Has anyone here read Druid Magic?  Written by Maya Magee Sutton and Nicholas R. Mann.  It was published by Llewellyn.  This is probably the first pagan book I ever bought.  This book claims that the festivals Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasah, and Samhain are based on the life cycle of women (maiden/mother/crone), but I haven't read anything elsewhere supporting this.  What do you guys think?

Raith

my understanding of this comes from the following article: "Witchcraft and the Masculine: Thoughts on the God", found under "male mysteries" section of this website.

http://www.paganliving.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2368

See the section "The Solar Cycle". Here's an excerpt:
"
In the Wheel of the Year, the four solar Sabbats (Spring and Fall Equinox,  Summer and Winter Solstice) are placed at the cardinal points of East,  South,  West, and North. The remaining four Celtic festivals are placed between them: Imbolc at the north-east; Beltane at the south-east; Lammas at the south-west; and Samhain at the north-west. At Spring Equinox, the mating of the Goddess and God are celebrated. The coming of Summer and marriage of the Goddess and God are celebrated at
Beltane. Midsummer is a celebration of the Sun, the Lord of Life, and the God achieves maturity and kingship. Lammas celebrates the sacrifice of the God at the harvest; necessary to fertilize the land, and his death places him in a new kingdom - the Underworld. The Autumn Equinox honors the return of the God from the Underworld, and His reunion with the Goddess. At the Feast of the Dead, Samhain, the veil between the material and spirit worlds draws thin, and the dead may travel freely amidst both. Yule celebrates the Sun God's birth, and at Imbolc, the Goddess returns from the Underworld, a virgin once more. [maiden]

We come to terms with ageing and death by participating in the rituals of the seasons. They are part of the eternal process of life. The Sabbat Wheel of the Year is round and may be entered at any of its spokes. At the Spring Equinox, the God is most like the Horned God, Pan. He is the Lord of the Green. A lusting youth, roaming free. He is instinct attune with animals and Nature, and at his most animalistic. Consider the image of Pan with horns, goat legs, and human torso. This is a good way to envision the God at this time. He is a careless, free, adolescent, roaming the forest and woodlands. It is during this time he impregnates the Goddess, [cycling to mother...] only to continue ranging as the Hunter."

Continue reading the article for a continued explanation relating to the remain cycles.

Be Well,
RealEyez

Sorry but i have never heard of such a claim before by any of the books or real life druids i have had the pleasure of knowing or read about.