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Mabon Countdown: Honoring the Dark Mother

Celebrate the darkness at Mabon
Image © Getty Images Demeter and Persephone are strongly connected to the time of the Autumn Equinox. When Hades abducted Persephone, it set in motion a chain of events that eventually led to the earth falling into darkness each winter. This is the time of the Dark Mother, the Crone aspect of the triple goddess. The goddess is bearing this time not a basket of flowers, but a sickle and scythe. She is prepared to reap what has been sown. The earth dies a little each day, and we must embrace this slow descent into dark before we can truly appreciate the light that will return in a few months. This ritual celebrates the dark season of the year: Honoring the Dark Mother at Mabon.

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Ostara Countdown: Get Outside!

Get outside to welcome spring!
Image © Getty Images While those of us in North America and Europe are planning our Mabon celebrations, for our Southern Hemisphere readers, spring is approaching. It's the season of Ostara, the vernal equinox!

Celebrate spring by enjoying the outdoors. Sure, it's still a little chilly out -- and a lot of folks still have snow piles in the yard -- but the sun is coming back, and the days are getting brighter and warmer. Mark the turning of the Wheel of the Year by working on projects that bring you back in touch with the outdoors. If you have kids (or even if you don't), build a Spring Weather Station to help mark the changes in the season. If you're ready to start your garden for the year, kick things off by putting your seeds in a Miniature Greenhouse.

Don't forget to sign up for the free Seven Day Ostara Class!

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Mabon Countdown: Gods of the Vine

Mabon is a time to honor gods of
vine and vegetation.
Image © Getty Images Fall is lurking just beyond the trees, and as the first of the leaves begin to change colors, it's a good time to consider the grape harvest, which is so intricately tied to the shifting of the seasons. This is the season to celebrate the making (and of course, consumption) of wine and other things grape-related. Wander outdoors somewhere this time of year, and you may even be fortunate enough to stumble upon some wild grapes.

This is the season to celebrate Dionysus and his counterpart Bacchus, and all the celebration that comes along with them. It's the season in which the Green Man makes his appearance, and shows in the forests in his many aspects as Herne the Hunter, Cernunnos, or even Puck of the wild woods. Take a moment to honor these gods of vegetation, and celebrate the harvest of grapes as Mabon approaches: Gods of the Vine

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Media Outreach Course Available Thru Cherry Hill
Cherry Hill Seminary, which provides continuing education for Pagan clergy, has announced the addition of a four-week course on Media Outreach For Pagan Groups and Organizations. Taught by Jason Pitzl-Waters ...

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Mabon Countdown: Apple Magic

Enjoy the magic of apples at Mabon!
Image © Patti Wigington I love apples. Every fall, I take my kids to a local orchard -- it doesn't have anything fancy, like hay rides or corn mazes or anything like that. Just acres and acres of trees, full of plump and juicy fruit. We make a day of it, gathering up bags and bags of fat apples in every color and size and shape. I bring them all home with me, and then the magic really begins... preparing apples for the winter. I turn them into applesauce, I chunk them up and preserve them in slices, I dry them by hanging them from the rafters so we can snack on them later. There's just something magical about this autumn fruit, and that magic has long been a theme found in harvest celebrations around the world.

In ancient Greece, Pomona was the goddess of orchards and fruit trees. Apples have been used for divination and magic for centuries. The five-pointed star can be used as the focus of a harvest ritual. And it's not just apples themselves -- the blossoms of the apple tree are known for their magical properties.

If that's not enough to satisfy your apple craving, there are plenty of craft projects you can use to decorate your home with the magic of apples -- try a couple of these just for fun: Apple Candleholders and Apple Garland, or visit our Family Crafts site for some really fun ideas: Family Apple Crafts

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Shaman's Grave Shows Signs of Partying
Archaeologist Leore Grosman of the University of Jerusalem has spent thirteen years poring over bone fragments, artifacts, and specks of dust at the burial site of what may be the Middle East's oldest shaman...

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Mabon Countdown: The Tale of Persephone

Demeter and Persephone tell the story
of the changing seasons.
Image © Getty Images Mabon is just around the corner, and one of the stories that I've always loved about the change of the seasons is that of Persephone and Demeter. Even as a child I remember thinking how sad and heartbreaking it was that poor Demeter had to wander the earth looking for her lost daughter... and then when she finally found her, she still had to give her up for six months each year! Read more on Persephone and Demeter.

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Reader Email: Magical Ink

Use pokeberries to make natural ink.
Image © Patti Wigington 2010 A reader asks, "I do a lot of spellwork that involves writing on parchment, and I'm a little tired of using a plain old pen. I know there are inks available on the market, but I'd like to make my own if possible. Any suggestions?"

Actually, yes! This time of year is perfect for gathering pokeberries, or pokeweed, which grows in many parts of North America. The berries are super-toxic, but they produce a lovely pinkish-purple ink that you can use in your workings. The ink does eventually fade to brown if it's exposed to sunlight, but that's not such a bad thing - rumor has it that the Declaration of Independence was written with pokeberry ink! How to Make Pokeberry Ink

Addendum: Thanks to reader Makarios for clearing up the question of the Declaration of Independence -- turns out the finalized version that is sitting in the National Archives was actually written with iron-gall ink. However, it's possible that earlier drafts were done in a less permanent method. Thanks, Makarios, for the link!

Readers, have you made your own ink using magical ingredients? What suggestions and ideas can you offer?

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Happy Birthday, Ray Buckland!
Author Raymond Buckland has a birthday today. He's been writing books on Paganism and Wicca for some forty-odd years now, and is often credited with being instrumental in bringing Wicca ...

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Religious Charity Can Fire Non-Faithful Workers
A court has ruled that a religious-based charity can fire workers who do not follow the Christian faith. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has handed down an opinion ...

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