Autumn Equinox

We shift to the lunar circle during the autumn equinox. We celebrate in the Monarch Bear Grove using the lunar circle. It is associated with the element of sea and water and the direction of the west. It focuses upon harvest and its completion. It is a time of balance between dark and light and a shift towards darkness. It is a time we move past the mid-point between the dark and light. It is the time of the full ascendancy of the earth god over the sky god. It is a time of connecting to the underworld. It is the time of the liberation of the spirit, preparing for death, to transcend death. Autumn is about retrieving the spirit of the child-god from the unconscious, before death. Autumn is the time of full adulthood. As we move from adulthood to old age, it is important to retrieve those positive child-lie qualities such as creativity, imagination, idealism, spontaneity, freedom, openness, purity, honesty, being in awe of life, wonderment, being active and creating and doing things, many people have lost their connection to the Mabon and their sacred youth…the time to go into the unconscious to retrieve the spiritual child, reconnect to it, bring it back into our lives, before we move to the next stage of death. This retrieval of the eternal child needs to happen constantly, at each Mabon season, and needs to be emphasized for spiritual development. This is an essential aspect for an elder to do before their death because they need to complete the cycle. They need to reclaim and return the child within before death. This is not acknowledged in our society, but this is a very important phase. If someone dies without connection and reclaiming their eternal child, they enter at death into a very dark and dreadful place. It is the Mabon energy of the eternal youth that transcends our physical death, therefore we need to nurture our connection to this throughout our lives in order to be prepared for our death. It's the Mabon who is reborn at the winter solstice. If we are not connected to our Mabon, how will this occur? Part of this mythos is how it is essential to keep the Mabon alive.

Ritual for the Autumn Equinox

Continuing to harvest and complete what has been created and worked upon. This might be done again by sharing what one is proud of and what they have accomplished and then acknowledging that. Ritualistically, descending into the underworld and bringing the Mabon back into this world. Sharing or focusing on what aspects of one's own child that you wish to bring back into this world for yourself. Celebrating the harvest by pouring wine or whisky upon the earth and spreading seed from the harvest upon the earth. Sharing of food and wine from the harvest. Calling in the earth good from the wilderness into the warmth of hearth and home, preparing for winter. This is symbolic of moving from the outer world towards the safety and security of the inner world. The inner world maybe the spiritual circle, one's friends, families, or one's own inner self.



The wheel of the year, the eight seasons are a circle or spiral, so each season prepares for the next season and builds upon it its previous and prepares for the next season. Therefore, Mabon or autumn equinox has been built upon the foundations of Lughnassadh, and prepares members for the next season, Samhuin. The chief task of the season of Mabon is the retrieval and reconnection to the eternal child self, in preparation for the season of death. It is this reconnection to the divine child self that is essential for sailing through the process of death in a positive and healthy manner, without fear, with joy and excitement of the child. The circle of the wheel of the year becomes a spiral as we wind into the next circle of the year. The new eight seasons of the next year maybe similar to the previous year, but are always unique and have new lessons