TipsyCad147
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RE:Lesson 82 For Fall Equinox 2010
(Date Posted:08/07/2013 06:19 AM)
What is an equinox? The earliest humans spent more time outside than we
do. They used the sky as both clock and calendar. They could easily see that
the sun’s path across the sky, the length of daylight, and the location of the
sunrise and sunset all shift in a regular way throughout the year.
Our ancestors built the first observatories to track
the sun’s progress. One example is at Machu Picchu
in Peru,
where the Intihuatana stone, shown at right, has been shown to be a precise
indicator of the date of the two equinoxes and other significant celestial
periods. The word Intihuatana,
by the way, literally means for
tying the sun.
Today, we know each equinox and solstice is an
astronomical event, caused by Earth’s tilt on its axis and ceaseless orbit
around the sun.
Because Earth doesn’t orbit upright, but is instead
tilted on its axis by 23-and-a-half degrees, Earth’s Northern and Southern
Hemispheres trade places in receiving the sun’s light and warmth most directly.
We have an equinox twice a year – spring and fall – when the tilt of the
Earth’s axis and Earth’s orbit around the sun combine in such a way that the axis
is inclined neither away from nor toward the sun.
Earth’s two hemispheres are receiving the sun’s rays
equally now. Night and day are approximately equal in length. The name
‘equinox’ comes from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night). Image credit:
Przemyslaw Idzkiewicz.
But, since Earth never stops moving around the sun,
these days of equal sunlight and night will change quickly.
Where should I look to see signs of the equinox in nature? The
knowledge that summer is gone – and winter is coming – is everywhere now, on
the northern half of Earth’s globe.
If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you can easily
notice the later dawns and earlier sunsets.
Also notice the arc of the sun across the sky each
day. You’ll find it’s shifting toward the south. Birds and butterflies are
migrating southward, too, along with the path of the sun.
The shorter days are bringing cooler weather. A chill
is in the air. In New York City
and other fashionable places, people have stopped wearing white. Creatures of
the wild are putting on their winter coats.
All around us, trees and plants are ending this year’s
cycle of growth. Perhaps they are responding with glorious autumn leaves, or a
last burst of bloom before winter comes.
In the night sky, Fomalhaut – the Autumn Star – is making its way across the
heavens each night.
Does the sun rise due east and set due west at the equinox? Generally
speaking, yes, it does. And that’s true no matter where you live on Earth,
because we all see the same sky.
No matter where you are on Earth, you have a due east
and due west point on your horizon. That point marks the intersection of your
horizon with the celestial
equator – the imaginary line above the true equator of the Earth.
At the equinoxes, the sun appears overhead at noon as
seen from Earth’s equator shows the sun’s location on the celestial equator,
every hour, on the day of the equinox.
That’s why the sun rises due east and sets due west
for all of us. The sun is on the celestial equator, and the celestial equator
intersects all of our horizons at points due east and due west.
This fact makes the day of an equinox a good day for
finding due east and due west from your yard or other favorite site for
watching the sky. Just go outside around sunset or sunrise and notice the
location of the sun on the horizon with respect to familiar landmarks.
If you do this, you’ll be able to use those landmarks
to find those cardinal directions in the weeks and months ahead, long after
Earth has moved on in its orbit around the sun, carrying the sunrise and sunset
points southward.
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TipsyCad147
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Rank:Diamond Member
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From: Cyprus
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RE:Lesson 82 For Fall Equinox 2010
(Date Posted:08/07/2013 06:34 AM)
Autumnal
Equinox or Mabon
The word
Mabon is just one of the many names applied to the celebration of the autumnal
equinox which occurs on or about September 21.
For early
Pagans this was a time to morn the decline and passing of the
vegetative/harvest God.
It was also
a time to celebrate the assurance that the Goddess was pregnant with His seed,
that She would give birth to Him, and that He would return in the spring.
The only
difficulty was that our ancestors had to survive the time of His disappearance.
Hence, this was also a time of last minute collecting and planning.
The last of
the grains, fruits and vegetables were collected, processed and stored. Fish
and game were preserved. Wood was cut and stacked. The last of the mending of
the buildings, homes and fences was done. Everything possible was done to
prepare for the difficulties of the winter months ahead. For some cultures,
this time of equal light and dark was an important marker in their year. For
some, though the occurrence was noted, it was not celebrated in any major way.
practices
for autumnal equinox that are held around the world.
Babylonians
Called on
Tammuz (vegetative God), Ishtar (Goddess of fertility and love) and Siduri
(Goddess who makes wine and beer).
Celtic
Autumnal Equinox
Called on
Mabon ap Modron (Child of Light), Cernunnos (Horned God of fertility, animals,
the Underworld, guardian in both worlds), the Green Man (God of male
creativity, rebirth and renewal), Dagda (Good God, the All-Father of Earth,
magick, life and death), Arawn (ruler of the Underworld), Cerridwen (Barley
Goddess, Goddess of wisdom, the Autumn Crone, the Nurse of Seeds, the Dark
Mother of Mysteries) and/or Modron to celebrate the festival.
Druids
Celebrated
Alban Elfed (Light of Autumn) or Alban Elued (Light of Water). Egyptians Called
on Hathor (House Above), Het-Heru (House Below), Osirus (agriculture and vegetation
God), Isis (Goddess of magick, beer, life, agriculture and beauty), Ranuta
(Goddess of snakes, winemakers and vineyards), Mir (fertility God) and Wapwait
(local agricultural God).
Greek
Called
Oschophoria and was the celebration of the grape harvest. Here Dionysus is
honored (God of wine, cheer and vegetation – an early form of Bacchus). The
Greater Eleusinian Mysteries are also preformed to honor Persephone, Horned
Demeter, Aphrodite and Adonis.
Indian
form of Autumnal Equinox
The Hindu
hold the Navrati or Dunga Puja where they honor the Goddess Dunga (Goddess of
strength, womanhood and motherhood, the universe protector and of vegetative
growth). She is one of the main forms of shakti, the dynamic, creative feminine
energy of Nature. The Zorastrians hold Mibragan, the feast of Mithra (God of
the Sun, light, wisdom, contracts and friendship) or Baga-Mithra which is the
feast of community and thanksgiving.
Israeli
Sukkot, the
Festival of the Harvest Season or the Festival of Ingathering. It is the third
and last festival that honors the exodus from Egypt. Rosh Hashana (or Yom Ha-
Zikkaran or Yom Teruah), the beginning of the Jewish New Year is celebrated.
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement is held.
Norse
celebration of Autumnal Equinox
Held Winter
Nights, the Harvest Festival, Haustblot or the Autumn Sacrifice. It marked the
final harvest that was sacred to Freyr (God of plenty, the Harvest God, God of
gentle rain, mild winds, sunshine and the One who watches over the dead) and
Freyja (Goddess of love, marriage, fertility, childbirth, protection in battle,
peace and also watches over the dead). Thor (Sky God of thunder and lightning –
links Earth and Sky, Bringer of fertility to the harvest), Sif, Idunna, Jord,
the Landuaettir and the Disir were also honored. It was a time of thanksgiving
and of asking for protection against the coming winter.
Roman
and/or Italian Autumnal Equinox
Equinozio de
Autumno which honours the slaying of the Harvest Lord and the descent of the
Goddess into the Underworld to find her lost love. Prosephina, Pomona (Goddess of fruit trees), Venus (love,
beauty, vegetation, gardens, fields and vineyard Goddess) and/or Bacchus (wine,
cheer and vegetation God) are called on and honoured.
Autumnal
Equinox:The Story of Mabon and Modron
The story of
Mabon is part of the tale of Culhwch & Olwen. Mabon was stolen from his
mother Modron 3 days after his birth, at the very beginning of time. Culhwch
was cursed – he would never have a wife unless he married Olwen, daughter of
Ysbaddaden, Chief-giant of the land. However, the giant knew his life would end
with his daughter’s marriage, so he killed every suitor who entered his fort.
Just in case, he also set up 39 impossible tasks for any potential husband to
do if the suitor evaded the trap of the fort.
Culhwch
accepted the tasks and vowed to return victorious. He was accompanied on his
quest by his cousin, King Arthur, and his Champions. The first of the tasks was
to seek Mabon, who was the key to all the other quests. To get to Mabon, they
had to rely on the memories of the Oldest Animals to find his location.
They went to
the Blackbird of Cilgwni who led them to the Stag of Rhedynfie, then the Owl of
Cawlryd, the Eagle of Gwernabwy and finally to the Salmon of Lyn Llyw. The
Salmon of Wisdom took two of the Companions on his shoulders to the wall of
Caer Loyw where they heard someone grieving. This was Mabon who was painfully
incarcerated with no hope of escape. The Champions battled for and won Mabon’s
release. Mabon joined the group and helped Culhwch complete his tasks and win
Olwen’s hand in marriage.
Symbolically,
the Autumnal Equinox is the time of Mabon’s capture and the beginning of
mourning of Modron, his mother. This is the beginning of the season of cold and
progressive darkness, paralleled by the slowing down and moving inward of the
plants and animals of the Earth.
The Autumnal
Equinox reflects the time of Modron’s morning when her son has disappeared from
the earth. Many traditions honor Mabon’s release at the Winter Solstice when
the days begin to lengthen again.
Activities
for Autumnal Equinox or Mabon
Feed the
Wildlife
–
Particularly birds in and around a bird feeder. You can build a feeder out of a
large hollowed out and dried gourd.
Hold an
Autumnal Equinox Party
– Build Sun
Wheels, Solar Discs and or Equinox masks. Erect a Sun Stone to mark when the
sun is directly overhead and casts no shadow.
Homemade
Candles
– Can be
made by pouring or rolling. Our ancestors would make them at this time of year
because the wax would be available and they would be needed in the time of
darkness that would lie ahead.
Honour the
Young and the Old
– The young
have just entered the world from the Great Beyond and our elders will soon
enter beyond the Veil of Life. Honor and spend time with them.
Autumnal
Equinox or Mabon Centrepiece
– Small
cornucopia filled with apples, nuts and grapes. On one side a gold candle; on
the other a silver one.
Make a
Corn Dolly
– Wheat
Mother, Wheat Bride, Kern Baby. Use wheat sheaves or corn stalks. Dress in
colorful cloths or small cloths. Keep throughout winter. Can redress in spring
or burn in spring fire.
Make an
Autumnal Equinox Wreath
– Use
grapevines, wire or a Styrofoam base. Add filler; evergreen branches, green or
coloured leaves, ivy, green vines, and/or moss. Can add ornaments like dried
flowers, nuts, coloured leaves, red chilli peppers, pine cones, dried seeds,
herbs, berries, etc.
Make Gourd
Rattles
– Coyote
gourds work best for this as they merely have to be dried. You can use other
gourds but may have to hollow them out, put in rattle material then re-plug the
gourd.
Make Sun
Wheel
– Can use
straw or even paper plates and gold glitter. Can make solar disc by using equal
armed cross with surrounding circle; two sticks with vines. Decorate and use on
alter or hang above a door.
Paraffin
Leaves
– Dip leaves
in liquid paraffin wax to preserve them. Let dry on wax paper. Inscribe with
sigils or signs. Use for decoration or magick.
Predict
the Weather
–
Temperature can be found by counting the chirps of a cricket in 14 seconds.
Build or install a rain gauge. Build or install a wind gauge. Keep track of
daily high temperatures, rain amounts and wind speed and direction throughout
the winter season.
Tend Your
Garden
–
Clean up plants and note what grew where. You need to rotate your crops and
replace nutrients that some crops remove from the soil.
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TipsyCad147
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Rank:Diamond Member
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From: Cyprus
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RE:Lesson 82 For Fall Equinox 2010
(Date Posted:08/07/2013 06:40 AM)
Mabon, or
Autumn Equinox, is one of the solar festivals on the Wiccan Wheel of the Year.
In the Wicca calendar, this festival falls near September 21 in the Northern
Hemisphere, and March 21 in the Southern Hemisphere.
Equinox
means "equal night." On this Wiccan Sabbat, day and night are equal
forces, and now Darkness is beginning to gain the ascendancy.
As with
all spiritual matters, we must ask: "What does this mean,
symbolically?" Putting aside old superstition and association of
"dark" with "evil," what does Autumn Equinox tell us?
The
Equinoxes demonstrate balance, the breathing of life through contraction as
well as expansion. Indeed, Mabon falls on the astrological date of the sun
entering Libra -- the Scales of Balance.
Here on
Earth, the Light and the Darkness dance
together, co-creators. We -- celebrants of the Earth and all that is
Divine -- can mirror this dance of balance in our own lives. Wiccan rituals
that honour Mabon recognise this dance.
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TipsyCad147
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Rank:Diamond Member
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Posts:3221
From: Cyprus
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RE:Lesson 82 For Fall Equinox 2010
(Date Posted:08/07/2013 07:15 AM)
Mabon, The Witches’ Thanksgiving
The bitter
and the sweet collide at the festival of Mabon. It is at once a time to give
thanks for the bounty you have created in your life – and a time to grieve for
the little deaths we all must endure to truly be alive.
It’s your
chance to acknowledge the combination of your creative energy and the natural
order, both of which helped you to grow this year. The purpose of paying this
respect is twofold.
It can be hard to let go
of summer’s energy, its sensuous warmth and easy good times. Farewelling its
carefree spirit made easier by witches observation of the astronomical and
agricultural seasonal sacred signposts. That’s why, on a mundane level, it’s a
wonderful season to begin:
• a savings plan
• set goals for the future
• make jams and preserves for winter
• restock your herbal medicine cabinet
• clean out any essential oils, flower remedies etc that have lost their energy
• completely clean out your fridge
• repair broken windows,
• think of how best to make your home secure and snug and warm for the coming
introspection of Samhain
• cooking soups, stews, any slow cooked foods with root vegetables
It’s a
fortuitous time to clear energy in your house – sort of the reverse of
spring-cleaning. This clean-up is to make ready for the colder nights coming,
to acknowledge that the bare landscape has it own beauty and lessons – as well
as a mental clarity and deep wisdom of experience that can be difficult to
achieve during Beltane’s sensuous haze, and Litha’s youthful joy. This is
older, wiser, deeper, sadder – and somehow more beautiful. Prepare to snuggle
into it and delve into your own shadow side in comfort.
It’s essential to give
thanks for bounty. Write down on a piece of parchment all you have achieved Write
down something you felt you really mastered. It can be a small thing – to
others – or a great success. It can be a relationship that you gained closure
with – and this is a good time to remember any pain you may have gone through.
This could also be a time for letting go. This is the phase of the natural year
in which the earth goddess Demeter learned that although her daughter would be
returned to her for six months of the year, she also was told that Persephone
had eaten six seeds of the underworld fruit, the pomegranate, ensuring her
daughter would be forever linked to Hades and live underground for six months.
This is the beginning of Persephone’s departure from her mother’s home to
return to her husband and the underworld, and thus the start of Demeter’s wild
grieving. It was her grief that turned the earth cold, and it was the
approaching winter that forced the people of the land to gather their second
and last harvest of the year. Those who didn’t would be forced to confront the
realities of a barren earth, perhaps without enough stores to get them through.
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TipsyCad147
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Rank:Diamond Member
Score:3221
Posts:3221
From: Cyprus
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RE:Lesson 82 For Fall Equinox 2010
(Date Posted:08/07/2013 07:29 AM)
The Harvest Moon is characterised by a
shorter-than-usual time between moonrises, from one night to the next, around
the time of full moon.
In
traditional skylore, the Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox.
For us in the Northern Hemisphere,
The Time
of the Harvest Moon
A harvest moon occurs at a specific time of
the year. The moon officially turns full when it reaches the spot opposite to
the sun. The harvest moon happens on 13:59 Greenwich time on the Saturday nearest to the
fall equinox, which is September 23rd. Once in every three years we get the
same full moon in October, but the one in September is called the harvest moon
because farmers can continue their harvest late into the night by the light of
the full moon. The same moon appears three days in succession, but the one that
appears on Saturday is the one that receives this name.
Other names for this moon are the Wine Moon,
the Elk Call Moon and the Singing Moon. It received the name of harvest moon
because it appears in the Northern Hemisphere at the time of the year that
coincides with the harvesting of crops.
It's For
The Birds
During a harvest moon there are other
advantages for the bird lovers of our planet. This is the perfect time to watch
the birds migrate past the light that emits from the moon. Some studies have
proven that birds rely on the Harvest moon to migrate from one area to another.
They have also proven that the birds wait for this moon to begin their
migration.
Gazing
Upon a Harvest Moon
The moon during the year rises about 50
minutes later each day, but near autumn equinox the time shortens to 30
minutes. Some years there is an extra treat for moon watchers when they do
their gazing between dusk and dawn. Wildfires in North America and dust storms
in Africa sometimes fill our air with
aerosols. A low hanging harvest moon can give an array of colours that is not usually
seen. There is also an added treat to watching a harvest moon. This is called
moon illusion because the rising or setting moon looks bigger than when it does
high in the sky.
Also known as the Barley or Hunter's Moon, the
Harvest Moon is a time of protection, prosperity, and abundance. This is the
time of year when the grains are being harvested, and it is a good time for
magick involving your prosperity, abundance, and the nurturing of others. If
you have had a long illness, this is the time to finally come back to full
health again. This is also the time to obtain that higher paying position at
work. The energy of the Harvest Moon will help along any magick that is geared
to bring you or someone else abundance.
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