Come Autumn sae pensive in yellow and grey and soothe me with tidings of nature's decay... Robert Burns
Autumn is the season of my birth and I sometimes wonder if this makes me a little biased toward this time of year. But then, perhaps not. The beauty of the season, aptly described by my friends across the seas as “fall” has a charm that lures many to the season of "mists and mellow fruitfulness.." And there is a lot going on in Autumn. The last crops are harvested and while this may not have as much resonance for the modern world as it would in times gone by, who hasn't seen a farmer gathering in the corn and not felt that little connection to the earth?
We celebrate Mabon, the Autumn Equinox from when the nights start to become longer than the days. And the final big celebration of the season is when the wheel turns to Samhain, the festival where we honour our dead and make contact with the spirit world.
Autumn has much meaning for the modern pagan. After the activity and pace of the summer months it is a time to sit back and reflect on the year that has gone by. Like the farmer harvesting his crops we too can take this time to look at the seeds we have sown during the year? What has worked well for us? What actions have borne fruit and what do we think would be better done differently in the year ahead? As we start to put the year to bed and prepare for the rest period of Winter it is a time to take stock of who we are and what we have achieved. And after our period of rest we can go into the new year with renewed energy and the knowledge we have gained from what we have harvested through our experiences.
Autumn is the season of my birth and I sometimes wonder if this makes me a little biased toward this time of year. But then, perhaps not. The beauty of the season, aptly described by my friends across the seas as “fall” has a charm that lures many to the season of "mists and mellow fruitfulness.." And there is a lot going on in Autumn. The last crops are harvested and while this may not have as much resonance for the modern world as it would in times gone by, who hasn't seen a farmer gathering in the corn and not felt that little connection to the earth?
We celebrate Mabon, the Autumn Equinox from when the nights start to become longer than the days. And the final big celebration of the season is when the wheel turns to Samhain, the festival where we honour our dead and make contact with the spirit world.
Autumn has much meaning for the modern pagan. After the activity and pace of the summer months it is a time to sit back and reflect on the year that has gone by. Like the farmer harvesting his crops we too can take this time to look at the seeds we have sown during the year? What has worked well for us? What actions have borne fruit and what do we think would be better done differently in the year ahead? As we start to put the year to bed and prepare for the rest period of Winter it is a time to take stock of who we are and what we have achieved. And after our period of rest we can go into the new year with renewed energy and the knowledge we have gained from what we have harvested through our experiences.
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