Wow Increased energy with our Equinox Supermoon Ostara Eclipse!

Wow Friday will certainly be a day for increased energy!!

We have a solar eclipse here in the UK that will affect us and much of Europe, below is a map to show you the areas that will be affected. Currently it looks like a good viewing area is actually in the south of England as the weather forecast is said to be sunny here. Those that have headed up to the north of England and further north may be disappointed by the cloud cover sadly.

The eclipse is caused by the  moon passing in front of the path of the moon. The Sun has a diamater 400 times greater than our moon but our moon is 400 times closer to the sun than the moon. (the ratio varies as both orbits are elliptical) Thus it happens that our small moon can totally block out the light from the Sun. How amazing is it that these figures cause this incredible event to occur?!

Viewing areas for the UK

Not only is this an amazing celestial event itself but the moon we will be having is a super moon. You can find out more about super moons here. How does the super moon affect me?

Our March new moon will turn new just 14 hours after reaching lunar perigree, that is the closest point to the earth.

Supermoons occur because our moon does not follow a circular path around our earth, it follows an elliptical one. Therefore at its furthest away it is 405,000 km away, this is called an apogee, and at its nearest it is 363,000, this is called a perigree. When the time of the perigree aligns with a full or new moon it is called a supermoon. Super moons are known to bring higher tides than usual and the effect that they have on human and animal behaviour is heightened at the time of a Supermoon.

“The moon may seem bigger although the difference in its distance from Earth is only a few percent at such times,” says Dr. James Garvin, chief scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center on the space agency’s website. “It is called a supermoon because this is a very noticeable alignment that at first glance would seem to have an effect. The ‘super’ in supermoon is really just the appearance of being closer.”

Supermoons can appear as much as 14% larger in the sky and 30% brighter to our eyes than at their smallest size and brightness.

In addition to this being a super moon eclipse it is also falling on the equinox, the day when night and day are of equal length. Thus our special Ostara equinox super moon will travel in front of the sun creating a shadow that falls on our earth.

Some statistics on that equinox eclipse I found interesting from earthsky:

"A total eclipse of the sun and the March equinox do fall on the same date this year: March 20, 2015. The greatest eclipse occurs at 9:46 Universal Time, while the March equinox comes to pass some 13 hours later at 22:45 Universal Time. 

Supermoon total eclipse of equinox sun on March 20, 2015

After this 2015 equinox eclipse, the next solar eclipse at the March equinox will happen on March 20, 2034. Then there will be two more in this century: 2053 and 2072. 

A solar eclipse can only happen at new moon. For a solar eclipse to take place at the vernal equinox, therefore, the new moon must come on the equinox date. Of course, a March equinox new moon doesn’t always necessarily guarantee a solar eclipse.  Here’s why.

New moons recur on (or near) the same calendar dates every 19 years. This 19-year lunar period is known as the Metonic cycle. Amazingly, you can project this 19-year cycle for centuries into the future (or past) to figure out when the new moon will occur on the March equinox."

In ancient times eclipses were things to be dreaded. They were often seen as signs that the Gods were angry and were greatly feared.

Now of course we know that is not the case. We will probably find there is a fair bit of turbulence going on however due to these events going on in the skies above us so perhaps prepare yourselves for a few choppy days at sea! Ride the waves of the turbulence and see the eclipse together with the new moon as a doorway to new adventures, open the door and do not be afraid of what you find on the other side! Ostara Oestare brings new adventures, new beginnings and a spring in your step, as the world awakens so do you! Take a page out of nature's book and find it within you to flourish as you are meant to! 

Special Ostara Equinox Supermoon Eclipse blessings to you! AstarteAlison

Ostara, Oestre blessings, How will you be celebrating the Spring Equinox

How will you be spending this Ostara?

*´¯`•.¸¸.☽◯☾ *´¯`•.¸¸

Myself and my daughters took this photograph on a lovely spring walk last Ostara, I love walking out in the countryside and seeing all the daffodils that have pushed their way through the soil at this time of year. I love in particular the clusters of these beautiful yellow flowers that can be found on the verges of our roads, they really brighten up an otherwise very dull and grey vista. Nature's beauty can be found even in the heart of our cities and you do not need to be living in the countryside to appreciate the wonders of our Mother Earth.

Take some time to spend in nature if you can. Go for a walk, read a book or meditate with the trees. You do not need to live in the countryside in order to do that. Thank the Goddess Mother Earth, Gaia for all the wonders she provides for us.

I hope that you and all that you hold dear have a wonderful Ostara, Oestre planned, may the Spring Equinox bring warmth and balance to your lives. Equinox blessings to you, Alison xxx

20 Ways to celebrate Ostara Eostre, Oestara, the Spring Equinox.

20 Ways to celebrate Ostara, the Spring Equinox.

You may be celebrating Oestara on your own or with friends and family and below are a few ways in which you can welcome the Spring into your home and honour the turning of the wheel. If you have children the Spring Eqinox is a wonderful time of year as new life is all around us and the cycle of life can be explained to children; you can have great fun with craft projects to illustrate this. 

Ostara eggs by Oshuna

Decorate some eggs. You could get real eggs and hard boil them, then use vegetable dye to make them lovely spring colours. If you create a pattern with candle wax before dying them this makes a lovely effect when the wax is scratched away.  Or alternatively make eggs out of papier-mâché or cardboard and decorate them with felt tip pens and sequins. You can decorate them with Pagan symbols of new life and balance such as spirals or the Yin and Yang symbols.  Hang them around your house or place them on your altar to welcome the coming of Spring.

Carry out some ‘spring cleaning’. Pick an area of your house that could do with a sort out and have a good clear out of anything that you no longer need. Getting rid of old accumulated things makes way for something more positive to enter into your life.

Go for an Oestara/Ostara walk to your local park or out in the countryside. Notice which flowers are starting to bloom, which trees have got buds on them, and give thanks to our mother earth, Gaia for all the bounty that she provides us with. You may like to meditate with the trees for a little while, absorbing the wisdom that they have to give to us.

Make an Ostara display. You could use spring flowering bulbs such as crocus, hyacinth, tulips, daffodils. Oestara themed objects such as rabbits and eggs, and pretty pastel colours will finish off your decorations perfectly.

Ostara by Oshuna on DeviantArt

Meditate on the Moon-Hare, the animal our ancestors saw on the face of the moon. Let your mind wander to thoughts of how to make sure your life is blossoming this spring.

Clear out a section of your garden in readiness for some spring planting. You may have a section that needs weeding or cutting back in readiness to plant some flower seeds or some spring vegetables.

Think about any relationships in your life that might be a little out of balance at the moment. Ostara or Eostre is a time of balance in nature and a perfect time to sort out anything that is a little out of kilter. It may mean an apology or a little more effort on your part but it is worth it for the harmony it will bring to your life.

Make a dragon puppet out of old egg boxes held together with string and stuck on green canes. Your children might like to perform a puppet show for you with the dragons that they have made.  Our ancestors could strongly feel the dragon energy that ran through our land, the ancient ridgeways were said to be the backbone of the dragon. Honour this dragon energy with your very own creation! We would love to see a picture of your dragon.

Dance to celebrate the coming of spring and the returning of the light. You could dance a pre-rehearsed dance such as a dragon procession, or you could simply put on your favourite music and dance around the house. Dancing is always a perfect way to obtain a feel-good factor! You don’t have to be any good at it- dance on your own or with friends and family and just enjoy yourself.

Taking time to meditate with trees can be a very special feeling to share with mother nature, especially Alder, Ash or Birch if you know of any that grow nearby as these are symbolically important for Ostara.

Share some Ostara food with friends or family. You could bake some bread, eat hot cross buns or hard boiled eggs. As you eat and enjoy one another’s company give thanks to our mother Goddess for all that she has provided for you.

Have a traditional Ostara breakfast of buns and eggs.

Eggshells provide fertility to your garden, spread some crushed egg shells around your plants with a blessing for the plants and soil.

Wear clothing in spring like colours such as green and yellow.

On Ostara Eve, light a purple or violet candle and burn patchouli incense. Carry them both through the house, blessing each room as you do so. This will give your newly spring cleansed house a fresh spring like feel to it. Incense is available to buy at www.astarte-moon.co.uk

Have an easter egg hunt around your home or garden, children and adults alike enjoy this pastime! In our house every year we create clues that lead all around the place, eventually ending up at the place where the eggs are all hidden: usually the washing machine!

Make some spring equinox healing water. Leave water in a bowl from dawn until midday at the time of the equinox. This energizing water will be fabulous to use around the house as a blessing, or drink a little every day to encourage optimism and self confidence. Bless any new projects you are about to start with a little of your equinox water.

Make an Ostara basket with food and drink of the season and take it round to a friend or neighbour who is feeling under the weather at the moment. Spread a little Ostara magic!

However you celebrate Oestara this year, above all enjoy yourself. This is a time for celebration and new beginnings, it is a very joyous time of year when the earth is awakening and the flowers and trees are coming to life. The warmer days make us feel better and give a hope for the increased sunshine and happy days ahead of us.

Ostara Eostre Oestre blessings free e-card

 Ostara heralds the coming of the Spring. It is celebrated usually on March 21st. Ostara, Oestara, Eostre or Oestre is also known as the Spring Equinox, day and night are of equal length and our Mother Earth has a sense of balance in the air. All around us there are signs of the earth waking from the winter cold. Daffodils and crocuses rise from the ground, shoots push through the soil and lambs are seen playing in the fields, there is a sense of expectation in the air and a looking forward to the warmer more fruitful days ahead.

Eostre blessings for you for this joyful start of Spring.

Celebrate the wonder that is Ostara, Eostre by sending this free e-card to someone special. Just right click on the pic and then you can save to your phone, tablet or laptop and print out or send as you please. Enjoy!

Ostara, Eostre, Spring Equinox Blessings to you and all those you hold dear,

blessings, Alison xxx

Books, daffodils and tress. A quote on gratitude and the wonders of nature.

Books, daffodils and trees. How wonderful is life! We have much to be grateful for.

Try and take some time this month to spend a little time with nature. A walk around your local park, or sitting beneath an ancient tree are wonderful ways to ground yourself. Even spending five minutes each day just standing barefoot is a fabulous way to connect with the earth and ground yourself.  Let nature's strength and love course through your veins, re-vitalising you and filling you with serenity and hope. For my cousins on the Southern Hemisphere, happy arrival of spring to you. I am very grateful for all that nature provides for us and very much looking forward to the arrival of spring with its beautiful bulbs and blossom on the trees. In the meantime I am going to offer gratitude for the autumn and winter and all their magickal delights. As the wheel turns there are always so many wonderful things to be grateful for.  Our Mother Earth, Gaia is truly an amazing place, giving us her unconditional love. 

Blessings to you all, Alison

The Pagan Wheel of the Year; starting out on your own journey.

The cycle of seasons a lot of Pagans follow is commonly called the wheel of the year. Special events are often described using the Wiccan terms Esbat and Sabbat. Esbats are ritual celebrations of the moon phases. These are often performed on the nights of the full and the new moon. Sabbats are celebrations of the changing of the seasons. They occur approximately every six weeks, with every celebration a noting of the change in the seasons and celebrating all that we can give thanks for.

One of the practices followed by Pagans is adhering to the Wheel of the Year. The year is divided into eight seasons called Sabbats and the beginning of each Sabbat is celebrated. I believe that following the seasons in this way brings us closer to nature, more in touch with our earth’s natural rythyms and thus more in touch with our inner selves. Every six weeks there is a reason for celebration and giving thanks. Doing this helps us keep in touch with the changing year and allows us to celebrate the good in every change. This wheel of the year is based upon ancient Celtic Druid practices; the continuous cycle lends itself to the image of a wheel. The ancient Celts saw time as a wheel or spiral divided by eight festivals.

The Wheel of the year is split into four major sabbats or Fire festivals and four minor sabbats or Solar festivals. The major sabbats represent the peak of the season whereas the minor sabbats represent the beginning of each turning point on the wheel. The minor sabbats are marked by the two equinoxes, spring and autumn, when day and night are of equal length, and the longest and shortest days, Litha and Yule. The major sabbats are smahin, imbolc, Beltane and Lammas.

Below are the dates of each point in the wheel of the year and a very brief description. More detail on each Sabbat is given in the appropriate blog posts for that season.

  

October 31, Samhain (Halloween, Witches new year)

Samhain (pronounced -sow-wen) is midway between the fall equinox and the winter solstice, this is a major Sabbat. Samhain is the third harvest festival. It is a time for honouring and remembering our deceased loved ones.

December 21/22, Yule

Yule is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year, and the birthday of the sun. This is a time for looking forward to the return of the light and a time to remember the importance of family and friends.

February 2, Imbolc (Brigid’s day Imbolc, Candlemas, Oimelc)

Imbolc is the midpoint between Yule and Spring Equinox. We celebrate the gentle signs of early spring, and of light returning after the darkness of winter. Imolc reminds us that spring is on its way and it is a festival of preparation, this is a time to prepare for any major projects in our lives.

March 22, Oestara (Spring Equinox, Ostara, Eostre)

At the spring equinox day and light are of equal length, this this is a festival of balance. Oestara is a time to look at any imbalances in our lives and correct them if needed. It is a time to celebrate the Spring and is a fabulous fertile time for new ideas to be sown.

May 1, Beltane (May Day)

Beltane is the midpoint between Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice. Beltane is a fire festival and is a time for fertility and creativity of all kinds.

June 21, Litha (Summer Solstice)

Litha is the time of the longest day and shortest night of the year. This is a time of strength and fertility when the sun is at it’s strongest.

August 2, Lammas (Lughnasad pronounced loo-noss'-sad)

Lammas is the midpoint between Summer Solstice and Fall Equinox. This is the first harvest, when we rejoice in the first fruits of the season. This is a celebration of all that we are grateful for.

September 21/22, Mabon (Autumn/Fall Equinox)

Mabon is the major harvest or thanksgiving festival, It is again a time when day and night are in balance, a time for creating balance in our lives and finishing any un completed projects.

You may like to meditate on which particular point on the wheel of the year calls to you? Which season is your favourite and which is your least favourite? By getting more in touch with each festival you may learn to love a time of the year that has traditionally been harder for you. If for example the shorter days are a struggle, concentrate upon the beauty that the turning leaves of autumn bring and allow yourself the time to look inward and nurture yourself.  

Below is a lovely pictorial representation of the Pagan Wheel of the Year from paganspoonie.blogspot. A wonderful way to start you on your own wheel of the year journey is to make your own. It doesn’t have to be a work of art by any means, you can draw simple images of what each festival represents to you. Another idea is to cut out pictures from magazines to represent each wheel of the year point, or write words that embody the season’s properties for you. I would love to see examples of your creations. 

Happy Mabon to you all- One Lovely blog award.

Hi everyone hope you are enjoying our wonderful full moon and getting ready to celebrate a wonderful Mabon/Equinox weekend.

The lovely Kim at http://thewiccalife.blogspot.co.uk/ nominated me me for the One Lovely Blogger Award, thank-you so much!

The rules are I to say  tell you all seven things about myself that you don't already know and nominate seven blogs to receive the award. They should be seven blogs that haven't already received it which is hard  as many of my favs already have it (!)so I've tried to pick blogs that I don't think have received it!

So the seven things are:
My main job is a mum to 2 wonderful teenage girls.
I live in Buckingham- not the palace lol- in England
I've met Kit Berry author of the Stonewylde Series 
I have electrodes fitted in my head to try and help with migraine!
My fav place to visit is Glastonbury tor.
I've watched Gilmore girls end to end four times now!
I spend a lot of my free time making pentacle bracelets!

So here are my seven:

http://octobersnovember.blogspot.co.uk/
http://branawen.blogspot.com
http://cynthiasfairiesandme.blogspot.co.uk
http://stonehousecottage.blogspot.co.uk/
http://spellsofinfinity.blogspot.co.uk/
http://alloveday.blogspot.co.uk/
http://lightwalkersgathering.blogspot.co.uk/

blessings to you, Alison

Autumn Equinox, Mabon Celebrations, Traditions and History

Mabon/Autumn Equinox

 On the 21st September it is the Autumn Equinox, or Mabon. The holiday of Autumn Equinox or Mabon, is also known as Harvest Home, Harvest’s Height, the Feast of the Ingathering, Mell Day, Kirn Feast, Vela Laiks in Latvia, Meán Fómhair or Alban Elfed (Druidic)

Nature is in perfect balance at this time of year, this is an ideal time for you, your family and friends to appreciate all that is around you.  At the Equinox, day and night are of exactly equal length. It is at this time the sun truly rises in the east and sets in the west.

At Mabon we celebrate the harvest. Festivals take place nowadays all around the world to give thanks for the marvelous bounty the earth has provided for us. We see harvest festivals and Thanksgiving celebrations taking place at this time of year and it is a wonderful time of joy, of being with family and of remembering to offer gratitude for all that we have.

The legend behind Mabon comes from Welsh history. Mabon ap Modron is the son of Modron who is called the Great Goddess, Duardian of the Otherworld, Protector and Healer. He  is the “Great Son of the Great Mother” andknown as the Son of Light.

At the moment of the Autumn Equinox Mabon is taken from his mother when only three days old. Modron cries in sweet sorrow and his whereabouts are veiled in mystery. Mabon is eventually freed at Yule (Winter Solstice), with the aid of the ancient and wise animals: Stag, Raven, Owl, Eagle and Salmon. Some legends state that King Arthur himself was Ma    Mabon’s rescuer.  Apparently Mabon has been a happy captive dwelling in Modron’s magickal Otherworld- Modron’s womb. The story shows how only from such a place of nuturing can Modron come forth and bring such light into the world. He is regenerated and re-born from his time in the warmth and comforting strength of the Earth Mother to bring new life forward.

Mabon’s story reminds us of the importance of periods of rest and recuperation. It is during these times that we gather the strength to spring forward with renewed vigor ready to face the world and all its challenges. The earth is our strength and we can draw from that strength.

Christian Britain replaced the Welsh Mabon with St Michael, to whom churches on many sacred Pagan sites were erected. The Autumnal Equinox became known as the Christian Feast of Michaelmas.  Michael is seen as the greatest of all archangels and is credited with defeating Lucifer, he is seen as the protector of darkness.

Mabon byB-a-s-t-e-t

Other cultures also identified this season with their own mythologies. In ancient Rome, it was a celebration to Mercury or Apollo. We also think of the legend Demeter and Persphone at this time as the Autumn equinox is the time that Persphone leaves her mother and goes to join Hades in the underworld.

The Druids call this festival of Mabon Mea'N Fo'mhair and honor the Green Man by making offerings of beverages like mead and cider to the trees.

Mabon marks the completion of the grainharvest begun during Lughnasadh or Lammas. Celebrations revolve around the gathering of crops and thanksgiving for the abundances of the harvest, and rituals to insure the success of next year's harveharvest are characteristic during this harvest time. As at Lammas the making of corn dollies from the last sheaf of corn that is harvested is a typical custom.

The corn dollies that were made from the last sheaves of the harvest were often carried from house to house in a game where people tried to run back without anybody taking the dolly from them. This could be an early form of the American football game. The corn dolly was then displayed in a position of honour in the home, perhaps above the hearth as she embodied the spirit of the harvest. The Mabon corn dolly is then kept until the spring - keeping the spirit of the corn, when she is ploughed back into the field to breath the life of the corn back into the soil.

Many celebrations revolved around the crowning of the harvest King and Queen.  The English folk song “Lavender Blue, Lavender Green” was a song that grew out of Mabon traditions. Blue is the color of the Harvest Lord and green of the Harvest Lady. Hay rides were a popular custom as families rode the hay wagon back from the harvest, singing songs about the bountiful harvest in readiness for the harvest that they were about to partake of. Then would follow a wonderful Mabon harvest festival, a feast that brought the whole community together, young and old alike. All joined in celebration for this wonderful bounty that Mother Nature had provided.

Contained within the harvesting of the crops is the mystery of life and death in the image of Lohn Barylecorn, the Wicker Man or corn Man. Images of the Wicker Man were burnt in order to ensure a bountiful harvest for the coming year.

Image Magickal Graphics

In Scotland and Wales, Mabon wines were poured onto the ground to honour the aging Goddess as she moved into her  Crone aspect. In Celtic lands blackberry wine was a Celtic specialty, especially in Ireland, where blackberries are sacred to the goddess Brigit.

In Ireland, Scotland and Cornwall burial mounds or Cairns were often visited during Mabon to honour the spirits of dead ancestors. This was to appease the dead so that when they visited at Samhain they would be kindly and would be wishing goodwill upon the living. It was believed that the balance of light and dark at this time of the equinox would act like an equilateral cross and offer protection from any negative spirits that may be inhabiting and burial grounds. An apple was often left to honour dead ancestors at their burial site. Apples have been viewed as sacred in many cultures and have been associated with knowledge and immortality. They are said to be a symbol of the Goddess because the centre reminds us of the womb when we look at the seeds representing the growing life that hides inside. 

In China, Taiwan and Vietnam the equinox is celebrated with the Moon festival also known as Mooncake festival or Zhongqui Festival. This festival honours Chang’e the lunar Goddess and it commemorates the only day in the year that she can visit her husband Houyi who lives on the sun. Because of this it is seen as a celebration of the balance of yin and yang. Traditions associated with the Mooncake festival include eating mooncakes(not surprisingly!) lighting lanterns, matchmaking, and Fire Dragon Dances.

In Japan, Higan is a Buddhist holiday celebrated at both the time of the autumn and spring equinoxes. Higan is seen in Buddhist terms as crossing from the shore of ignorance and suffering to the other shore of Enlightenment and peace. Celebrations typically involve honouring ancestors, cleaning and decorating their graves.

So we see a tradition of harvest and thanksgiving festivals still taking place around our globe today. It is perhaps not quite as acute as it was to our ancestors and we are not as close to the earth as they used to be. After all generally most of us do have enough food to eat and are not so dependent on a good harvest. We are lucky enough to be able to shop at our local supermarket for a wide variety of food from around the globe. However just because we are no longer so dependent on the success of the harvest this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t give thanks to our mother earth at this time for the food that she provides for us.

Ashleen O’Gaea explains in Celebrating the Seasons of Life:  Beltane to Mabon:

…When we celebrate the harvest at Mabon, we are right to enjoy our successes, our accomplishments, and the work we’ve done to enhance our lives.  We are right to enjoy pooling and sharing our resources with our friends and our loved ones.  But it’s also appropriate to celebrate the harvest in a much wider sense, and to be especially aware of our day-to-day, breath-to-breath interactions that are a continuous cycle of harvest

We should not therefore be only thankful for the harvest at this time of year but for everything that is good in our lives.

Maybe you would like to conduct your own Mabon celebrations based on those festivities carried out by our ancestors. There is more information on this on my post on Mabon activities

Mabon is also a time of year to slow down a little and reflect. Don’t rush forward hastily but let the autumn be a fallow period if necessary. Use this time as nauture does, to lie fallow if you need to be whilst you look within at your life. Be understanding with yourself, treat yourself as Mabon within his Mother’s womb before you emerge forth with love and light. Think about what you like in your life and what you would like to change. It is a good time to give thanks for the good, to release that which isn’t good and is not serving a purpose any more in your life.  Mabon is a good time to get in touch with your ability to change, to bring warmth to cold situations, to bring light into dark situations and areas of your life. Use this time of balance, to look closely at the balance in our life. How do you balance your personal needs with your commitments to the outside world? How do you receive and how do you give?

Enjoy the sense of balance to your life that the Autumnal Equinox will bring. Don’t push anything, let your days take their own pace just as nature does and you may be surprisingly pleased by the results that you see. Enjoy this wonderful season as the leaves start to turn from green to golden blackberries appear in our hedgerows. And once again marvel at the wonders of the turning of the Wheel.

Mabon blessings of bountiful light to you, Alison

     

Guided Goddess meditation for Mabon, the Autumn equinox.

This is a guided meditation for you to follow during the time of Mabon on the wheel of the year. It doesn't need to be at Mabon it's just that have I have made it relevant to that point on the wheel of the year. However you could use this Goddess mediation anytime you feel it would be beneficial. You could even take it and adapt it or even write your own meditation. I have given this one a Pagan feel trying to make it feel as though you were perhaps someone waking up on the day of Mabon back in the time of our ancestors and attending a traditional equinox celebration. I hope you enjoy!

Today is the day of Mabon, the second of the three celebrations of the harvest on the Pagan wheel of the year. It is a day to celebrate the wondrous bounty that we have been blessed with. Mabon, is the autumn equinox, it is a time when day and night are in perfect balance.  It is time therefore for balancing all aspects of your life and for reconciling any opposites. You feel totally in balance today, all aspects of your health and happiness are being resolved and feel calm.

We give thanks to our Mother Goddess Gaia for all she provides for us and ask her to bless us that the fertility of our land and projects may continue. 

Mabon is a day of much celebration and you awake today with a flutter of excitement in your heart looking forward to the wonderful day you have ahead of you.

Today you are going to see the sun rise before joining the celebration and you thrill in anticipation of feeling nature’s powerful energy course through your body.

You dress quickly and, carrying your wicker basket of corn and other offerings, set off down the lane to the meadow. Your basket is filled with the  fruits and vegetables from your garden and a lovely Mabon loaf you made yesterday. It is just pre-dawn and the fields are shrouded in a fine purple mist. This wonderful ethereal blanket feels cool on your skin.  As you walk you can hear the birds singing their early morning chorus and the grass tickles your feet and soaks your ankles as you brush past it. A rabbit scampers and hides, camouflaged among the browns and greens.

You pass a field that was planted last spring and remember the beautiful time you had there at Beltane, dancing and singing around the maypole. That field is now full with beautiful corn, ripe and dancing in the soft dawn breeze. The cornstalks are tall, almost as tall as you and truly look like Goddesses dancing to their own private melody. Their scent is sweet and is truly the smell of late summer. You feel a shiver of anticipation for the wonderful ceremony of thanks that will follow later on in the day to give thanks for the wonderful bountiful crop.

As you walk and experience all these wonders of nature you begin to think about all that you are grateful for and silently give thanks to our Mother Goddess, Gaia for all that she provides for us. You give thanks for your family and friends and all that is good in your life.

You continue walking along the lane with it’s beautiful hedgerows brimming with life, lost in thought and immersed in the beauty surrounding you.

Eventually the lane opens up to a wonderful wide open field, the sun is nearing the horizon now. Others have gathered here now in silent anticipation of this wondrous event. You smile at the gathered crowcrowd and then take your place, putting your basket of offerings at your feet. You then turn to face the east, palms outstretched. You feel your feet firmly grounded as though they have grown roots right down into the earth itself. Your palms are outstretched ready to reach towards the rays of the magickal sun and your crown chakra is open and receiving the wonderful celestial energy.

The anticipation of the sun’s rising is nothing compared to the actual event and the whole crowd gives out a silent gasp of wonder as the golden red ball slowly begins to rise. First just a tiny sliver but then very quickly a completely round and absolutely perfect sphere. It truly is a magickal moment. You are at one with nature. Your feet are truly grounded and your whole body is filled with a pure golden light from our magickal sun. You are at one with the God and the Goddess. Listen to any messages you may receive at this time.

You spend some time at one with the God and Goddess, soaking in the powerful sun energy as it rises high in the sky. You then turn to enjoy the rest of the day and join in the happy celebrations. You feel happy and relaxed, you are grateful for all that you have in your life and you are looking forward to an Autumn filled with love and hope. 

Mabon blessings to you, Alison xxx