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 Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 6:21 pm
I'm starting a spot for this High Day because it is another one with a special feeling for me. First, it is a balance point: equal light and dark, though we are heading toward the dark time of the year. This Equinox is the harvest festival of Mabon which, while I don't follow the Celtic mythology associated with it, I have been known to do a dinner with the last of my tomatoes, cook up those final peppers and, in general, have a last blast with the tender annuals [first frost may be only a couple weeks away where I live, if it comes early].
In the modern Norse practice the Autumn Equinox is the time to reflect on death and the ancestors, I suspect because winter is just about to hit in the far north, much closer than it is to those of us in more temperate latitudes.
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Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2009 3:46 pm
Cool! I always liked the Spring equinox because I knew the days were going to get longer!
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Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2009 5:46 pm
I was always better at that looking forward, too. Stopping to reflect, like one does at endings, at days getting shorter, is not a ritual function I enjoy. I like that moment on the Winter Solstice when we ring the bell at that deepest point and, then, we pause.....and life goes on and the light returns.....
I get something profound from these moments.
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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 3:31 am
havenne17 I was always better at that looking forward, too. Stopping to reflect, like one does at endings, at days getting shorter, is not a ritual function I enjoy. I like that moment on the Winter Solstice when we ring the bell at that deepest point and, then, we pause.....and life goes on and the light returns..... I get something profound from these moments. Very true! I always look forward to Winter Solstice.... The days get longer then!
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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 1:30 pm
and then when we move towards the February holiday, whatever you choose to call it, there is something very hopeful about a sunny winter day about that time of year.... not that I'm doing much with my seeds other than blessing them at that point, what with snow on the ground, but you know warmer days are coming.
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Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2009 10:18 pm
This one is going to be interesting for me. As it is a time to reflect death, ancestors and those who have gone on, and my brother recently passing, I'm not quite certain how I'll be celebrating, but I get the feeling this one will be more specials than others.
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Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2009 11:29 pm
This will be my first big festivity in the new house... and I have a garden! I'm wondering if I can make my ceremony outside... but I'm afraid the neighbors think that I'm doing something evil. People here is very christian, and unfortunely for many of them wiccan means devil worshiper confused
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Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2009 5:55 pm
Even as we have endings, we have new experiences. And even in the time of new beginnings there are things fading away.
I think of the early Spring as a time of passing: I have lost many important people and companions at that time of year. Once the middle of April has passed I breathe a little more easily. This is the reverse of what we're going through now.
River, you will have to tell us about your Equinox activities. I have attended ancestor ceremonies at Samhain and I still do most of my workings in that vein at that time even if I don't use the ritual structures I learned in the Celtic-leaning group I was a part of but it is a different perspective at the Equinox from the usual Samhain celebration.
Akabi, I have done work outside at my current house, complete with fire (contained in a constructed pit or bowl) and circle, singing and chanting. I live in a mature suburb (there's full-size trees). I suppose if it was night and you weren't too loud....and altars can look so much like garden ornamentation.....Subtlety can work even in a neighborhood that seems unwelcoming to your ceremonies. I'm thinking it might take some interesting shielding...
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 4:26 pm
..............................................
I'm planning on using an old shed in the backyard... something simple, mostly to charge my tools and ingredients ninja And probably go back inside quickly if things go weird sweatdrop
I'm having fun planning this festival... I found out about the Chinese Moon Festival thanks to the huge chinese community around, and I love their concepts. I'll be mixing some of their celebrations with my owns 3nodding I love how free I can be... it's part of what makes me love my beliefs so much heart
..............................................
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 4:45 pm
The day is almost upon us, isn't it? I think I'll be celebrating on the 20th, have a fire, ask some interesting questions.
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