Wheel of the Year // Mabon

Mabon is the celtic name for the Autumn Equinox, which falls this weekend. To be precise, it falls tomorrow - 22nd September 2012 - at 14:49 UTC/GMT. The equinox is the point of equal darkness and light within the day (literally 'equal night') and in the northern hemisphere it will mark the point when darkness begins to win. As of tomorrow, we will have more darkness in our day than light. 

So why the apples? In the Celtic wheel of the year, the autumn equinox - or Mabon - marked the harvest of the fruits. Still today, there are celebratory gatherings around the country for the apple harvest: cider tastings, apple days and general merriment and thanksgiving that we have fruit to harvest. 

Perhaps more significantly than that, it marks the point in the year when we instinctively know we will be getting little more from the earth - it will get cold and dark and we must gather what we can to keep us going through the winter months. 

And this is why I love these apples. Just look at them. A perfect circle, inside which is a perfect star.

The fruits of our labours, inside which are the seeds for our next turn of the wheel. We can learn so much from nature - not least that it is never done. The work and the journey - the life - does not end just because the seasons turn. 

As I bite my apple this Mabon, not only will I be giving thanks for the rewards I have earned this year; I will be contemplating the seeds I will sow next. I hope you will be doing the same - and I hope you have a warming glass of mulled cider to do it with. 

Brightest Mabon blessings. 

Wheel of the Year // Summer is drawing to a close

For the last couple of weeks, we have seen bales of hay being gathered and drying in the fields around us. 

The harvests have been happening - wheat, hay, vegetable crops. And the bees have been busy harvesting the last of the pollen from the remaining flowers. 

There is a recognisable chill in the air in the mornings and a faint reddish-orange tinge starting to appear on the leaves of some trees. 

I'm trying to make the most of the end of summer and appreciating the still-light evenings and slight warmth the sun still possesses. There's no denying, though, that Autumn is around the corner. I am very much looking forward to the new season and cosying down with spiced cider and pumpkin pie. Not long now!

Blessed Samhain

or

Happy Hallowe'en

or (for those of you who follow the Wheel of the Year)

Happy New Year's Eve!

Samhain marks the last turn of the wheel - the final harvest and the dying of the year. The ends of the crops have been gathered, the light is leaving those of us in the Northern Hemisphere and the time for spiritual 'hibernation' is upon us. Long, dark and cold nights wait on the other side of this eve.

However, it is not a time to be sad; rather to celebrate the achievements of the year just past and to honour the earth for the fruits it has provided for us over the summer months. Sitting opposite Beltane (the festival of light and fertility) on the wheel, Samhain marks the contradictory forces of darkness and death. Said to fall at the time when the veil between this earthly world and the Otherworld is at its thinnest, the feast of Samhain traditionally also honours the dead and is a night for remembering ancestors and loved ones who have left us. It is tradition to set a place for those absent friends at the table before enjoying a Samhain meal. 

Some people celebrate Samhain with a ritual to mark the passing of the old year and these rituals are as varied as the individuals who celebrate the festival. You could create a representative 'wheel of the year' with symbolic markers for the sabbats and burn it to mark the end of the year. 

These pictures show an edible version of this ritual: a sabbat cake! Each sabbat is marked on the cake with a leaf, flower or seed which reflects the season - we have a miniature eggshell for Ostara, a holly leaf for Yule and a lavendar sprig for the first harvest of Lammas, for example. Samhain here is shown by an autumn leaf. Instead of being burned, the wheel of the year will be gobbled up!

This year will be the first in a long time that I will celebrate Samhain alone - although I did have family to share an early feast of pumpkin curry with yesterday (more on that recipe to come, I feel). Traditionally I carve my pumpkin and let the light shine like a miniature beacon in the window, to guide the way for spirits; warm a pot of mulled cider and complete a small ritual which acknowledges the year past and sets forth my hopes for the year to come. Tonight I will be quietly contemplating everything that this toughest of years has brought to my family and honouring my dad, so recently passed, with a simple prayer. 

Brightest blessings to you all.

Summer is drawing to a close..

...and I am making the most of the late harvests in the garden.

I have sweet tomatoes...

...a veritable jungle of runner beans climbing my wall...

...an abundance of peppery rocket in my tub...

...and lots of spinach and beetroot too.

I'm so thankful for these rewards for my first efforts with my little garden.

I have now watched the seasons turn full circle in this place where I came to rest. It is lovely to see the difference from this time last year, when the soil looked barren and empty as we moved into autumn.

Now, as the days draw in and the mornings are spiked with an autumnal chill, I am warmed by the knowledge that I have made things work in this past year. My garden, my job, my relationship have all been fruitful and these thoughts are the store which will keep me going through winter. 

A small harvest

My hanging-basket of strawberries is beginning to offer up its fruits...

 I am so excited to taste these!

In a couple of weeks, B and I are making a journey on a steam train. 

It would be just perfect to have home-grown strawbs in our picnic.

Fingers crossed!