By Rain Stormsong

What colors are you going to put on your altar for Lammas? Samhein? Yule? How about candle colors that are particularly effective to the season? Perhaps some of the following thoughts will help you create an altar that is both meaningful to the season and pleasant to your sense of the Sabbat. After all, it's all about what you get out of it that's important!  

Lammas, celebrated on August eve, or on the day of August 1st depending on your path, rejoices in the first harvest. It is time to begin bringing in the crops which have short growing seasons. There is much yellow, orange and green that surround us during this time, in both the harvest as well as the symbolic colors of our ritual.  

Yellow. The color of intellect and imagination. It is still summer and we are creative and confident. We are inspired in the rays of the sun which continues to bathe us during this time.  

Orange. Nature's power color signifies stimulation and control. There is still a great deal of encouragement within the season as what is around us continues to grow and produce.  

Green. Abundant and leafy in it's very feel, this color signifies generosity and balance.  

Mabon, the second harvest is celebrated in late September. This is also the Autumn Equinox and therefore the day and night are equal again. During this celebration we honor the gathering of grain crops and that the soft crops have been put up for the long, cold months that await. Again there is orange, and also brown.  

Brown. Studiousness and balance are the key as we realize that the frolic has gone from the year. Our concentration begins to turn to weathering the winter, though it is still some time away.  

That Samhein and Halloween are completely separate holidays is a given. Yes? There's even evidence that Samhein should be celebrated earlier in the month (around the 20th) than it used to be based on growing seasons and planetary alignments. This isn't about that however, so I won't digress any farther. The holiday of Halloween is a construct to make sense of, and thus take the fear factor out of, a pagan holiday that was misunderstood by the Christian church. The holiday was our Sabbat of Samhein.  

Originally Samhein, celebrated the last of October was honored as the night of the year that the veil between the physical world and the spirit world was the thinnest. It was the night pagan celebrations were held to remember those who had died during the past year and to provide guidance to those who needed it in crossing over into the Summerlands. Power colors for Samhein are black, red and white.  

Samhein also marks the third and final harvest celebration. Skinned fruits and nuts are ripe and ready to be stored to sustain us through the cold of winter. Seeds are gathered and put into the ground so that they can rest and store energy for the spring which lays nearly a half year away.  

Black. The color of protection and binding of negativity. We use black to release that which needs to be let go of and to help those who need the assistance in crossing.  

White. Attainment of a higher spirituality through leaving the physical body. White is thus symbolic during this time of year as those who have left us attain greater understandings than they had in life and we acknowledge that with white flowers and robes.  

Red. Energy and strength. The essence of the color conjures up courage and the will power to conquer fear of the unknown. It is what remains of the sexual, reproductive potency of the Sun God as he is lain to rest on this night. It is also the energy of what we have reaped throughout the three harvests, both literally and figuratively, as we stand on the brink of the pagan new year ready to apply what we've learned, to our lives.  

Yule; in the middle of the cold months celebrates the return of the Sun God. This longest day, shortest night, of the year symbolizes hope and the strength of conviction. Though there are many hard months to come, the sun has promised to return to the land and begin the slow process of warming it to sustain life again. Yule's colors are green, red, and gold.  

Red. The symbolic color of health during this time of year as the days are dark and cold. We wish for the continued or improved health of ourselves, loved ones, and herd beasts during the times our constitutions and wills are tested.  

Green. Good fortune to all. The sun promises to return and we have stocked an abundance of food, renewed our friendships and surround ourselves with friends. Generosity is key and green is its color.  

Gold. The color of the Sun God as his birth is heralded on Yule morn. It is the color of intuition and many begin this day with a divination for the coming year.  

Imbolc, celebrated February 2nd, means “in the belly’. This is the time of year when flock and herdbeasts begin to give birth. It is also the time of year when we begin to look ahead to the promise of Spring. Colors are protective as it is still cold, and the world is transforming.  

White. The color of protection, peace and purity. Symbolic of the nature of the beasts that are born during this time.  

Blue. Tranquility for the mother who labors, patience and health as she watches her infants grow strong on her love and nourishment.  

Red. The symbolic color of sex and power, and health. Red also represents Brigid’s fires which continue to provide solace from the cold.  

Silver. Symbolic of the Goddess as this is also Brigid’s festival.  

Ostara, the Spring Equinox and celebration of the arrival of Spring. During this celebration we honor the fertility of animals, and the balance of day and night, male and female.  

Green. Symbolic of fertility and prosperity, for in these days there is nothing that cannot be achieved. The world is a fertile bed of infinite possibilities.  

Pink. Friendships and harmony and creativity are represented with this color.  

Purple. The driving force behind power and transformation.   

Beltane, celebrated on May first or May eve, depending on your path. During this time we celebrate the powers of sexuality as beasts begin their mating season, and the blossoming of trees and plants. Green is a strong color here again as are all colors which represent the blossoms of flowers. Maypoles are a beautiful homage to the abundance of color during this festival.  

Litha; also known as Midsummer and Summer Solstice. This longest day, shortest night, of the year symbolizes the Sun God at the peak of his splendor. It is a day of great joy, tinged with sadness as the darkness inevitably begins to creep back in as the Sun God’s strength wanes in the upcoming days. Litha’s colors are red, orange, white and gold.  

Orange. Energy and confidence. Orange is the color of summer. It is adaptability and stimulation. Celebrate with a midsummer bonfire!  

Gold. The color of the Sun God as he is at his strongest this day. It is the color of intuition and many make their wishes for health and prosperity written in gold ink.  

Bright Blessings!

Rain Stormsong

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