Part of general witchcraft is attuning to the different seasons of the year. Many of the modern celebrations of holidays are based around ancient pagan customs and there is a plethora of ways to look into things. I find the easiest way and most common is the activity of four seasons. Within four seasons there are two Quarter and Cross Quarter holidays that make up what Wiccans refer to as the Wheel of the Year. They specifically portray this through the birth, death, and marriage of the God and Goddess. Which definitely brings a new vision to the way a year is perceived.
The Witches new year actually begins November 1st, and is a time of celebration and feasting and honoring those who have gone before. It became commonized in the holiday Halloween, that sparks images of ghouls and witches and much admiration of horror movies and the like are prevalent during this time. A non-Wiccan celebration during this time is the celebration of Santa Muerte, known as Day of the Dead. This traditionally happens November second, and the other holiday within this quarter of the year is Mabon which is celebrated around September twenty-first. Mabon is the last fire festival of the year before the last great harvest festival of Halloween. Mabon was a deity who was the son of Madron, a harvest fertility goddess.
After these two holidays, the next quarter consists of Yule and Imbolc. Yule being the festival of the sun, the child god being born into the world. The Modern common holiday being Christmas, which the birth of Christ was actually adapted too. Imbolc is the festival of lights worshipping light during the darkest time of the year.
Then spring rises and Ostara and Beltane approach. Easter, and the classic may day. The Easter bunny is a fertility symbol long admired by pagans, and in may the birds and the bees strike within the relational capacities.
Then there is midsummer and Lughnasadh, Lughnasadh being in honor of the God Lugh, who is a harvest deity.
These four sets of two holidays each consist of the eight quarters and cross quarters of the year that Wiccans traditionally call Sabbats, a derivative of the word Sabbath and Saboath. Main public celebrations take place on these days, as they are related to the common elements of the weather and seasonal holidays.
I admire the wheel of the year as a practicing Satanist. I admire the metaphor and symbology that Christianity obviously adapted to. It’s not any coincidence or reverse trick. This is the actual case. Offerings are given to the deities within the different sects/covens, and libations are poured, feasts are eaten, and love is made in honor of the God and Goddess.
The holidays within Satanism are a little bit sparser. Though the solstices and equinoxes are listed within the Church of Satan satanic holidays to celebrate, along with one's own birthday being the highest holiday, and walpurgisnatch being a historical tribute in unique ways to the eve of May.
Celebrating the seasons in these manners is a main custom within witchcraft circles alike, and if one were to pursue the craft of the wise in their endeavors, I would suggest studying the lore behind each of these holidays. The symbolism is very potent for a different out take on the holidays. A spiritual path that consists of a different variation of holidays is Demonolatry, which has several rites dedicated to demons within the tradition of ceremonial magic.
Don’t limit your horizons to the possibilities of what can be done. Don’t fear the possibilities, but harness them in your workings, and you will be amazed at what you can accomplish.