Mid-Witchery: Mabon - The Autumn Equinox

Mabon – the Autumn Equinox – the first day of Fall.  This is the second harvest festival in The Wheel of the Year and marks the celestial balance of equal day and equal night.  A breath and a pause are taken this day as tomorrow marks our descent into darkness.   Both equinoxes focus on balance (Spring and Autumn) but this Equinox leans toward gathering around loved ones, sharing our bounty of our agricultural gains (apples, squash, root vegetables, and corn).  This festival is also known as “The Witches’ Thanksgiving” as we reflect on who and what have helped us cultivate the life we are living. 

Take time to focus on the word: Gratitude. We have three types of gratitude that we can express thankfulness or appreciation.

1)     Emotional: Feeling gratitude

• The inner, heartfelt emotion of thankfulness

• When you genuinely appreciate a kindness or a moment of warmth or compassion bestowed upon you

• It can shift your mood instantly and may even be overwhelming to put into words

2)     Cognitive: Thoughtful gratitude

• The rational acknowledgement of your blessings

• Intentionally counting your blessings, even if you don’t have a strong emotion at that exact moment

• A deliberate choice to focus on the positive aspects of life

3)     Action: Behavioral gratitude

• This is showing your thankfulness through outward actions

• It not only includes saying “Thank you” but it also includes returning a favor, anticipating someone’s needs without being asked, or doing something nice for someone without expecting anything in return.

• It turns an internal feeling into a tangible action and nourishes a relationship and connection with others

It is very easy for us to reflect on the things working well in our lives and throw out a list to be thankful for (i.e. I’m thankful for my family, my friends, my house, etc.).  But I want you to dig deep and think about the darker aspect of our lives: heartache, disappointment, grief, loss, and death.

Reflect on a part of your life that didn’t turn out how you expected or what you had planned for yourself.  The end of a relationship, the job that didn’t work out, the path not taken, or the vision of who you thought you would be.    

Think about the decay and death of a dream put to rest which ultimately nourished the soil of the current reality this version of you sprouted from. 

Can you genuinely express gratitude to the thing that you once blamed as “the death of you”? 

How can we express gratitude for this grief?  What soul lesson did it teach us? It what ways am I smarter, stronger, or more resilient than I was before?  Hold this in your mind and reflect on the three forms of gratitude and how it can be expressed in your current life?

For example: I am grateful for having an absentee father because I know what kind of parent my son needs me to be. 

As we slip into the darker months and retreat to our warm houses, cozy nooks, and grab warm beverages.  We reach for soups, stews, baked goods and comfort foods to warm our bodies.  Notice the the dying world around us.  The turning of the leaves and their ultimate descent onto the earthly floor.   Birds flocking overhead to vacate the cold.  Mammals are starting to make preparations for the hibernation season.  Nature knows that death must occur in order to make way for the new life of Spring.  Death must occur within us and around us for the next cycle of rebirth and renewal.

Acknowledge the death that occurred in you that made way for who you are today.  Have gratitude in grief and find a way to spread your gratitude to others in an impactful way. 

Blessed Mabon and Happy Thanks--Grieving.