The Wild Hunt » Harvest

A Blessed Samhain

Jason — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:30:51 +0000

Tonight and tomorrow is when most modern Pagans celebrate Samhain. Samhain is the start of winter and of the new year in the old Celtic calendar. This is a time when the ancestors are honored, divinations for the new year are performed, and festivals are held in honor of the gods. It is a time of final harvest before the long winter ahead. It is perhaps the best-known and most widely celebrated of the modern Pagan holidays.

©photo by Michael Rauner Spiral Dance 2008, Kezar Pavilion, San Francisco, CA

It is a time when some communities acknowledge the Mighty Dead.

“The Mighty Dead are said to be those practitioners of our religion who are on the Other Side now, but who still take great interest in the activities of Witches on this side of the Veil. They have pledged to watch, to help and to teach. It is those Mighty Dead who stand behind us, or with us, in circle so frequently.”

Many who have been dear to our communities have crossed the veil this past year, joining the ranks of the Mighty Dead, including Ted Andrews, Marion Weinstein, Leonard Shlain, Lady Urania, Hans Holzer, John Michell, and Suzanne Wenger (aka Adunni Olorisa).

“I love that story about Susan Anthony that Zsuzsanna Budapest tells in her book. Some journalist asked Susan Anthony, because she didn’t believe in orthodox religion, I suppose, “Where do you think you’re to go when you die?” She said, “I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to stay around and help the women’s movement.” So even if I don’t live long enough to see these things, I’ll be around to make a nuisance of myself.” – Doreen Valiente, the Mother of Modern Witchcraft.

Below you’ll find an assortment of quotes from the media and from fellow Pagans on the holiday.

“Death is part of the life cycle. This time of year we say farewell to the garden, to the crops and to our ancestors. We welcome and celebrate the coming of the dark half of the year. It’s at this time of year we communicate with the spirit world and we honor the spirit world.” – Patti Wigington, ABC World News

“Here in San Francisco, our Reclaiming tradition of Wicca (another term for the religion of the Witches) creates a big, public ritual, with art, music, poetry and dance weaving together to create sacred space. We name those who have died this year, and offer a chance for mourners to grieve with the support of our community. For us, death is a natural part of life. We acknowledge the sadness of our losses, but death itself is not something to fear. It’s simply one stage in the great cycles of birth, growth, death and rebirth that to us are sacred. The heart of our ritual is the spiral dance, when over a thousand people dance together in a double spiral that symbolizes rebirth and regeneration. Moving together, passing one face after another, we enter together into a state of deep connection and ecstasy.” – Starhawk, On Faith, The Washington Post

The Apple Branch Protogrove of Champaign-Urbana, a sect of the international Pagan group called A Druid Fellowship, will hold a ritual for Samhain in honor of deceased loved ones, said Cindy Westfall [a super-cool friend of mind - Jason], head Pagan of the organization. “It’s nice to acknowledge them,” she said about the deceased. “Their continued presence and their influence is important.” – Nora Ibrahim, The Daily Illini

“Verin-Shapiro, who isn’t a pagan, says Samhain means various things to Wiccans and others depending on their traditions. “In addition to the new year, it’s a harvest festival, a time of celebration and reflection,” she says. “If they choose to, they can think about loved ones or call upon them, but not everybody does that.” Many perform rituals that free themselves from negative things that occurred in their lives in the past year — and welcome into their lives the positive things that they want to see happen in the coming year.” – Ron Orozco, The Detroit Free Press

“While facing the altar, if past practice holds, [Michael] York will invoke the names of the ancestors and loved ones who have died. He will often write down their names, too, and keep that piece of paper in the cabinet. One can mourn on any day, as Mr. York put it recently, but on this occasion, “the veil between the worlds is understood to be thinnest.” The day that most Americans know as Halloween, a commercial bonanza and secular holiday with only the faintest remnants of its pantheistic origins, Mr. York celebrates as Samhain, the autumnal new year for Pagans. And for Mr. York, Paganism is indeed a proper noun, connoting a specific religion that he has observed for decades.” – Samuel Freedman, The New York Times

May you all have a blessed Samhain, blessings to you, and your beloved dead on this season. Let this new cycle be one of great blessings for all of you. Also, in recognition of the holiday, I’ve created a special early edition of my podcast chock-full of Halloween and Samhain-themed music! Just in time for the coming celebrations. Enjoy!

Happy Autumnal Equinox

Jason — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:30:18 +0000

Today is the Autumnal Equinox (21:18 UTC) which signals the beginning of Fall in the northern hemisphere. On this day there will be an equal amount of light and darkness, and after this day the nights grow longer and we head towards Winter. In many modern Pagan traditions this is the second of three harvest festivals (the first being Lughnasadh, the third being Samhain).

Pagan circle at Autumn Equinox.
Photo by Chris John Beckett (CC)

The holiday is also known as “Harvest Home” or “Mabon” by Wiccans and Witches, “Mid-Harvest” and “Alban Elfed” by some Druidic and Celtic-oriented groups, and “Winter Finding” by modern-day Asatru. Most modern Pagans simply call it the Autumn Equinox. Here are some media quotes and excerpts from modern Pagans on the holiday.

“It’s the twilight of the changing seasons, that gray area in between summer and fall where anything goes as far as weather is concerned. It’s a sort of purgatory. Nothing is for certain. The verdict is out; nature is in the midst of deliberating.” - Tom Ragan, The Christian Science Monitor

“Mabon has become a time of celebration of reflection, grace, and balance. We may hold a seasonal rite at our “beautiful corners,” giving thanks for home and finance, school and knowledge, careers and accomplishment, and balance and relationships.” – Terry Smith, Alexandria Town Talk

“…celebrating Harvest Festival in church is a relatively recent practice. It was originally a pagan festival celebrated by those who had enough food and spare time to have a knees-up when the full moon – the Harvest Moon – was nearest the autumnal equinox. It was only in 1843 that the Rev Robert Hawker, from Cornwall, started the trend of holding a service, offering communion bread made from the first cut of corn.” – Charlie Brooks, The Telegraph

“It is sometimes called Mabon (in most Wiccan traditions) but I always think of the Autumnal Equinox as Harvest Home. It’s the middle harvest–the harvest of apples, eggplant, the young and tender fall kale. It’s the time to get some canning done–like you haven’t been doing that all summer long.” – Byron Ballard, The Village Witch, Asheville Citizen-Times

“In the rhythm of the year, Harvest Home marks a time of rest after hard work. The crops are gathered in, and winter is still a month and a half away! Although the nights are getting cooler, the days are still warm, and there is something magical in the sunlight, for it seems silvery and indirect. As we pursue our gentle hobbies of making corn dollies (those tiny vegetation spirits) and wheat weaving, our attention is suddenly arrested by the sound of baying from the skies (the “Hounds of Annwn” passing?), as lines of geese cut silhouettes across a harvest moon. And we move closer to the hearth, the longer evening hours giving us time to catch up on our reading, munching on popcorn balls and caramel apples and sipping home-brewed mead or ale. What a wonderful time Harvest Home is!” – Mike Nichols, The Witches’ Sabbats

May you all enjoy the fruits of your harvest this season.

A Blessed Lughnasadh

Jason — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 16:26:50 +0000

Today is Lughnasadh (also known as Lammas) the first of three harvest festivals celebrated in many modern Pagan traditions. Lughnasadh originated as one of the four main Celtic fire festivals and was dedicated to the Celtic god Lugh/Lugus the many-skilled (or, in the case of Ireland, Lugh’s foster-mother Tailtiu). It is a time of thanksgiving, first-harvests, and the end of summer.

Lammas food altar (Photo: BBC)

Here are some quotes for the holiday.

“Lammas, or Lughnasad, has always been one of my favorite Sabbats. It is celebrated from July 31 to August 2, generally, and we are fortunate this year that all the dates are on the weekend. Lammas is the first and biggest of the harvest Sabbats, for it is at this time that in the temperate places in the northern hemisphere the earth’s bounty most fully opens. … Lammas celebrates the abundance that can come from our hard work and creativity. But to receive requires reciprocity if the gift is to be truly honored. We can give to the giver, or keep the circle flowing outwards by giving to another. Lammas is in this respect an echo of the old gift economy that once sustained so many of the world’s people and has to some extent been reinvigorated with the rise of the net.” - Gus diZerega, Beliefnet

“Celebrate a Happy Lammas with the family, and friends, then begin the work to stock the shelves for the long winter ahead. Make a toast to the passing of Summer. Lammas Harvest Feasts include: tomatoes, peaches, corn (popcorn), potatoes, cabbage (sauerkraut or cole slaw), onions, grains (breads and fest breads), berries (especially blackberry pies are traditionally eaten in honor of the Harvest), cider, cornbread sticks, and barley soup. Bake any of these breads on Lammas: wheat; corn; gingerbread; or just make popcorn! Feed a piece of the baked bread to someone, saying, ‘May you never go hungry.’” - Terry Smith, The Town Talk

“This is the season of Lughnasadh in my spiritual tradition. We also celebrate it as the Cross-quarter day that marks the beginning of Autumn on the modern Celtic calendar. Modern, of course, because the tribal Celts divided the year into only two seasons–Bealtinne and Samhain. It’s the time when we gather in the First Harvest–the harvest of grain–and we share the bounty of squash and tomatoes with our friends, neighbors and co-workers. In fact, we know that all car doors must be locked starting the first of August, lest you return to find a box of baseball-bat-sized zucchini waiting for you.” – Byron Ballard, Asheville Citizen Times

“On the Pagan calendar, the summer began with Beltane on May 1, hit the midpoint at Pagan Midsummer (Litha Sabbat) on June 21, and ends August 1 with Lammas (Lughnasadh) Sabbat: the beginning of the harvest season. County fairs are traditionally held around this time in the UK to celebrate the early harvest, and county fairs are often held in the United States before children go back to school, too. The fertility and growth seasons have passed, and the earliest signs of autumn can be seen.” – Dr. Deb Brown, Examiner.com

“The Celts celebrate this festival from sunset August 1 until sunset August 2 and call it Lughnasad after the God Lugh. It is the wake of Lugh, the Sun-King, whose light begins to dwindle after the summer solstice. The Saxon holiday of Lammas celebrates the harvesting of the grain. The first sheaf of wheat is ceremonially reaped, threshed, milled and baked into a loaf. The grain dies so that the people might live. Eating this bread, the bread of the Gods, gives us life. If all this sounds vaguely Christian, it is. In the sacrament of Communion, bread is blessed, becomes the body of God and is eaten to nourish the faithful. This Christian Mystery echoes the pagan Mystery of the Grain God.” – Waverly Fitzgerald, School of the Seasons

May you have a fruitful holiday!

A Blessed Samhain

Jason — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:00:00 +0000

Samhain candlelight labyrinth.
Photo by Readerwalker, CC License

It is a time when some communities acknowledge the Mighty Dead.

“The Mighty Dead are said to be those practitioners of our religion who are on the Other Side now, but who still take great interest in the activities of Witches on this side of the Veil. They have pledged to watch, to help and to teach. It is those Mighty Dead who stand behind us, or with us, in circle so frequently.”

This has been a heavy year, as many notable members of the broader Pagan community have crossed the veil, including Sequoia Greenfield, Tara Webster, John Lyon Burnside III, Tom K. (Phoenix), Frederick McLaren Adams, Denessa Smith, Sgt. Joseph A. Ford, Paula Gunn Allen, Cora Anderson, Alan Miller (aka Dr Christopher Hyatt), Susan Grace Falkenrath (aka Susan Wolf), and Brenda Henson.

“I love that story about Susan Anthony that Zsuzsanna Budapest tells in her book. Some journalist asked Susan Anthony, because she didn’t believe in orthodox religion, I suppose, “Where do you think you’re to go when you die?” She said, “I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to stay around and help the women’s movement.” So even if I don’t live long enough to see these things, I’ll be around to make a nuisance of myself.” – Doreen Valiente, the Mother of Modern Witchcraft.

Below you’ll find an assortment of quotes from the media and from fellow Pagans on the holiday.

“Samhain. All Hallows. All Hallow’s Eve. Hallow E’en. Halloween. The most magical night of the year. Exactly opposite Beltane on the wheel of the year, Halloween is Beltane’s dark twin. A night of glowing jack-o’-lanterns, bobbing for apples, tricks or treats, and dressing in costume. A night of ghost stories and séances, tarot card readings and scrying with mirrors. A night of power, when the veil that separates our world from the Otherworld is at its thinnest. A “spirit night”, as they say in Wales.” – Mike Nichols, The Witches’ Sabbats

“This night brought excitement to our European ancestors. They believed that this night was the time when the “Veil Between Worlds” was at its thinnest, and a time when the love of the living and the dead could transcend through that thinned Veil, and each side could reach to the other, to express that love.” – Terry Smith, The Town Talk

“Halloween’s constantly evolving traditions originated about 2,000 years ago in the Celtic culture that thrived in what is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France. Oct. 31 marked the end of the Celtic year and the annual ancient festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). This event celebrated the end of both the summer and the harvest. It was a pivotal time for early pagans whose lives were so closely linked to the land.” – Laura Krawczyk and Eric Sever, The Cauldron

“In A.D. 43 the Roman war machine rolled through Britain and conquered a large chunk of the Celtic population. But the Romans, always the master conquerors, cleverly blended two of their own holidays with the Celtic Samhain to make the transition to Roman rule more seamless. One holiday was a celebration of the dead — easy enough to mix with Samhain — and the other was a celebration of the Pomona, goddess of fruit and trees, where, apparently, the tradition of bobbing for apples takes root.” – Streeter Seidell, CNN

“Set up an altar in your home to honor departed loved ones and ancestors, or, if you already have such an altar, place offerings and light a candle there. As done in ancient times, set a place at your table for your spirit friends and relatives, and serve them some of the food and drink you share at your Samhain feast. Throw a Come as You Were Party and have everyone dress up as they were in another life. Set lighted carved pumpkins around your home to bless it. Magically make a resolution to break out of a negative habit pattern and begin a healthier way of being. Do divination on the year ahead.” – Selena Fox, Celebrating the Seasons

May you all have a blessed Samhain, blessings to you, and your beloved dead on this season. Let this new cycle be one of great blessings for all of you.

Happy Autumnal Equinox

Jason — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:30:00 +0000

Today is the Autumnal Equinox (15:44 UTC) which signals the beginning of Fall in the northern hemisphere. On this day there will be an equal amount of light and darkness, and after this day the nights grow longer and we head towards Winter. In many modern Pagan traditions this is the second of three harvest festivals (the first being Lughnasadh, the third being Samhain).

Pagan circle at Autumn Equinox.
Photo by Chris John Beckett (CC)

The holiday is also known as “Harvest Home” or “Mabon” by Wiccans and Witches, “Mid-Harvest” and “Alban Elfed” by some Druidic and Celtic-oriented groups, and “Winter Finding” by modern-day Asatru. Most modern Pagans simply call it the Autumn Equinox. Here are some media quotes and excerpts from modern Pagans on the holiday.

“We’ve had a fun summer, but it’s almost time to bid farewell to the warm weather and welcome the fall. The autumnal equinox will occur on Monday, September 22, 2008 at 11:44:18 a.m. EDT, causing weather geeks, neo-pagans, and people who simply enjoy the change of seasons to break out the sweaters or druid’s cloaks and have a little party. Variously known as Mabon, Alban Elfed, Night of the Hunter, Wine Harvest, and Witch’s Thanksgiving, the fall equinox holiday doesn’t quite enjoy the the popularity of the summer solstice, but it’s a good enough excuse to get outside and groove on nature, if that’s your thing.” – Victor Ozols, Jaunted

“We pagans consider this holiday as a reminder of the harvest of our efforts this year, and the bounty it is, weighted against our life’s experience. These past experiences take seed, regenerate into wisdom, which is reborn within. It is also a time to ponder the necessity for fallow periods, for it is the fallow periods which allow us to assimilate, regenerate, and incorporate that which we have progressed through the year. Just as fields need to lay fallow to better support new growth, so do we!” – Terry Smith, Alexandria Town Talk

“Mabon is the second of three harvest festivals on the Pagan calendar, with the third and largest being Samhain, at the Celtic new year. It celebrates the bounty of the harvest, but it also calls for celebrants to be thankful for other blessings in their lives, including family and friends. Among the traditional symbols of Mabon are wine, gourds, pine cones, acorns, grains, corn, apples, pomegranates, vines such as ivy, dried seeds and horns of plenty. Traditional foods include breads, nuts, apples, pomegranates and root vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and onions.” – Leslie Boyd, Asheville Citizen-Times

“At Mabon, we acknowledge the riches of the harvest while the fields are still bringing forth produce. This lets us interact, if we choose, with the living Earth even as She is busy making our apples and cabbages and corn and beans and potatoes get fat and ready for the picking. Whether we go to the local farmer’s market, go picking in a local orchard, or grow our own in a garden plot, the sensual connection with nature is strong at this time because the season of harvest is rich with color, fragrance and texture.” – Peg Aloi, The Witches’ Voice

“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 one quarter of the year after Midsummer, Harvest Home represents midautumn, 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.” – Mike Nichols, The Witches’ Sabbats

May you all enjoy the fruits of your harvest this season.

A Blessed Lughnasadh

Jason — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 12:22:00 +0000

Lammas food altar (Photo: BBC)

Here are some quotes for the holiday.

“Although in the heat of a midwestern summer it might be difficult to discern, the festival of Lammas (August 1) marks the end of summer and the beginning of fall. The days now grow visibly shorter and by the time we’ve reached autumn’s end (October 31), we will have run the gamut of temperature from the heat of August to the cold and (sometimes) snow of November. And in the midst of it, a perfect midwestern autumn.” – Mike Nichols, The Witches’ Sabbats

“It may still feel distinctly like summer outside, but Aug. 1 has long been celebrated by some Europeans as the beginning of fall. Known to some as Lammas and others as Lughnasad, the festival of the harvest is most commonly celebrated by baking a loaf of bread from the season’s new grain supply. Although predating Christianity, the celebration has been incorporated into church traditions as well, as the first loaves of bread were brought to Mass on Aug. 1, from whence the name Lammas (loaf-mass) is derived. In addition to the celebration of the year’s bounty, some traditions also incorporate a farewell to the sun, as the days become shorter and the nights cooler. Whether the celebration is spiritual or merely symbolic, there’s something to be said for reconnecting with the seasons and with the sowing, growing and reaping of food in our community. Sitting in air-conditioned cubicles and commuting by car, we can so easily become separated from the natural world that we have little chance to recognize the rhythms of nature which were so essential to our ancestors.” – Theresa Hogue, Corvallis Gazette Times

“The first ripe fruits in Ireland in August are the bilberries, a cousin of the North American blueberry. In Ireland, it became a tradition to gather the wild berries on the last Sunday in July (known, variously, as ‘Bilberry Sunday,’ or ‘Lughnasa Sunday.’” – Cathleen Falsani, Chicago Sun Times

“In modern times this agricultural core of the festival is all that has survived, but formerly, when Celtic lands were under native rulers, Lúghnasadh was the occasion of major assemblies where legal matters were settled, political problems were discussed, craftsmen, artists and entertainers got a chance to show off their talents, and sporting events brought scattered communities together. All this was under the patronage of Lúgh (the 9th-century Sanas Cormaic explains ‘Lúghnasadh’ as “the assembly of Lúgh”), who was said to have instituted the games in memory of either his wives or of his foster-mother Tailtiu, whose name (from Old Celtic Talantiu, “The Great One of the Earth”) and life-history give her a special affinity with the Harvest. But it is Lúgh alone who allows the Harvest to actually begin, by setting the right conditions for it and by combating the hostile elements in the Land that are trying to destroy the crops.” – Alexei Kondratiev, Lugus: The Many-Gifted Lord

“Have a magical picnic and break bread with friends. Do a meditation in which you visualize yourself completing a project you have already begun. Make a corn dolly charm out of the first grain you harvest or acquire. Bake a sacred loaf bread and give a portion of it to Mother Earth with a prayer of appreciation. Make prayers for a good harvest season. Do prosperity magic. Harvest herbs in a sacred way for use in charms and rituals. Kindle a Lammas fire with sacred wood and dried herbs. If you live in or near a farming region, attend a public harvest festival, such as a corn or apple festival.” - Selena Fox, Lammas

May you have a fruitful holiday!

A Blessed Samhain

Jason — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 15:33:00 +0000

Lighting candles to honor the ancestors.
Photo by Jere/Tyreseus, CC License

It is a time when some communities acknowledge the Mighty Dead.

Notable passings within the Pagan community this year include artists Chas Smith and Lady Jaye Breyer P-Orridge, key Goddess movement figure Shekhinah Mountainwater, Tim Sebastion, chief of the Secular Order of Druids, prominent Salem Witch Shawn Poirier, and groundbreaking visionary Robert Anton Wilson.

Below you’ll find an assortment of quotes from the media and from fellow Pagans on the holiday.

“The word Samhain means summer’s end … It’s not a festival celebrating death, it’s a celebration of our beloved dead who have passed on … The veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest then…” – Laurie Smith, Winnipeg Sun

“Most people celebrate Halloween by donning costumes and collecting candy. For the Rev. Theresa McReynolds, a chiropractor from Atlantic City, October is a special, holy time to honor loved ones who have died. At home, McReynolds creates a special altar with pictures and mementoes. She cooks special meals that include their favorite foods. McReynolds, 61, also would take her grandchildren and other relatives to the cemetery and share stories about their ancestors to ‘remind them we came from somewhere and we’re a part of something bigger than where we are now.’” – Michelle Lee, The Atlantic City Press

“It’s a funny festival, when you think about it. A strange collision of All Saints’ day (the Catholic Church’s way of celebrating all the anonymous ‘also-rans’) and the pre-Christian, celtic festival Oiche Shamhain (Old Irish for ‘Samhain’ night, ‘Samhain’ being a festival of the dead), With that kind of heritage, Halloween was always bound to be a bit weird. In Ireland, where pagan and Christian culture have always been satisfactory bedfellows, Halloween is a cause for a major celebration. Fireworks are let off, barmbrack (a kind of fruit bread) is eaten, there is singing and dancing and, of course, plenty of drinking.” – Ben Snook, Bits of News

“In Northern Europe, Samhain (the Celtic term for Halloween, pronounced sow-in as in ’sour’) was the time when the cattle were moved from the summer pastures to winter shelter. It was the end of the growing season, the end of harvest, a time of thanksgiving, when the ancestors and the spirits of the beloved dead would return home to share in the feast. Death did not sever one’s connections with the community. People would leave offerings of food and drink for their loved ones, and set out candles to light their way home. Those traditions gave us many of our present day customs. Now we set out jack-o-lanterns and give offerings of candy to children – who are, after all, the ancestors returning in new forms.” – Starhawk, On Faith

“The veils are thin this time of year, they say. The veils are thin between the worlds seen and unseen, but they are also thin within us. Something in us opens and reaches out into the dark. Something in us reaches into the darkness held deeply in secret, too. Something in us longs for the warming fire. Our veils are thin, our personality parts fight for dominance, and our psychic centers know that there is more. Our hearts do, too. The unseen reaches for us, and we reach for the unseen. There is no difference between the two.” – T. Thorn Coyle

“The next day – or possibly the day after that, depending on your calendar and/or which scholars you believe – is Samhain. This is the day we remember our ancestors of blood and spirit, those who walked before us and made the ways we follow. We will attend their altar, and take down the family photo albums to share once again the lives and memories of our beloved dead with our daughter, so that she can know whence and from whom she comes.” – Executive Pagan

May you all have a blessed Samhain, blessings to you, and your beloved dead on this season. Let this new cycle be one of great blessings for all of you.

Happy Autumnal Equinox

Jason — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 10:00:00 +0000

Today is the Autumnal Equinox (09:51 UT) and signals the beginning of Fall in the northern hemisphere. On this day there will be an equal amount of light and darkness, and after this day the nights grow longer and we head towards Winter. In many modern Pagan traditions this is the second of three harvest festivals (the first being Lughnasadh, the third being Samhain).

“Mabon” photo by Nyx (CC)

The holiday is also known as “Harvest Home” or “Mabon” by Wiccans and Witches, “Mid-Harvest” and “Alban Elfed” by some Druidic and Celtic-oriented groups, and “Winter Finding” by modern-day Asatru. Most modern Pagans simply call it the Autumn Equinox. Here are some media quotes and excerpts from modern Pagans on the holiday.

“An equinox in astronomy is the event when the Sun can be observed to be directly above the Earth’s equator, occurring around March 20 and September 22 each year. As a general rule, it is thought to be on the 21st of every quarter that the equinox changes. On these dates, night and day are nearly of the same length and the Sun crosses the celestial equator. In a wider sense, the equinoxes are the two days each year when the centre of the Sun spends an equal amount of time above and below the horizon at every location on Earth.” – Pretoria News

“Cultures throughout time have used the cycles of the sun to mark important events. The equinox itself holds less meaning in our modern society, and truly the change that comes to the season happens by degrees over time. But the notion of a balance between light and dark falling on a moment in time is a powerful, and useful, idea to dwell on long after the equinox has given way to the slow march of winter.” – The Daily Green

“Although the specific date of the Autumn Equinox was not marked by any ritual in Celtic tradition, there is evidence that, at some point roughly halfway between Lughnasadh and Samhain, communities would involve themselves with a ceremony that reflected the processes then at work in the Year. This was usually a conclusion to ritual themes invoked at Lughnasadh, and focused on the end of the main harvest activities (i.e., the grain harvest), although it did not imply the end of the entire Harvest season, which continued until Samhain” – Alexei Kondratiev, The Apple Branch

“In the rhythm of the year, Harvest Home marks a time of rest after hard work. The crops are gathered in, and winter is still a month and a half away! Although the nights are getting cooler, the days are still warm, and there is something magical in the sunlight, for it seems silvery and indirect. As we pursue our gentle hobbies of making corn dollies (those tiny vegetation spirits) and wheat weaving, our attention is suddenly arrested by the sound of baying from the skies (the ‘Hounds of Annwn’ passing?), as lines of geese cut silhouettes across a harvest moon. And we move closer to the hearth, the longer evening hours giving us time to catch up on our reading, munching on popcorn balls and caramel apples and sipping home-brewed mead or ale. What a wonderful time Harvest Home is! And how lucky we are to live in a part of the country where the season’s changes are so dramatic and majestic!” – Mike Nichols, “Harvest Home”

“Autumn Equinox (also known as Mabon or Harvest Home) is celebrated when day and night are of equal duration before the descent into increasing darkness and is the final festival of the season of harvest. In nature, the activity of the summer months slows down to the hibernation for the winter. For many Pagans, now is time to reflect on the past season. It is also a time to recoginse that the balance of the year has changed, the wheel has turned and summer is now over.” – BBC, Religion and Ethics

“However you celebrate this festival, I urge you all to get outside and enjoy the sensual delights of late summer as it gives way to early autumn. Visit a local farm. It is important to support small farms as often as possible; farming is a dying way of life in this country and your health (not to mention your local economy) will benefit when you buy local and eat fresh. Farmer’s markets are abundant this time of year; find one near you. Go apple picking. Support your local orchards! There is no substitute for fruit freshly picked from the tree; bring your children or make a day of it with friends. Have a harvest dinner made with fresh local vegetables or locally-raised poultry or meat. Make a pie or tart from apples or peaches. Buy wine or beer from a local winery or brewery. Remember your ancestors, who lived close by one another, who worked the fields together, who shared food and drink and fellowship together. Celebrate your own harvests: acknowledge your work, goals or other accomplishments.” – Peg Aloi, The Witches’ Voice

May you all enjoy the fruits of your harvest this season.

A Blessed Lughnasadh

Jason — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 13:42:00 +0000

Today is Lughnasadh (also known as Lammas) the first of three harvest festivals celebrated in many modern Pagan traditions. Lughnasadh originated as one of the four main Celtic fire festivals and was dedicated to the Celtic god Lugh the many-skilled. It is a time of thanksgiving, first-harvests, and the end of summer (though it doesn’t feel like it considering our recent heat-waves).

Lammas food altar (Photo: BBC)

Here are some quotes both modern and historical on the holiday.

“Through photos or in the flesh, more than 55 people brought in their cats, dogs, gerbils, rabbits – even a Venus’ flytrap – to celebrate Lammas, the annual blessing of the animals. The ceremony was hosted by the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans … The devotion and support that animals provide people are part of nature’s abundance, and that is something to celebrate…” – Amy Sowder, The News Press

“Lammastide was also the traditional time of year for craft festivals. The medieval guilds would create elaborate displays of their wares, decorating their shops and themselves in bright colors and ribbons, marching in parades, and performing strange, ceremonial plays and dances for the entranced onlookers. The atmosphere must have been quite similar to our modern-day Renaissance festivals.” – Mike Nichols, The Witches’ Sabbats

“Today is Lammas Day. Not a lot of people know that … Traditionally Lammas Day was the first opportunity when this year’s harvest was made into bread and used in the communion. Tenants also gave a donation of the harvest to their landlords. Part of my passion for the licensed trade is the recognition of the indivisible relationship with agriculture and the rural community. Our core product, beer in its many guises, is essentially a mixture of barley, hops and water. And barley and hops are around us, here, in abundance. It would be ridiculous to claim that, as a licensee, I am root and branch an integral part of the agricultural community but every time I pass a field of barley or a hop garden I am mindful of the role they play in the job I do.” – Chris Maclean, The Publican

“Someone, somewhere, is harvesting wheat, but the way I know it is Lammastide is that the fog has settled in over San Francisco as though it intends to stay. Most Pagans chart the seasons where they live and for me, the end of July and beginning of August, known by the old Irish as Lughnasad, and the English as Lammas, is always heralded by fog. Thick and blanketing, it rises up from the water bounding this city, rolling in two directions: over the hills in the West and past the downtown buildings, East. This is not the light fog we have earlier in the summer, that comes in after a few days of heat. No. This is actual pea-soup-at-night fog that covers all but a couple neighborhoods and only burns off for a few hours a day. Once it settles in, it seems to be settling for good.” – Thorn Coyle, “Loaf Mass is Nigh”

“…Lugh dedicated this festival to his foster-mother, Tailtiu, the last queen of the Fir Bolg, who died from exhaustion after clearing a great forest so that the land could be cultivated. When the men of Ireland gathered at her death-bed, she told them to hold funeral games in her honor. As long as they were held, she prophesied Ireland would not be without song. Tailtiu’s name is from Old Celtic Talantiu, “The Great One of the Earth,” suggesting she may originally have been a personification of the land itself, like so many Irish goddesses. In fact, Lughnasadh has an older name, Bron Trogain, which refers to the painful labor of childbirth. For at this time of year, the earth gives birth to her first fruits so that her children might live….” – Mara Freeman, Chalice Centre

“…the bread we celebrate at Lammas is the fruit of the earth and the work of human hands–both farmers and bakers. For that reason alone, the bread is already sacred in itself. When we blessed the bread Saturday night, we were simply remembering those who came before us, those who discovered agriculture and that alchemy of fermentation that gives us both bread and beer. And of course we were honoring the abundance of the earth itself. I rather like the idea of a “loaf mass” in which we are all the celebrants, and that which we consume needs no transformation by a priestly caste.” – Victoria Slind-Flor, “Lammas returns, and we celebrate the sacredness of bread”

May you have a fruitful holiday!