AUTUMN EQUINOX -Alban Elfed

Once again we have reached the point of balance, night and day are equal in length.( 23rd sept)The leaves are beginning to fall and the Equinox tides and winds may bring storms and floods.
The last harvests of fruit and vegetables are now in and it is time to accept what we do and don't have and what we have achieved.
Equinoxes can bring many unexpected things and many may find their lives reaching an unexpected turning points in spring, so it is necessary for a good autumn clean out.
We spring clean in order to make way for new growth but in autumn it is to make way for reflection and study.

Why in Autumn do we want to match the animals in
nature and hibernate?
The energy on the planet changes.
This energy is called life-force energy, Christ-force energy, Universal energy, Supreme Being's energy.
In the Autumn this energy is drawn down into the Earth. Outwardly, the leaves are drawn off the trees. Inwardly, we experience feeling drained.
But the good news is that the energy that is draining is most likely not our own anyway. We took on someone's energy (thoughts, emotions) and obligingly, or in most cases, ignorantly carried it around, until the fall season draws our attention back to ourselves where we experience a change in energy within and around us. That is one of the purposes of the seasons, to be different from all the others so that we notice changes we might not have if everything stayed the same.
Each season prompts us to reflect (go inward).
It makes us pause to review our lives.
With Autumn equating to the harvest time of year, what have we harvested in our lives? Well, it depends what type of seeds we have planted.
We are farmers with our thoughts, ideas and emotions as much as a farmer who uses soil as his medium. That is why it is so important to put our attention on what we truly want to experience, and then create the correct atmosphere (attitude or medium) for that to manifest. Autumn is the season between Summer (the season with lots of activity) and Winter (hibernating, slowing down time),a balancing time, equal time.
In Winter we plant our seeds (do our mock-ups or New Years resolutions). In Spring they sprout, in Summer they mature, and in Autumn, they are harvested. So like seeds in the ground, our ideas are also nurtured and grow, through the combination of cosmic and earth energies.

Not only is it harvest time, but it is also time to prepare for the next season of crops (mock-ups).
The Autumn Equinox symbolizes harvest time outwardly and inwardly.
Because the Autumn Equinox happens during the time of year when people generally slow down, it is a great time to get rid of all the excess baggage before New Years so we can start anew with a clean slate.

We may notice that many of the creatures around us are making preparation for winter, birds are migrating and squirrels and hedgehogs are gathering food and preparing nests for hibernation.
The darkness is increasing and energy levels begin to drop so we may have to accept that we may not feel like making any great achievements and instead prefer to curl up in our warm and cosy home for some inward reflection.
So celebrate making wine, gathering dried herbs, plants, seeds and seed pods, walking in the woods, scattering offerings in harvested fields, offering libations to trees, adorning burial sites with leaves, acorns, and pine cones to honor those who have passed over!

ALBAN ELFED

Autumn Equinox, Fall, Second Harvest, Mabon, pronounced MAY-bon , after the welsh god Mabon ap Modron, which literally means 'son of mother', Michaelmas, the feast of the Archangel Michael all names for a wonderful season!
All the leaves are turning colors and the air is getting a bit crisper.
After today we start heading into the dark half of the year.
This time of the year, we, as Pagans, give thanks for what we have sown.
Not just what we sow in the garden, but what we have sown in everyday life.
Our work, children, relationships. All these things that we have put time and energy into, we give thanks for and reap the benefits.
Mabon appears in 'The Mabinogion' tale. The Druids call this celebration, Mea'n Fo'mhair, and honour the Green Man, the God of the Forest, by offering libations to the trees.

Offerings of ciders, wines, herbs and fertilizer are appropriate at this time.

The Welsh know this time as 'Alban Elfed', meaning 'light of autumn' or 'light of the water'
The Wheel turns and the time of balance returns,Alban Elfed marks the balance of day and night before the darkness overtakes the light.

Symbols of Alban Elfed are wine, gourds, pine cones, acorns, grains, corn, apples, pomegranates , vines such as ivy, dried seeds, and horns of plenty.
Foods that can be used are: Breads, nuts, apples, pomegranates, and vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, and onions.
Colors are very rich and colorful. Red, orange, russet, maroon, brown and gold are the colors of Mabon.

The time of the second harvest, usually of the fruit which has stayed on the trees and plants to ripen under the Summer Sun. It is this final harvest which can take the central theme of the Alban Elfed ceremony.

Thanking the Earth, in her full abundance as Mother and Giver, for the great harvest, the beginning of Autumn.

We now enter the all-important time of inner growth.

During summer, there was little time for the juices of contemplative creativity to bubble up from deep within us.

Now is the time to prepare for this to occur most fruitfully.

Only when we surrender to our inner nature can we begin to hear the still small voice within, and we must set our outer affairs in order now to be ready when it calls.

Our inner fire burns brilliant and strong to guide our way through shadows long.

Hold sacred and close passion’s fierce flame for when all falls away,

it is our dreams that remain.

- Mara Friedman

The change in the world is becoming obvious now.
A scattering of fallen leaves gathers at the roadside.
The grain harvest has been brought in, and only stubble is left on the fields.
Here and there, leaves are beginning to turn to golden or russet, and the virginia creeper in
next door's garden is beginning to blush scarlet.
The last fruits are being picked, and the Goddess is letting go of this world.
She is turning inward, to look at the mysteries within.
And so must we. It is time to look back over the past year and examine what we have gained and lost.
We are asked to see how we have changed, so that we can take what we have learned
on to another revolution of the Wheel.