It’s storm season. Storms have hit the UK this last week or so, and we’ve seen nightmarish weather conditions, high winds and flooding. People have died. Last year the lanes around Slimbridge, where I then lived, flooded such that some of them were impassable. We’ve been seeing a lot more of this, lately, especially in the winter months.
The 31st of October is traditionally Samhain, and also All Hallows Eve. It has a long tradition as a festival, as do Beltain, Imbolc and Lugnasadh, all popular with modern Pagans. However, Pagans in the Southern hemisphere have long since decided that it makes no sense to celebrate Samhain at the start of what, for them, is the spring. Southen calendars swap the festivals around, putting seasonal relevance before an ancestral connection with dates.
For me, Autumn is far less about the dying away, and far more about the stocking up. Granted, the leaves beyond my window are turning, shades of yellow and brown creeping in amongst the greens. It’s late this year, but then, so was the spring.
Celebrate the inward journey Join Persephone as She descends Mother Earth turns toward Crone As we dance the last dance Half is Day, Half is night Harvest moon, orange sight Bless the dance, bless the rite Half is Day, Half is Night Spiral out, Spiral In Harvest, death, rebirth again Goddess-selves bless us all Who spiral out and spiral in
There is no place in a regular wheel of the year where it makes sense to talk about going back, returning, backtracking or heading the wrong way. The cycle of the year does of course bring us round the same seasons, reliably, but there is always a sense of moving forward. Turning, not returning. Time as we experience it only flows one way. However, there are many ways in which we can go back.
Mmmm…I just love summer. The energies run big, bright, and colorful! My fire rhythm can find herself burnt out easily though if I commit to do-ing too much instead of just be-ing. Taking quiet time is imperative for my system, especially during the vibrant summer months. A recent Saturday night was a be-ing night for me and I cannot think of a better way to celebrate a cool, quiet, rainy summer night than by working in the kitchen with fresh fruit.
Food is incredibly sensual, isn't it? The invitation arrives and we have to give ourselves permission to really, truly experience it! Fresh fruit and vegetables this time of the year are truly blessed gifts indeed and I give myself freely, fully to the sensory-filled experience of the harvest. This is also one of my favorite aspects of traveling and brings to mind a recent opportunity while in Jamaica this past spring.
In your standard Pagan wheel of the year arrangement, harvest happens in the autumn. We tend to celebrate it at the autumn equinox, when many regular Pagan teachings encourage you to reflect on wider ideas of harvest in your own life. However, if you grow soft fruit or salad vegetables, the odds are that you’ve been harvesting since some time in June.
Jamie
Mr. Posch,Hear, hear!There is a silver lining to the dark cloud of the past 4 years for me, though. When Sarah Palin declared that New England wasn't ...
Jamie
Mr. Posch,Maybe it really happened, and he got re-animated by the Q-Anon Shaman...with his magical American flag spear.I can totally see the Underworl...
Ms. Brown, Thanks for sharing! I hope you and yours fare well with regard to the weather.
