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Real astronomy and dated history, with sources. Documented traditions and folklore. Modern lunar astrology · symbolic, not predictive.

Folklore #154 Rituals & practice

A coven's full moon meeting is called an esbat, as distinct from the eight seasonal sabbats. There are usually thirteen a year.

The word was popularised by Margaret Murray in the 1920s from French dialect, and Murray's wider theory of a surviving pagan witch-cult has not held up at all. The word stuck anyway. Thirteen is simply how many full moons fit in a solar year most of the time, which is also where the number's reputation comes from.

Tradition: Modern Wicca; the term from Margaret Murray (1921) · checked Sep 2026

🔭 Meanwhile, in astronomy: Why Ramadan moves through the seasons

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A coven's full moon meeting is called an esbat, as distinct from the eight seasonal sabbats. There are usually thirteen a year.

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A coven's full moon meeting is called an esbat, as distinct from the eight seasonal sabbats. There are usually thirteen a year.

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