Wake Up Goddess

Today, as the sun and moon are equal in power
And the Lord and the Lady prepare the Earth
For winter’s coming darkness,
May we count our blessings
As we count the stars in a clear night’s sky.

The wheel of the year has turned again & we find ourselves now at the second harvest.  Mabon gives us the opportunity to come together as friends & family to share in the seasonal bounty & to give thanks for our many blessings.  For this reason the holiday is sometimes called the “Witches’ Thanksgiving.”

Unlike the traditional American Thanksgiving, Mabon has nothing to do with Pilgrims or the mythology surrounding their interaction with the American Indians.  In truth, the American Thanksgiving represents a time of great sadness for many Native Americans who know that the story of Thanksgiving is a poorly woven veil to conceal attacks against their ancestors’ Nations.  

Nonetheless, the harvest of the Autumn Equinox has been celebrated, not only by Native Tribes in America but by Natives of many cultures around the Northern Hemisphere for centuries, and in surprisingly similar ways.  Whether in America or Ireland, Rhode Island or Rome, this season has always been celebrated by feasting on the fruits of the harvest and giving thanks for the abundance of the land and our lives.

And so as we come together today
In celebration of the harvest,
Let us express gratitude through friendship,
Through laughter and through joy.
Blessed Be!

This Mabon what are you thankful for?

Okay, so some of you may have noticed by now that Mercury went retrograde on September 7th. Mercury is the messenger planet, so when he goes retro (i.e. he appears to be moving backward in the night sky) communication can get a little skewed.

That’s because Mercury is the handsome god of Roman myth who wears winged shoes to deliver messages among the other gods with swift precision. So when this guy starts moving in reverse, messages can get lost and meanings misconstrued.

Most people will advice you not to make any major decisions, negotiate deals, sign contracts, and the like while the messenger is in retreat mode. But sometimes you just don’t have the luxury of waiting to make your next move until Mercury goes direct again. (Imagine telling your boss that you can’t go into contract negotiation until the planets are property aligned ~ probably not a good business move in most traditional organizations.)

So, if you can delay a major decision or put off signing a contract until the great communicator goes direct again (on September 29th), then feel free to wait it out. But don’t use Mercury’s back pedaling as an excuse to stay stagnant or to avoid making a decision at all.

After all, you can’t live in your car for two weeks just because you’re afraid to sign a new lease agreement. (Well, you could, but do you really want to?) Simply move forward knowing that your communication efforts may require some additional attention on your part.

If you are entering into a written contract, read and re-read it, then read it again. Ask questions and ask for any concerns you have to be clearly explained in writing. A little extra care on your part during this time will go a long way toward avoiding confusion later on.

Another interesting note, astrologers tell me that Mercury will move through the first part of this retrograde cycle in the sign of Libra ~ which is the relationship sign. So make sure that you’re very clear about what you need and expect from others during this time. And then double check to make sure you really understand what others need and expect from you.

This extra effort will help ensure that lines of communication are open and don’t get crossed as the messenger god retreats across the night sky. Oh, and by the way, Mercury can be a bit of a trickster, so a good sense of humor goes a long way while he does his nightly moonwalk in the cosmos.

That’s right folks, when this god is feeling punchy hilarity is sure to ensue. So if miscommunication does occur, try laughing it off instead of making a big deal out of it. The gods will bless you for your lighthearted approach to life!

The sand was cool under my feet as I made my way out to the water. The first of the sun’s rays were just starting to peak out over the low clouds on the horizon.

A few fishermen dotted the shoreline, but the morning was quite, peaceful in a way that can only be grasped during the dawn ~ that in-between time that’s neither night nor day when endless possibilities exist.

I love this time of day. And I’m thankful to have given myself this gift. When I reach the water I’m tempted to jump in right away. But I walk first, letting my toes sink into the sand as the waves roll up to tickle my ankles. The water seems warm in the comparative coolness of the pre-dawn day.

Colorful seashells and broken coral dot the beach like tiny treasures laid out in the most provocative designs. Like some ancient code, they seem to convey a message just waiting to be discovered or read from the sky by the gods themselves.

Occasionally I reach down to hold one of these shells in my hands just to feel it ~ its shape, its ridges and lines ~ before casting it back in the ocean. The birds fly overhead and the sound of the waves lapping in around me quiets my mind and soothes my soul as nothing else does.

I let my thoughts roll in and out like the tides themselves, not holding on to any too long, but letting them recede back into the sea of my mind before they become murky or stagnant.

I’m a good two miles into my walk before I feel my shoulders drop and release the final strands of tension they’ve been holding on to. “You’ve been working too hard,” I tell myself. But the only thing that matters in this time and this space are the waves and the sand and the birds. All other concerns drift away.

When I reach the part of the beach where the rocks are exposed like craters on some distant planet, I think about the times when my son was little and we would bring him here to explore. I remember his delight at finding tiny shrimp and crabs tucked away in the crevasses and seeing little silver fish swimming about in their temporary tidal pools. How long ago that all seems now…

As I continue my walk I’m at times tempted to jump into the water, but I decide to wait ~ to allow myself the tingle of anticipation of the coming reward. I feel the sweat now begin to drip off of my brow as the sun claims its rightful place in the sky and the heat of the day begins to shine through every aspect of the morning.

When I finally dive into the water all of my senses are awakened. I breathe in the sea air and taste the salt water on my tongue. The water is so clear that I can see all the way to the bottom to the tiny silver fish that circle my legs and nibble at my calves. I try to stand very still so as not to disturb them, so that they think I’m part of the ocean itself.  

Then I lay back feel the coolness of the ocean water supporting me as I let my body relax on its calm surface. The music of the shells gently rubbing together as the waves ebb and flow is like the sound of a child’s voice to a mother’s ear. The waves rock me softly and sing me a lullaby as I allow my body to float on the water and my spirit to float in the ether above. I am at once connected to all and yet blissfully detached. I am at peace and I am grateful for this eternal moment.