AUTUMNAL EQUINOX (Sept. 21)

With only 3 more months left in the Celtic summer, pagan folk work hard for the harvest yet to come, whether it be corn and hay from the fields or the personal projects and goals that we planned for the summer months. When the sun crosses the equator and heads south at the Autumnal Equinox, the second of the harvest festivals, (celebrated around September 21) we again celebrate the magnificant balance that the everturning Wheel of the Year promises. These equinoxs are great reminders that the bleak days of winter as well as the heady days of summer are temporary, that all things have their seasons, and that none will last forever. The law of polarity and rythym require that all things be balanced by their opposites. On these days our ancestors aligned themselves in the ebb and flow of life.

As winter, spring, summer and autumn pass by, Witches still reconnect with the ever moving flow of life, we make our plans and watch them unfold. If some do not come to fruition we try again. We pass through times of joy and sorrow; little ones are born, the older ones die allowing their spirits to pass into Summerland. Every event in life is rich in purpose and meaning. Each day, night and season has its own special character. Rituals connect us to both the big and little dramas of the year and of the greater life cycle. We unite the character and spirit of each passing season and do magic to transform our lives, giving them a depth and an expansiveness that without ritual and celebration we would never achieve. Even the most humble ritual helps the moment of power and change, and the celebrant partakes in something greater than him or herself. Some would say that in these moments of ecstasy we actually stand outside ourselves and the God and Goddess within us become brighter, more powerful and we touch the All; eg, the Lord Pan and Lady Gaia, Jesus, God, however you see the Divine Power.

This festival is associated with the taking of corn and other foods that are to be harvested at this time. Cornbread cakes and cider are an excellent addition to the festivities. The frost will hit soon, so the last of the herbs and other plants you wish to dry for winter use should be harvested now.

Depending on when the leaves turn in your area, you may wish to parafin them and add them to your house decorations. Dip the leave quickly in melted parafin, and put them on wax paper. When the leaves are dry you can put them in a huge, decorative jar with a sigil of protection carved lightly on some or all of the leaves.

Colors used for candles should be brown, orange, gold or red. Altar cloths can be made of material with fall designs. River and stream stones gathered over the summer can empowered for various purposes.

Sources of information include (1)"Power of the Witch" By Laurie Cabot and
(2)"To Ride A Silver Broomstick" By Silver RavenWolf