Blessed Yule

A Blessed Yule to you and yours!

May the joy of the returning light and the promise of the year to come give you peace and comfort!! Even if many of us are wrapped in the beginning of winter, know that the warmth of the sun is returning and soon we'll be in the heart of another growing season and have plenty of harvest and blessings.

Happy Holidays!

Yule Spider Legend

Someone had posted and reminded me of this on another of my boards.  Enjoy!!

On Yule eve, a long time ago, a gentle mother was busily cleaning the house for the most wonderful day of the year... Yule day, the day on which the little God child came to bless the house.Not a speck of dust was left. Even the spiders had been banished from their cozy corner on the ceiling. They had fled to the farthest corner of the attic. The Yule tree was beautifully decorated. The poor spiders were frantic, for they could not see the tree, nor be present for the little God child's visit. Then the oldest and wisestspider suggested that perhaps they could wait until everyone went to bed and then get a closer look. When the house was dark and silent, the spiders crept out of their hiding place. When they neared the Yule tree, they were delighted with the beauty of it. The spiders crept all over the tree, up and down, over the branches and twigs and saw every one of the pretty things. The spiders loved the Yule tree. All night long they danced in the branches, leaving them covered with spider webs. In the morning, when the little God child came to bless the house, he was dismayed! He loved the little spiders for they were Goddess's creatures, but he knew the mother, who had worked so hard to make everything perfect, would not be pleased when she saw what the spiders had done. With love in his heart and a smile on his lips, the little God child reached out and gently touched the spider webs. The spider webs started to sparkle and shine! They had all turned into sparkling, shimmering silver and gold. According to legend, ever since this happened, people have hungtinsel on their Yule trees. It has also become a custom to include a spider among the decorations on the Yule tree.

Celtic Women's Spirituality -Edain McCoy-

Mabon blessings

Mabon - September 22, 2010

Also known as: Fall or Autumn Equinox, Wine Harvest, Feast of Avalon, Alban Elved (Druid), Alban Elfed (Caledonii), Winter Finding (Teutonic) 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mabon, (pronounced MAY-bun, MAY-bone, MAH-boon, or MAH-bawn) is the Autumn Equinox. The Autumn Equinox divides the day and night equally, and we all take a moment to pay our respects to the impending dark. We also give thanks to the waning sunlight, as we store our harvest of this year's crops. The Druids call this celebration, Mea'n Fo'mhair, and honor the The Green Man, the God of the Forest, by offering libations to trees. Offerings of ciders, wines, herbs and fertilizer are appropriate at this time. Wiccans celebrate the aging Goddess as she passes from Mother to Crone, and her consort the God as he prepares for death and re-birth.

Various other names for this Lesser Wiccan Sabbat are The Second Harvest Festival, Wine Harvest, Feast of Avalon, Equinozio di Autunno (Strega), Alben Elfed (Caledonii), or Cornucopia. The Teutonic name, Winter Finding, spans a period of time from the Sabbat to Oct. 15th, Winter's Night, which is the Norse New Year.

At this festival it is appropriate to wear all of your finery and dine and celebrate in a lavish setting. It is a Witch's Thanksgiving. It is the drawing to and of family as we prepare for the winding down of the year at Samhain. It is a time to finish old business as we ready for a period of rest, relaxation, and reflection.

It marks the middle of the harvest. Again equal day and equal night. Now it's time to reap what you have sown. Giving thanks for the harvest and the bounty you are enjoying. Coincidently the sign of Libra begins at this time. The scales symbolizing Libra are a direct link to the harvest, as this is the time where the farmers brought in their goods to be weighed and sold. Colours for this sabbat (there are so many, just look at the trees): Orange and red, with brown for the background.

Despite the bad publicity generated by Thomas Tryon's novel, Harvest Home is the pleasantest of holidays. Admittedly, it does involve the concept of sacrifice, but one that is symbolic only. The sacrifice is that of the spirit of vegetation, John Barleycorn. Occurring 1/4 of the year after Midsummer, Harvest Home represents mid-autumn, autumn's height. It is also the Autumnal Equinox, one of the quarter days of the year, a Lesser Sabbat and a Low Holiday in modern Witchcraft.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Deities of Mabon: Wine Gods, Harvest Deities, Aging Deities
Goddesses-Modron, Morgan, Epona, Persephone, Pamona and the Muses.
Gods-Mabon, Thoth, Thor, Hermes, and The Green Man.

Symbols: Apples, Wine, Vines, Garlands, Gourd, Cornucopia, Burial Cairns

Colors of Mabon: Red, orange, russet, maroon, brown, and gold, fall colors. 

Altar Dressings
* candles should be brown or cinnamon.
* decorate circle with autumn flowers, acorns, gourds, corn sheaves and fall
leaves.

Mabon Magickal Herbs
Rue, yarrow, rosemary, marigold, sage, walnut leaves and husks, mistletoe, saffron, chamomile, almond leaves, passionflower, frankincense, rose hips, bittersweet, sunflower, wheat, oak leaves, dried apple or apple seeds.

Incense
Pine, sage, sweetgrass or myrhh. You can also mix marigold, passionflower, and fern, using frankincense or myrhh as a resin for Mabon incense

Mabon Activities
* Make grapevine wreaths using dried bitter- sweet herb for protection. Use ribbons of gold and yellow to bring in the energy of the Sun, and decorate with sprigs of dried yarrow or cinnamon sticks.

* Make a Magickal Horn of Plenty.

* Make Magickal Scented Pinecones.

* Make a protection charm of hazelnuts (filberts) strung on red thread.

* Call upon the elementals and honor them for their help with (N-earth) the home and finances, (E-air) school and knowledge, (S-fire) careers and accomplishments, (W-water) emotional balance and fruitful relationships.

* Make a witch's broom. Tie dried corn husks or herbs (broom, cedar, fennel, lavender, peppermint, rosemary) around a strong, relatively straight branch of your choice.



Websites to get you started: 
Mabon, the Autumn Equinox
Wiccan Traditions and Lore, Pagan and Witchcraft Holidays., Sabbats Mabon
Mabon
Mabon
Mabon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://www.tylwythteg.com/Mabon.html
Autumn Equinox - Mabon - September 23

More Mabon for you..

Here it is upon us yet again. The turning of the wheel towards the dark half of the year! As the wheel turns to this time of the year, it also turns to a time of great introspection! As we near the end of the pagan year at Samhain, Halloween, we should being remembering all that has occured over the year. To finish all of our harvesting and prepare our homes and ourselves for the coming winter. A time when we do more planning then actually doing.

So what are your plans for this Mabon?? Have anything fun planned in the upcoming weeks to celebrate!


Here are some sites with some resources:
A witchvox article

Mabon - The Autumn Equinox : With some crafts, recipes and more

Mabon

Mabon Incense

A blessed Mabon to you all!!!!

Blessed Ostara

A Blessed Ostara to one and all!!! 

May the growing light of the days and the warmth of the sun fill you with all the love and support you need. And may all your new undertakings take sprout and grow into fruition! 

Getting ready for Ostara

So in less then a month we enter spring!!  What are your plans?? Anyone already preparing their spring cleaning, both phycially, emotionally and spiritually! 

Here is a little information from another site to get you all started! Let's hear some more info from you all and your plans! 

Ostara by Herne

March 21 -- Ostara -- Spring or The Vernal Equinox
Also known as: Lady Day or Alban Eiler (Druidic)


As Spring reaches its midpoint, night and day stand in perfect balance, with light on the increase. The young Sun God now celebrates a hierogamy (sacred marriage) with the young Maiden Goddess, who conceives. In nine months, she will again become the Great Mother. It is a time of great fertility, new growth, and newborn animals.

The next full moon (a time of increased births) is called the Ostara and is sacred to Eostre the Saxon Lunar Goddess of fertility (from whence we get the word estrogen, whose two symbols were the egg and the rabbit.

The Christian religion adopted these emblems for Easter which is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox. The theme of the conception of the Goddess was adapted as the Feast of the Annunciation, occurring on the alternative fixed calendar date of March 25 Old Lady Day, the earlier date of the equinox. Lady Day may also refer to other goddesses (such as Venus and Aphrodite), many of whom have festivals celebrated at this time.

Traditional Foods:
Leafy green vegetables, Dairy foods, Nuts such as Pumpkin, Sunflower and Pine. Flower Dishes and Sprouts.

Herbs and Flowers:
Daffodil, Jonquils, Woodruff, Violet, Gorse, Olive, Peony, Iris, Narcissus and all spring flowers.

Incense:
Jasmine, Rose, Strawberry, Floral of any type.

Sacred Gemstone:
Jasper

Special Activities:
Planting seeds or starting a Magickal Herb Garden. Taking a long walk in nature with no intent other than reflecting on the Magick of nature and our Great Mother and her bounty.


Copyright © 1997-99 Akasha, Herne and The Celtic Connection wicca.com. All rights reserved.
Wiccan, Pagan and Witchcraft Holidays., March 21st, Ostara