This weekend I finally felt it. I woke up one morning and it was 58 degrees! Considering we had just gone through a heatwave in North Carolina where it was 90 for three days, the cooler weather was a welcome change. For a moment, it felt like autumn was a possibility. It made me smile as I inhaled a deep breath of that cool, crisp air.
Fall has always been my favorite season of the year. After sweating profusely for about three months and feeling exhausted most of the time, I wake up in the fall refreshed and ready to go. Yes, nature is beginning to wind down, but I’m starting to wind up. Perhaps you can relate!
I use this time to finish up my harvest of medicinal herbs and vegetables. Things are being dried, placed in mason jars, frozen, and canned. I take an inventory of my herbal apothecary and decide what I need to keep and what I should give away to others.
Typically this time of year my Christian calendar kicks into high gear with lots of increased activities. However, thanks to COVID-13, my schedule remains the same as it has most of the summer. This is good news because I’ve mastered the technologies I needed to learn since the beginning of the pandemic such as video editing and Zoom. These things come to me much quicker and easier than they did back in March and April which means i’ll have a little more free time this fall than I usually do. Yay!
My pagan calendar will be a lot freer as well since gathering in a large group to celebrate Mabon and Samhain are not even a remote possibility. I also throw a big bash every year to celebrate All Saints/Dia de los Muertos. Again that’s not going to happen either!
So, I’m ready to embrace a slower pace and a simpler observation of some of my favorite holidays. I suspect that many of you will be doing the same thing. But this is not bad, just different. My plan is to spend a lot of time with the Ancestors whose wisdom we need desperately in these crazy and uncertain times. I also promise to post simple activities and rituals that you can use to celebrate this changing of the seasons.
I hope you all are all doing well and that we will all use this time to find activities that will nurture our souls and deepen our magical and spiritual practices. Some days it’s hard to remain strong, but I am confident that we will learn valuable lessons in this time of pandemic we would have not learned otherwise. Blessings to all of you!
Copyright ©2020 by David Taliesin, http://www.sabbatsandsabbaths.com
According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the name of April’s full moon, which occurs on the 7th, “came from the herb moss pink, or wild ground phlox, which is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring. As a way of utilizing the power of this full moon, perhaps you can use it as a time to reflect on the question: “In the midst of a global pandemic where most of what we see in the media is bad news, what positive experiences and opportunities do I wish to blossom in my life? What can I do to nurture them so they continue to grow?” It is also a great time to do magical and energy work toward new projects we are just beginning to undertake.
Another name for the April full moon is the Beaver Moon. During this time of year beavers are busy constructing dams to provide shelter and places to fish. Therefore April’s full moon is a good time to contemplate the spiritual energy the Beaver brings into our lives. According to Jamie Sams and David Carson’s Medicine Cards, the Beaver tells us “it may be time to put your ideas into action or to complete some project that has been neglected. The Beaver can also be asking you to settle differences with fellow workers or friends. Beaver tells you to look for alternative solutions to life’s challenges and to protect the creations which you put your love and energy into.” Sounds like a good plan to me!
Sabbats and Sabbaths 