The excitation functions of 1 2 C(α,γ) 1 6 O and 2 2 Ne(α,n) 2 5 Mg have been determined with a yet unequaled experimental sensitivity of 10 - 1 1 b. From γ-angular distributions the S E 1 -and S E 2 -factors for 1 2 C(α,γ) 1 6 O have been deduced and extrapolated into the range of helium burning temperatures using the R-matrix method. An improved reaction rate has been calculated: N A <σν>=(7.9+/-2.5)x10 - 1 5 cm 3 (mols) - 1 at T 9 = 0.2. For a more precise extrapolation the excitation function has to be measured with better statistics. Therefore a new experiment on 1 2 C(α,γ) 1 6 O with a better suited setup has been started recently.The accuracy of the 2 2 Ne(α,n) 2 5 Mg reaction rate could be improved considerably compared to previous compilations: N A <σν> = (0.88 - 0 . 3 + 2 . 6 ) x 10 - 1 6 cm 3 (mols) - 1 at T 9 = 0.2.