Today is the Fall Equinox, otherwise known as Mabon. The time of year when we recognize the decent of the goddess into the underworld and the light begins to fall from the world. We say farewell to warm skies and green fertile earth and open ourselves to the warmth of out hearth and family.
This is the time of year when people start having harvest festivals and culture festivals. Most don’t recognize it for the pagan beginnings it has and see it merely as a quaint traditions and something to do before cold weather forces most of the people indoors for the next 4-6 months. An source of constant amusement to me are the churches that hold “Harvest/Fall Festivals” in place of Halloween because of it’s association with witchcraft and “satanism”. I always wonder if they realize how much closer they are to the real thing than any sort of ritual a satanist would concoct.
But for me, Mabon, as well as Ostara, are times to clean house. Back when I lived in Texas it didn’t matter so much. Our winters only reached about 30 degrees at their coldest and it only dusted snow every decade or so. But up here, where there is a guaranteed blizzard every other year and at least two or three weekends you can’t make it out of the drive due to ice, or snow, or hail or something. It pays to have a clean house to be trapped inside of. So before the weather starts to head to cold and it’s still crisp enough to enjoy the temperature and scent of the breeze, I clean out the whole house, bottom to top, go through the cupboards and see what we need to stock up on, and just generally try to get everything in order so the house feels renewed before winter. At Ostara, it’s the reverse of that. The house has been closed up so long that it all needed to be aired out to feel fresh again as spring returns to us.
Before I do anything else, I set up my alter to my little Hearth goddess. She is a simply statue I made and set up on the dining room table. It is my personal belief that the kitchen is the heart of any home and from there, she can oversee all domestic needs. She is given incense and the three candles are lit behind her and I start my work. She doesn’t require much more really than a clean house and fresh air. She seems most contented when I cook and is greatly displeased when I let my work get piled up behind me. (Which frankly I often do. Cleaning is not my favorite chore by a LONG shot.)
I take my time in each room, instead of the once over it usually gets. My typical regiment is wipe the surfaces, sweep the floor, and make sure stuff is put away. But today I did everything from clean out the fridge to steam mop the tiles and shampoo the carpet. I even went so far as to turn over the couch and dust the bookshelves. All and all I must have spent most of my day today cleaning up and I’m not even done yet!
The only room I point blank refuse to do is the bathroom. The chemicals are too harsh and it drives my asthma crazy having to mess with it. My girlfriend is lovely and gets down on her hands and knees to do the scrubbing in there. But I think one room out of five idn’t too much to ask. 😀
This is also the time of year when I start to feel a strong urge to cook from scratch and do a lot of baking. I have to pace myself though because last year I baked so damn much we couldn’t eat it all and half of it went bad! I especially love making sweets and enjoying hot drink again like apple cider, hot teas, hot coco and all again. I don’t even mind it when it rains. To me it’s as good an excuse as any to brew up a pot of red clover and peppermint, snuggle down with the tv off and a book in my hand and not move for six hours.
I intend to use the dark half of the year to continue my study in herbalism and work on some of my remedies. With cold and flu season just getting started there is bound to be a need for cold and cough cures as well as preventative medicines.
Witchcraft and Wonderings 