Esbat: Encyclopedia - Esbat

Esbat

Wiccans and many other Pagans celebrate the esbats, which are the full moons. The new moons are also celebrated by many groups, and some very dedicated groups also celebrate the first and last quarter. Traditionally, the Sabbats are times of celebration, while magical work is done at the esbats.

There are thirteen canonical full moons each year, although some years will have only twelve, because a lunar month is more than twenty-eight days long (actually about 29 1/2 days). A "blue moon" is popularly defined as the second full moon in a calendar month, although some define it as the second full moon while the sun is in one sign of the Zodiac.

In The Witches' Goddess, Janet and Stewart Farrar note that the Babylonians considered the new moon to be the time when the Goddess was menstruating, and it was bad luck to do work on that day. In Jewish culture, the new moon is the first day of the month, called Rosh Chodesh, and is still observed by some as a holiday for women.

The term esbat is a recent adoption, dating to the writings of Margaret Murray. It is derived from French esbat (modern ébat), meaning roughly "frolic, romp", with some sexual connotations. This term was used during the European witch trials to describe the supposed behaviour of witches engaging in Devil worship. Murray was misled by the word's coincidental resemblance to the term sabbat.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Esbat", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki