Alban Elfed or Haustblót as we call it at home, aka Mabon and the Autumn Equinox marks the beginning of autumn, the evening of the year.
It is the time of sunset, of celebrating the harvest and of preparing for the oncoming winter.
The wheat is harvested, the grain is cut and threshed, apples are gathered and grapes turned into wine.
And as the growing season ends, the seeds fall and sink into the dark earth beneath our feet to be nourished by the Mother until spring.
And we, too, allow ourselves to turn inwards to seek the nourishment of the Mother and of the Earth.
I for one have a lot to think about in the oncoming darkness. A lot to digest and several seeds that I hope will spruce through nourishment.
I never liked the dark side of the year, the hours of darkness that seemed so endless, so suppressing, so wasted. But this year I will consciously discover the power of said darkness, and the realms of my inner world.
What will come of it? I don't know but I realise now that darkness is part of light, and bulbs develop in the dark while often weeds pop up quickly on the surface. I know there is a saying that weeds are only plants in the wrong place and I can assure you that is not what I meant. What I meant is that for me ideas and plans often pop up like a weed that pops up as soon as the seeds reaches the surface and daylight. There they grow and take over but never actually find a root deep enough to avoid being easily ripped out the ground. For me personally now is the time to let the bulb deep inside the earth grow, leave the soil untouched, undug so to say. Let the weed seeds sleep below the surface to avoid them covering the surface entirely to drown out the bulb's chance to break through.
A blessed Alban Elfed/Haustblót/Mabon/Autumn Equinox to all of you.
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