Mabon 1999 Newsletter Mabon |
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Mabon, or the Autumn Equinox occurs each year in the southern hemisphere between the 20th and the 23rd March. This year it occurs on the 21st March.
The Autumn Equinox signals the time when the days start to become shorter and the nights longer.
At the equinox we have a balance between light and dark, it is a time to stop and take stock of that which you have invested time and effort in, and that which you have reaped from these efforts. It is a time to look at the harvests in your life and a time to prepare to wind down your efforts for a rest over winter.
In the Garden in Autumn
Planting deciduous trees is best done in late autumn or winter, while
the plant is dormant. For good growth, add plenty of mulch to the soil as
deciduous trees prefer a free draining soil, in full sun. The falling
leaves from deciduous trees are a bonus to the garden by providing mulch.
Pile them in heaps to rot down for spreading around plants during the
cooler months. This renewing of leaves each year means deciduous trees do
not have a major problem with pests. If insect attack occurs, it is
usually solved when the leaves fall from the tree in autumn. Deciduous
trees originate in the Northern Hemisphere and the brilliance and duration
of their colourful display is strongly influenced by variation in local
weather patterns.
To Autumn
by John Keats (1795-1821)Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.
Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
Sometimes whoever seeks may find
sitting careless on a granary floor,
Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,
Drows'd with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
Steady thy laden head across a brook;
Or by a cyder-press, with patient look,
Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.
Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,--
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.
Autumn Equinox Traditions
There are many activites you can do to mark the Autumn Equinox. You may like to collect various leaves and sticks that fall from the trees in Autumn and place them on your altar as a reminder of the season.
It is also a harvest festival, so remember (by writing or meditation, or some other method) that which you have reaped into your life, or for Mother Earth over the past season. As it is also a time when life starts to fade in preparation for winter, you may like to assess that in your life which needs getting rid of, or sorting out.
As the God prepares to enter the underworld for his Winter’s rest, look at that in your life which winds down. It might be your sporting calendar, your learning curve, your holiday feeling, the amount your travel, the activities you do at night or during the day. How does the death of the God affect the way you live your days in Winter?
As it is a time of harvest, perhaps you could share some of the Earth’s bounty with some charity organisations that help provide food to people less fortunate than yourself.
Another way to attune with the energy of Autumn is to run through the great piles of autumn leaves that you find in parks or in your garden. Gather the autumn leaves and let your innre child run free through them, feel the decay as it starts to set in, and watch them crumble to dust at the end.
