
- 20: Celtic Tree Month of Birch begins
- 25: Christmas Day
- 25: Feast of Frau Holle, Germanic goddess
- 28: Full moon -- Long Nights Moon at5:21 am
- 31: Festival of Hogmanay
