The End of the Summer (Dar Williams)

"Today is Autumn Equinox also known as a Pagan holiday called Mabon when night and day are at equal length, it is mainly a harvest festival, it is the last harvest before winter comes. In old times it would be a time to start stocking up on fruit, wheat, corn and grain for the winter months ahead.

This is a time of transformation, The great wheel has turned as we pass into a new season and say goodbye to Summer. The earth is going through a major shift, where darkness will now start to take over light as the nights slowly start to get longer and days get shorter. Cold will slowly start to take over warmth and death will start to take over life as plants will wilt and trees will start to lose their leaves, fields will become baron and grey. wild animals will start to hibernate and gather food for the winter months.

Mabon is a time of thanksgiving, we thank the God and Goddess for all that we have and thank them for the harvest we see before us. The sap of trees returns back to their roots deep in the earth, changing the greens of summer to the fires of autumn, to the flaming reds, oranges and golds. We are returning to the dark from whence we came. The Goddess is radiant as Harvest Queen and the God finally dies with his gift of pure love with the cutting of the last grain, he will descend into the underworld, his last day on earth will be Samhain when a gate will open between our world and underworld making the veil between our two world become thin.

We enjoy the abundance of fruit and vegetables at this time. It is customary to make stews made with root vegetables and to bake home made bread and pies, we would have a big family meal and invite friends and neighbours to join us, drinking cider and apple juice.

On Mabon we adorn our altars with pumpkins, nuts, corn, wheat, squash, fruits and any other seasonal fair and any falling leaves, pine cones or acorns we may find to honour the season and to thank the God and Goddess for the wealth of harvest bestowed upon us. Light candles with Autumn colours of red, orange, white, brown or gold. Also candles of black and white, black to represent the God and white to represent the Goddess. The alter will bring luck and protection. When lighting the candles ask the Goddess for her blessings and the God for protection for the colder, darker months to come.

Mabon is a transition for the Triple Goddess as she goes from her mother phase to her crone phase, her final phase from her journey of the year.

The Autumn Equinox is a time of balance, of both light and dark, it is a time to look within ourselves and balance our thoughts and emotions and to find balance in our lives. To embrace our dark and our light equally as one cannot exist without the other. it is when we stop and relax and enjoy the fruits of our personal harvests, whether they be from toiling in our gardens, working at our jobs, raising our families, or just coping with the hussle and bussle of everyday life.

Mabon reminds us of the cycle of life, death and rebirth. As we go into the dark half of the year, we also know that Spring and Summer will be upon us again and life will flourish once more.

Hoof and Horn, Hoof and Horn

All that dies shall be reborn

Corn and Grain, Corn and Grain

All that falls shall rise again

May your Mabon be memorable and your hearts and spirits be filled to overflowing."

When I resurrected my blog in January 2020, I vowed not to re-use songs/books/poems/quotes... but it is a no-brainer to recycle Dar's anthem on this Autumn Equinox, 14 (!) years later almost to the day... 🍃🍁🍂

P.S.  AmyW, I miss our End-of-the-Summer-cards tradition; thanks for coordinating all those many years... 💞

P.P.S.  EOTS is also responsible for initiating a dear friendship with another Dar-lister in 1997, and we maintain a strong connection still... 😍

SONG:  The End of the Summer by Dar Williams

BOOK:  The End Of Summer by Rosamunde Pilcher

POEM:  Song for Autumn by Mary Oliver

In the deep fall

don’t you imagine the leaves think how

comfortable it will be to touch

the earth instead of the

nothingness of air and the endless

freshets of wind? And don’t you think

the trees themselves, especially those with mossy,

warm caves, begin to think

of the birds that will come — six, a dozen — to sleep

inside their bodies? And don’t you hear

the goldenrod whispering goodbye,

the everlasting being crowned with the first

tuffets of snow? The pond

vanishes, and the white field over which

the fox runs so quickly brings out

its blue shadows. And the wind pumps its

bellows. And at evening especially,

the piled firewood shifts a little,

longing to be on its way.

QUOTE:  "Come, little leaves," said the Wind one day, "Come to the meadows with me and play. Put on your dresses of red and gold; For Summer is past, and the days grow cold.” ~ George Cooper