Golden Aspen leaves have started appearing, the most obvious of which find themselves juxtaposed against the dirt and rocks of my back road. I started noticing them these last few weeks; signs that the seasons are changing, yet again, and right on time for Mabon. Though, unlike some times in my past, I feel no urgency or regret as the tides of change crash once more.
Over the years, I have come to enjoy the steady turning of our solar year, along with all the diversity of experience that the waxing and waning light creates for our planet. I love the energy and excitement of summer, of course, but I am equally thrilled by the quiet nourishment of winter these days too. So, as another autumn approaches, I can’t help but enjoy the subtle coziness that’s begun to pull at the edges of my crisping attention.
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The pace is slowing, routines are settling, and goals for the coming season are starting to click into place. I have a big, international trip coming up, and I’ve really been channeling the Virgoan order as I’ve begun preparing. Still, as we find ourselves bathed in the Equinox’s light and start enjoying the cozy vibes of Mabon, I can already feel the draw of Libra’s balance beckoning me to take a step back to get some perspective.
A Witch’s Thanksgiving
Mabon, the second harvest festival in the Wheel of the Year, falls on the autumnal equinox and is traditionally recognized as both a celebration and an invitation. On the one hand, it earned it’s nickname “Witches’ Thanksgiving” because it is a time to acknowledge and offer gratitude for the year’s harvest, while on the other, it’s also a time for careful review and strategy. If the harvest was plentiful, it needs to be organized and stored so that it lasts, and if it wasn’t? Well, that’s going to require an entirely different type of resourcefulness.
This duality in the the nature of harvesting only becomes more prevalent as the autumn season takes hold too. By Samhain (Halloween), the results of the year’s work will be obvious and the reckoning of the coming winter will be on the horizon. But for now, there’s still a bit of time.
It’s in this space of transition and sorting that this Sabbat provides its time-worn and natural wisdom: slow down, pay attention, be strategic, and learn from everything. Sure, the meticulous refinement of Virgo season helped to prepare us for this, but it’s Libra’s careful impartiality that allows this sort of objective and practical energy to move that way it wants too. Scorpio season will create space for the emotional fall out; for now, we need to see and think clearly enough to work with whatever we’ve managed to create so far.
Coming Back Into Balance
Personally, this summer has been a whirlwind of opportunities and adventures. I’ve been having a lot of fun, loosening my grip on my routines, and working around changes with the type of grace only flow can provide. Yet, as I touch base, the familiarity of old realities are still present too.
Winter is coming. Firewood needs to be cut and stacked, gaps need to be sealed, and provisions need to be stored… Of course, this isn’t as extreme as it used to be, but I suppose my looming trip to Peru is helping to exaggerate the sense of preparation that is otherwise so naturally and historically embedded into this time of year.
It feels like the profound stillness at the eye of a storm: nothing has stopped, but perspective is removed from the chaos. Actively, I find myself balancing: 1) Wow, this year has been full of progress, and 2) Okay, there’s still some work that needs to be done here… And that is the beautiful thing about these unique, transitionary times of year: BOTH, AND.
Letting It All Settle
One of my favorite visuals for the metaphor of harvesting is that of sifting wheat from its chaff. The process itself requires simple, rhythmic movements, and allows nature to do the rest. The chaff is naturally lifted away, leaving behind only the grain, all without the necessity of picking it off each and every kernel.
I find that I am trying to learn that ease of process, being a recovering perfectionist, since my tendency is to try and micromanage and control. I am realizing that, despite the satisfaction of seeing the proof in each and every instance myself, that sort of pressure to ensure results is exhausting (and unnecessary).
Oftentimes, if we allow the space for nature and truth to act, things work themselves out or otherwise find themselves in the flow of life regardless. Sure, it’s probably not going to look perfect, but what in nature does? And at what point did an arbitrary standard start counting for more than reality?
Keeping the Fruits
Perhaps that’s just it: separating the grain from the chaff is about so much more than goals and results; it’s about recognizing value. That includes recognizing that arbitrary standards of perfection aren’t actually valuable as much as it means recognizing what’s really working.
When our lives themselves become our greatest works of art and devotion, suddenly the goals and achievements come out of focus. This isn’t because they don’t matter; this is because they are secondary to their source. Truly, everything we desire and do originates much deeper: at our core.
This is what makes Sabbats like Mabon so valuable: they ask us to pause and find ourselves within the cycles of nature. They ask us to orient ourselves within the processes of life, not because those processes are more powerful than us, but because we are a part of them regardless of our awareness and conscious participation.
Remembering the True Harvest
So, yeah… I built an app this year, I saw incredible web traffic gains, I started a YouTube channel, I got into a new relationship, I started facilitating medicine retreats, and so much more! But really? Really truly!?
My harvest is a happy heart, a peaceful mind, and a healthy body. Things that I have been dedicated to, day in and day out, for years. My harvest is the compounding, reverberating blessing of a life I choose to live well, every day.
Sabbat Activity Booklet
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Are the achievements cool? Absolutely. Am I excited to see growth and to anticipate new opportunities? Of course. But what am I most grateful and appreciative of? Putting in the thankless, mundane work day after day for the past nine years in order to reclaim my life as my own. Truly, may everyone know that deep and indulgent pleasure, season after season.
Blessed be and take care! May your Mabon be full of wisdom and love,
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