Your Weekly Astrology: September 21 – 28, 2015

Weekly Astrology: September 21 – 28, 2015

No rest for the weary

Maria DeSimone

 

The Balance of the Signs & The Element for Monday, September 21

 

 

 

 

The Balance of the Signs & The Element for Monday, September 21

 

LEO STRONG
Self-confident, generous, warm-hearted, powerful leader, dramatic. Can be overly proud, vain, extravagant, arrogant.
VIRGO STRONG
Meticulous, discriminating, pure, practical, health conscious, hard working. Can be hyper-critical, petty and perfectionistic.
CAPRICORN STRONG
Disciplined, responsible, reliable, industrious, conscientious, practical, achieving. Can be pessimistic, overly conventional, rigid, materialistic, callous.
BALANCE OF ELEMENTS

EARTH STRONG
We are especially in touch with the physical world. We consider what we’ve learned and experienced in the past in order to make the most of the present. We can be cautious, practical, and possibly unimaginative. We are deliberate and can pace ourselves well. We need hands-on experience and are not impressed with theory as much as we are with results. Routines are tolerable and comforting.
AIR WEAK
We may have a difficult time being objective or detached. We may not be especially communicative.
WATER WEAK
There may be some insensitivity or lack of empathy now. We may be out of touch with what we’re feeling or with our emotional needs. We may be tougher than usual now, and more inclined to follow mental or practical considerations than we are to listen to our intuition.
BALANCE OF MODES

The modes are balanced.

Astrology of Today – September 21, 2015

 

 

 

 

Astrology of Today – September 21, 2015

 

Summary:

A Mars-Pluto connection today stimulates hidden angers and frustrations, but can also lead to the discovery of our true desires.

  • The Moon is in Sagittarius until  8:32 AM.
  • The Moon is void from 4:59 AM to 8:32 AM.
  • The Moon is in Capricorn from 8:32 AM forward (until Wednesday, September 23rd, at 1:51 PM).
  • The Moon is waxing and in its Waxing Crescent phase until 4:59 AM / the Moon is waxing and in its First Quarter phase from 4:59 AM forward.
  • A First Quarter Moon occurs today at 4:59 AM.
  • Venus turned direct on September 6th and is in its post-retrograde shadow until October 9th.
  • Mercury is retrograde (Mercury is retrograde from September 17-October 9 in Libra).

Life on Earth, Status Update – September Equinox 2015

Life on Earth, Status Update – September Equinox 2015

Greetings Divine Friends,

The Equinox alignment approaches and you are already feeling the immense possibilities of this energy. Your Divine Self is already facilitating your divine unfolding, in accord with these energies, making use of all that is beneficial for you. Today we share a status update with you, reflecting on Life on Earth as we see it.

First, take a moment now and let yourself orient within to all that you are. Let yourself relax. Close your eyes for a moment and telepathically call upon your Divine Self, the fullness of your being. Invite your Divine Self to be with you as you read this message. Ask your Divine Self to give you a clear and strong sense of inner knowing, letting what is true for you, ring out and strengthen your sense of self and clarity.

The time is unfolding for those of you awakening on Earth when you will live increasingly in accord with the higher realms of your being. This promise of ascension is being furthered by your awakening and your lineage participating with your invitation and attention, in your embodied evolution.

The light that is you knows how to do all of this and is further supported by the planetary Logos — the Buddha, and his cohorts in supporting Earth, the Gautama Buddha, and Sanat Kumara. These benevolent fields of loving energy are devoted to Earth’s return to Oneness and with this allegiance, they continually emanate waves of expanding and enlightening energies to Earth. These transmissions are circulated in the crystalline Earth grid and available via collective consciousness as they are grounded in human energy systems. You can further expand the access of these liberating energies by consciously connecting with the planetary logos and the crystalline Earth grid and intending to receive, integrate, emanate and ground the ascension transmissions.

Life on Earth is accelerating. It is accelerating because the frequency fields of the planet and more and more human beings are increasing. As you build your capacity to hold and emanate more light, you enlarge the potential for life on Earth.

The Divine Self that is the Source of your being here is guiding this entire process. More and more of you have awoken and grown in self-love and so with this, you are more and more aware of the immense value of your expanded self. This shift in self-love that is taking place as more and more people value and cherish their ability to love themselves is a pivotal change. This change in the way you and many others are relating to themselves — with more love — is making the possibilities for expanded consciousness in human form, a reality.

Life on Earth is also expanding. This means that the energy fields of each being are taking up more space. Isn’t that interesting? The sense of Oneness is becoming more available to you as more people are allowing their energy field to expand and in essence, open up. We’re not speaking here of releasing your sovereign, concentrated presence; we’re speaking here to the quality of a human energy field when one is becoming more love-filled. As one becomes more love-filled the quality of this unconditional presence eliminates ideas of safety or protection, fear or need to push others away. With this increasing confidence in one’s inner connection, humans are recovering their capacity to be sovereignly present and open. This is a big shift in your world.

Life on Earth is meant to be experienced as free and with a tremendous sense of adventure. You came here knowing that you would encounter great diversity and that you would be endowed with vast liberties. As you reclaim your inner connection, you learn how to give yourself permission to live with more freedom.

There is tremendous freedom available in your world, and yet most of you have not experienced this. It is your inner ideas and beliefs that have interfered with your capacity to enjoy this freedom. We are overjoyed to witness the release of these limiting ideas and the replacement of them, with more positive and even unlimited thought-forms.

Many of you still have memories within you of the immense love and light you have experienced in higher dimensional experiences and from childhood when these other aspects within the hierarchy of your own consciousness were still accessible. These memories are beginning to return. There is a sense of reconnection occurring between your early life on Earth and your current presence. This is a powerful establishing of your own flow. It is a unifying of your own energy field that is facilitated by your Divine Self and by your expansion.

You are increasingly inclusive and increasingly learning to be unconditional in relationship to your past. You are here to transform the lineage from which your physical form was created and this is beginning to occur as more and more of you are clearing limiting beliefs and seeing the way they ripple throughout your family lineage. As you love yourself, you are transmitting compassion, kindness and loving energy throughout your family lineage. This is revising past points of focus in Earth’s collective timelines and with this resolution Earth’s ascension progress is further accelerating.

As you can tell from what we are sharing, there is great momentum here and all is well. Life on Earth is exquisite, and it is becoming increasingly magnificent. Kudos to those of you orienting to the emerging expressions that demonstrate the truth of your being and the beauty of your inner knowing. You are furthering the life on the leading edge that will expand possibilities for Earth and human beings now and in the future.

During this potent cycle of Eclipses and the Equinox, we invite you to work closely, regularly and with great openness and trust, with your Divine Self. Stay in a state of receptivity and peace. Smooth out any challenging emotions and remind yourself of the temporary nature of things. Any discomfort can be eased by your attitude. How you approach and view your experiences as you well know, is significant. Choose to empower your exploration of the potentials in play, with an elevated, positive mindset, as much as possible.

Lastly, and most importantly, regardless of how life has been for you up until now and even if you are experiencing a lot of wonderful things, choose more good things. Choose and draw to you mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually — all that you wish to experience. Generate a sense of capacity around your ability to imagine and create. Practice this until it feels natural. Practice turning inward and feeling good. Practice thinking about what you want to experience and what you love and what you find beautiful and what you want to receive and feeling your way into alignment with it all.

You are a powerful and amazing being.

All you need is available to you. The world around you is filled with love and knowing in response to your presence. Make yourself available to this level of experience and you will light up with love.

Acknowledge all you have created and received with love. Cultivate feelings of self-appreciation and know as you love yourself you will be able to love all that is.

To your return to Oneness and your birth into light.

I AM Archangel Michael

 

 

Article located on Spiritlibrary.com

Your Weekly Karmic Forecast: September 20 – 26, 2015

Weekly Forecast: September 20 – 26, 2015

The Karmic Tools Weekly Forecast covers the current planetary transits which affect people in different ways and to various degrees of intensity. Take notice when it is a Personal planet (Sun / Moon / Mercury / Venus / Mars) interacting with a Social (Jupiter/Saturn) or Collective planet (Uranus / Neptune/Pluto). And pay extremely close attention when it is a Social planet interacting with a Collective planet because that means something *big* is brewing that will move large groups of people along their evolutionary paths. Tuning in to the energy and rhythm of the planets can serve as a useful *guide* as you move along your Individual Path. It also helps to understand your place within the context of the larger Social & Collective Story. Below, you will find out how these energies tend to manifest, as well as guidance and direction.

*NOTE*There are some days when there are NO CONTACTS (besides the Moon), please note that there are no missing entries, we just list the actual Activations of each week + the day they happen.

Weekly Forecast: September 20 – 26, 2015

9/22 ~ Venus (relationships) ~trine~ Uranus (unique):

This energy is likely to bring a little excitement into your life, one way or another. This is a good time to do something different; shake up your routine. Seek out diversions; try something new! Relationships will have an unusual energy to them; an established relationship may sparkle with some extra “spice” or a new relationship begun under this energy will be stimulating, unusual and probably short-lived. Use this energy to soak up some good energy from those who live on the fringes!

9/23 ~ Sun (core Self) ~sextile~ Saturn (organization):

This energy best of the week, try to connect with it more than the restriction the other energies this week bring. This energy is good for getting serious and organized … albeit may be emotionally as much as anywhere else in your life. You have access to some good discipline and the ability to consider all your options before deciding on anything. This is a good time to focus on your professional life if possible, and start making a solid, feasible plan for the future. If you need to, seek the advice of an older figure that you trust. And if you can’t actually DO something in the direction of your goals today, take the time to meditate and connect to your plan mentally.

9/24 ~ Mercury (expression) ~square~ Pluto (transformation): (2 of 3: 9.9.2015 & 10.22.2015)

This energy is a tough, yet powerful one. It’s Highest expression would be to focus on your inner discovery and development. It enables you to look beneath the surface to some core drives and gain some valuable insights and thus, choose a plan of action based on your discovery. You will want to know all the hidden meanings behind decisions you’ve made or want to make soon. Dig – you will find more than you think you’re ready for, but apparently the Universe thinks differently! Pay attention and try not to worry about what anyone else thinks or believes. This energy’s flip-side is to make you obsess over one particular idea and try to force others to your way of thinking. That is a bottomless pit – you cannot truly change the way other people think – you can only change the way you think and hope it enlightens others along the way … and it will, for those who are tuned in to your level. Try to only focus on you and your direction.

9/25 ~ Mars (anger) ~square~ Saturn (restriction):

This is the energy of action being restricted and the anger that follows. You can either be angry and feel restricted and limited and unable to move … or you can see this energy as an opportunity to define the right actions to take and strategically plan to take them when the Universe is more supportive. This energy requires us to slow down and double check The Plan. If you proceed consciously, your plan has a better chance of success than if you were reckless and impatient. You may experience a blockage of some sort, internal or external. You feel this tremendous urge to move forward in your life but seem to find blockages and limitations with every effort. That is likely your perception, do you feel inadequate to the task at hand? What are you afraid of? Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real – release fear and choose to be responsible for creating your life. If you don’t, your outer circumstance is only becomes a reflection of your inner belief. You will attract criticism and repel support. Take your grand vision and figure out three small steps you can take on this restricted level that is still taking you in the direction of your goal. Don’t try to initiate at this time, this is a time for cultivating, planning, working behind the scenes, doing the detail work and foundational (grunt work) that is NECESSARY to support the grand vision when the time comes to fully express it.

 

Article located on Spiritlibrary.com

Your Current Moon Phase for September 21, Mabon is The First Quarter

September 21
First Quarter
Illumination: 51%

The Moon today is in a First Quarter phase. This phase occurs roughly 7 days after the New Moon when the earth is one quarter of the way through it’s orbit around the earth. Exactly half the moon will be illuminated and half dark. On the day of the First Quarter phase the moon is high overhead at sunset and is visible until mid-night when it sets in the west. The First Quarter phase is a one day event and in the following days enters a Waxing Gibbous phase becoming more illuminated each day until the Full Moon.

Phase Details for – Monday, September 21, 2015

Phase: First Quarter
Illumination: 51%
Moon Age: 7.51 days
Moon Angle: 0.52
Moon Distance: 384,282.01 km
Sun Angle: 0.53
Sun Distance: 150,181,289.27 km

What We Harvest


Mabon Comments & Graphics

“As autumn returns to earth’s northern hemisphere,
and day and night are briefly,
but perfectly,
balanced at the equinox,
may we remember anew how fragile life is —-
human life, surely,
but also the lives of all other creatures,
trees and plants,
waters and winds.

May we make wise choices in how and what we harvest,
may earth’s weather turn kinder,
may there be enough food for all creatures,
may the diminishing light in our daytime skies
be met by an increasing compassion and tolerance
in our hearts.”


–   Kathleen Jenks  

Did You Know….


Mabon Comments & Graphics
“To many ancient people, the waning of the light signaled death.  For example, in Welsh mythology, this is the day of the year when the God of Darkness, Goronwy, defeats the God of Light, Llew, and takes his place as King of the world. To this day in Japan, the equinox is celebrated by visits to the graves of family members, at which time offerings of flowers and food are made and incense is burned.  The three days preceding and following the equinox are called “higan,” or the “Other side of the River of Death.”


–   September Folklore 

General Preparations for Autumnal Equinox Celebration (Mabon, Late Summer Harvest Feast)


Mabon Comments & Graphics

General Preparations for Autumnal Equinox Celebration

(Mabon, Late Summer Harvest Feast)

The Green Man, and the Powers of Summer, must give way, must be offered up in sacrifice, must willingly die, must be released at Mabon.  Do some reading and research on The Green Man (Powers of Spring and Summer): Bibliography, Links, Quotes, Information, Lore, Myths, Role.  We must give something to get something.  Autumn brings up themes of aging, disease, dying, death, releasing, letting go, sunset, sinking into the depths of the watery realm of the Ancestors.

Thoroughly clean, dust, tidy up, refreshen, improve, and add appropriate seasonal decorations to your home altar.  This should normally be clean and tidy, however an extra cleaning before the autumn equinox celebration is a way to express your reverence, create a visible reminder of your thoughts and devotional practices, and to offer hospitality to the nature spirits, ancestors, and Shining Ones. If you don’t have a home altar, read some books and webpages about setting one up in your home or garden, and then establish one this holiday season.

Working and meditating in the garden is an important facet of my spiritual path.  I need to regularly reconnect with the earth and the autumn season outdoors. I live in Red Bluff, California, USDA Zone 9, Northern Hemisphere.  My late September gardening chores might be quite different from yours, depending upon where you live.  Tend your garden daily.  Water your garden each day.  Weed your vegetable garden.  Harvest squash, tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables from your garden each day.  Review your own lists of chores for August and September, and act accordingly.

Read about Mabon, Alban Elfed, the Autumnal Equinox Celebration, and late-summer harvest celebrations around the world.  Add notes and links to books, magazines, and webpages on the subject. Visit your local public library or college library to obtain access to books, media and magazines on the subject.  Study about ancient Indo-European religions.  I research and update my Months webpages on both September and October.

Read solitary or group rites for Mabon available in books and webpages.  Create your own ritual for Mabon.  Practice the ritual.  Conduct the ritual at a convenient time for you, or your family and/or friends, as close to the day of the autumnal equinox as possible.  Attend a public Mabon ritual of a local NeoPagan group.

Make a Apple Bell Wand, the Apple Branch, using a branch from an apple tree and bells and coins tied to the branchlets.  This apple branch wand is used to cheer up and praise the Fairies and other Nature Spirits.  Keep the branch in the dark wrapped in a cloth when not in use.  Bells, colored cloth, and meaningful trinkets are tied to the apple wand.  Words are carved into the apple branch using rare alphabets, e.g., ogham or runic. Bring the Apple Branch out at sunset or dawn on the autumnal equinox, or at other times, and shake the branch so as to honor, encourage, or request favors of the Fairies.  Read about this in: The Mysteries of Druidry: Celtic Mysticism, Theory and Practice, by Brendan Cathbad Myers, pp. 109-111.  Some cut willow wands.

Harvest and preserve some fruit, vegeatables, seeds, or herbs.  Preserve by drying, canning, or storing in jars.  Gather acorns, nuts, seeds, pinecones, and other autumn seeds.

Add some appropriate Mabon, Alban Elfed, Autumnal Equinox, or September songs, chants, prayers, reflections, invocations, or poems to your Neo-Pagan Craft Journal, Book of Shadows, blog, website, or Ritual Handbook.  Write in your personal journal.  Most spiritual seekers keep a notebook, journal or log as part of their experimental, creative, magical and experiential work.

Stay at home.  Improve your home, backyard, or garden.  Eliminate long driving trips.  Do you really need to “Go” anywhere?  Do you really need to fly by airplane to another country?  Explore your backyard, neighborhood, local community, nearby city, county wide area, regional area within 100 miles.  Visit a local “sacred site.”  For us, for example, this could be Mt. Shasta, the headwaters spring of the Sacramento River in Mt. Shasta City, the Sacramento River at Woodson Bridge Park, a long walk in the forest below nearby Mt. Lassen, sitting on the shore of Whiskeytown Lake, sitting in my backyard in the moonlight, or visiting a beautiful church or college or park that is nearby.  Watch a DVD on a spiritual subject, sacred place, or inspirational topic.  Learn more about your local environment.

Ask yourself these questions in the month of September:
What is your personal harvest from self-improvement resolutions planted last spring?
In what specific and creative ways can you honor the productivity of Mother Earth?
What is something new that you produced in the last six months?
How can you best celebrate your productive efforts during the year?
How have others helped you to be more creative?
How can you best celebrate the autumnal equinox holiday?

 

 

Source:

Egreenway.com

 

It Just Wouldn’t Be Mabon Without….


Mabon Comments & Graphics

Mabon Incense

2 parts Frankincense
1 part Sandalwood
1 part Cypress
1 part Juniper
1 part Pine
½ part Oakmoss (or a few drops Oakmoss bouquet)
1 pinch pulverized Oak leaf

 

Mabon Oil

4 drops Rosemary
4 drops Frankincense oil,
2 drops apple oil,
1 drop chamomile oil.
Use almond oil as a base here
Mix well and bottle. Use in Mabon rituals

 

Autumn Equinox Ritual Potpourri

Recipe by Gerina Dunwich

45 drops Honeysuckle Oil
1 cup Oak Moss
6 small Acorns
2 cups dried Oak Leaves
2 cups dried Honeysuckle
1 cup dried Passionflower
1 cup dried Rosebuds and Petals
½ cup dried Pine Needles
1 tablespoon Sage
Mix the honeysuckle oil with the oak moss and then add the remaining ingredients. Stir the potpourri well and store in a tightly covered ceramic or glass container.

(The above recipe for “Autumn Equinox Ritual Potpourri” is quoted directly from Gerina Dunwich’s book “The Wicca Spellbook: A Witch’s Collection of Wiccan Spells, Potions and Recipes”, page 162, A Citadel Press Book, Carol Publishing Group, 1994/1995)

Mabon Soap

1 cup grated unscented soap
¼ cup hot water
1 tbsp. apricot oil
1 tbsp. rose petals
½ tbsp. hibiscus
6 drops myrrh oil
3 drops sandalwood oil

Place grated soap in a heat-proof non-metallic container and add the hot water and apricot oil. Leave until it is cool enough to handle, and then mix together with your hands. If the soap is floating on the water, add more soap. Leave to sit for 10 minutes, mixing occasionally, until the soap is soft and mushy. Once the soap, water, and oil are blended completely, add the dry ingredients. Once the mixture is cool, then add the essential oils (essential oils evaporate quickly in heat). Enough essential oils should be added to overcome the original scent of the soap. Blend thoroughly and then divide the soap mixture into four to six pieces. Squeeze the soaps, removing as much excess water as possible into the shape you desire, and tie in a cheesecloth. Hang in a warm, dry place until the soap is completely hard and dry.

Recipe adapted from Kate West’s The Real Witches’ Kitchen Sabbat Soap recipe.

Circle of the Seasons: Mabon


Mabon Comments & Graphics

“O now is the time of the Harvest,
As we draw near to the years end
Now is the time of Mabon
Autumn is the time to descend.

Old Woman waits patiently for us
At the threshold of the labyrinth within
She offers her hand that we may understand
The treasures that await at journey’s end.

O Great Mother has given of Her body,
We give thanks for Her fruit and Her grain
We then clear the fields so that next harvest’s yields
Will be full and abundant again.

Old Woman leads us through the darkness
Our most ancient and trusted of friends
She carries the light of spiritual insight
And leads us to our wisdom once again.

And as we journey through the darkness
And as we continue to descend
We learn to let go of what obscures our soul
And re-discover our true being in the end.”

 

– Lisa Thiel, Circle of the Seasons: Mabon

Ten Ways to Celebrate Mabon


Mabon Comments & Graphics

Ten Ways to Celebrate Mabon

 

Mabon is the time of the autumn equinox, and the harvest is winding down. The fields are nearly bare, because the crops have been stored for the coming winter. Mabon is a time when we take a few moments to honor the changing seasons, and celebrate the second harvest. On or around September 21, for many Pagan and Wiccan traditions it is a time of giving thanks for the things we have, whether it is abundant crops or other blessings. It is also a time of balance and reflection, following the theme of equal hours light and dark. Here are some ways you and your family can celebrate this day of bounty and abundance.

1. Find Some Balance
Mabon is a time of balance, when there are equal hours of darkness and light, and that can affect people in different ways. For some, it’s a season to honor the darker aspects of the goddess, calling upon that which is devoid of light. For others, it’s a time of thankfulness, of gratitude for the abundance we have at the season of harvest. Because this is, for many people, a time of high energy, there is sometimes a feeling of restlessness in the air, a sense that something is just a bit “off”. If you’re feeling a bit spiritually lopsided, with this simple meditation you can restore a little balance into your life. You can also try a ritual to bring balance and harmony to your home.

2. Hold a Food Drive
Many Pagans and Wiccans count Mabon as a time of thanks and blessings — and because of that, it seems like a good time to give to those less fortunate than ourselves. If you find yourself blessed with abundance at Mabon, why not give to those who aren’t? Invite friends over for a feast, but ask each of them to bring a canned food, dry goods, or other non-perishable items? Donate the collected bounty to a local food bank or homeless shelter.

3. Pick Some Apples
Apples are the perfect symbol of the Mabon season. Long connected to wisdom and magic, there are so many wonderful things you can do with an apple. Find an orchard near you, and spend a day with your family. As you pick the apples, give thanks to Pomona, goddess of fruit trees. Be sure to only pick what you’re going to use — if you can, gather plenty to take home and preserve for the coming winter months. Take your apples home and use them in rituals, for divination, and for delicious recipes that your family can enjoy all season long.

4. Count Your Blessings
Mabon is a time of giving thanks, but sometimes we take our fortune for granted. Sit down and make a gratitude list. Write down things that you are thankful for. An attitude of gratefulness helps bring more abundance our way — what are things you’re glad you have in your life? Maybe it’s the small things, like “I’m glad I have my cat Peaches” or “I’m glad my car is running.” Maybe it’s something bigger, like “I’m thankful I have a warm home and food to eat” or “I’m thankful people love me even when I’m cranky.” Keep your list some place you can see it, and add to it when the mood strikes you.

5. Honor the Darkness
Without darkness, there is no light. Without night, there can be no day. Despite a basic human need to overlook the dark, there are many positive aspects to embracing the dark side, if it’s just for a short time. After all, it was Demeter’s love for her daughter Persephone that led her to wander the world, mourning for six months at a time, bringing us the death of the soil each fall. In some paths, Mabon is the time of year that celebrates the Crone aspect of a triune goddess. Celebrate a ritual that honors that aspect of the Goddess which we may not always find comforting or appealing, but which we must always be willing to acknowledge. Call upon the gods and goddesses of the dark night, and ask for their blessings this time of year.

6. Get Back to Nature
Fall is here, and that means the weather is bearable once more. The nights are becoming crisp and cool, and there’s a chill in the air. Take your family on a nature walk, and enjoy the changing sights and sounds of the outdoors. Listen for geese honking in the sky above you, check the trees for changing in the colors of the leaves, and watch the ground for dropped items like acorns, nuts, and seed pods. If you live in an area that doesn’t have any restrictions on removing natural items from park property, take a small bag with you and fill it up with the things you discover along the way. Bring your goodies home for your family’s altar. If you are prohibited from removing natural items, fill your bag with trash and clean up the outdoors!

7. Tell Timeless Stories
In many cultures, fall was a time of celebration and gathering. It was the season in which friends and relatives would come from far and near to get together before the cold winter kept them apart for months at a time. Part of this custom was storytelling. Learn the harvest tales of your ancestors or of the people indigenous to the area in which you live. A common theme in these stories is the cycle of death and rebirth, as seen in the planting season. Learn about the stories of Osiris, Mithras, Dionysius, Odin and other deities who have died and then restored to life.

8. Raise Some Energy
It’s not uncommon for Pagans and Wiccans to make remarks regarding the “energy” of an experience or event. If you’re having friends or family over to celebrate Mabon with you, you can raise group energy by working together. A great way to do this is with a drum or music circle. Invite everyone to bring drums, rattles, bells, or other instruments. Those who don’t have an instrument can clap their hands. Begin in a slow, regular rhythm, gradually increasing the tempo until it reaches a rapid pace. End the drumming at a pre-arranged signal, and you’ll be able to feel that energy wash over the group in waves. Another way of raising group energy is chanting, or with dance. With enough people, you can hold a Spiral Dance.

9. Celebrate Hearth & Home
As autumn rolls in, we know we’ll be spending more time indoors in just a few months. Take some time to do a fall version of spring cleaning. Physically clean your home from top to bottom, and then do a ritual smudging. Use sage or sweetgrass, or asperge with consecrated water as you go through your home and bless each room. Decorate your home with symbols of the harvest season, and set up a family Mabon altar. Put sickles, scythes and bales of hay around the yard. Collect colorful autumn leaves, gourds and fallen twigs and place them in decorative baskets in your house. If you have any repairs that need to be done, do them now so you don’t have to worry about them over the winter. Throw out or give away anything that’s no longer of use.

10. Welcome the Gods of the Vine
Grapes are everywhere, so it’s no surprise that the Mabon season is a popular time to celebrate winemaking, and deities connected to the growth of the vine. Whether you see him as Bacchus, Dionysus, the Green Man, or some other vegetative god, the god of the vine is a key archetype in harvest celebrations. Take a tour of a local winery and see what it is they do this time of year. Better yet, try your hand at making your own wine! If you’re not into wine, that’s okay — you can still enjoy the bounty of grapes, and use their leaves and vines for recipes and craft projects. However you celebrate these deities of vine and vegetation, you may want to leave a small offering of thanks as you reap the benefits of the grape harvest.

Source:
Author:  Patti Wigington, Paganism/Wicca Expert
Article found on & owned by About.com

The Tale of Mabon of Modron


Mabon Comments & Graphics

The Tale of Mabon of Modron

“The tale of Mabon of Modron, the Welsh God, (the “great son of the great mother”), also known as the Son of Light, the Young Son, or Divine Youth, is celebrated. The Equinox is also the birth of Mabon, from his mother Modron, the Guardian of the Outerworld, the Healer, the Protector, the Earth. Mabon was taken after he is a mere three nights old (some variations of the legend say he is taken after three years). Through the wisdom of the living animals — the Stag, Blackbird, Owl, Eagle and Salmon — Mabon is freed from his mysterious captivity. All the while Mabon had rested within his mother’s womb; a place of nurturing and challenge. With strength and lessons gained within the magickal Outerworld (Modron’s womb), Mabon is soon reborn as his mother’s Champion, the Son of Light, wielding the strength and wisdom acquired during his captivity.”

 

– Joyous Mabon

Magickal Activity for the 21st Day of September, Mabon – The Corn Baba or Dolly


Mabon Comments & Graphics

Magickal Activity for the 21st Day of September, Mabon

 

The Corn Baba or Dolly

To make a Corn Baba, strip the off the husks from a dried ear of corn and soak them in water until pliable. Drain the strips on a paper towel and press flat with a warm iron. Take one strip and wrap around a cotton or foam ball to form the head. Attach the head to the cob with tape or glue. Use several long strips to cover the head and body. Cut a narrow strip of husk for arms and roll into 7″ length. Tie off at the ends with string. Attach to cob and then fashion dress from strips of corn husks. Finish off the doll using the silk or yellow yarn for hair. Embellish with colored ribbon, buttons, hats, and a basket.

Celebrating Folklore, Legends & Spirituality 365 Days A Year – Autumn Equinox/ Alban Elfed/Mabon


Mabon Comments & Graphics

September 20 – 23

Autumn Equinox/ Alban Elfed/Mabon

Name Alban Elfed by the Druids and Mabon by the Welsh, the Autumn Equinox marks the completion of the harvest. Once again, day and night stand in balance with equal hours of light and darkness. As do most celebrations held around this time of the year, the Autumn Equinox focuses on the harvest, vest, the waning sun, and the onset of Winter. In the rural countryside, those who work the land come together to cut the last stalk of corn and sheaf of wheat. Following the gathering in of the last sheaf is Harvest Home, a huge supper or feast of roast beef, chicken, a stew of harvest vegetables, home-baked bread and cheese, and plenty of ale and cider. In Scotland, and parts of England, the man who cuts down the last sheaf is honored as lord and master of the harvest. The young woman who plaited the sheaf would be seated next to him and regarded as his consort.

In Wicca, the Autumn Equinox marks the waning of the year when the Goddess descends into the Underworld. As she withdraws, we see the decline of Nature and the onset of Winter. Now is the time we count up our blessings, give thanks for our bounty, and look within. As the God’s shadowy presence begins to emerge, we remember what it took to achieve our goals and what is needed to maintain them.

The Witches Correspondences for Mabon


Mabon Comments & Graphics
The Witches Correspondences for Mabon

MAY-bon, MAY-bun, MAY-bone, MAH-boon or MAH-bawn, – Lesser Sabbat/Autumn Equinox, September 21-23

Michaelmas (September 25th, Christian), Second Harvest Festival, Witches’ Thanksgiving, Harvest Home (Anglo-Celtic), Feast of Avalon, Wine Harvest, Festival of Dionysus, Cornucopia, Equinozio di Autunno (Strega), Chung Chiu (China), Night of the Hunter, Alban Elfed “The Light of the Water”(Caledonii/ Druidic-celebrates Lord of the Mysteries), Winter Finding (Teutonic, from Equinox ’til Winter Night or Nordic New Year, Oct 15th.)

Mabon is considered a time of the Mysteries. It is a time to honor Aging Deities and the Spirit World. Considered a time of balance, it is when we stop and relax and enjoy the fruits of our personal harvests, whether they be from toiling in our gardens, working at our jobs, raising our families, or just coping with the hussle-bussle of everyday life. May your Mabon be memorable, and your hearts and spirits be filled to overflowing!

Purpose: Second harvest festival, new wine pressing/making preparation for winter and Samhain, rest after labor, Pagan day of Thanksgiving, honoring the spirit world, celebration of wine.

Dynamics/Meaning: death of the God, assumption of the Crone, balance of light and dark; increase of darkness, grape harvest, completion of the harvest.

Essence: Beauty, joy; fullness of life, harvest of the year’s desires, strength; laughter; power; prosperity, equality, balance, appreciation, harvest, protection, wealth, security, self-confidence, reincarnation.

Symbolism of Mabon: Second Harvest, the Mysteries, Equality and Balance.

Symbols of Mabon: wine, gourds, pine cones, acorns, grains, corn, apples, pomegranates, vines such as ivy, dried seeds, and horns of plenty.

Tools, Symbols & Decorations: Indian corn, red fruits, autumn flowers, red poppies, hazelnuts, garlands, grains especially wheat stalks, and colorful, fallen leaves, acorns, pine & cypress cones, oak sprigs, pomegranate, statue/or figure to represent the Mother Goddess, mabon wreath, vine, grapes, gourd, cornucopia/horns of plenty, burial cairns, apples, marigolds, harvested crops, burial cairns, rattles, the Mysteries, sun wheel, all harvest symbols.

Herbs & Plants: Acorn, aster, benzoin, cedar, ferns, grains, hazel, honeysuckle, hops, ivy, marigold, milkweed, mums, myrrh, oak leaf, passionflower, pine, rose, sage, solomon’s seal, tobacco, thistle, and vegetables.

Foods of Mabon: Breads, nuts, apples, pomegranates, cornbread, wheat products, grains, berries, grapes, acorns, seeds, dried fruits, corn, beans, squash, roots (ie onions, carrots, potatoes, etc), hops, sasssafras, roast goose or mutton, wine, ale, & cider.

Incense & Oils of Mabon: Pine, sweetgrass, apple blossom, benzoin, myrrh, frankincense, jasmine, sage wood aloes, black pepper, patchouly, cinnamon, clove, oak moss, & sage.

Colors/Candles of Mabon: Red, orange, russet, maroon, brown, gold, deep gold, green, orange, scarlet, all autumn colors, purple, blue, violet, & indigo.

Stones of Mabon: Sapphire, lapis lazuli, yellow agates, carnelian, yellow topaz, & amethyst.

Customs: Offerings to land, preparing for cold weather, bringing in harvest, cutting willow wands (Druidic), eating seasonal fruit, leaving apples upon burial cairns & graves as a token of honor, walk wild places & forests, gather seed pods & dried plants, fermenting grapes to make wine,picking ripe produce, stalk bundling; fishing,. on the closest full moon (Harvest Moon) harvesting corps by moonlight.

Activities of Mabon: Making wine, gathering dried herbs, plants, seeds and seed pods, walking in the woods, scattering offerings in harvested fields, offering libations to trees, adorning burial sites with leaves, acorns, and pine cones to honor those who have passed over.

Spellworkings and Rituals of Mabon: Protection, security, and self-confidence. Also those of harmony and balance. Celtic Festival of the Vine, prosperity rituals, introspection, rituals which enact the elderly aspects of both Goddess & God, past life recall.

Animals/Mythical beings: Dogs, wolves, stag, blackbird, owl, eagle, birds of prey, salmon & goat, Gnomes, Sphinx, Minotaur, Cyclops, Andamans and Gulons.

Goddesses: Modron (Welsh), Bona Dea, Land Mother, Aging & Harvest Dieties: the Triple Goddess-Mother aspect, Persephone, Demeter/Ceres, Morgan (Welsh- Cornish), Snake Woman (aboriginal), Epona (Celtic-Gaulish), Pamona (roman), the Muses (greek)

Gods: Mabon ap Modron (Welsh), Sky Father, The Green Man, Wine Gods, Aging Gods, John Barley Corn , the Wicker-Man, the Corn Man, Thoth (Egyptian), Hermes, Hotei (Japanese), Thor, Dionysus (Roman), Bacchus (Greek) & all wine Deities

Element: Water

Threshold: Evening
Source:
PaganPages.org

Autumnal Equinox


Mabon Comments & Graphics

Autumnal Equinox

On the autumnal equinox, which generally occurs on September 21 – give or take a day – Wiccans and Witches celebrate the sabbat that we call Mabon. With the fruits of the earth safely gathered in, there is at last time for a Harvest festival and for Thanksgiving. Yet while day and night may be of equal length, the balance will imminently shift in favor of darkness, and everything associated with it, including death. ANd it is now that the Horned God, having conquered the demons of the underworld, returns to Earth to claim the Goddess, so that together they descend to their dark realm.

 

 

Meditate on Mabon

Mabon heralds a time of turning inward. This is a good occasion on which to give thanks to the Goddess and Horned God, for their fruitfulness and for all that you have metaphorically reaped this year. You may also want to plan your spiritual development from the coming months.

—-The Wicca Book of Days
Selena Eilidh Ash

 

Mabon to Samhain

Mabon Comments & Graphics

Mabon to Samhain

Wiccans and Witches observe the autumnal equinox with a lesser sabbat that many call Mabon. The day and night may briefly be of equal length, but from now on the hours of darkness will grow steadily longer, with the signs of natural life fading a pace. With harvest over, the Goddess of the Waning Moon now descends to the Otherworld, where she will reign alongside the Horned God, who has battled hideous being in his quest to become Lord of Death.

—The Wicca Book of Days
Selena Eilidh Ash