Ga: Lady Anwyn
Gi: Lord Tanys
Jf: Lady Byathynne
V: Lord Gwendolen

2018 Update
Friday, March 16 is the day of the EQUILUX here in Las Vegas (As close as it can be, at least). Day and Night are mere seconds away from being equal! Midday is at 12:49 p.m.

The Vernal EQUINOX will occur on Mar. 20, 2018 at exactly 9:15 am.

​2017 Update
In Las Vegas the EQUINOX is at September 22 Sat 6:54 PM PT
The EQUILUX occurs on Sep 26 - Wednesday ALL DAY with midday at 12:31 PM PT

2016 UPDATE
In Las Vegas the EQUINOX is at Sep 22 7:21 AM PDT
The Equilux occurs on Sep 25 - ALL DAY with midday at 12:32 PM

The equinox is not really when the day and night are equal. We know that "equinox" derives from the Latin: aequinoctium - "aequi" or "equi" + noct (nox) or night or "equal night"... but No, not equal by a few minutes of the day

At the precise moment of the equinox there are three things happening: 

1.) the sun is at zenith over the equator
2.) where the sun rises, it does so exactly in the east and where it sets it does so exactly in the west and
3.) both northern & southern hemispheres are EQUALLY illuminated on the side of the planet that the sun is shining on.

For us, here in Las Vegas, the EXACT moment of the equinox happened at 1:22 AM, earlier today. That's it. That one precise moment in time at 1:22 AM was the equinox.

Here in Las Vegas, dawn was at 6:29 AM and sunset was at 6:36 PM; giving us 12 hours and 6 minutes of daylight. Not equal. (But it's only six minutes... you can't forgive 6 minutes?!) No.

There are two reasons for this inequality: First, the sun is not a point in the sky. It is a disk. The apparent size of the sun (it's BIG & CLOSE) matters. Second, the atmospheric refraction of the sunlight in relation to the latitude of your location. The earth's atmosphere bends the light adding or subtracting how much actual daylight you have. Check this site for a more thorough explanation: Day and night exactly equal at equinoxes? By Bruce McClure)

Somewhere in the early 2000's, someone (probably my soul twin), usurped the word "Equilux" to mean 'equal day and night'... taken from a lighting term meaning 'equal illumination' or 'equal light'. 

But despite that most don't exactly know the astronomical details, the Autumnal Equinox is a time to give "Thanks" for the success of our harvests, whether literal or metaphorically, and to prepare and look to the future return of that bounty. 

We pay respects to the coming forces of night and Winter and learn from them as we ourselves prepare for the dark season ahead. The night starts waxing and the day begins waning and we are reminded that nothing ever remains without change. 

The Inner Circle Sanctuary celebrates all these aspects of the Autumn Equinox in it's ritual. We honor the Old Ones and pay respects to our ancestors by doing as they did in this season; by giving offerings from the harvest back to Mother Earth and to mark the season.  

We hope your Autumnal Equinox was filled with love, laughter, family, and friendship... and a deep and loving connection with all that envelops us.

~Lady Atheona

THE SUN GOD 
in the Wiccan Mythos
Presented by Inner Circle Sanctuary

SATURDAY, JANUARY 6, 2018 
at 2pm
at the Las Vegas Natural History Museum
900 Las Vegas Blvd. North 
Las Vegas, NV 89101

$12.00 Adults 
$10.00 Seniors, Military and Students 
$6.00 Children (3-11)
FREE Children (2 and younger),
Las Vegas Natural History Museum Members
ASTC Travel Passport Program (Two Adults & Two Children FREE)

https://www.facebook.com/LasVegasNaturalHistoryMuseum/

​​When you look at your modern calendar, the Estival solstice is labeled as the beginning of Summer, so why do we call it Midsummer?  

If we were to actually begin the seasons with the cross-quarter days of

Imbolg, the very beginning of spring,
Bealtaine, the very beginning of Summer.
Lughnasadh, the very beginning of the Autumn harvesting season, and
Samhain, the early beginning of Winter

then it's easy to see why the Summer Solstice is known as "Midsummer". (and why Yule is oft called "Midwinter".)

Litha is a name often heard bandied about as another name for the Summer Solstice. Litha first came into use as a result of research by Aiden Kelly from a treatise called 'The Reckoning of Time' (De temporum ratione) written by a Northumbrian monk, Bede in 725 AD. The scholarly Bede described a variety of ancient calendars, including the Anglo-Saxon calendar that named the month of June (se Ærra Liþa, early Litha month) and July, (Æfterra Liþa, later Litha month). "It may have helped that it had been appropriated, as “Lithe,” for the Midsummer festival in the hobbits’ calendar in J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings (Tolkien 1966)." Aiden Kelly also brought the names of Mabon and Ostara into the neopagan vernacular so that all the sabbats could have traditional names.

​Celebrations of the Summer solstice occurs in history around the world, much like that of all the quarter days.

• "In ancient China, the summer solstice was observed by a ceremony to celebrate the Earth, femininity, and the “yin” forces."
• "In ancient Gaul, the Midsummer celebration was called Feast of Epona.
• "Some Native American tribes held ritual dances to honor the Sun.
• "For the Greeks, it would, according to some calendars, mark the start of the new year and the month-long countdown toward the Olympics.
• "For the Romans, the solstice was the occasion for another unique exception to everyday life: on the first day of the festival of Vestalia, married women could, for one day only, enter the temples of the vestal virgins to make offerings to Vesta, goddess of the hearth and home.
• "Mayas and Aztecs used the day as a marker by which to build many of their central structures, so that the buildings would align perfectly with the shadows of the two solstices, summer and winter.
• "In Jewish tradition, it’s known as Tekufat Tammuz, the solstice of the month Tammuz.
• "Eastern Europe celebrates the solstice with Kupala, a Slavic holiday with pagan roots. Named for the Slavic goddess Kupala, it was originally conceived as a fertility rite.
• "Throughout Austria (and especially in the mountains of the Wilder Kaiser region of Tyrol), fires dot the countryside to celebrate the solstice."

​Quoted from The Scientific American

Ra - Horus - Apollo - Helios - 
Freyr - Huitzilopochtli - Lugh - Hvar Khshaita - 
Inti - Liza - Mithras - Sol Invictus - 
Surya - Tonatiuh  - Utu (Shamash)

Did you know that the observance of the 'New Year' was once dictated by the outbreak of Spring which 'seemingly' happened to coincide with the moment the Sun crossed the celestial equator from south to north? For many cultures, the Spring Equinox is the start of a new year; a fresh start; a new beginning. 

The advent of two new members joining our small congregation allowed us to experience the newness of a sabbat again. The nervousness, the ceaseless smiles, the frenzied excitation... it hearkened us back to our own first times with this new group. Sometimes the emotional tension is not displayed so readily, which is why we love being able to read the journal experiences our members are required to write after every sabbat. 

The newness of the season, the new students, the sightings of new gorgeous growth and the abundance of fauna in our desert gladdened our many hearts. Our ring was set up quickly and deftly and the members were able to relax and commune before the ritual began. Many explored the sights, nooks, and crannies of our sabbat site. Some napped, some were swept up with family and friend fellowships, and others enjoyed the quietness of the escape from the Las Vegas urban landscape.

As the sun set, the announcement of the approach of our High Priestess Lady Joyanna and High Priest Lord Tanys rang through the air starting the ceremony. Lady Ravenfeather swept the ring and Lady Nashoba and Lord Tanys took their places as the leaders of the ritual. Everyone gave their blessings for the potted seeds and a new, fresh poem from Lady Sistterwolf debuted. After the magical ring was taken down, we crowned Lady Ravenfeather as the Spring Queen and were delighted with all the attending males giving her the five-fold kiss to honor her. We ate the decorated eggs and drank the wondrous mead in celebration. After ring festivities graced us with a haunting song, a fire dance, poetry, stories, and jokes lending to another exceptional sabbat celebrated.

The High Priestess for our sabbat spent a few weeks creating a wheel of the year for her sabbat altar. It was remarkable and everyone took their time in admiring it.

At sabbat's end, Lady Nashoba placed the piece into the holy fire and gave it to the Gods. There was a bit of shock from some of our younger (and older) members.

The concept of sacrifice is something we cover during our sabbat chapters for there are many. The Bridhe's Bed at Imbolg, the Maypole and flower crown at Bealtaine, the best (first) fruits at harvest, etc. 

​On a personal note, this kind of offering is my favorite: a hand wrought gift with the deities in mind as they are being made. 

We, as American witches and Wiccans, while thoroughly moved by the rituals we perform or are performed by our brethren, are never more impressed when someone gets to 'Draw Down the Sun' or declaim 'The Charge' with a foreign accent. And while a British accent, that of our Wiccan fore-mothers and forefathers, is no doubt pretty impressive, there is nothing, NOTHING like hearing Drawing Down the Sun when performed by a thickly accented, Puerto Rican High Priestess.  Every. Single. Attendee. Had. Goosebumps. 

The night was definitely warmer than it was at Yule. Someone had remarked last sabbat that the only blessing about doing their sabbat outdoors at Yule would be that there would be no bugs. LOL. The bugs must have been out during the dusk hour approaching ritual because we were visited by a few low sweeping bats. Yep... spring would soon be on its way. 

Lady Diamondsage's besom was a gorgeous beast, an appearance of "I'm a little teapot" delighted us, and one brand new member said taking part in the ritual was like being in a movie. I sure do hope it wasn't one of those creepy, horror movies where the witches win in the end (The Wicker Man, Spellbinder.... who am I kidding. Yes I do. We win!)

The Inner Circle, in whatever incarnation, has always, always, always, celebrated it's sabbats outside and in nature. We look for places that are somewhat remote (yet accessible by vehicle for those physically disabled) in the wonder of Nature, herself. If that place can show the changes in the season, the better suited. I can count on one set of hands how many times our sabbat rituals had to be taken indoors because of rain.

After the ring, we exchanged gifts and the consideration, ingenuity, and craftsmanship was nothing short of marvelous. We had a visitor to our ring and she was regaled with stories with how we all found our way to our coven family by our Lady Joyanna's direction. (We're not quite sure if she wanted to hear the stories, but she was kind, stayed, and listened.) 

We retired indoors where there were songs, stories, jokes, and a marvelous amount of delicious food. It was reflected upon that for quite a few people, 2016 was pretty bad. Losses and major life changes seemed to have affected everyone, but everyone also had a bright and shining center to keep their focus... our coven family. Yeah... we're doing it right.

​~Lady Atheona

"So the shortest day came, and the year died,
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.

They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;

They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive,

And when the new year's sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, reveling.

Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us - Listen!!

All the long echoes sing the same delight,
This shortest day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:

They carol, fest, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.

And so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.
Welcome Yule!!"
- Susan Cooper, The Shortest Day
Music: Cold - Jorge Méndez

Ostara Sabbat 2016

High Priestess: Lady Irydeean
High Priest: Lord Tanys

​A wondrous celebration!
High Priestess Lady Irydeean leads her last sabbat with us.
Lady Sive is crowned the Spring Queen.
Summoner Lord Rand and Maiden Lady Ravenfeather receive the Gold and Scarlet egg, respectively.

Yule Sabbat 2015

High Priestess: Lady Panthres        High Priest: Lord Rdhawk

Another amazing sabbat with some of our favorite former students as Priest and Priestess. The weather was wonderful and the cheer in the air was affluent! So many wonderful Yule gifts and great food provided by our members.
​What a wonderful sabbat!