MABON!!!!!

I LOVE,LOVE,LOVE Mabon!! It has to be my favorite Sabbat. There is just something special about the very look and feel and even scent of this time of year. I find myself getting all giddy and full of energy, while typically everything is preparing to wind down for the upcoming winter months and with this Sabbat we honor the balance of darkness as well as light. I have always been super-attuned to this time of year and the turning of the wheel. My incredibly dark summer is now being replaced with peace and a bright comfort as I whole-heartedly welcome Mabon as if it were a best friend who has been away on holiday way too long. I can’t get enough of its company and the warmth that it brings into my life. I know this sounds funny since the time of year here is getting colder and it won’t be long until there is frost on the pumpkins. I love watching the trees honor the Earth Mother before their long winter slumber with a beautiful display of vibrantly changing color of leaves that only they can offer. I love baking this time of year and it is when I do the most of it. There is just something so comforting about the smell of a freshly baked apple cinnamon pie wafting through the house and out the cracked kitchen window and into the neighborhood in the early evening. Its as if it is saying “ If love had a scent this would be it for sure.”

Well in keeping with my love of Mabon I thought I could share a few of my Mabon doings that I will be engaging in this year. I want to keep it rather simple yet spiritual. I always say I am going to do my own rituals and such for the Sabbats and usually I do but I found these ideas a few years back on the internet and for the life of me I can’t remember where but they are really speaking to me so I said what the heck, why not? Hopefully you like them too and have a really beautiful Mabon!!

Mabon, the autumn equinox, is celebrated in many ways around the world. It is a day of balance, with equal amounts of darkness and light, but soon, winter will arrive. In some Wiccan traditions, it marks the time when the Sun King descends into the underworld, from which he will be reborn at Yule.

In many pantheons apple trees are representative of wisdom and guidance. This apple ritual will allow you time to thank the gods for their bounty and blessings, and to enjoy the magic of the earth before the winds of winter blow through.


MABON HARVEST APPLE RITE

What You Need:
A pair of orange candles.
A cup of cider or wine.
An apple and something to cut it with.

Here's How:
Decorate your altar with symbols of the season -- a basket of gourds or small pumpkins, colorful fall leaves, acorns, vines, grapes or blackberries. You'll also need a pair of orange candles to symbolize the harvest, a cup of cider or wine, and an apple.
If your tradition requires you to cast a circle, do so now.

Light your harvest candles. Face the altar and hold the apple in both hands. If you can do this rite outside, raise the apple up to the sky, and feel the wisdom and energy of the gods coming to you.

Say:
The apple is sacred, a symbol of the gods,
and holds the knowledge of the ancients inside.
Tonight I ask the gods to bless me with their wisdom.

Slice the apple in half across the middle. Where the seeds are, you will see a five-pointed star. Place the two halves in the center of your altar.

Say:

Five points in a star, hidden inside.
One for earth, one for air, one for fire,
one for water, and the last for spirit.

Turn to the north, arms raised to the heavens, and say:

The world passes from light into darkness,
and the golden fields of the earth bring the promise
of food and nourishment through the winter.

Face east, and say:

I stand on the threshold of the darkness,
and know that the summer breezes give way to autumn chill, which bring forth the blazes of color in the trees.

Next, turn to the south and say:

I call upon the wise ones, the ancient gods,
as the sun moves away and fire fades,
to be replaced with the chill of the night.

Finally, face west, and say:

I will reflect on the guidance of the gods,
and let the cool autumn rains wash over me,
cleansing my heart and soul.

Raise the cup of wine or cider to the sky, and toast the gods.

Say:

The wild god returns this night to the belly of the Mother.
The mother goddess tonight becomes the Crone.As the Wheel of the Year turns, the earth dies a bit each day.
I willingly follow the old gods into the darkness,
where they will watch over me, protect me, and keep me safe.

Sip from the cup, and as you drink your wine or cider, think about the power and energy of the Divine, in whatever aspect you choose to honor.

Extinguish one of the candles, and say:

The wild god has gone to rest in the Underworld.
I look to the darkness for renewal and rebirth.
Extinguish the other candle, and say:

The mother goddess has entered her most powerful stage.
She is the Crone, the wise one, and I ask for her blessing.

Stand in the darkness for a moment. Reflect upon all the changes that are to come, and those things that will stay constant. Feel the energy of the gods as you connect to them, and understand that even though winter is coming, the light will return again.
When you are ready, end the ritual.

Tips:
Leave the apples on your altar overnight, and the next morning, put them in your garden as an offering to the earth.

Feel free to replace the wild god and mother goddess with the names of deities from your own tradition.

MABON BALANCE PRAYER

Equal hours of light and darknesswe celebrate the balance of Mabon,
and ask the gods to bless us.
For all that is bad, there is good.
For that which is despair, there is hope.
For the moments of pain, there are moments of love.
For all that falls, there is the chance to rise again.
May we find balance in our lives
as we find it in our hearts.

MABON BALANCE MEDITATION
Celebrating the Dark and the Light

Now that fall is here, why not do an autumn version of spring cleaning? Get rid of any emotional baggage you're dragging around with you. Accept that there are darker aspects to life, and embrace them, but don't let them rule you. Understand that a healthy life finds balance in all things.


You can perform this meditation ritual anywhere, but the best place to do it is outside, in the evening as the sun goes down. Decorate your altar (or if you're outside, use a flat stone or tree stump) with colorful autumn leaves, acorns, small pumpkins, and other symbols of the season. You'll need a black candle and a white one of any size, although tea lights probably work best. Make sure you have something safe to put them in, either a candle holder or a bowl of sand.

Light both candles, and say the following:

A balance of night and day, a balance of light and dark
Tonight I seek balance in my life
as it is found in the Universe.
A black candle for darkness and pain
and things I can eliminate from my life.
A white candle for the light, and for joy
and all the abundance I wish to bring forth.
At Mabon, the time of the equinox,
there is harmony and balance in the Universe,
and so there shall be in my life.


Meditate on the things you wish to change. Focus on eliminating the bad, and strengthening the good around you. Put toxic relationships into the past, where they belong, and welcome new positive relationships into your life. Let your baggage go, and take heart in knowing that for every dark night of the soul, there will be a sunrise the next morning.

Have a wonderful Mabon everyone!!!

Lost

Once again I have been absent from blogging here. Not that I wanted to by any means. I am usually an upbeat happy soul who loves life and love blogging about the wonderful things in life, But I really feel the need to vent about something that is by no means wonderful.


About two weeks ago my oldest son’s best friend’s brother, who also was also one of my son’s best friends committed suicide. I find just typing the word suicide brings tears to my eyes and an instant lump in my throat. His name was Kyle and he was 27 years old. This was totally unexpected…for everyone! Kyle pretty much grew up in our household since late middle school early high school days. Any given morning we could wake up to Corey and Kyle sleeping on the couch or on the floor and upon their waking hear them say “Hey Momma W., Hey Old Man(hubby) whats for breakfast?” Kyle had an absolutely wonderful and giving heart. If anyone needed anything he was always there for them. He wasn’t into drugs or alcohol. He always had a smile on his face and this
Mischievous giggle that made you giggle. He was a gentle soul and never was into fist fighting or posturing for others.He had a career in the field that he always wanted to go into he was a sous-chef at a prestigious hotel in a nearby city. He played trumpet in a classical band in a neighboring big city. In high school he was in the band and they won a competition to go to Japan and played for The Emperor.

Things were going along great for him….or so everyone thought.

I am having such a hard time understanding and dealing with this, I can only imagine what his parents must be going through and if I feel this kind of grief over a child that wasn’t my own flesh and blood how could I ever cope if one of my own kids died? I have so many unanswered questions but the one that will remain unanswered for the rest of my life will be WHY?


He did have depression issues,but mostly over having large medical bills and no insurance, I guess that could have played into it. I know all too well how dark depression feels. How you can smile and laugh in a room full of people all the while crying on the inside and feeling an overwhelming sense of being alone in that moment, although its totally unfounded for any reason. I had a friend that was more my best friends friend, but I still knew her well that committed suicide a few years back but everyone knew she had battled with life long serious depression. Doesn’t make it any easier. If Kyle had been depressed in the last few years he didn’t show it or talk to anyone about it at all. This is how awful this disease depression can be because it is so silent and internal sometimes its hard to see it’s warning signs in others if they hide it good. If this is why he in fact took his own life.


Why did he feel like he couldn’t reach out to anybody when he clearly had to know so many people loved him???

What could we have said or done to reach out to him that may have stopped him from doing this?


What drove him to such a desperate state of mind that he viewed this as his only remaining solution???

OMG what were his last moments like? What has he feeling?


People found out later that he did a no call/no show to work and when people called him that day he didn’t return their calls or texts. The police found him in his car early the following morning with a single gunshot to the head.

I feel like I want to throw up. I just can’t grasp this. I need to cry and typing this and sharing this I know is helping me to do just that.

I have these mental movies of seeing him through the back winshield of his car feeling so desperate and alone and crying in mental anguish with the gun to his temple and thinking and thinking and then…pulling.

I want those images to just go away, never return. I know they will eventually, when I can find some semblance of sanity in this horrific ordeal.

To give you an idea how many people loved Kyle, his memorial service was held ina huge church’s auditorium and it was still standing room only. My husband had been the strong, stoic one up until that point where he then cried silent tears through the whole service as they continuously looped pictures of Kyle on the big movie screen and told happy, funny stories of his life. It was a beautiful service but I couldn’t cry, I couldn’t feel anything. I asked myself why can’t I hurt with everyone else at that moment and a little whisper of a voice said to me because nothing hurt as bad as the look on your son’s face when he hung up the phone and
looked at us in shock and simply said “Kyle’s dead”. I suppose that’s true but it felt more like disbelief than anything at that point. I almost broke down when I saw the emptiness on Kyle’s parents faces. No parent should ever have to bury their child.


And especially not under the circumstances of his death. My heart goes out to them so much I can’t even begin to explain it.
　
Is he in a better place? Happy and no pain? I like to think so. I like to think that there is something more than just here and now. I keep hearing his voice saying “It’s ok momma W. I am so much better now” ending with that mischievous giggle. Perhaps that’s just my way of making peace with this or perhaps he really is telling me he is ok, we used to love to talk about and go ghost hunting from time to time. If anyone can answer these questions for me please do I could use the help. If you should even have the slightest idea that you may be depressed please, please talk to someone about it and ask for help. It’s ok to ask for help its nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about. The more people you tell the more help you can get.

Any type of death is hard, but a suicide death I think is the hardest because of all the unanswered questions and all that can not be explained remains. Not a lot of closure. Just what you can make for yourself that’s acceptable to you.

Sorry for this long, long post but I just had to put this in writing and share it with someone to try to feel a little better and I actually think it has helped a little. Thanx for listening to my sorrow

Litha/Midsummer Folklore

Happy Litha/Midsummer to everyone. I know it goes by many names so happy whichever one you use to you,lol. Here in this part of MI we couldn't ask for a more perfect day. It was supposed to rain off and on but it has been gorgeous out. Going to celebrate outside this early evening with a small, simple ritual by myself and have a little bonfire tonight. Sometimes I find that the simplest of celebrations tend to be the most spiritual for my soul.

                                                  
                                                    

Fireflies and summer sun

in circles round

we become as one.

Singing songs at magick's hour

we bring the winds

and timeless powers.

Turning inward, hand in hand

we dance the hearth

to heal the land.

Standing silent, beneath the sky

we catch the fire

from out God's eye.

Swaying breathless, beside the sea

we call the Goddess

so mote it be!

~by Trish Telesco

A little Litha/Midsummer Folklore:

Litha/Midsummer is a time of nature spirit/fey communion, planet healing, divination, love and protection magicks. The battle between Oak King, God of the waxing year and Holly King, God of the waning year (can be a ritual play), or act out scenes from the Bard’s (an incarnation of Merlin) "A Midsummer Night’s Dream", rededication of faith, rites of inspiration.

After your Litha fire has burned out and the ashes gone cold, use them to make a protective amulet. You can do this by carrying them in a small pouch, or kneading them into some soft clay and forming a talisman. In some traditions of Wicca, it is believed that the Midsummer ashes will protect you from misfortune. You can also sow the ashes from your bonfire into your garden, and your crops will be bountiful for the rest of the summer growing season.


Residents of some areas of Ireland say that if you have something you wish to happen, you "give it to the pebble." Carry a stone in your hand as you circle the Litha bonfire, and whisper your request to the stone -- "heal my mother" or "help me be more courageous", for example. After your third turn around the fire, toss the stone into the flames.


Sunwheels were used to celebrate Midsummer in some early Pagan cultures. A wheel -- or sometimes a really big ball of straw -- was lit on fire and rolled down a hill into a river. The burned remnants were taken to the local temple and put on display. In Wales, it was believed that if the fire went out before the wheel hit the water, a good crop was guaranteed for the season.

It is believed in parts of England that if you stay up all night on Midsummer's Eve, sitting in the middle of a stone circle, you will see the fae. But be careful - carry a bit of rue in your pocket to keep them from harassing you, or turn your jacket inside out to confuse them. If you have to escape the Fae, follow a ley line, and it will lead you to safety.

In England, rural villagers built a big bonfire on Midsummer's Eve. This was called "setting the watch," and it was known that the fire would keep evil spirits out of the town. Some farmers would light a fire on their land, and people would wander about, holding torches and lanterns, from one bonfire to another. If you jumped over a bonfire -- presumably without lighting your pants on fire -- you were guaranteed to have good luck for the coming year.

Padded Cells For Everyone!!!

So its been awhile since I have posted anything I know. But I have joined a very exclusive club as of late...



Well at least it seems that way anyhow. Its been one thing after another I swear.  First of all my son is now officially in the military. I am so proud of him but its slowly driving me mad. I am still trying to deal with the OMG's and What Ifs of the whole thing. Its enough to drive me....

Then I had a stay in the hospital(no no no, not for the criminally insane, not yet, lol). I thought I was having a heart attack and after almost every test and poke and prod possible it turns out that I was overdosing myself on thyroid meds(I am such a dumb ass sometimes) to the point that it was messing with my ticker...but hey, my little heart is just fine...with the help of beta blockers right now until all the meds leave my system which could take up to six weeks then I can come off those too. Turns out that after an 80 lb weight loss you really should get the meds adjusted to your new size..heehee. So to drive me down the road of chaos a little further...

Our house bunny, Stewie, of 12yrs + had a bad siezure and now only has the use of one front leg. He has had a few siezures before but he came out of them fine and even now he "seems" to not be in any kind of pain. I have been agonizing over whether to end his life or not. Who  am I to do so anyhow? I've been wondering what to do over a week now and finally took it to the Gods/Goddesses and Spirit realm for guidance this morning through meditation and the Spirit board. After lighting a candle and creating sacred space and with pendulm in hand I asked a few yes/no questions which I got RESOUNDING yes and no answers too. After stating a brief outline of why I needed their assistance I asked the first question:

Is it ok with the universe to take the life of a newly disabled pet and friend of so many years to ease any discomfort and pain he may be in?

Answer: A forceful swing indicating NO (almost seemed angry)

Should I let Nature take its course?

Answer:  A wild swing indicating YES. (kinda scared me a little)

Is he in pain even though he doesn't seem to be?

Answer: A swing indicating NO.

So I accepted the answers that were given me and thanked Diety and the Spirits for thier much needed guidance and as I sat there with hands and pendulum still over the board presuming the session over I thought to myself " I hope I have the strength needed to care for him while he is like this for the rest of his days. I looked down and saw the pendulum swinging to indicate YES. It was in that moment that I TOTALLY excepted the answers given and then a calm just washed over me like a weight was lifted and now I know it will be ok for our Stewie. It still added to my crazy happennings though.

Then, to add to the....wait for it....

                                                             BAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
                                                                            (I love that) 


I had to go to the herb store and at the check out counter the cashier whips out a picture of a potato chip she found when she opened the bag. She said it had a picture of Jesus on it and that it was a divine message sent to her from god. For the life of me I couldn't see Jesus at all in the baked potato chip(it was just making me really hungry) but I smiled and nodded and said " oh yeah now I see it" all enthusiastic about it which made her happy. She wanted, no insisted that I take it and that it would be a collectors item one day. I shit you not she actually said that. I looked around cuz I honestly thought maybe I was getting Punked or something. I told her that she needed to keep it because it has definite meaning in her life and hers alone and how wonderful that is. She agreed. WOW. She was sweet though and hey what do I know it probably really does have specific meaning for her and thats wonderful!

After the last month I just had I hope sister checkout girl wasn't trying to one up me in the nutty crazy department cuz I'll have you know I just got a certificate for that month long looney class...see.... LMFAO

Magickal Plant Associations for Days of the Week

                                                   So not my garden but man do I wish!

Monday:

a fruitful day especially for lunar-oriented plants.

Tuesday:

 a high energy day that will boost the energies in flowers or plants that improve physical vitality or mental keenness.

Wednesday:

a creative day, good for spiritually-centered flowers and plants.

Thursday:

another high-energy day, suited to flora that augments devotion or tenacity.

Friday:

an emotionally warm day. Suited to plants that are used in love and fertility magick.

Saturday:

sow, harvest, or tend plants on this day that augment transformation, manifestation, and/or comprehension.

Sunday:

the perfect day to work with solar-oriented flowers and plants.

Astrological Timing for Gardening By The Moon

Moon in Aries:

plant only garlic and onions.

Moon in Taurus:

plant potatoes or leafy vegetables.

Moon in Gemini:

weed and cultivate. Do not plant or transplant.

Moon in Cancer:

graft, transplant, sow, or force budding. This is a very productive sign.

Moon in Leo:

focus on ridding your garden of unwanted insects or weeds.

Moon in Virgo:

fairly barren. Don't do any extensive gardening during this sign other than basic maintenance.

Moon in Libra:

sow flowers, root crops, vines, and lettuce.

Moon in Scorpio:

excellent for promoting plant growth, so fertilize now.

Moon in Sagittarius:

productive for onions.

Moon in Capricorn:

plant tubers and root crops only.

Moon in Aquarius:

cultivate and turn the soil.

Moon in Pisces:

excellent for flora requiring good root growth.

First Quarter:

plant leafy annuals with above-ground yields like broccoli, cauliflower, celery, spinach, and lettuce.

Second Quarter:

plant rounded flowers and plants like cantaloupe, eggplant, peas, tomatoes, and cucumbers.

Third Quarter:

sow bulbs, root crops, beets, garlic, carrots, and anything else that has an underground yield. Also, fruit bushes seem to do well when planted during this phase.

Fourth Quarter:

Turn the soil, weed, and eliminate pests. This is most effective when combined with the moon signs of Leo, Virgo, and Gemini. If you're harvesting during this moon phase, try to time it for the signs of Aquarius, Aries, Gemini, Leo, or Sagittarius.
　

Magickal Plant Associations for the Months

January:

bless the soil in which you'll be sowing protective plants.

February:

charge the soil in which you'll be growing health related plants, or those that motivate positive energy.

March:

focus on plants and flowers associated with success and victory, or those under the dominion of Mars.

April:

work with lucky flowers and plants this month for a little serendipity.

May:

all plants do well during this month as energy is directed towards progress and growth.

June:

Fridays in June double the loving, warm energies on relationship flowers and plants.

July:

combine your Sunday efforts with this month to geometrically increase the energy for leadership and self-awareness.

August:

work with plants and flowers that accentuate peace and harmony.

September:

a perfect month for working closely with your magickal herbs and flowers.

October:

consider transforming any of your flowers and plants into something else during this month (like oils, incense, and potpourri). This is the month of useful changes!

November:

work with flora that's associated with psychic energies.

December:

work with plants that have magickal correspondences with wisdom, prudence, and spiritual awareness.

(Information taken from A Floral Grimoire by Patricia Telesco)