The Wheel of the Year: Autumn Equinox

As the balance tips towards the darker half of the year, I find myself remembering harvest festivals from my childhood in Sussex in the 1970s.

The school hall, usually so plain, would be transformed. Tables groaned with the bright colours of late summer: earthy cabbages, red tomatoes, golden corn. I can still remember the hampers we used to put together for the old folk, each one brimming with produce picked from the garden or scrumped from the apple trees along the hedgerows.

In the Druid tradition, the Autumn Equinox is called Alban Elfed, the Light of the Water. It is the second of the harvest festivals, a time to give thanks for the earth’s abundance, while recognising that the light is fading and winter lies ahead.

Some honour the gods linked to balance, harvest, or the underworld, while others simply mark the turning season with gratitude.
The main deities are represented by figures like Mabon (Welsh mythology; son of Modron), who embodies the principle of balance and renewal after the harvest. The horned god Cernunnos  (Lord of the Wild Things!) is also a relevant deity, as is Danu, the mother goddess, who represents balance and receptivity.
Produce of the last harvest, bread, and cider were given to these spirits and gods as offerings.

I prefer to drink my cider and have used the last of my garden produce to make warming autumnal soup for the rainy days ahead, but I certainly tip my hat to Danu and the equinox balance that she represents. 

Harvest blessings from me to you.
Joanne.
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