Sabbats

You should remember, when reading the information on the Sabbats, that there is no concrete proof of any pre-Christian seasonal rituals in the British isles. Most of our understanding is based on Sir George Frazier’s research, extremely well documented in his famous book The Golden Bough (1922). Even the dates we have given for the Sabbats have considerably changed through the centuries, for example in 1582, because no one was sure how many days were in a year, the 4th October was preceded by the 15th October. In Roman times no one knew which was the longest or shortest day. Also, the records we do have are mainly from the 15th century onward and most of this from Southern England and Ireland. Another thing to take into account is that the Sabbats were mostly an excuse for sex. This has probably as much to do with the feelings of the young people at the time as anything else. After all there wasn’t any radio, television, night clubs or anything else to do but work in the fields and enjoy each other’s company. What is a difficult concept for us to understand today is that it is only since Victorian times that sex has become demeaning and immoral. Our idea of sex today is completely different from ancient ideas and practises.

So what are the Sabbats?

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