Sabbats «vs» Esbats

The modern Wiccan and NeoWiccan calendar is rooted in Sabbats: Seasonal festivals which mark key points in the natural year; for Wicca and NeoWicca are both Nature­ oriented religions. And since Nature is a many-leveled, the 'natural year' likewise includes many aspects- agricultural, pastoral, wildlife, botanical, lunasolar, planetary, etc- the tides and cycles of which all affect or reflect each other.

Traditionally there are eight of these divided into two groups of four: The Quarters (Ostara, Litha, Mabon, and Yule), which fall on the seasonal Solstices; and the Cross-Quarters (Imbolc, Beltaine, Lughnasadh, and Samhain), which fall on the seasonal Equinoxes between them; the names and traditions of these holidays were variously borrowed from Irish, as well as made up, during the 1900’s, during the course of Wicca’s formation, the rise of the Outercourt system, and the eventually development of NeoWicca.

These Sabbats, often called the ‘Wheel of the Year’ collectively due to their resemblance to an eight spoked wagon wheel when in illustrated form, are the Wiccan and NeoWiccan way of cele­brating, and putting themselves in tune with, these natural tides and cycles. For Humans are also a part of many-leveled Nature, and Wiccans and NeoWiccans both strive, consciously and constantly, to express that unity within their faith.

Esbats, however, is the name given to the regular working of a Wiccan or NeoWiccan where the general purpose is to worship the Divine and receive blessings and spiritual lessons- as opposed to the big seasonal celebrations known as the Sabbats. And if Sabbats are better termed holidays, then Esbats are better termed meetings.

The word Esbat itself supposedly comes from the French ‘s’esbattre’, meaning ‘to amuse oneself’. It was a borrowing by 20th century anthropologist Margaret Murray's use of French witch trial sources on supposed Witches' Sabbaths’ during her attempts to ‘reconstruct’ a Witch Cult in Western Europe.

While it’s not really a hard concept to grasp in that a coven celebrates Holidays together and it has coven meetings separate from those celebrations, it is a bit unclear whether the term Esbat refers purely to the Full Moon rites held once monthly, or to Dark / New Moon rites held once monthly - or to any nonSabbat rite held any time a working needs to be done, or to any regular meeting held by a Coven at all, regardless of whether any magic is done.

Most agree to the latter in some form or another, but go on to state that the former is bare minimum; that regardless, the Esbat should be a serious occasion which, first and foremost, involves worship of the Divine, and that you should hold Esbat at least once a month. If that is during a full (or sometimes new) moon, then all the better.

In my own practice, the Sabbats and Esbats take two similar but different meanings and methods of use in order to create a full holiday cycle which honors both the Lunar and Solar discs.

⇸ Sabbats refers to the 12 Solar Festivals- one celebrated once per month on the New (or Absent) Moon. These celebrate the Earth Cycle through Divine Myth.

⇸ Esbat, on the other hand, refers to the 12 Lunar Feasts- one celebrated once per month on the Full Moon. These honor the Earth Cycle within Body and Spirit.

There are an additional number of “Lesser Holidays”, or Lenna, which are celebrated at odd points throughout the year. These focus on a variety of natural themes of personal interest and significance ... In addition to these, the Sabbats, and the Esbats, there is also a celebration for the second Full or New / Absent Moon of the month (whichever occurs). This is referred to in the calendar as the ‘Milk Moon’, and is used for deep spiritual purification and cleansing, reparatory offerings, and the like.