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Teachings of the Celtic Wheel of the Year  

Celtic Shamanism, like all elder traditions, is cyclic and perennial rather than linear. It is like the wheel and in its higher forms like a spiral. There is no beginning or ending rather a circle or a spiral. Therefore group members may join a circle at any time and if they complete a year and a day from their beginning they will experience the full wheel of the teachings. If they continue beyond the year and a day, they will then begin to experience the teachings of the perennial spiral. Re-experiencing a second or more times the eight seasons of the year is like a spiral which moves to deeper levels of understanding of each season and each archetype.  

Yearly Schedule for Jungian Shamanistic Groups
November 1 st, 2005-November 2 nd, 2006

Dr. Karr has focused upon the schedule for the upcoming year. The schedule is based upon a combination of Jungian archetypes and traditional Celtic Shaman/Druid associations with each of the eight seasons of the Celtic Shaman year. Carl Jung based his concepts of the archetypes upon gods and goddesses whose characteristics were recognized worldwide. They might have different names in different cultures but were recognized as possessing similar qualities and characteristics. We shall be focusing intensely upon a Jungian archetype i.e. god or goddess, for each of the eight seasons of the year. The eight seasons and archetypes will follow. We shall be spending roughly six weeks upon each of the eight seasons of the Celtic year. We shall follow a standard pattern for each week’s focus during each six week period. These focuses for the six weeks follow:

  1. In the first week we shall focus upon divination and oracle to receive wisdom from the archetype of the season concerning what the season shall be about and what challenges it shall bring for each circle member. Oracle may involve Tarot readings etc. for each member. We shall also focus upon circle members sharing about their experience of the season and their personal experience with the archetype associated with the season.
  2. In the second week of the season we shall do a guided journey to visit the archetype of the season (i.e. god or goddess) seeking wisdom from the archetype concerning its teachings and counsel for us.
  3. In the third week we will do a shamanic journey in pairs for each other seeking healing and wisdom from the archetype.
  4. In the fourth week Dr. Karr will do a lecture concerning the season, the archetype and their meaning and associations. Also, the circle will plan a ritual which will be performed at Monarch Bear Grove in Golden Gate Park as a means of experiencing deeply each season and its associated archetype.
  5. Ritual at Monarch Bear Grove or the National Aids Memorial Grove
  6. Overview, processing and assimilating the experiences, understandings and connections to each season and its archetype. This time may also include reviewing our caldron work, our intentions for this season and our connections to the season’s archetype.

Heart Circle:

During each of the eight seasons of the year circle members will be encouraged though not required to focus during their six minute of personal share of heart circle upon the theme of the season.

Associated energies and symbols for each season:

Symbols are visionary doorways which open human consciousness to deep spiritual understandings beyond the capacity of language or words. There are eighteen of these symbolic associations included for the student to meditate upon and come to a clearer and deeper understanding of the meaning, purpose and archetype of each of the eight seasons. These include colors, spiritual beings and energetic associations. The Judeo-Christian tradition is dualistic and judges and defines things as being good or bad; dark or light and positive or negative. The elder shamanistic traditions are not dualistic rather they see everything occurring between the polarities of dark and light; positive and negative; good and bad, etc. Our use of these polarities does not impose a judgment on them. A holistic view of the Universe sees the necessity of the night to balance the day; cold to balance the heat; the negative currant to polarize the positive currant; destruction to balance construction etc.

Samhain

Archetypal Energy: Dark-Lunar-Feminine
Archetype: Danu/Ceridwen, The Dark, Earthly Mother Goddess

Samhainis the season between Oct. 31 st to Dec. 21 st. Samhain is the single most important Celtic festival, marking the onset of the dark half of the year. It is considered to be “outside of time,” when the veil between reality and the spirit realm is at its thinnest, so divining the future is easier at this time. The three day period Nov. 1 st through 3 rd is Celtic New Years and the beginning of a new yearly cycle. We shall be focusing upon the underworld, our ancestors and the faery realm. The goddess archetype which we shall be focusing upon is The Dark Goddess. We shall be focusing upon experiencing and connecting with her in her three aspects: The Dark Mother (The Crone) aspect as represented in Egyptian tradition by Black Isis; The Initiatrix, teacher of the magical mysteries as represented in Celtic tradition by Ceridwen and The Destroyer as represented in the Celtic tradition by the War Goddess Morgan (Macha) and in the Hindu tradition by Kali.

This season is a time of remembering our beloved dead and honoring them. It is a time of going into trance and receiving teachings from our ancestors, totem animals, and inner guides. This is a time to spiritually pray for the transcendence of those who have died especially in the last year. This is a time to come to an understanding and acceptance of death, destruction, completion and endings as a part of the balance of the cosmos. This is a time to confront one’s fears especially of death and loss and come to peace and acceptance of these fears.

Samhain together with the next season, the Winter Solstice is a time, in Jungian terms, to explore and confront the Jungian concept of Shadow. The Shadow in Jungian Transpersonal psychology is very important. It includes all of those aspects of our self which is in our unconscious. It is the task of Jungian psychology to bring the Shadow into consciousness. This is an ongoing life task and is never fully completed. The Shadow includes all of the things which we are ashamed of, feel guilty about, cover up and lie about. The Shadow includes secrets which we may even keep from our Self. The Shadow includes mean and nasty, ugly parts of self. It also includes some of the best aspects of us such as: intuition, spirituality and creativity for many people who are suppressing these aspects in themselves. Carl Jung based his therapeutic model of healing and transformation upon the alchemical, spiritual process of changing the base lead into spiritual gold. The first phases of this process involve reclaiming and acknowledging the dark, nasty and covered up aspects of the self so that they can be transformed into light. Death and destruction have been avoided and denied in modern American culture placing them in the territory of the Shadow. Christian religion like all ancient mysteries recognizes that death is a necessary and first aspect required for subsequent rebirth and transformation. The season of Samhain is the time to focus upon this first alchemical process concerning death and reclaiming -Shadow.

Associated energies and symbols for the season of Samhain:

  1. Associated Element: Earth
  2. Direction: Northwest
  3. Season: Winter
  4. Faery Realm: Falias, Realm of the Gnomes.
  5. Animals:
    • Dark Mother: Sow (female pig)
    • Initiatrix: Salmon or Spider
    • Destroyer/War Goddess: Raven
  6. Plant/Tree: Reed, Elder, and Yew
  7. Color:
    • Dark Mother: Black
    • Initiatrix: White
    • Destroyer: Red
  8. Earthly Realm: Mineral
  9. Arch Angel: Ariel
  10. Polarity: Feminine/Receptive/Passive
  11. Energy: Dark / Negative (-)/Lunar
  12. Focus: Inner/Introverted
  13. Sacred Tool: Crystal Stone (the stone of Fallal)
  14. Stage of Life: Old Age
  15. Time of Day/Night: Midnight
  16. Body Consciousness/ Chakra: The Feet (Celtic)/ Base of The Spine (Hindu): Root Chakra
  17. Consciousness: Earth Consciousness
  18. Jungian Personality Function: Sensation; the Five Senses

Heart Circle:

The personal focus of heart circle during the period of Samhain will be the following:

  1. Sharing of loss or honoring of ancestors who have passed over especially during the previous year. Ancestors are not limited to biological ancestors they may be friends, teachers, and spiritual teachers from the past or even beloved animals.
  2. Losses: emotional, spiritual, economic etc.
  3. Jungian Shadow work. The Shadow in Jungian psychology includes all of that which is in the unconscious. Also anything we lie about or cover up. Also things about ourselves of which we feel guilty or ashamed. Parts of our self which are disapproved of by our society, family and friends.

Yule, The Winter Solstice  
Archetypal Energy: Dark-Lunar-Masculine Archetype: Artu, The Bear God

Winter Solstice is the season between Dec. 21 st and Jan. 31 st. The Winter Solstice concerns the process of death and then rebirth. Samhain, the first season of winter concerns death, the Winter Solstice involves moving upon the wheel of the year from death to rebirth. This process is symbolized in the outer world by the occurrence of the longest night and shortest day and then the shift of the sun towards its return with increasing light. The celebration of Christmas and the birth of Jesus were later moved in Christianity to this time of year in order to utilize this ancient symbolism. This season symbolizes the cyclical death and rebirth of God. The archetype we shall explore at this season is that of the death and rebirth of the Sun. This archetype is represented in numerous cultures by the following deities: The bear god/goddess Artimis in the ancient shamanistic tradition, Jesus Christ in the Christian tradition, King Arthur in the Celtic tradition, and Odin in the Germanic tradition.

Archeology has demonstrated that some of the earliest evidence of human worship which dates back over a hundred thousand years involves the worship of the Divine as a bear god/goddess. It is clear that the bear is Northern mankind’s first deity. A major aspect of the worship of the bear was the mystery of its hibernation and disappearance at winter and the mother bear’s coming forth in the spring with baby bears. The bear is therefore symbolic of and associated with the magical process of death and then rebirth and emergence from beneath the earth at spring. We shall deeply focus upon the archetype of King Arthur (Artu means “bear”) so he’s the bear king. Cross-cultural myths throughout the northern hemisphere where the bear was seen as a deity and as sacred, include a common theme in which a bear deity descends from the stars to the earth and mates with a human woman who gives birth to a heroic, divine child who teaches human beings the abilities and wisdom of the divine star bear. It is interesting how similar the story of Jesus is to this much earlier and worldwide mythos.

We shall be exploring the archetype of the divine child at the season of the Winter Solstice. We shall also be exploring in ritual, the process of death and rebirth journeying from this material world into the other world and then back.

Associated energies and symbols for the season of Winter Solstice

  1. Associated Element: Earth and Stone
  2. Direction: North
  3. Season: Winter
  4. Faery Realm: Falias, Realm of The Gnomes
  5. Animal: Bear
  6. Plant/Tree: Holly and Birch
  7. Color: Purple
  8. Earthly Realm: Mineral
  9. Arch Angel: Ariel
  10. Polarity: Masculine/Active
  11. Energy: Dark/Negative(-)/Lunar
  12. Focus: Inner/Introverted
  13. Sacred Tool: Crystal Stone (the stone of Fallal)
  14. Stage of Life: Old Age
  15. Time of Day/Night: Midnight
  16. Body Consciousness/
  17. Chakra: The Feet (Celtic)/ base of The Spine (Hindu); Root Chakra
  18. Consciousness: Earth Consciousness
  19. Jungian Personality Function: Sensation; the Five Senses

Heart Circle

The personal focus of heart circle during the season of Winter Solstice will be a focus upon death and rebirth of oneself; a focus upon what one must kill off or end in oneself or one’s life in order to create a new self and life. This focus is particularly upon inner and spiritual life rather than the outer life. It is believed in the older traditions that, the inner life must change first in order for the outer life to change. Circle members should focus upon patterns and attachments and relationships that they must give up in order to change on a deeply inner level. This is also a time to have the first visions and inclinations of the new self and the new life. The new life is very unformed and exploratory at this point.

We shall continue the focus upon the Jungian Shadow during the season of the Winter Solstice.

Imbolc  

Archetypal Energy: Light-Solar-Feminine
Archetype: Brigit, The Solar (Spiritual) Mother Goddess  

Imbolc is the season between Feb.1 st and March 21 st. Imbolc marks the beginning of spring and is dedicated to the sun goddess Brigit, the patroness of the hearth and home; of poets and craftspeople. Sowing and planting begins in this season and it is a time for purification and hatching new ideas. Imbolc means “first light of spring” and is a time to connect to the archetype of Brigit; she is the goddess of the forge, of the balance between the elements of fire and water. She was a Celtic goddess dedicated to human civilization including the arts of poetry, music and dance; she is a solar goddess of inspiration; she is complete in herself as a feminine goddess; she is like the goddess Athena and is a maiden who is pure and cannot be touched by men; she represents the maiden aspect of the tripartite goddess composed of Mother, Maiden and Crone. This is the most purely feminine season of the year. We shall be connecting with and exploring the archetype of the maiden through Brigit.

In the Roman and Greek tradition the goddess associated with the stars and the web of the stars which the shamans travel upon is Ariadne, the spider goddess. She is similar in some of her properties to Brigit and we shall be working with the star goddess and her web of stars during this season. In the Judeo-Christian tradition Mary, the mother of Christ is an expression of this light feminine, solar goddess archetype.

Associated energies and symbols for the season of Imbolc

  1. Associated Element: Air and Wind
  2. Direction: Northeast
  3. Season: Spring
  4. Faery Realm: Gorias, the realm of the faery sylphs.
  5. Animal: Wolf and Spider
  6. Plant/Tree: Rowan and Ash
  7. Color: White
  8. Earthly Realm: Human
  9. Arch Angel: Rafael
  10. Polarity: Feminine/Receptive
  11. Energy: Light/Positive (+) /Solar
  12. Focus: Outer/Extroverted
  13. Sacred Tool: Sword (King Arthur’s Sword Excalibur)
  14. Stage of Life: Childhood
  15. Time of Day/Night: Dawn
  16. Body Consciousness/Chakra: The Head (Celtic); Third Eye (Hindu)
  17. Consciousness: Star Consciousness
  18. Jungian Personality Function: Thinking

Heart Circle

The personal focus of heart circle during the season of Imbolc will be the following: Imbolc is the time to focus upon one’s light, feminine nature. This is a time to focus upon imagination, creativity, and artistic expression. This time is the first light of spring when the Ewes (female sheep) lactate preparing for new life and birth. This is the time when the initial creativity and rebirth of the Winter Solstice begins to manifest in the womb. It is not yet born into the outer world which will occur at spring time. This is a time to talk about and focus upon clarifying new intentions and goals in one’s life. This is the time to focus upon one’s relationship with the divine feminine. One can work upon connecting to the light goddess archetype during this season with mother Mary or Brigit.

Oestre, The Spring Equinox  

Archetypal Energy: Light-Lunar-Androgynous (Feminine, -/+)
Archetype: Mabon, The Divine Child  

Oestre is the season between March 21 st and April 30 th. Oestre marks the peak of spring energies and renewed growth, when day and night are equal and in balance. It signals a time of outdoor activities when you can start to bring into effect the plans that you hatched in the winter. The inner creative imagination of the season of Imbolc manifests externally at the season of the spring equinox. This is a time when all nature is springing forth in terms of plants and animals. Leaves and plants are sprouting, animals are producing babies, new life abounds. This is a time to manifest and begin new projects and new creativity in the outer world. The equinox’s autumn and spring are times of balance between polarities, i.e. masculine and feminine; dark and light, outer and inner etc.

The Archetype of this season is the Mabon who is a god/goddess of youth and childhood. This is similar to the Roman and Greek god called Puer Aeternus, as represented in modern myth by Peter Pan. This god/goddess is androgynous and is associated with the purity and creativity of the child. In the Judeo-Christian mythology Jesus incarnates the energy of this Puer Aeternus archetype. Oestre is a good time to encourage ones connection to the joy and liveliness of our inner child; the playfulness and creativity of the child.

Associated energies and symbols for the season of Oestre

  1. Associated Element: Air and Wind
  2. Direction: East
  3. Season: Spring
  4. Faery Realm: Gorias, Realm of The Faery Sylphs
  5. Animal: The Hawk
  6. Plant/Tree: Alder and Willow
  7. Color: Sky Blue and Yellow
  8. Earthly Realm: Human
  9. Arch Angel: Raphael
  10. Polarity: Androgynous: Balance of Feminine and Masculine.
  11. Energy: Balance of Light/Positive (+)/Solar and Dark/Negative(-)/Lunar
  12. Focus: Balance of Outer/Extroverted and Inner/Introverted.
  13. Sacred Tool: The Sword (King Arthur’s Sword Excalibur)
  14. Stage of Life: Childhood
  15. Time of Day/Night: Dawn
  16. Body Consciousness/Chakra: The Head (Celtic); Third Eye (Hindu)
  17. Consciousness: Star Consciousness
  18. Jungian Functions of Personality: Thinking

Heart Circle

The personal focus of heart circle during the season of Oestre is upon the inner child; upon joy, creativity and artistic expression. This is a time to begin new projects, new relationships and explore new territory. It is a time to remember and talk about one’s childhood. It is a time to remember and connect with children and animals. This is a time of balance of masculine and feminine and expressing one’s androgynous whole. Feelings and resistances to Jungian wholeness which include masculine and feminine integration should be talked about; i.e. men’s suppression of their Jungian anima (feminine nature) and women’s subjugation of their Jungian animus (masculine nature) should be discussed.

Beltane, Fire Festival  

Archetypal Energy: Light-Lunar-Masculine
Archetype: Bael, The Earthly Father God  

Beltane is the season between May 1 stand June 21 st. Beltane is the second most important season, marking the onset of the light half of the year. As at Samhain, the barriers between reality and the spirit worlds are thin, so it is another powerful occasion for divining the future. Beltane for the Celtic people is the time of the sacred alchemical marriage between their solar, father god Bael and their earth mother goddess Danu. The May pole dance is performed at this time of year symbolic of the intercourse and marriage between the solar sky father (Bael) and the earth mother goddess (Danu). This is a time to celebrate our earthly parents and their intercourse

which created us. It is a time to celebrate mating and fecundity throughout the earth. Children who were conceived at orgiastic rituals upon Beltane were seen as incarnating the divine energies of Bael and Danu and as having special, magical abilities. Beltane like Samhain, is a time when the doorways between the worlds are most open; a time of connection to the faery realms and to oracle. Beltane rituals always include the crowning of a May King and a May Queen who represent the archetypes of Bael and Danu. This is therefore and auspicious season for marriages and betrothals.

Associated energies and symbols for the season of Beltane

  1. Associated Element: Fire
  2. Direction: Southeast
  3. Season: Summer
  4. Faery Realm: Finias; Realm of The Fire Salamanders
  5. Animal: The Serpent and The Rabbit
  6. Plant/Tree: Hawthorne
  7. Color: Red and White
  8. Earthly Realm: Animal
  9. Arch Angel: Michael
  10. Polarity: Masculine/Passive
  11. Energy: Dark/Negative (-)/ Lunar
  12. Focus: Inner/Introverted
  13. Sacred Tool: Staff or Spear (Merlin’s staff or Lugh’s Spear)
  14. Stage of Life: Youth/Young Adulthood
  15. Time of Day/Night: Midday/High Noon
  16. Body Consciousness/Chakra: Heart Chakra (Celtic and Hindu)
  17. Consciousness: Solar Consciousness
  18. Jungian Functions of Personality: Intuition

Heart Circle

The personal focus of heart circle during the season of Beltane will be the following: Focus upon one’s earthly parent’s relationship and how it has effected oneself; focus upon one’s own important sexual and romantic relationships/marriages in one’s life; focus upon one’s sexual life and libido.

Coamhain, The Summer Solstice  

Archetypal Energy: Light, Solar, Masculine
Archetype: Tigernonos (Celtic); Zeus (Roman) Sky, Solar (Spiritual) Father

Coamhain is the season between June 21 st and July31st. Coamhain is the longest day in the northern hemisphere, and was celebrated by the ancient Celts as a time of plenty, when the sun is at the peak of its powers. Most ancient people worshiped the sun as God. The summer solstice is the peak of the power of the sun and therefore the peak of yang, active, masculine, solar energy. This is a time to focus upon the divine masculine; the spiritual masculine that is represented by the sun. The Judeo-Christian tradition has become very solar and masculine dominated. This season connects most with the Judeo-Christian traditions spiritual focus upon the solar masculine. This is a time to focus upon and encourage the development of solar and positive, masculine traits. We focus during this season upon the four masculine archetypes: King, Warrior, Magician and Lover. We can focus upon these archetypes in terms of Celtic tradition as represented by the following:

  1. The King: King Arthur
  2. The Warrior: Chuchulainn (The greatest Celtic warrior)
  3. The Magician: Merlin
  4. The Lover: Angus Ogg (The Celtic God of Love) Eros (The Roman God of Love)

Ancient Ritual at the season included the crowning of the Oak King. This is a time to focus upon and develop one’s masculine, solar energies.

Associated energies and symbols for the season of Coahmin, The Summer Solstice

  1. Associated Element: Fire
  2. Direction: South
  3. Season: Summer
  4. Faery Realm: Finias; Realm of The Fire Salamanders
  5. Animal: Seven Tined Stag (Dear)
  6. Plant/Tree: The Oak
  7. Color: Red
  8. Earthly Realm: Animal
  9. Arch Angel: Michael
  10. Polarity: Masculine/Active
  11. Energy: Light/Positive (+)/Solar
  12. Focus: Outer/Extroverted
  13. Scared Tool: Staff of Merlin/Spear of Lugh
  14. Stage of Life: Youth/Young Adulthood
  15. Time of Day/Night: High Noon
  16. Body Consciousness/Chakra: The Heart (Celtic and Hindu)
  17. Consciousness: Solar Consciousness
  18. Jungian Personality Function: Intuition (Hearing the voice of
  19. Spirit/The Divine)

Heart Circle:

The personal focus of heart circle for the season of Coamhain, the summer solstice will be the following: We shall focus upon our masculinity internally and externally. We shall focus upon our fathers and grandfathers and male teachers and men in our lives. We shall focus upon developing and becoming aware of the four male archetypes: King, Warrior, Magician and Lover. We shall do a Tarot reading drawing to determine which of the four archetypes should be focused upon this season. We should work on developing a relationship with the archetype which chooses us for this season. We shall work with the four archetypes in our ritual at Monarch Bear Grove and will crown the Oak King within our selves and within each other. We shall focus upon the mystery and teachings of Fire.

Lughnasadh, Fire Festival

Archetypal Energy: Dark-Solar-Masculine
Archetype: Lugh (Celtic); Hermes/Mercury (Greek and Roman), The solar god who enters the Underworld; The sacrifice of the Corn King “Green Man”

Lughnasadh is the season between July 31 st and September 21 st. Lughnasadh is the season of Lugh, the sun god who distributes riches in the form of crops and wild food. This festival traditionally marks the start of harvesting, and is a time when you can begin to reap the rewards of the ideas that you germinated at Imbolc.

Lughnasadh is a time of the trickster god Hermes. It is a time of the Dark Masculine. Throughout Europe and the Mediterranean in very ancient times, kings were sacrificed at this time. They were sacrificed every seven years and their blood was spilled upon the earth in order to propitiate the fecundity and fertility of the earth. The kings received immortality as a reward for this sacrifice. This tradition is seen in Egypt with the god Osyris who is killed and dismembered and then reborn; this is seen in the northern hemisphere in many bear cults, where a bear as a representative of God was sacrificed and reborn; this is even seen in the Judeo-Christian tradition which follows many other traditions concerning the belief in a divine king, child of God who is sacrificed and killed for his people. In later times Druids and others sacrificed a white bull rather than the king for the fecundity of the earth.

This season is a time to focus upon the sacrifice of the Corn King which is a ritual that substituted the sacrifice of the corn (the corn god). This sacrifice is a necessary step in the process of death, rebirth and transformation. The sacrifice of John Barley Corn (whiskey) has also been a part of this ritual. The ritual of harvesting the corn, grinding it into mash and then fermenting it into whiskey (as with wine) is a metaphor for spiritual and physical transformation. This season is a time to explore what one needs to sacrifice and give up in order to be transformed. This season is a time to explore connection with Hermes who can journey into the underworld and meet the dead. Lugh/Hermes is the psycho-pomp (guide) who leads us at death into the otherworld of the dead. This season is a time when strange and often violent events occur such as September eleventh, the death of Princess Diana, Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma etc. This is the time of the Dark Masculine.

In Celtic tradition gatherings, similar to the Greek’s Olympics occurred. These competitions included athletic, poetic and battle competitions. These were celebrations of first harvest.  

Associated energies and symbols for the season of Lughnasadh

  1. Associated Element: Water
  2. Direction: Southwest
  3. Season: Autumn
  4. Faery Realm: Murias of the Undines (Mermen andMermaids)
  5. Animal: Horse
  6. Plant/Tree: Hazel, Celtic: Barley(whiskey);Roman: grape vine (wine)
  7. Color: Orange
  8. Earthly Realm: Plant
  9. Arch Angel: Gabriel
  10. Polarity: Masculine/Receptive
  11. Energy: Dark/Negative(-)/Lunar
  12. Focus: Inner/Introverted
  13. Sacred Tool: Chalice/Cup/Holy Grail (Celtic)
  14. Stage of Life: Mature Adulthood/Midlife
  15. Time of Day/Night: Dusk
  16. Body Consciousness/Chakra: Genitals(Celtic);Solar Plexis(Hindu)
  17. Consciousness: Lunar
  18. Jungian Personality Function: Emotion/Feeling

Heart Circle:

Circle members should focus on what they need to sacrifice in order to achieve their intentions in their life. This may include focusing upon addictive or compulsive habits which must be let go of; toxic and dysfunctional relationships; co dependency etc. In order for change to occur in one’s life one must be willing to sacrifice and make room for change. Chaos involving the breakdown and elimination of comfortable structures must be embraced. Hermes is the god of chaos and change. These changes may be painful, chaotic and filled with surprises for a person.

This is also a time to focus on dark or masculine traits such as boasting, competition, and aggressiveness as well as being wily like the fox. Our ritual at Monarch Bear Hill will focus upon the sacrifice of the Corn King in order to propitiate our year’s harvest.

Mabon, The Autumn Equinox

Archetypal Energy: Dark-Solar-Androgynous (Masculine, +/-)

Archetype: Manannan mac Lir (Irish under sea god), Cernunos (The Celtic Dear Horned God who is the Lord of the animals and the forest)

The season of Mabon occurs between September 21 st and October 31 st. Mabon marks the end of harvesting when day and night are equal. At this time, the Celts stored food in readiness for winter and gave thanks for a bountiful harvest. It is a time for seeing the positive side of what you have, and for identifying those aspects that could have germinating potential for future personal development. Mabon like the spring equinox, is a time of balance between the polarities including the balance between masculine and feminine. It is a time of mature androgyny versus the child-like androgyny of spring. The gods of this season are mature and androgynous in nature. They have completed the Jungian journey towards wholeness. They have incorporated and transformed all of the polarities including masculine and feminine. They are far more mature in this sense than the adolescent, summer/solar gods. They have developed all of the four Jungian functions and abilities i.e. sensation, thinking, emotion and intuition. They also exist in a balanced way both in the Inner world and this material world. They incorporate all of the archetypal energies which we have been exposed to in the seven previous seasons of the Celtic year. This season is the culmination of the Celtic wheel of the year and as such is the most whole and complete.

Both Manannan mac Lir and Cernunos are perceived as nurturing, loving, protective, magical males who love, nurture and protect the earth, it’s trees and creatures and peoples. They therefore have incorporated their anima (feminine aspect) into their natures; they are models and teachers for where modern men must go in their development. Modern men are still adolescent boys who have had John Wayne-like models of masculinity. These archetypes are also a model for women to have a different and healthier relationship with a more wholesome animus (male aspect).

This is the season of the element of water and the time of the holy chalice, The Holy Grail. It is a deeply spiritual time; a time to journey to other worlds including the magical isle of the faery women. This is a time of deep emotion and meditation; this is a time to connect to inner guides and receive their wisdom. This is a time also to make commitments to steward the sacred land, its animals, trees, plants, lakes, rivers and oceans.

Ritual for this season involves incarnating the archetype of Cernunos, protector of the earth into ourselves and making a commitment to become and be stewards of the earth.

Associated energies and symbols for the season of Mabon  

  1. Associated Element: Sea and Water
  2. Direction: West
  3. Season: Autumn
  4. Faery Realm: Murias of the Undines (Mermen and Mermaids)
  5. Animal: Swan and Seal
  6. Plant/Tree: Vine and Ivy
  7. Color: Sea Blue and Green
  8. Earthly Realm: Plant
  9. Arch Angel: Gabriel
  10. Polarity: Androgynous: Balance of Feminine and Masculine.
  11. Energy: Balance of Dark(-)/Lunar and Light/Positive(+)/Solar
  12. Focus: Wholeness; Balance of Outer/Extroverted and Inner/Introverted.
  13. Sacred Tool: Holy Chalice/Holy Grail
  14. Stage of Life: Mature Adulthood
  15. Time of Day/Night: Dusk
  16. Body Consciousness/Chakra: Genitals (Celtic); Solar Plexis(Hindu)
  17. Consciousness: Lunar Consciousness
  18. Jungian Personality Function: Emotions

Heart Circle:

During the season of Mabon we focus upon our relationship with nature and the earth. We focus upon our stewardship and calling and purpose in our life; we focus upon our deepest emotions; we focus upon becoming more aware of synchronicities in our life and the quiet voice of Spirit; we focus upon developing our magical and intuitive abilities.

A Year and A Day  

In elder traditions a year and a day was a period of initiation and completion. After completing this circle, this wheel, this year and a day; the student moves into a new phase of learning. This new phase is symbolized by the spiral rather than the circle. After completing the wheel of the year we spiral into the next level. We begin the next wheel but it is a spiral based upon the previous cycle. It is a higher level. The next wheel be experienced holistically because we’ve experienced the full cycle and now we get to experience it rather than as separate spokes of the wheel but as the whole wheel. Each of the festivals is like a spoke in a wheel; in our first circling through the festivals we experience them as separate. During the second experience of the wheel of the year we experience the spokes as being part of the whole—the wheel. We come to realize that each festival creates and leads into the next. The experience of each festival is different and higher when we experience as part of a whole rather than a separate experience. This work helps us to begin to experience ourselves as well as everything else in the universe as connected and part of a whole rather than separate, discrete entities. This spiral process therefore, results in the combined deepening, broadening and elevating of experience through each yearly cycle.