Autumn Equinox

Autumn Equinox

by | Sep 22, 2023 | Seasons

Happy Autumn Equinox!

On the Autumn Equinox, night and day are equal. Light and dark are in perfect equilibrium. The Equinox marks the end of the harvest season. We celebrate the gifts of the Earth and give thanks. Gratitude is the magic power of this time. From now until the Winter Solstice, the vital energy begins its retreat below ground. The days are getting shorter; summer is over.

The end of the summer is often intensely busy with hunting for nuts and mushrooms, preserving the gifts of the Earth and preparing for the coming winter.
Stock up the larder and pile up the wood high and dry so supplies will see you through the winter. Spring Equinox is a long way off.

Image by Sabrina Ripke from Pixabay

Lughnasad – Harvest Time

Lughnasad – Harvest Time

by | Aug 1, 2023 | Seasons

The time of the grain harvest

Lughnasad marks the beginning of the harvest season. The fruit and vegetables are ripening, and the grain has turned golden. It is usually an intensely busy and happy time, especially for gardeners. The efforts of the early part of the year are paying off. But not this year.

The growing period, from spring to late summer, is fraught with danger. Late frosts can kill sensitive starts, or summer storms may ruin a crop in just a few minutes. A good harvest is always hoped for, but never guaranteed. This year, Lugh has been fierce. Countless wildfires have caused terrible devastation, scorched landscapes and draughts. Others have been flooded and pelted by hail the size of hand grenades. We need the Sun’s warmth and light and without water, there is no life.

 

Lughnasad or Lammas, in the Christian tradition, marks the beginning of the harvest season. The name comes from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘hlaf-mas’, meaning ‘loaf mass’. Bread and wine are the traditional sacraments of the Eucharist.

 

But harvesting the seeds is only one stage of the perpetual cycle of life. Ideally, the harvest should sustain and nourish us through the winter, when the Earth is barren and still. It must also yield enough to provide the seeds we need to start the cycle again next year. We reap as we sow, but we also sow what we reap.

Facing the unravelling climate catastrophe, we are grateful for anything we can harvest today. But we must change our practices and live more sustainably if we want this cycle to continue and provide for our children and children’s children.

We can no longer afford to ignore the changes that are taking place. We are facing an existential threat – unless we act now. The future potential for our species and life as we know it, lies in our hands.

The future starts now.

Easter/ Oestara

Easter/ Oestara

by | Apr 16, 2022 | Seasons

Easter is a festival of sacrifice and resurrection. We commemorate Christ’s sacrifice on the day he died on the cross as Jesus, the man, to be resurrected as Christ, the son of God and redeemer of mankind. That is the official story. But the cross, which signifies the crucifixion, is an ancient symbol that predates Christianity by thousands of years.

The cross symbolizes the cosmic order: the four directions and the axis of time and space. Esoterically, it also signifies the surrender of the ego, which is bound to the material world.

 

Pre-Christian Origins of Easter

In the ancient world, sacrifice was not a celebration of death, as it may seem, but of life, as a way of giving back, so life may continue. Death and rebirth were merely the two sides of the same door. The mystery was symbolized by the Ouroboros, the dragon-snake, which eats its own tail, and thus continuously regenerates itself.

For a sacrifice to be meaningful, it had to be of value, something special. Any old rat would not do! A sacrifice was a gift to the Gods!
Only the king himself was deemed worthy of being sacrificed. But in time, Kings changed the rules. They wanted to be special, but not THAT special. Instead, they offered up their firstborn. That proved unpopular, and animals now had to play the part.

Oestara

At Oestara, when the Earth renews itself and puts on a fresh green robe, an innocent lamb must now bear the burden of honour. This tradition has survived: a lamb roast is still the traditional centrepiece of the Easter feast – a distant echo of an age-old sacrificial tradition.

Easter is a movable feast – a clear indication that this festival predates Christian times. It always falls on the first Sunday following the first Full Moon after the Spring Equinox (Worm Moon). The pre-Christian festival Oestara honoured the Goddess Eostre, a Mother Goddess known by many names: Ishtar, Astarte, or the Great Mother Kali.

Her sacred ‘Moon Hare’ (a symbol of fertility) has become the ‘Easter Bunny’. The eggs are a symbol of life. Traditionally, eggs would have been dyed red, the colour of blood and life. Giving red-dyed eggs is a blessing: A gift of life and abundance!

May your potential unfold and blossom! Happy Easter/Oestara, whichever you choose to celebrate!

Source:

The Woman’s Encyclopaedia of Myths and Secrets, Barbara G. Walker, HaperCollins, 1983

Good Riddance 2020 – Welcome 2021

Good Riddance 2020 – Welcome 2021

by | Dec 31, 2020 | Seasons

Happy New Year, Everyone!

What a strange and difficult year it has been! The Corona-virus pandemic has dominated the news almost from the very beginning of the year, and right up to the end. We are still in the midst of a devastating spike, with both, the danger of an even more virulent version of the virus now in widespread circulation, and several vaccines ready to be administered.

The virus has affected everybody, but in very different ways, depending on age-group, occupation, pre-existing conditions, and where you happen to live. Not only those who actually got sick with it have suffered. The emotional trauma of losing family members and loved ones, of losing a job and one’s livelihood, of finding yourself alone due to social distancing rules, or, crammed together into too small a space with the kids, and no-where to go…it has all taken its toll. We will pay the psychological price for the events of this year for some time to come.

But it hasn’t been all bad for everybody. Many people have rediscovered the importance of nature and the meaning of the ‘little things’ in life. We have leapfrogged into the digital age as schools and businesses have moved many of their operations online. What would have been unthinkable a year earlier has now become a commonplace reality.  Many have discovered new interests and learned new skills with the help of online tutorials and MOOCs.

Meanwhile, wildlife has had a chance to recover, a bit, in places that are normally overrun with tourists.

The big question is, how will we rebuild? My hope, and wish for the new year is that we will learn from this experience and re-build a better, greener, more sustainable, and more equitable future for us all.

In this spirit, I wish you, my lovely reader, hope, health, and happiness for 2021!

Blessed Be

Kat

P.S. If you are interested in what the stars have in store for us in the New Year, check out my post at Astro-Insights for the year ahead.

Spring Equinox

Spring Equinox

by | Mar 21, 2020 | Seasons

Happy Spring Equinox!

A new cycle is beginning – but what a strange beginning it is, with half the world in lock-down! The earth is waking from her winter retreat. Persephone is returning to the upper world and life is ready to burst forth again. At Spring Equinox, the forces of light and dark are hanging in the balance. But with every passing day, the sun is gaining strength now. Birds are returning and are singing their little hearts out to welcome the spring. Buds are bursting and Mother Earth has donned her cloak of early spring flowers as she turns the land verdant and fertile once again.

This is usually a joyful, busy time, full of expectation. This year is a little different. It feels cathartic, rather than light and joyful, the way it usually does. And still, the garden is calling, eager to receive the seeds as soon as the soil has warmed up. This is also a time of spring cleaning, purification, painting and decorating. It is a time to get ready, so everything is set on GO! These are things one can still do, locked down or not, in anticipation of the coming spring. 

Physically, that means boosting your energy with the fresh vitamins and nutrients of the early spring herbs. And this is especially true this year. Boost your immune system and don’t give that virus half a chance!

Mentally, this is a time to be strong and focused. Check on everything that you have planned for and make sure that the pathway for your intentions is clear.  The crisis will pass eventually and there is a light on the other side. Good planning prepares the way to success.

Spiritually, the Spring Equinox augurs new beginnings. We can turn a page and make a new start. It is also a time to celebrate the eternal life-force and the powers of self-renewal. 

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