Happy Mabon everyone! (Happy Spring Equinox for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere.)
[Check our SS Calendar of your location to see when this begins, Sun will enter 0 degrees of Libra.]
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Mabon, Autumn Equinox. This is a time of balance, welcoming the coming darkness, and preparing for the increased inner-reflection that comes with Autumn. Before electricity we lit our homes with candles as the evenings began earlier in the day, which naturally increased quiet solitude and contemplation. Re-evaluating your life and goals can be done at this time, and consider making adjustments in preparation for a more successful following year.
From
JoS:
“The equinoxes are good times to begin things. Rituals for putting things into action.” Even though the Moon is waning, you can begin a new project on this date, and set your intention to work on it through the autumn and winter.
This is the second harvest festival of the year. Celebrations include feasts involving seasonal foods such as apples, squash, and other earthy vegetables, nuts and seeds, mushrooms, and wild meats (venison, boar) and stews. Symbols associated are acorns, stag, baskets, scarecrows, sickles and scythes.
You can visit local farmer’s markets, get some apple pie and pumpkin juice/latte, make a stew, and go for a walk in nature and observe the changing color of the trees.
A traditional way of celebration was to honor Gods and Goddesses associated with the harvest. We have
Furfur’s ritual, you can do this unless another ritual schedule is posted for tomorrow.
For anyone who has not gotten into the habit of pranayama (breathing exercises), this is a good time to begin the alternate nostril breathing, as it helps to balance the soul and the hemispheres of the mind. When the right nostril is more open, the left brain hemisphere is dominant; when the left nostril is more open, the right brain hemisphere is dominant. If you ever find yourself over-logical and unable to connect to your intuition or creative side; or, if you are overly-daydreaming and having difficulty using the left brain functions, you can do some rounds of alternate nostril breathing to obtain balance. You can then follow it with prayer mudra, as this sends energy from the right hand to the left hand and forming a circuit, to the left shoulder, to the right shoulder, and through the hands again.
Alternate nostril breathing balances the nadis, the ida and pingala, and allows for the brain to balance so both hemispheres are equally functioning at all times. After some time of practice, you will find that at any given moment, both nostrils will always be in equal balance.
Happy Mabon!
