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"She seemed to come suddenly upon happiness as if she had surprised a butterfly in the Winter woods"
(edith wharton)


Friday 21 March 2008

Autumn Equinox

I wasn't going to post today but the pains are 15 mins apart !!!! so maybe today, the day of the autumn equinox......

It has been quite hot here in Woodford over the past few days and I have spent time in my garden, chatting to Mary Magdalene and my clan.. my ancestors and also the elementals.. and of course my plants. Joe finished putting my pond in last week and during the week, I planted the pond plants and my friend Marion gave me some tadpoles to get started! I love the sound of the water fall, it is so peaceful.

Today dawned raining and misty and I remembered the birth of Louisa (my daugher who is expecting Harry) - before she was born we had been in a drought time and the moment she was born the rain came down! So maybe this rain today is a sign....

I am not doing alot for the Equinox.. here is one of my previous posts from years gone by:
Autumn Equinox 2007

I may light a few candles but for some reason I felt I must post this letter from Daisy....

Hi Robyn,

Here is some information about Mabon, the Autumn equinox for you on 21st March.

First of all, it has only been called Mabon for about fifty or sixty years, for some reason it never had a single name like the other equinox or solstices but was referred to in the Northern Hemisphere as Harvest Home, Feast of Ingathering. Basically it is festival to give thanks for the harvest and to secure the blessing of the Goddess through the winter months. It is now when the Goddess passes from Mother to Ageing Crone and prepares for the death and rebirth of her Consort.

It is a festival of equal light and dark. It is a time to finish off old business and a time to adjust yourself in preparation for Samhain and its time of rest, reflection and relaxation through the winter. We must give thanks to the now waning sunlight for lighting our summer days and honour the Green Man, the God of the forest.

An ideal way to celebrate the equinox is to sit down to a lavish meal with your family wearing your finery. A lovely symbol to decorate your house with is the horn of plenty or Cornucopia, [ you can sometimes get wicker ones in garden shops] you can fill this horn with fruit spilling out of it such as apples, and for you probably lemons etc and decorate with some trailing ivy.

Honour the Green Man by taking a walk through a wood and maybe leaving in a nook an offering or cider or wine together with some pine cones and acorns and seeds [ you might have to be creative here, but you probably have pine trees]

Symbols - apart from the horn of plenty, wine, gourds, pine cones, acorns, apples, pomegranites vines and ivy and dried seeds.

Herbs and Flowers - Ferns, Honeysuckle, Milkweed, Myrrh, Rose, Sage, Soloman's Seal, Passionflower, Tobacco Plant, Thistles.

Food - Bread, Nuts, Apples, Pomegranates, Potatoes, Carrots and Onions.

Incense - Myrrh, Sage, Benzoin

Colours - Red, Orange, Russet, Maroon, Brown, Gold

Stones and Crystals - Sapphire, Lapis Lazuli and Yellow Agate

Rituals - Making Wine and gathering herbs to dry and seeds for next year. Walking in the woods admiring nature's harvest

Spells for - Protection, prosperity, security, self confidence, harmony and balance

Goddesses - Epona, Persephone, Modron, Morgan

Gods - The Green Man, Hermes, Mabon and Thor

Rituals are pretty free and easy for this festival, basically it is mainly about harvest suppers and thanksgiving for the harvest.

There you go, hope this is of use
Love and Hugs
Daisy xx

19 comments:

Bimbimbie said...

Morning Robyn thanks for posting Daisy's letter *!* .... I woke to a beautiful misty morning here and went for a wander along my little wood and snapped some photos. Think I will be spending some time in the garden today - lots of dead heading to be done while I listen to the radio. Fingers crossed that today is Harry's Day ....love & smiles *!*

Angela said...

Ooh, ooh, I wanna see pictures of the pond! Hope momma and child are healthy and well.

Kathryn Knoll said...

Here's Hoping for Harry at this most wonderful Harvest time.(in your part of the world) It certainly fits! We wait in prayer for the new "butterful boy" to come forth! Amen Alleluia! Sr.K

Kim Campbell said...

And a Blessed Ostara from this end of the world!

Hoping Harry comes soon!

Anonymous said...

Love the letter you posted from Daisy. Come on Harry we are waiting. Love Hugs and Blessings.

peppylady (Dora) said...

I was hoping you would post something about the Autumn Equinox it seem so strange that we can read about two equinox depending on what side of the equator you live on.

We had more like winter weather here snowing off and on all day but nothing stuck to the ground.

Every Spring since 2006 I taken a picture from my back yard looking Eastward.
I got them posted.

Sheila said...

At last Harry seems to be on his way. You must be so excited.
It was lovely to read Daisy's letter, it makes me realise how much she knew and shared with us.
Be sure to post as soon as Harry arrives..!
Best wishes to Louisa..
xx

Patty said...

Blessed Mabon to you dear Robyn
May your day be filled with lovely things, and hopefully the birth of Harry

Julie said...

Hi, Robyn,

I didn't know you were putting in a pond. It must be so wonderful.

Hope that baby gets here soon!

Thank you so much for posting that letter from Daisy. It is so hard for me to believe that your summer is over.

It snowed here today - no summer, no SPRING in sight!

mrsnesbitt said...

Cor Robyn, still no news!
Thinking about you over the Easter Weekend.

Pixiedust said...

Lets hope todays the day that Harry arives. I've just noticed on your blog that I have the same name as your daughter and the same middlw name as your mum. xxx

Ruth said...

Hi Robyn - have a good and fruitful equinox. Hope Harry soon arrives safely!

Anonymous said...

Happy Mabon, I forget it's not Osrars for you, sorry. Is Harry here yet?

gma said...

How wonderful that you saved Daisy's letter. She is still imparting wisdom to us. Many sacred blessings to you this equinox and always.
xx

gma said...

How wonderful that you saved Daisy's letter. She is still imparting wisdom to us. Many sacred blessings to you this equinox and always.
xx

Naturegirl said...

Hello Robyn I am busy having too much FUN in Arizona on vacation for several months! I posted a photo of *someone I spent the day with and *you know her well!!

Stopping by to say:
Wishing you the sight of golden daffodils in the sunshine on this blessed Easter weekend!(if no dafs..then Easter bunnies)
sunkissed NG

amelia said...

Love the letter, very informative. I hope Harry is here already!

Leanne said...

autumn equinox blessings to you Robyn, as we celebrate our Spring equinox here!

extra wishes too, for harry's safe arrival into this world of ours!

Leanne x

A bird in the hand said...

I noticed the moon last night, a huge orange-gold orb. What a sight!

Tickled to know that you grow your own potatoes. My Irish mother-in-law had a potato patch just for family consumption (and other vegetables too). Nothing like it.

xoxo