A tumblr of one's own

Daniel Ridgway Knight (American, 1839-1924)

The High Priestess. John B. Trinick and Wilfrid Pippet, Album of the Great Symbols of the Paths, 1917-21

The Wheel of the Year is a symbol of the eight Sabbats (religious festivals) of Neo-Paganism and the Wicca movement which includes four solar festivals - Winter Solstice, Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, Fall Equinox - and four seasonal festivals - celebrating or marking a significant seasonal change.

Contrary to modern-day Wiccan claims, there is no evidence of an ancient Wheel of the Year in its present form but it is clear that the Celts of thousands of years ago celebrated the festivals the wheel highlights, even if these celebrations were known by another name now long lost.

In the ancient Celtic culture, as in many of the past, time was seen as cyclical. The seasons changed, people died, but nothing was ever finally lost because everything returned again – in one way or another – in a repeating natural cycle. Although time in the modern world is usually regarded as linear, the cyclical nature of life continues to be recognized.

The modern-day Wheel of the Year was first suggested by the scholar and mythologist Jacob Grimm (1785-1863) in his 1835 work, Teutonic Mythology, and fixed in its present form in the 1950s and early ‘60s by the Wicca movement. The wheel includes the following holy days (most dates flexible year-to-year):

Samhain (31 October) Yule (20-25 December) Imbolc (1-2 February) Ostara (20-23 March) Beltane (30 April-1 May) Litha (20-22 June) Lughnasadh (1 August) Mabon (20-23 September).

𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐋𝐮𝐠𝐡

god of sun, war, all arts and crafts, justice,

Mapuches en el palacio de la moneda, 1936

Mapuche woman from Chile

The Historian's Den (facebook)

For centuries, the Mapuche people inhabited south-central Chile and parts of Argentina, developing a decentralized but resilient society. When the Inca Empire expanded southward in the 15th century, the Mapuche fiercely resisted, halting Incan advances at the Maule River. This early defiance earned them a reputation as formidable warriors long before the Spanish arrived.

Spanish conquistadors encountered the Mapuche in the 1540s during their push south from Peru. Unlike many other Indigenous groups, the Mapuche refused to submit. They adapted quickly to Spanish tactics, mastering horseback riding and forging iron weapons. The resulting Arauco War spanned over 300 years, an extraordinary period of sustained resistance that saw the Mapuche win major victories, including the killing of several Spanish governors.

Despite treaties and shifting frontlines, the Mapuche maintained autonomy well into the 19th century. It wasn’t until Chile’s “Pacification of Araucanía” campaign in the 1860s–1880s that their territory was finally annexed. Even then, many Mapuche communities continued to resist cultural assimilation, preserving their language, identity, and traditions into the modern era.

Me and Kaminski (2015) Daniel Brühl as Sebastian Zöllner