It is the Autumnal Equinox, Mabon, the Great Harvest. Today is a moment of balance between Light and Dark, between Life and Death, between the Past and the Future. It is time to both celebrate and to mourn.
The Wheel of the Year is based on the agricultural cycle of the Northern Hemisphere. At this time of the year the harvests that began in August, and will continue through October, reach their peak, thus, the Great Harvest. There has always been a lot of work, and celebration, surrounding this peak of the harvest. There is also recognition that this particular cycle of life has come to an end. Even as those long ago folks reaped their harvest and began the process of storing food for the Winter, they set aside the seeds that they knew they would plant in the Spring to begin the next harvest, the next cycle.
The great mystery of Mabon is that it is a perfect balance of celebration, gratitude, and mourning. We celebrate the abundance of the harvest; we give thanks for that same harvest; and we mourn for what we have sacrificed so that the harvest could take place. Today is the day to review the past year – what you planned in the Winter; what you planted in the Spring; what you tended in the Summer; and what you now are ready to harvest. Take a moment today to mourn for what you had to sacrifice to reap this harvest, then let your sorrow go, and celebrate that you were strong enough to make that sacrifice.
And set aside a few seeds so that when Spring roles around you are ready to plant a new crop, a new you.
HAPPY MABON!