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!

Wheel of the Year // Spring

These little guys are our new neighbours. 

They've been prancing about in the field across the road from our house, in the bright sunshine, all week.

Spring is well and truly sprung!

I hope the fine weather continues for you all, wherever you are. School breaks up for Easter today, so I'm hoping it carries on a bit longer here, into my holiday. 

Brightest blessings. 

Wheel of the Year // Ostara

Spring has sprung!

Tonight the vernal (Spring) equinox occurs - the moment when there is equal light and dark in our day. 

Everywhere around us we can see the Earth coming back to life, spurred on by this increasing light. There are lambs in the fields, birds in the hedgerow and daffodils everywhere!

Hundreds of years ago, the Germanic pagans who resided in Western Europe, including the British Isles, celebrated this time by honouring their fertility goddess Eostre. The festival became known as Ostara and we retain aspects of its symbolism in modern celebrations for the Christian festival of Easter. 

Spring Equinox is a time to begin planting and sowing seeds, ready for the summer harvests - those of you who garden, like me, will surely be sorting through your packets of seeds and planning when you will plant them. 

I try to treat my hopes, dreams and personal goals in much the same way - by planting the metaphorical seeds. Right now, this is most clearly demonstrated by my photography; I'm working hard to get in place the skills and tools I need to allow it to come into fruition. 

I hope that whatever your plans and dreams may be, that the warmth and light of Eostre shines upon them, to allow them to grow. 

Brightest blessings. 

Wheel of the Year // Going to sleep

Everywhere you look, at this time of year, you see that the earth has little left to give.

Summer's vibrancy and even the warmth of the autumn colours is fading - there is hardly any energy left.

All is pared back, to its barest form: the trees betray no sign of life, the birds quieten down and the hedgerow's creatures retire into hibernation. 

This is no bad thing. It is not death, but sleep. The earth will rest and restore itself over the forthcoming cold months. When the light returns in spring, everything will wake up with renewed vigour. This is how it is supposed to be.

I too long to hibernate - to cosy up indoors and rest - yet each morning I have to force myself awake in darkness and work through, in spite of my body's natural instincts. 

Do any of you struggle with low energy levels at this time of year? 

It is a season I would dearly love, could I put work on hold and focus on hearth and home. 

Five more weeks before a longed-for Yuletide rest...

Blessed Samhain - Happy Hallowe'en!

Someone asked me yesterday what - as a witchy person - I do for Halloween.

Well firstly, I call it Samhain (summer's end) and a lot of what I do is pretty much the same as what other people do...

I carve Jack O'Lanterns (but I try to make them friendly) because the folklore behind them, which you can read all about here tells us that they were traditionally carved to provide light and warmth for lost souls. 

All Hallow's Eve is a Sabbat when the veil between this world and the Otherworld is at is thinnest - like at the opposite side of the wheel when we celebrate Beltane - and because of this, it is historically regarded as the one night of the year when the spirits of the dead return to earth. These Jack O'Lanterns are to guide them home. 

At Samhain, another thing I do is honour those who are no longer with us. I do this simply, by having a photograph or memory of them on my altar and lighting a candle. When I drink my mulled cider, I raise a toast to them, in hopes that they are wandering free and happy. 

Finally, as the Sabbat marks the end of the year and the end of the harvest, I try to cook up a feast of food which represents the season. This year we made pumpkin pie and I'll share the recipe with you later this week. We give thanks for all we have harvested during the year that has just passed and talk about our hopes, dreams and wishes for the new year to come. Sometimes we write these down and sometimes we cast them off into the wide world to allow the gods and spirits to help them come to fruition. We have done this in a whole range of ways over the past few years - writing them on a paper lantern and setting it free on the wind, tying them to a feather and casting them downstream, or burying them in the earth as seeds to grow. 

Every hedge, hearth, kitchen, garden or any other kind of witch is different - as a solitary I have made the choice not to follow a ritualised path with ceremonies set out by others. I go with my heart and do what comes naturally each year - I find that it is what is inside that counts. 

Whatever your choices, rituals, traditions, hopes, goals and dreams are at this turn of the wheel, I wish you love, light and laughter as you go about them.

Brightest blessings. 

Countdown to Hallowe'en // Mulled Cider

One of my absolute favourite autumnal traditions, is making mulled cider - and later on as it gets even colder, mulled wine. 

Served warm, with a stick of cinnamon, mulled cider is a seasonal treat which makes the most of the abundant apple harvests here in the UK at this time of year. 

The recipe is really simple - for every 500 ml of cider (I use dry, rather than sweet), add about 100 ml of apple juice to sweeten it up, a teaspoon of ground mixed spice, a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, four or five cloves and a stick of cinnamon. 

Heat the whole mixture through but don't allow to boil.

Enjoy steaming in a big mug and cuddle up under a blanket.

Blessings!

Countdown to Hallowe'en // Autumnal walks

It's hard to believe we are in October. I mean, considering it is 23 degrees and sunny outside here in the UK, really hard to believe. 

I don't think we had weather this good in the whole of August.

Incredulity at our balmy 'Indian Summer' aside, it is October, which means we are less than a month away from my favourite sabbat: Samhain - or 'Hallowe'en'. 

This month I hope to post more about autumnal traditions, recipes and rituals as we count down to Hallowe'en. Please drop by for a cup of steaming mulled cider and maybe even a slice of pumpkin pie - I look forward to hearing your thoughts and musings, as we tread through this magickal season together.

To begin with, then, an autumnal walk around my local fields. 

Although there is a sadness to see everything dying back and losing its lush green colour, there is also joy as the harvest season draws to a close - a sense of achievement and the knowledge that we will have plenty to keep us going through the winter. 

Within myself I also feel a sense of hurry to make the most of our beautiful surroundings, while it is still warm and light enough to do so. Today it was so warm, in fact, that we even indulged in a little paddle in the river. 

Blissful.

Wheel of the Year // Mabon

Blessed Autumn Equinox everyone!

Go and enjoy some mulled cider and light a candle to thank the gods for the apple harvests.

The nights are drawing in fast. Let's make the most of the last of the light. 

Allotment Tales // Autumn

Although the last remnants of summer hold a wavering vigil to the dying light, it is clear as we look around the allotment now, that autumn is here. 

Our late, lone sunflower is now drooping its ragged head, as though bowing in submission to the omnipotent force of the seasons. 

The palette of the allotment seems to have changed suddenly - from lush, vibrant greens, to browns, burnished   yellows and deep oranges. 

Pumpkin vines have morphed into withered skeletons with bulbous skulls which every day deepen in autumnal colour. 

At this time of year, we often imagine the work to be done - the harvest to be gathered; the rewards enjoyed. We could not be further from the truth. Yes, we have had a bounteous summer, enjoying the fruits of our labour - both physical and metaphysical. But there is still plenty to come. Through the autumn and winter we will gather smaller harvests - of squashes and pumpkins, broccoli, cabbage, parsnips and swedes. 

When things seem to be getting darker and colder, it is easy to become encompassed in negativity, thinking there is little to look forward to until the light returns. I know I am guilty of this each and every year. It is then that I sit back and think of what is yet to come, and what can be planned and prepared for in the coming winter months. We wouldn't expect a harvest of fruit and vegetables next summer without tending the soil, clearing the debris and planting the seeds - why should it be any different with anything else we wish to achieve? 

Wheel of the Year // Lammas

Lammas, which falls in the Northern Hemisphere on August 1st or 2nd, marks the half way point between Litha (Midsummer Solstice) and Mabon (Autumnal Equinox) on the Wheel of the Year. Its name derives from the words 'loaf-mass' because it is a celebration of the first wheat harvest. 

Traditions which have passed down across the centuries, still associated with this day, are harvest festivals, wheat weaving (making 'corn dollies') and bread baking. It is a time of year where we begin to reap the rewards of our hard toils and harvest the fruits of our labour. 

For B and I, Lammas falls at the time of our 'anniversary', so we always mark the day in celebration, saying thanks for the rewards of the work we put into our relationship; this year, of course we also have to say our thanks to the sun, rain and earth for the abundant harvests they have provided for us in our allotment.

Lammastide blessings.

Wheel of the Year // Litha Blessings

Blessed Litha everyone. 

Wishing you all a magickal Midsummer Eve!

Midsummer Eve - E.R Hughes

Wheel of the Year // Litha

Midsummer - or Litha to many pagans - is the point on the Wheel of the Year where the Sun is at its peak: the Summer Solstice. June 21st marks the longest day in the Northern Hemisphere and it is on this day that many pagans join in celebration of the power of the Sun. Traditionally, many cultures around the world have celebrated this day with feasts, dancing and bonfires - and often weddings - to joyously mirror the energy provided by the Sun at this time. Even today it is a time of thanksgiving for the Sun's warmth and light which enables the Earth to bear fruits.

This Summer season I am thankful for...

* An allotment which is growing beautifully - we are now able to eat what we have sown.

* A long holiday from school, just around the corner, in which I can focus on bringing my personal goals into fruition.

* Being situated in a place where I can see the wheel turning all around me; where the changing seasons are evident with every footstep.

* Time spent with B.

* Being a part of my own friends' celebrations of love and growth, yet to come, later in the Summer season. 

What are you thankful for this Summer?

Wheel of the Year // Belated Beltane Blessings

May 1st marks the beginning of Summer here in the Northern Hemisphere and this turn of the wheel is celebrated by the fire festival, Beltane.

A half turn of the wheel from Samhain (Hallowe'en, 31st October), this festival is its polar opposite in meaning  as well as seasonal position. Where Samhain symbolises death, the end of harvest and the arrival of winter and the 'dark' months, Beltane is a fertility festival, celebrating life, the beginning of the harvest season and the arrival of summer - we are almost at the 'lightest' point of the year. For more information about the origins and meaning of the sabbat, read last year's Beltane post, here

Beltane blessings - albeit belated - to you all.

Hedgerow Ramblings // One Swallow Doesn't Make a Summer...

...but how about a sky-full?

Wheel of the Year // Easter Eggs

To both Pagans and Christians, this time of year signifies rebirth and resurrection. Whichever gods and goddesses you believe in, and whatever religion you follow, these ideas are evident all around us as we watch the Earth come back to life, ever fertile and filled with new hope. 

The egg is an eternal symbol of these concepts - new life waiting patiently within the confines of its protective shell, ready to break free when it is strong and ready. Whether you consider this to be an allegorical representation of Christ's resurrection or a symbol of the fertility goddess Eostre, I wish you a happy Easter and I hope you enjoy your eggs as much as I will enjoy nibbling on these. 

Blessings. 

The Passage of Time

A year has passed in what feels like the blink of an eye.

Looking back, I have difficulty grasping the truth of the fact that the wheel has turned fully since Dad passed away, last year. I know now that even though I have lived, grown, changed, done, made, achieved a year, I haven't really experienced it. Not fully; not with my eyes open; not in the moment; not with my 'real' self. 

Instead I have walked through the days as my 'shadow self' - the part of me that is waking and breathing. The other part of me - the part which really feels - has hidden itself away inside, protecting itself until it knows it is safe to come out again. 

As each day passes I think it awakes a little more. Today, exactly a year since Dad died, I have been able to process these thoughts and put them into some semblance of syntactical sense: that is a start.

Full Moon // Fulfilment

Today's Full Moon seems to have sent me into overdrive.

March's full moon is known as the Storm Moon or Seed Moon. 

It brings with it fertility and growth and marks a time of preparation for the harvests to come.

Growth indeed is all around Hearthwitch Cottage at the moment - and nowhere more evident than in the triumphant daffodil blooms. My little patch of Earth is circled by them - a battalion of yellow trumpeters, all standing on guard. 

Something about this moment in the turning Wheel of the Year always kicks me into action. My natural clock must be telling me to prepare for the coming seasons. Today I have Spring cleaned the house from top to toe!

 It feels so good to wipe away the cobwebs, the remnants of the dark months, and let the light and air back through the house. 

May the season bring you much joy and fulfilment and may tonight's full moon bless you with growth in whichever area of your life you seek it.

Brightest blessings.

Wheel of the Year // Imbolc

To those who celebrate the pagan Wheel of the Year, February 1st-2nd marks the Celtic fire festival of Imbolc, which heralds the returning of the light and the beginning of Spring.

So named after the Celtic word 'oimelc', which is believed to mean 'in the belly' or 'ewe's milk', it refers to the life-giving milk of lactation recommencing. It is at this time of year that the lambing cycle begins and the earth warms up to allow new life to grow. 

Ancient celebrations fell on this day to honour the powerful bringer of light - the goddess Brigid (Brid, Bride, Brigit) - who would breathe life, warmth and fertility back into the dead, cold lands and begin a new season of  growth and fruition. 

Today, people still celebrate this important turn of the wheel, by lighting fires and candles to reflect the light returning and inviting Brigid to warm their hearths and the Earth itself.  As it is a time to prepare for new growth, ask Brigid for her assistance in bringing your hopes and dreams to being. Prepare the ground for the planting of seeds which will flower in the coming seasons - both literally and metaphorically. 

Brightest Imbolc blessings to you all. 

Wheel of the Year // Welcome...

...to February.

Squeals of joyous delight rang through my kitchen this evening as I discovered these pretty little narcissi opening, at my hearth-side just in time for Imbolc: the most beautiful altar decoration I could have wished for.

I will be celebrating tomorrow - the 2nd - but for those of you honouring Brigid this evening, I wish you brightest Imbolc blessings.

Love and light.