Fall Equinox Sept 21st-23rd - Red Moon Mystery School

Mabon/Fall Equinox Sept 21st-23rd Harvesting and taking stock.

Mabon, otherwise known as the Autumn Equinox or the celebration of harvest is celebrated between the 21st and 23rd of September, and is marked by the first days of colder weather and the harvesting of of the last of the summer's offerings. Two days a year, the Northern and Southern hemispheres receive the same amount of sunlight. Not only that, each receives the same amount of light as they do dark -- this is because the earth is tilted at a right angle to the sun, and the sun is directly over the equator. In Latin, the word equinox translates to "equal night." The autumn equinox, or Mabon, takes place around September 21, and its spring counterpart falls around March 21. This is the season of warm days and cool nights, sometimes still perfect for camping with hot days leading to cool evenings with the need for warm cozy sweaters and a campfire, which is the best this time of year for this reason! September marks the beginning of the inward time, so although we may be still bustling about bringing in the harvest and canning everything we can get our hands on, our minds and spirits are anticipating and readying for the move inward and the deep stillness winter brings. In some pagan communities they take the time to celebrate Mabon as their Thanksgiving time, choosing to celebrate the harvest now which is more accurate then the US November date, as it is practically winter by that point, not to mention the fact that the celebration represents a terrible time

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of Colonization in US and Canadian history where the native Americans and First nations people were mostly wiped out.

Many different cultures celebrate the turing of the season: The idea of a harvest festival is nothing new as people from all around the world have celebrated it for millennia. In ancient Greece,Oschophoria was a festival held in the fall to celebrate the harvesting of grapes for wine, as well as a time for the Eleusinian mysteries which was a sacred harvest festival re-enacting the story of Persephone, Demeter and Kore, with Persephone being taken the the underworld and eating six pomegranate seeds and being held there for six months of the year.

In the 1700's the Bavarians came up with Oktoberfest, which actually begins in the last week of September, and for which it was and still is to this day a time of great feasting and celebration with many tankards of beer being drunk!

Also China's Mid-Autumn festival is celebrated on the night of the Harvest Moon, and is a festival of honouring family unity which includes the making of Moon cakes which I personally adore! Traditionally the seasons were very important, as people lived much closer to the land and were tied to weather patterns which affected them a great deal more than we experience today.

The Harvest home and the last sheaf: The Harvest home is an name for a harvest festival that traditionally happened very close to the equinox and was celebrated all over Europe. It was a festival that combined both work and play as the harvest was brought in and entire villages were decorated with wreaths and villagers hung fruits from the harvest all around town. There were rituals in the form of games that were played particularly around who would bring in the last of the sheaves or harvest grains. The "last sheaf" spoke to the folk belief that whoever brought in the last sheaf either got good or bad luck depending on the region. This also ties into the belief in the grim reaper, as those collecting wheat were essentially "reapers" and used sickles thus the old images we have of the grim reaper with a sickle in his hand. There was also an even older belief that tied the sheaf to sacrifice and ancient pagans would often sacrifice a sheep to the land after harvest as a way of thanking the spirits/god's and goddess of abundance and fertility. In some places they called the last sheaf "the dead one" using instead of animal sacrifice a sacramental corn dolly made of wheat instead.

In many places the making of corn dollies was vital to the celebrations for this reason, and we will go into that a bit further down...

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Inner work:

By marking the changing of the seasons, I believe will energetically help us to adjust, as even if we sit in high offices each day and do not even go outside, our bodies respond to the changes in weather and we feel it in our energetic bodies. If we can take a moment to intentionally let go of each season as it passes, and celebrate each new one as it arrives, we not only allow our bodies to catch up and adjust, but we also are getting in essential practise of letting go, for life will always throw things at us that require us to "let go". Mabon is also the perfect time to reflect on the previous season, looking back to our we our successes, which similar to bringing in the harvest is a time for celebration. It also allows us the time to assess which crops/projects and dreams didn't come to fruition and why? It is also a time of gratitude, reflecting on our accomplishments, hard work and creativity that went into the season that just passed.

As we reflect we may see that it was for the better that some of our hopes did not bear fruit, for it created time and space for us to tend to the growth of something else, or perhaps we simply let it go s that we could recharge our batteries that were worn down from the long winter season before. Either way, the long hot days of summer are quickly receding behind us and the need for inward reflection has arrived along with the smells of cinnamon, and warm nourishing soups.

This season is my personal favourite, I love the colours and the smell of autumn, I love apples and cinnamon and pumpkins, but my absolute favourite is warm sunny days followed by crisp nights. But as the evenings begin to get darker and darker and here on the west coast the rains arrive and last longer and longer each week, which, I have to admit makes it a bit of a struggle to let it go, and watch the lovely colours of autumn turn brown and settle into mulch for the winter.

Here at our house we have a seasonal altar that we change with the seasons. When the kids were little this provided me with loads of teaching moments and fun activities to do, but I find that as the years pass they more often than not they say `Mom you can do it, go ahead without me" and I have to laugh, because as much as I have to let go of each season as it passes, I am also letting go of so many other things in my life, like my children growing up, and I am thankful that some of these things are very gradual...

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Inner Reflections and gratitude: What are you letting go of as the season changes? What are you celebrating as you move from the summer and into the fall? What dreams did not bear fruit? Why do you think they were barren? Are they still worth bringing into the next season? What things are you grateful for as you move into this next season? Write all your gratitude into a long and wonderful prayer/spell.

Mabon/Autumn Harvest Altars

I have to say that I adore making and creating altars, as I find the intentional process very inspiring and creative work. usually there are more then one seasonal altars around the house, and of course our large one outside.

Mabon gives us ample reason to create intentional altars as it is all about the harvest, the cooking and sharing of foods as we celebrate the beauty and abundance have find in our lives. I have shown 4 different altars in the above image, but really there are thousands of ideas for altar making and one need not be limited by the indoors, as offerings to the land spirits are always welcome!

When we create altars we are essentially creating and gathering divine essence, manifesting what our hearts are longing for, creating beauty where there once was none, for nothing else then the pleasure of inviting spirit to enjoy our creation.

Of course this also depends on what the altar is that we are creating, but in this case a seasonal altar is a thing of beauty, and serves as a powerful spiritual reminder that nothing is static, life is ever changing, just as the seasons spin around the ancient circle of life, death and re-birth....

What will your Mabon/Fall equinox altar look like?

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Mabon Food:

Ahhh the foods of autumn! Crisp apples, creamy pumpkins and an abundance of different squashes, coloured chards and root veggies abound, not to mention all the ways of making sweet ciders, nourishing stews and warming teas, and roasted nut coffees as we curl in and begin the long hibernation of the winter months... This is also the season of sharing, the calling together of family and friends to our tables as we gather to celebrate the harvest, and to lean on each other as we say our goodbyes to the end of summer. Sweaters get brought out and the last few campfires of the season are lit during cold evenings, as we find ourselves reminiscing on past events that are actually only weeks old, but already feel so far away... It is in the spirit of this sharing that I include a few of my personal favourite recipes for the fall harvest, but I would love it if you felt like sharing yours... pop over to the facebook page and inspire us with your autumn fare!

If you have a garden that you are harvesting from you may also like to say this sweet Mabon Harvest Chant: Our hands will work for peace and justice, Our hands will work to bless the land. Gather round the harvest table. Let us feast and bless the land.

Because Mabon is often associated with grapes and vineyards, and especially with the making and drinking of wine, I have included a recipe for a warm Mabon drink that can be consumed by both kids and adults alike.

Mabon Moon Cider: 4 cups apple cider 1/2 tsp. whole cloves 4 cups white grape juice Cinnamon sticks x 2 and if you wish additional cinnamon sticks for cups, approx 6 inches long 1 tsp allspice 1 tsp grated nutmeg In a 4-quart saucepan, heat cider and grape juice. Add cinnamon, allspice and cloves. Bring just to boiling. Lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve with ladle from a cauldron. Makes 8 cups.

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Classic Pumpkin Scone Recipe

Pumpkin Scone recipe: 2 cups flour 8 tbsp sugar 1 tbsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp each of ground cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter 1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin 1 egg 3 tbsp yoghurt

Spiced glaze: 2 cusp icing sugar 4 tbsp whole milk 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger

The method is simple mix dry ingredients together and then add the butter and combine to make a crumby mixture, next mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl and then mix the two together folding gently and not over-mixing.

You should have a slightly sticky ball of dough. Take it out of the bowl and place on a flours surface and then roll out into a 1 thick rectangle and cut into triangles and place on a piece pr parchment paper on a baking tray.

Bake for 12-15 min's at 425. and enjoy!

Apple Butter:

Ingredients

? 4 lbs of good cooking apples (Granny Smith or Gravenstein) ? 1 cup apple cider vinegar ? 2 cups water ? Sugar (about 4 cups, see cooking instructions) ? Salt-pinch ? 2 teaspoons cinnamon ? 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves ? 1/2 teaspoon allspice

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