Hitting Send

Departing summer hath assumed
An aspect tenderly illumed,
The gentlest look of spring;
That calls from yonder leafy shade
Unfaded, yet prepared to fade,
A timely carolling.

As I made my morning climb up the Glorious local mountainside recently, I could not deny the approach of season’s change, evident in the gold, orange and red colours emerging throughout the trees and landscape. Wow! In all honesty, after almost eleven years in Los Angeles, I have craved real seasons, which one must forego in lieu of near year-round sunshine. As I am now surrounded by the Beautiful Northern California orchards brimming with apples and pears, and vast stretches of vineyards, I am suddenly keenly aware of harvest in a renewed way. It’s quite Lovely!

Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.

Though it will be another 100 degree day here today, it is Autumnal Equinox/Mabon, and the beginning of Fall for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, the religious significance of which I covered quite thoroughly in a post last year. There is a drawing in of energy which occurs as harvest approaches, and with it the cooler months of the year. This is a time of thanks giving for the Blessed gifts bestowed upon us. Remember all of those seeds we’ve planted, both internally and externally? Yes, they’re forming into Magnificent gifts, BeLoveds! YAY!

Autumn burned brightly, a running flame through the mountains, a torch flung to the trees.

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.

It’s time to create a receptive environment so that our harvest can be successful, staying open to the gifts being brought forth. This occurs both within and in the outer world. I am continuing to stay grounded into Mother Earth, to whom we give thanks, climbing the mountains and getting outdoor time while it is still possible. It really helps a lot to stay connected with nature, and I highly encourage it.

Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.

There is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky…

As we reap the fruits of both our labour and life lessons, we can Gratefully and Joyously celebrate the crops and experiences this year has shared with us. We also give thanks and joyous remembrance to the ancestors who have come before us, honouring the time and energy they gave to our growth and development. As all is a circle, the winding down also marks new beginnings, so continue to look forward to the next Amazing chapter! For now, I wish you a most Blessed Autumn, filled with health, harmony, Love and abundance.

Autumn
by Abhinabha Tangerman

O season of ripe beauty, you I greet!
Whose heart is love’s calm wisdom at its throbbing core;
Your deep hues and myriad colors make the soul’s wings beat
And lift a lover like me to your ambrosial shore.
Through you Nature weeps its precious golden tears,
In you a mortal eye could glimpse its native Immortality,
O endless fount of inspiration to the poet-seers
To be bound by your embrace is to be truly free!
A glad earth bathes in your benign and lustrous smile
And man’s heart thrills with an unknown rapture and delight
By your whispers and footfalls and flute-call beguiled,
An ancient kinship links him to your celestial height.
A brimming of golden sweetness in your dreaming eyes
Fills the world with the beauty of a realm divine,
The sun’s last rays serenely trickle from your purple skies:
I send my love and song and call your blessings mine.

Love and Autumnal Blessings,
Antonia

Why has Summer always been my favourite Season? Could it be the warmer days, spent outdoors? The promise of friends gathering, barbecues, sweet, icy refreshments, lazy poolside fun and galavanting on the beach? Yes, yes, I believe so! And, the fact that my birthday lies smack dab in the middle of the fun certainly helps the cause as well. *giggle* So, my recent excitement at Solstice’s arrival should surprise none. But, it’s also pretty Amazing to me just how many of the ancients celebrated the special time as well.

Many great stones, megaliths, tunnels and monuments have been constructed to honour this specific astronomical moment in time. The celebration of light at its brightest has held great significance for our ancients, for as the Sun warms Mother Earth with His strength and power, Earth is nurtured, and thus able to bring forth Her gifts to us. Whether you call it Solstice (latin for Sun standing still), Litha, Alben Heruin, St. John’s Day, or something else, the joyous solar festival of many names falls upon 21 June and will be the longest day of the year here in the Northern Hemisphere, bringing the beginning of Summer with it.

Among the many monuments, the Solstice is commemorated in stone at Egypt’s Giza plateau. Can you imagine the ingenuity required to enable the Summer Solstice Sun to set precisely between the two Great Pyramids? The impressive Nazca Lines, a mysterious series of shallow trench designs dug in the Peruvian desert between 500 B.C. and A.D. 500, include features aligned with both the Summer and Winter Solstice sunsets. In the Toltec Mounds Archaeological State Park near Little Rock, Arkansas, the Solstice Sun sets directly behind a ceremonial mound constructed some thousand years ago by the North American Indians. Thousands of people will gather this year to celebrate the day at Stonehenge, where Sacred stones have been aligned with the Solstice for some 5,000 years.

For me, Midsummer, as its also known, doesn’t just mark the occasion when the Sun proudly reaches its peak strength, allowing Earth Her lush, Beautiful fertility; it is also a celebration of service, sharing and giving our due to the planet. We shall each do our part to prepare for the harvest season, for it is not just an agricultural reward we reap; we, too, shall be harvested. This involves sharing with our community, giving back to those who have helped us, through random acts of kindness, and assisting our fellow soul siblings however we can. It is a sharing of the harvest, and ourselves, in Gratitude for what we were Blessed to have been given.

Sunshine brings strength and inspiration, and Solstice is an excellent time to appreciate the day with some thoughtful solitude about what the next phase of the year will bring. Considered by ancient civilizations to be like our modern-day New Year’s Eve, it was viewed as a time of rebirth and renewal. I shall spend time outdoors, appreciating the new energy, and setting intentions for how I can best serve and bring the energy back around come harvest time. Should this not resonate with you, I hope that you shall at least be inspired to find a way to celebrate the long honoured time in a way which feels best for you. What do you feel inspired to do, Dear Reader?

The picture above is of my BeLoved grandparents, both now gone, and was taken not long after they were married. Didn’t he look handsome in his uniform? Last year at this time, I chose to write a piece about the history of Memorial Day. While researching for the post, I could not help but think of my grandfather and his time abroad during World War II. While it seemed a bit odd to me at the time to include him in a Memorial Day post, as he was still alive then, I am so Grateful that I did, as it allowed for me to candidly discuss his wartime with him. Blessed that was, I say now. And, as Memorial day creeps up again, memories of the Beautiful ancestors who’ve come before me have been swimming through my head, and my heart.

My greatgrandmother, Christine Barton, whom I called “Bestamor”, was a very important womyn in my life, and I feel so truly fortunate to have known her as well as I did, and have shared as much dear time with her as I was allowed. She was Awesome! When I was about nine years of age, I used to have sleep overs at her house every Saturday night. We had sweet rituals of eating pizza or hamburgers, then watching the Love Boat together. Wow! It makes me smile so to think back to those times now. She not only allowed for, but encouraged a certain artistic freedom in me, showed me how to balance being a soft, yet strong womyn, and boy oh boy, did she have a green thumb, which I could only hope to emulate.

Antonia and Bestamor

I’ve been thinking a great deal about the way in which those who came before us help to teach us, and shape our lives. They share their wisdom, but this, along with a certain energy, is left behind. And, of course, it is up to us to carry on their legacies as best we can. To take the Love they’ve shared, and energy they’ve left us, and not only allow it to continue assisting us, but also to share it with those we Love who are still among us.

Upon my recent visit to the Botanical gardens, I came across a Gorgeous example of what I am trying to describe. The roots of what must have been a very Beautiful and impressive tree had been left on its side. From the dirt, along one side of this root structure, burst forth new, spectacular life. Even in death lay Glorious Beauty. It is the circle of life, which continues to unfold, ’round and ’round.

This Memorial Day, I shall honour not just those brave men and womyn who have fought for our country, but all those Dearly BeLoved who have come before me, assisting in shaping me, and allowing for the life I have today. For all of you, I give thanks.

Love and Blessings,
Antonia

Another fresh new year is here …
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
To love and laugh and give!

This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest …
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!

I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!

Tis the dawning of a new year, and I am very excited about it! Can you feel it, dear reader? A new year filled with infinite possibilities and many beautiful blessings! I am certain that 2009 is going to be Glorious! We’ve done such wonderful work in the year past, and it is time to reflect back upon that which has been, give thanks for lessons learned, risks taken, goals achieved, and blessings bestowed upon us, while looking ahead to that which we shall create.

New Year’s is the oldest holiday ever celebrated, dating back 4,000 years ago to the ancient Babylonians. In the years around 2000 BCE, the Babylonian New Year began on the day of the first visible crescent Moon following the Vernal Equinox /first day of Spring. Symbolic of renewal/rebirth, this strikes me as a more logical time of year to celebrate, and thus I admire the countries/cultures which still do! After all, when Julius Caesar set us on the Julian Calendar, marking 1 January as the new year, he did so by letting the previous year run to 445 days rather than the traditional 365, plus leap year, and even then…

Cheers to most of India, where the New Year (Nava Varsha) is celebrated in March or April, just as in the most ancient civilizations! Sikhs celebrate Hola Mohalla in March, as is the Persian Nowruz. In China and Southeast Asia, Lunar New Year still has a floating date marked by the first day of the first lunar month.

I have celebrated new year’s in three different countries, the United States, Mexico, and the Netherlands, but all had a lot in common. For instance, in all three there was the tradition of noisemaking and fire. Noisemaking and fireworks on New Year’s eve is believed to have originated in ancient times, when noise and fire were thought to dispel evil spirits and bring good luck. There is also a tradition of burning away of the old/useless, still carried on today in most South American countries. It was my experience, both as a child growing up in Amsterdam, and as a young adult celebrating the festivity, that the Dutch take their fireworks to an extreme. Of course there was also the common element of partying and drinking, which also goes back to the Babylonians, and is still carried out across much of the globe.

In agrarian societies, foods were the most potent of all new year’s symbols, and that is still true today. After all, the new year celebration is an observance of Mother Earth’s ability to renew Herself, and giving thanks that She shall sustain us for another year. The Babylonian celebration, which lasted for eleven days, included a massive feast and the returning of borrowed farm equipment, which was important as it would soon be needed to work the fields. The Norse month-long Yule celebration concluded with a huge Viking feast! (I’m guessing they knew how to par-tay! *giggle*) Traditionally, it was thought that one could affect the luck one would have throughout the coming year by what one did or ate on the first day of the year, and there are still many ‘lucky’ foods.

Lucky foods for New Year’s feasting

Avoid eating anything that moves backwards, such as chicken, turkey or lobster. You don’t want to start the year moving backwards. Many of the foods are round, symbolizing both wholeness/completion/coming full circle in the prior year, and luck/prosperity in the coming year.

*Black-eyed peas - A favourite for New Year, simmer them with hog jowls to make a dish called Hoppin John and eat with rice. Black-eyed peas and other legumes have been considered good luck in many cultures. They are round, symbolize coins, and future prosperity. An old saying goes, “Eat peas on New Year’s day to have plenty of everything the rest of the year.”

*Cabbage - Braised and buttered or used as a wrap, cabbage and collards are meant to resemble money and bring fortune in Denmark and the southern United States.

*Pork - Roasted is best and a symbol of prosperity. Pork is a staple of New Year’s dining in Austria, Germany, Portugal and Spain, plus any country any of them colonized (i.e. all of South America).

*Donuts - This one I know well! The Dutch eat donuts, called Ole Bollen, which literally translates to “balls of oil”, but are actually quite tasty! These little deep fried donuts traditionally contain candied fruit, and are rolled in powdered sugar after frying! YUM! New Year’s smell of hot oil and sugar is a dear memory for me!

*Fish - In China and northern and western Europe fish is traditional and a symbol of fertility. In Japan, eat herring roe.

*Jaiozi - These Chinese dumplings are sometimes made after supper to eat late in the evening. They symbolize wealth.

*Grapes - In Spain, Portugal, Italy, Mexico and South America 12 grapes (round) are eaten to ensure future prosperity. I did this the year I brought in the new year in Mexico! Fun! But, you have to eat one each as the church bells ring, attempting to eat the whole bunch by the time the clock stops chiming! Pop! Pop! Pop! 12 is a lot of grapes!! lol

*Philippines - New Year’s celebrations in places like Manila tend to be circular; Filipinos focus on all things round, consuming “round” fruits such as grapes and wearing clothing with round shapes like polka dots. The spherical theme is meant to remind celebrants of the “round” shape of coins and prosperity.

*Shortbread, oat cake, fruitcake - In Scotland these are given as gifts when first-footing, the custom of being first through the door in the new year. I have not eaten shortbread as a new year’s custom, but rather like the idea!

I shall partake in some reflection on the past, honouring the efforts I’ve made and goals I’ve reached, and give thanks for the blessings bestowed upon me throughout this year. The circle is complete and a new year begins. Tis a time of new beginnings and a glorious celebration of life, for which I shall give thanks. May hope, love, and warmth be in your heart, dear reader, and may the New Year bring you and yours many blessings.

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, today is Winter Solstice, (the first day of Winter) and I for one, am ready for a return to light! Since the Summer Solstice, the Sun has been making a decreasing arc across the Southern sky, making last night the longest of the year. But at 4:04am PST this morning, the Sun ceased to decline in the sky, which means that the length of daylight shall now stay the same for a minimum of three days, during which the Sun does not move on the horizon. After this time, the Sun begins its ascent into the northern sky and the days grow longer. Thus the interpretation by many cultures of a Sun reborn and a return to light. What? That sounds familiar to you, too? *giggle*

Yes, the concept of death/rebirth, light conquering darkness, good over evil, goes back to the very beginning, because our existence as human beings was dependent upon it. As the growing season had ended and the tribe was living off of stored food, the life-giving Sun’s return was a blessed gift. Evidence of the importance of solstices can be found in most ancient cultures around the globe, with countless stone structures set up to detect the solstice/equinox changes. This important date has been restructured, molded, shaped into different celebrations, including the Christian Christmas (Christ Mass), for which many of us are in deep preparation.

As a research nerd with a fascination for the subject of religion, I easily found myself getting lost down many rabbit holes in researching this subject, but then I thought back to my early Christmas memories in Amsterdam, with Sinterklaas (Saint Nikolaas), from which our American Santa Claus is based. This benevolent, all-knowing fellow wears a long red cape, a white bishop’s dress and red mitre (bishop’s hat), and holds a crosier, a long gold coloured staff with a fancy curled top and arrives on a big white horse. Yes! He is Quite the impressive figure! And, so he should be, as he historically represents the (Sun) God, who has been born, or rather, reborn, and for which we *should* rejoice, for He is the Life-giver for which we are so grateful. Now that is not to say that the beloved Nicholas did not exist. In fact, there is documentation which shows that there was a Nicholas, in the fourth century, who resided in the little port of Myra in the southwest of what is now called Turkey. Born of a wealthy family, Nicholas was brought up as a devout Christian. When his parents died of an epidemic, he distributed his wealth among the poor (known for his kindness towards children and women, the latter of which not being held in high regards in those times) and became a priest. Later he became Archbishop of Myra, and it is from here that the fame of his good deeds began to spread across the Mediterranean. It’s interesting to me that, because any record of the birth of Yeshua of Nazareth (later known as Jesus Christ) had been destroyed, it was also in the fourth century that Christians chose a day to celebrate Yeshua’s birthday. The western church leaders selected 25 December because this was the date already recognized throughout the Roman Empire as the birthday of various Pagan gods. Hmmm…

Sinterklaas is not alone though, as his trusty companion Zwarte Piet (Black Pete) is always by his side. Zwarte Piet is said to be either a Turkish orphan or chimney sweep that travels with Sinterklaas as his helper. Zwarte Piet is depicted in bright Turkish garb with bright red lips and a gold earring. Going back down the rabbit hole for a sec, one could easily find evidence that Black Pete, is very similar to another figure seen opposite the Saint Nick character, which is that of the horned monkey, also representative of the devil. Once again, light versus dark, good versus evil. The Dutch Zwarte Piet with whom I grew up is known as a trickster, who will not only hide your presents and leave coal in your shoe, but carries a switch, and is also known for stealing naughty children away in his bag. Yeah! Fun! But, don’t worry! You were good, so you shall be given cookies, chocolate and candy!

The Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet of today are quite lovely! They arrive in the Netherlands by boat from their home in Spain each beginning of November. They then parade through the streets, welcomed by cheering and singing children, the event being broadcast live on national television in both the Netherlands and Belgium. Sinterklass rides through the streets on his white horse, “Schimmel”, while many Zwarte Piets assist by throwing candy and small, round, ginger bread-like cookies, either “kruidnoten” or “pepernoten,” into the crowd. In the following weeks they are everywhere! They visit stores, schools, hospitals, and orphanages, spreading good cheer. They also visit all of the children at night!

Every night from the time of “intocht van Sinterklaas” (arrival of Sinterklaas) and 5 December, which is Saint Nicholas’ Eve, Sinterklaas travels by sleigh from home to home giving out treats. Before going to bed children put their shoes next to the chimney of the coal fired stove or fireplace, or, in modern times, next to the central heating, with a carrot or some hay in it and a bowl of water “for Sinterklaas’s horse,” and then they sing a Sinterklaas song. Ohh, I do Love Sinterklaas songs! The next day children find some candy, usually chocolate letters for the first letter of your name, marzipan, or cookies, or sometimes a small present in their shoes, supposedly thrown down the chimney by Zwarte Piet or Sinterklaas himself. The Feast of Sinterklaas, (St. Nicholas’ Feast Day) is 6th December, which is the celebration of St. Nick’s birthday, although there is evidence that it was in fact the date of his death. Regardless, the Dutch celebrate it on 5 December, which is when the big presents are exchanged. And, this is where the Real meaning takes place! Family, Joy, Happiness, Together in Celebration! For the Sun/Son has returned, however you wish to view it historically/religiously, for it is what has meaning for you. For me, it is about Love. Love and appreciation for life, family, all that is, and all that ever was and will be. May it be a most Blessed Celebration for you, dear reader.

Halloween. The night when one can dress up as anything one wants to be, knock on the neighbor’s door and ask for candy, threatening to ‘trick’ the occupant if your confectionery demands are not met. This seems a bit removed from the origins of honouring ancestors, while frightening off evil spirits, and wasn’t the way I was introduced to the holiday. My first memories of Halloween come from my early days of attending an Amsterdam Waldorf school. In keeping with older traditions, I carved root vegetables, placing a lit candle within and then proceeded along a dark path in a local park with my fellow excited classmates, voices echoing in united song. It was a lovely tradition, which I enjoyed a great deal.

For my first remembered Americanized Halloween, my grandmother, with whom I was living at the time, went out and purchased my first Halloween costume. I was going to be Strawberry Shortcake and I was really excited about it! Then I saw my costume! lol The plastic mask with nose holes and slits for eyes which in no way matched up to my own eyes and nose and an ill-fitting vinyl dress was far from what I had imagined, and left much to be desired. It’s probably pretty fortunate that grandma would only let me go around the block (no streets to cross)! Hey, cheers to GenX! We somehow managed not to suffocate or get hit by cars despite those dreadful masks *and* we survived the razor blade in apple/poisoned candy scare, for which there was very little basis and have since been deemed “false” at snopes.com! Anybody else remember that fears ran so deep that local hospitals volunteered to x-ray our candy? Yeah, ’cause what’s a little radiation? haha

I turned my dislike for mass-marketed costumes around in the seventh grade. I must have spent a month making a faux bath tub out of a cardboard box, which I painted inside and out, lined with plastic, and filled with shaving cream around the top. Donning only a nude leotard, it looked as though I was naked in my tub. hehe I have a vague memory of singing, “Splish splash I was takin’ a bath…” Did I do that?? lol Perhaps.. ummm, okay, likely!

When a girlfriend invited me to her house for a Halloween party last year, I chose to embrace the old tradition of honouring ancestors with my own enjoyment of costume making. I got out my great-grandmother’s long blue slip, of which I am quite fond and very grateful to be in possession. I thought of her as I dressed, lighting a candle in her honour. Around my neck I wore a picture of Sigmund Freud. haha Get it? Yep, I went as a ‘Freudian Slip’!

This year my girlfriend and I drove to a local Halloween store to check out the costumes. The first thing we noticed was that the adult costumes were in the front, the children’s costumes reduced to a mere back corner. Okay, perhaps not that surprising in LaLaLand, nor was the fact that the name of almost every costume we came upon began with the word “naughty”! There was the Naughty Doctor, Naughty Nurse, Naughty Schoolgirl, Naughty Nun.. Naughty Nun?!?! Oh, my! Feel free to substitute that word with “sexy”, and you can go as a Sexy Witch, Sexy Ghost, etc. So, we’re still dressing as Ghouls and Goblins, as in years past, we’re just doing it in far less fabric! Then again, I can see how being able to wear anything one wants without fear of judgment is appealing. The costumes.. still not so much! lol After trying on some outfits, I decided to put my costume together with my talented actress friend, which is far more fun for us both! What are we going as?! Well, she’s going to be a Sexy Vampire, and I’m going as a Sexy Black Cat, of course!

When I relayed the above to my mom in a recent phone conversation, she suggested I go back to my old roots of Waldorf traditions, and upon googleing “Waldorf and Halloween” was led to dressing as Gossip Girl’s Blair Waldorf, the costumes for which were very risque! Ahhhh, yay! Point made! lol But when I did further research on my own, I found different Waldorf schools around the globe and the celebrations they were holding really touched my heart. One will come together honouring the Earth by discussing sustainable living. Another by holding festivities such as bobbing for apples, and of course singing. Here is a sweet video of Waldorf children trick-or-treating, which brings back happy memories for me and made me smile.

However you dress and celebrate, enjoy your Halloween!

Delicious Autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive Autumns.”

Last week the fog rolled in and brought with it a crisp Fall feel! It was lovely, and I found myself so ready for the drawing down and in of energy which occurs this time of year. Granted, the temps may have gone back up to 88 degrees here today, but, as the Autumnal Equinox quickly approaches, I find myself making soup and decorating with the gloriously beautiful fallen leaves. This ‘changes of the seasons’ is an important time-honoured tradition of giving thanks, and as always, I was curious to learn more about the lore and celebrations surrounding it.

The Autumnal Equinox signals the end of the Summer months and the beginning of Winter. At this time of year, days have been shortening since the Summer Solstice some three months earlier, and the Equinox (Latin “equal night”) is the point where nights reach the same length as days. After this point, the Sun will shine lower and lower on the horizon until the Winter Solstice. In the northern hemisphere, the Autumn Equinox occurs on September 22, at 11:44 a.m. EDT.

Formerly known as “Harvest”, until our more industrialized lifestyles lost touch with the reference, this time of year is now known as “Fall” or “Autumn”. Harvest festivals evolved out of agrarian society, and have been celebrated for millennia, all around the world. In ancient Greece, Oschophoria was a festival held in the fall to celebrate the harvesting of grapes for wine. In the 1700’s, the Bavarians came up with Oktoberfest, which actually begins in the last week of September, and it was a time of great feasting and merriment, still in existence today. China’s Mid-Autumn festival is celebrated on the night of the Harvest Moon, and is a festival of honoring family unity. Japan’s Higan (”other shore”) is observed for three days prior to and following the equinox, and the ritual includes repentance of past sins and prayers for enlightenment in the next life. It also includes remembrance of the dead and visits to the family graves.

In Celtic/Welsh mythology, the equinox is known as Mabon (MAY-bon, MAY-bun, MAH-boon and more) for the Welsh God, Mabon, which means “Great Son of the Great Mother”. The story goes that he was kidnapped from the Great Mother, Modron, when he was but three days old (although I’ve seen references to its being three years) and is taken to the Underworld to prevent his light from shining upon the land. He was much smarter than the Lord of the Underworld thought. During his stay within the Earth he gathered his personal strength and momentum necessary to become new seed. He knew his rescue was at hand, and when the time came, he had the power to fertilize the barren Earth and green it once more.

This has many similarities to the Greek mythology surrounding this time of year. Mabon is, in many ways, the male counterpart of the Roman Goddess Persephone. Demeter’s daughter Kore was out picking flowers when Hades pulled her into the Underworld to become his bride. Kore’s name became Persephone when she married Hades. For nine straight days, Demeter searched for her daughter Kore, with no success. When she learned of where her daughter was being held captive, she put a curse upon Earth so that it could no longer yield crops. Eventually an arrangement was made whereby Persephone lived with her mother for the half of the year when light dominated, and went to live with her husband during the half of the year when darkness reigned the Earth.

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”

As the energies shift, the harvest is not only agricultural, but personal as well. As with Lammas, it is a time to celebrate the Earth’s bounty and thank Her for the Blessings She brings forth, on this second harvest. For this, we are grateful. It is also time to look at what seeds we have planted within. If we planted negative thoughts in our head, well, the harvest may not be so nice. We are farmers with our thoughts, ideas and emotions as much as a farmer who uses soil as his medium. That is why it is so important to put our attention on what we truly want to experience, and then create the correct atmosphere (attitude or medium) for that to manifest. How successful would a farmer be if he planted watermelon seeds but then never watered, fed, or weeded that area? It isn’t enough to want to experience something. We must create the receptive environment for it to show up so that our harvest is a successful one! The Autumn Equinox symbolizes harvest time outwardly and inwardly.

But there is more to it than that. Because of Mabon’s association with the Underworld, it’s also a great time to remember our ancestors, and those who have gone before us. A time to give thanks for the beautiful gifts they’ve left behind in its many forms. Because of this, Mabon is a time of total thanksgiving-a time when we give thanks for all that we have, for all that we are, and for all that the future holds, not only for us personally, but for those yet unborn. It is a time to reflect on the joys of community, personal freedom, and the wonders of the human species as a whole. Communally counting our many blessings, and giving thanks to everyone who’s made them happen.
Autumnal Equinox/Mabon Blessings to all! Blessed Harvest!

Although in the heat of a Mid-Western Summer it might be difficult to discern, the festival of Lughnasadh (LOO-nas-ah) or (LOO-na-suh)/Lammas on August 1st marks the end of Summer and the beginning of Fall, a shift from growing time to harvest time. The subtle changes of the waning sun that occurred at Summer Solstice become more evident as the balance of day and night seem to shift more dramatically. The slight seasonal changes in weather, and the declining arc of the Sun, the southern movement of its rising and setting are other indicators of this shift. It is the point in time when the first grains are collected and ritualistically sacrificed to ensure the continuance of the cycle of life both physically and spiritually.

The Celtic “Grain Festival”, known traditionally as Lughnasadh (Old Irish), Lá Lúnasawas (Modern Irish), which has had many more names over the years, honours the Irish Sun-God Lugh (pronounced Loo), “The God of Light”, “God of All Skills”, the “Bright or Shining One”. Lughnasadh marked the beginning of the harvest season, the ripening of first fruits, and was traditionally a time of community gatherings, market festivals, horse races and reunions with distant family and friends. Among the Irish it was a favored time for handfastings which were rather informal, or trial marriages that would generally last a year and a day, with the option of terminating the agreement before the new year. At the time, the couple could decide to continue the arrangement if it pleased them, or to stand back to back and walk away from one another, thus bringing the marriage to a formal close. Such trial marriages were quite common even into the 1500’s, although it was something one ‘didn’t bother the parish priest about’. Indeed, such ceremonies were usually solemnized by a poet, bard, or shanachie (Irish history-keeper/storytellers).

Although at first glance it may seem that we are celebrating the death of Lugh, ‘The God of Light’ does not really die (mythically) until the autumnal equinox, and we know he will be there for the birth of his child, as the Goddess is with child. And indeed, if we read the Irish myths closer, we discover that it is not Lugh’s death that is being celebrated, but the funeral games and feast which Lugh hosted to commemorate the death of his foster-mother, Taillte, the Goddess of agriculture who died while clearing the Irish forests in preparation for planting. That is why the Lugnasadh celebrations in Ireland are often called the ‘Tailltean Games’.

A depiction of Taillte

Lughnasadh is more popularly referred to as Lammas in many areas of the British Isles. Lammas probably comes from the Middle English Lammasse, and from Old English, half-mass. During medieval times, loaves were baked from the first grains of the harvest and blessed in a church ceremony known as the “loaf mass,” from which the term “lammas” is likely derived. This was the day on which loaves of bread were baked from the first grain harvest and laid on the church altars as offerings. Others attribute “Lammas” to a combined form of “lamb” and “Mass” which reflects a time when lambs were offered as a tribute to feudal lords. It also became a feast that the Church celebrated in commemoration of Saint Peter’s deliverance from prison. Lammas was also the traditional time of year for craft festivals. The medieval guilds would create elaborate displays of their wares, decorating their shops and themselves in bright colors and ribbons, marching in parades, and performing strange, ceremonial plays and dances for the entranced onlookers. The atmosphere must have been quite similar to our modern-day Renaissance festivals. How fun!

Lammas is currently one of the four major pagan festivals originally celebrated in Britain and now celebrated in other countries, including the United States. Lughnasadh/Lammas is a time of personal reflection and harvest, of our actions and deeds, events and experiences, our gains and losses. A time when we begin the cycle of reflection of that which is our life. A period for personal creational power used to ensure the bountiful harvest of life’s gifts and experiences, that which we have reaped through trial, tribulation, enjoyment, joy, love and loss. As it is said, “We can not know what we have not experienced.” Such is the truth of life, we become not by chance but by experience. Each experience opens a window into ourselves, into who we were, who we are, and whom we are choosing to become. Without successes and a thriving personal harvest we will not have the fundamentals we need to continue our work on all levels. So, let us celebrate the Sacred Circle of Life through dance and contemplation, and rejoice and reflect upon on this the first harvest in the Wheel of the Year. Blessed Lughnasadh/Lammas all!

Sidenote: This years festivities occur on a New Moon and Full Solar Eclipse!!!

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