Green Blessing
The Celtic Wheel of the Year
The Celtic Wheel of the Year is a book of new and original prayers written by Tess Ward and published by O Books. It is contemporary spiritual writing which intertwines the two strands of Celtic Christian and Celtic pre-Christian traditions in a single pattern of prayer. In The Celtic Way, Ian Bradley defines the hallmarks of Celtic Christianity as the three Ps of “presence, poetry and pilgrimage”.
Whilst this is not a book that is attempting to write in the style of those Celtic Christians I hope that it shares those same hallmarks.
| January | New Year, Epiphany, Twelfth Night |
| February | Brigid, Imbolc, Candlemas, Valentine, Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday |
| March | Lent, Spring Equinox, St David, St Patrick, Mothering Sunday |
| April | Easter, Oestre, All Fools, St George |
| May | Beltane/May Day, Pentecost/Whitsun, Ascension, Rogationtide |
| June | Summer Solstice/Midsummers Day, Corpus Christi, Father’s Day |
| July | No festivals |
| August | Lammas, Lughnasadh |
| September | Autumn Equinox, Harvest, St Michael and all Angels |
| October | Samhain, St Francis |
| November | All Souls, All Hallows, Bonfire Night, Remembrance Day, Thanksgiving, St Andrew |
| December | Advent, Christmas, Yule, Winter Solstice |
Other days celebrated include:
Mountains and Hills, Rivers, Music, Colour, Wisdom, Crone, Pilgrimage, Dog Days, Sea, Trees, Silence.
Each month has an introduction describing the seasons outside and the festivals and then 7 days of prayer for a month. There are devotions for morning and night.
It is beautifully illustrated by Clare Arnison-Newgass.