Harvest And Hearth

Photo by trea-silverwolf.deviantart.com

Autumn is here. Yes, it is my favourite time of the year. I always feel closer to home and hearth. Now I know I'm a few weeks late for my sabbat check in, but life has been quite busy. The Goddess has blessed me with a new job in my field of study and it tends to take up most of my time. 

Mabon actually got me thinking about my own project ideas this year. Usually I look through Llewellyn's Sabbat Almanac for ideas on how to celebrate the sabbats, but I did several of the ideas in the 2013 Mabon section last year when I did not have access to my library and picked the 2013 copy up early. Thus I wanted to do something new this year and with my busy schedule came up with the idea of a sabbat candle. 

The sabbat candle is simply an offering candle that you dress with herb and oils that correspond to the sabbat and then burn the candle daily until the next sabbat when you make another one. For mine Mabon candle I used cloves, cinnamon sticks, orange and ginger oils. The candle is quite fragrant and I can feel the energy of the Lord and Lady that it brings to my home.

Mabon candle and Autumn bouquet.

I plan on doing this simple yet powerful offering for every sabbat from now on. Now back to my books so I can start planning Samhain ahead of time.

Mabon Thoughts

Mabon, the Moon Festival, however you want to call it, the Autumn Equinox is here.

There are lots of traditions surrounding the equinox and the last harvest. San Francisco is currently holding the Autumn Moon Festival in Chinatown as a way of celebrating the Chinese observance of the last harvest of the summer. In more European traditions people are observing Persephone's transition from this world to the Underworld. Those who follow more Celtic ways see this as a time related to Mabon and Madron. Now matter what you believe, there is something to celebrate and observe at this time of year.

Fall has always been one of my favorite times of the year. I love the weather starting to turn and the ground fog that it brings here to California. (Ironically here in the Bay Area ,where I now live, Fall means the fog goes away until Winter brings it back.) The leaves start to turn and if you go for a bike ride you can enjoy aiming for the biggest ones and making them crunch under your tire. (This is a pleasure I got to indulge in from childhood through college.)

As I'vee been exploring Paganism and Witchcraft I have been trying to make and effort to more actively observe each Sabbat in the Wheel of the Year. And the Equinox today was no exception. Mabon is a time to focus on the home and balance within yourself. This is a reflection of the balance between day and night that is achieved today. It's also the signal that the seasons are changing, as we welcome Fall and say goodbye to summer.

My efforts this year to observe Mabon have been fairly interesting. I spent a fair amount of time over the last two weeks researching the Sabbat and figuring out how I can easily observe it while living with 4 other people at my boyfriend's house. I don't know how all of the feel about Pagan beliefs and rituals,  so I wanted to find something I could do that was symbolic of the change as well as giving myself a way to show my thanks and appreciation for the bounty of summer. What I came up with was making an Autumn lantern, which incorporates leaves and allows me to channel my energy into the work.

Autumn Lantern using leaves and wax paper.

As an Aries I have a strong connection to the element of fire. I've always enjoyed burning candles and my favorite childhood memories come from sitting in front of the wood burning stove in my parent's living room. Plus, with the onset of the dark time of the year, we will often find ourselves turning to the Lord and Lady for guidance in these dark times. Thus using fire and candles to honor the season made sense to me.

I'm constantly trying to find balance between my spiritual life and my mundane one, so when the two come closer together it's a beautiful thing. Last night while I was reading about Mabon lore, my boyfriend asked me about what I was reading and then commented that he wished he knew more about Pagan holidays and the Wheel of the Year. I don't expect him to become Pagan just because I am, but it makes me incredibly happy that I don't have to hide my beliefs from him and that he's actually supportive of my beliefs.

I know I've rambled on and I've tried to keep it flowing. For me part of the balance of Mabon is the reflection on my life and this entry is my way of doing just that. And with that Happy Mabon and blessed be!

Opening the Book

As Autumn is arriving and the house has been cleaned, there is an energy in the air that has my creative and spiritual juices flowing.

For the past few days I have been working on a painting for my boyfriend for his birthday this weekend. I'm really proud of what I accomplished in it. When I finished the piece today I had excess energy and momentum left over from it. In addition, I recently brought back several of my books on paganism and magic and have been feeling drawn to the subject matter contained within them. Thus upon finishing the painting I started doing research on various magical and spiritual topics.

I started by researching Mabon practices and rituals and found myself moving onto an article about how to create a Book of Shows while being a broke college student. This article got me thinking about my own BoS and my desire to have one. Now I do have a book into which I started writing my BoS two years ago. But so far all I have in it is the Wiccan Reede and the Charge of the Goddess. It's a good start, but I'm stumped on how I want to organize it and this is why I have not progressed further on it. However, after reading Luna's article I have a few ideas for going about collecting the information and starting my BoS while still giving myself time to decide on how to organize the written version. So Now to make a digital BoS and figue out what exactly I want in my written BoS.

A Time of Balance and Reflection

Recently the Dalai Lama made a post to Facebook that seems to have resonated with most everyone I know. It goes as follows:

"All the world’s major religions, with their emphasis on love, compassion, patience, tolerance, and forgiveness can and do promote inner values. But the reality of the world today is that grounding ethics in religion is no longer adequate. This is why I am increasingly convinced that the time has come to find a way of thinking about spirituality and ethics beyond religion altogether."
—His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama, September 10, 2012

Of all the major religious leaders in the world today, the Dalai Lama's message of universal peace and compassion resonate the most with me. This statement above comes as leaders in the religion I grew up in condem the works of the modern world more and more. This condemnation just makes them seem more out of touch with the world than they already are perceived as being.

The Dalai Lama's comments combine with the approach of Mabon and its emphasis on balance in life and self reflection make this an especially personal Mabon for me. I have come to find out that my other half is incredibly supportive of me Pagan leanings. (I think it helps that his aunt is Pagan.) I do feel that in many aspects od my life I have been blessed.

Last year I wanted to start observing Sabbats on a more regular schedule, rather than when I remember to. I think first I need to bring the Goddess and God into my life more. Previously I was envisioning grand rituals honoring each sabbat, but I think finding ways to incorporate the Lord and Lady into my daily life is a smarter decision. As I was always told, "start small and work your way up."

With this mindset I want to find some small ways I can incorporate Mabon into my normal life at this time of year. Given that I have been working on getting my boyfriend's kitchen into more of a "witchy" atmosphere I don't think this will be very hard. 

Mabon Altar

Autumn Thoughts

With Mabon approaching I have been trying to do some research in preparation for the coming change of season. Yes, I know that Mabon is not traditionally considered a major sabbat outside of the states, but I feel that the significance behind it is important. All too often in modern society we forget to be thankful for the bounty that the Earth gives to us. With the assault on our senses that digital media and technology combine with our societal push to consume everything that we can there is almost no room for reflection and thanksgiving in modern life.

Autumn has always been a time of  re-energizing myself and of creative stimulation. I have the most drive of the entire year during autumn. It is a season of hard work to prepare for the coming of winter and a time of reflection on how far we have come during the last year. This year I want to capitalize on the changes I have made this year and to show my thanks for all that I am blessed with. I think these are appropriate goals and attitudes going into this season.