Samhain
This marks endings and beginnings when our lands let go of the past year. The harvest is complete. If all has gone well, our stores are full and we have seed aplenty for next year. Now is the beginning of a period of rest. It is the beginning of a time of being and a rest from doing. It is time to begin a journey back to ourselves and home, to feel close to family and our ancestors. This is the time when many feel their ancestors drawing close in order to be with them and also to remind themselves of life’s cycles of rebirth. We can help them to draw closer simply by thinking about them and their lives. You may wish to create a simple altar that has things on it that remind you of them - photographs, gifts, mementoes.
You can celebrate this time of year alone, just by reflecting on it and on the mirror of your own life. Spend some time letting go of the year and withdrawing inside yourself. Accept now as a time to rest and build energy for the coming year. Allow the growing darkness to act as a warm blanket, welcoming you back from a year of plans, planting and gathering – to a place of rest – a mother’s home – a time to nurture and reflection.
Yew is the tree associated with this time of year. It is recognised as representing death and rebirth. Some Yew trees are believed to be up to 4,000 years old. They can renew themselves as they grow old by allowing their heavy branches to touch the ground and generate new root systems. When the old tree at the centre wishes to let go of its life it does so leaving a circle of new trees growing up around it.
If you are joining us for this celebration bring photos of family that have made the journey back to the ancestors. Also photos of new family members who carry on the ancestral line. Bring offerings for the ritual, maybe a log for the fire or seeds for the birds. Also think about this time of year and what it is that you would like to let go of.
Winter Solstice
Our ancestor’s would have been watching the setting of the sun. At this darkest point of the year the sun appears to set in the same place each night for three nights. On the forth night the point moves a little further south and those watching new that the darkest night was passed. The sun was returning!
The festival of Sun Return, Yule, Mid-Winter is a time to mark with celebration.
In pre-Christian times it was also the time of the birth of the Mabon, and young child representing the infancy of the year. Today, this festival is used by Christians to mark the birth of Jesus the Christ child.
For our ancestors, there was a lot to look forward to and new year of sowing and reaping was about to begin. In our own lives, we prepare ourselves for the coming year. Make the most of this time of quiet to strengthen ourselves and be ready for the crazy rush of Spring.
Imbolc
A gentle time of year. The first snowdrops are poking through the snow, the days are growing longer and the smell of Spring is in the air. The sap is starting to rise in the trees and the long rest of Winter is almost over but… not quite yet.
Underground there is much activity. Bulbs are sending out roots, seeds sown at last harvest are swelling and sending down their tap root. But above ground we see nothing…. not yet.
Imbolc is a time of waking. Of opening that first eye in the morning. A time of anticipation and promise.
Spring Equinox
There are two occasions in the year where day and night are in perfect balance, these are the Equinoxes of Spring and Autumn.
The Vernal Equinox is like a tipping point into the long days of Summer. The gardeners amongst us will know that this is a very active time for planting seeds and young plants, the plans we made in Winter are now being carried out: the new borders; the summer bedding plants; the greenhouse. This is a time we can share with our ancestors for they, too, were sowing and planting for their lives depended upon it. New life was everywhere: trees and hedgerows blossomed promising fruit in Autumn, the sheep were lambing, pigs were “pigletting”, and cattle and horses … well, you get the picture!
For them it was also a time of movement. Traders would have arrived bringing salt and raw materials such as iron for the forge. Goods were exchanged and the items you made in the dark winter days were now your bargaining tools.
These traders also bought news. Spring is associated with Air - and Air is associated with communication. In our age of data transfer its easy to forget how quiet and insular their Winter’s would have been.
Beltane
Promise and expectation with more than a hint of exciting energy! This is the most fecund time of year. Everything is beautiful, new, fresh and raring to go. This will be reflected in our own attitude towards life. Our seeds are growing well and we may have the first pickings already. Life's bounty if fulfilling its promise and we have everything to go for.
Summer Solstice
The lushness of our surroundings are a comfort and joy. We have food and warmth a-plenty. Though we still have to be solicitous of our crops, clearing the weeds and watering.
But the pressure is easing, all the Spring planning has been carried out and now we are roller-coasting in the long days and long evenings.
Lammas
The first harvest. the corn is being gathered in and w have larders full of grain to see us through the winter and some more for next years sowing. In our own life we are reeping the rewards of our labours and the promises of Spring are coming to us. It is a time of thanks, of sharing with friends. Time to relax knowing that all we can do has been done.
Autumn Equinox
At time of gathering in. There is much bottling and preserving, storing up provisions for the approaching winter. The days are growing shorter and we must gather in what we can before the frosts begin and nature's offerings perish. For our ancestors this was a time of great activity and preparation for the impending Winter.
For us, it is generally a time for catching the last heady days of Summer, our last frolick, if you will. Perhaps, a holiday. We are mentally preparing for the rush of activity so prevalent in the business world from September to November before the pressure eases into Yuletide celebrations.
Blessings from Keri & Donna |
