A Bitter Harvest by Barbara Carvallo

On the Pagan calendar Mabon is the second great harvest at the end of the year.  Lammas or Lughnasadh is the first, and Samhain – Halloween to the uninitiated – is the last.  As Samhain is our New Year, Mabon is our celebration of the Fall Equinox.

The Equinox occurs this year on the 21^st of September, and on that day light and dark will hold equal sway over the Earth. Accordingly, Mabon is a celebration of balance. Witches value balance in the practice of our Craft.  Just as Jung valued balance in the health of the psyche.  He spoke of the Mysterium Coniunctionis , the alchemy of opposites joining in a union of balance. We who stand at the Cauldron on Mabon will honor the Mysterium and the transformation its alchemy brings. We will bid farewell to the long days of light and welcome the restful darkness.  We will prepare the garden of our soul for a planting to be harvested next Mabon. First, we must harvest that which we planted last year.

The crop that I will harvest this year is bitter, full of rage and pain. The seeds I planted last year have yielded a crop of fury at those whom I oppose. I cannot bear to look at them, much less talk to them. This, dear Goddess, is my failing.

As I light the candles on my altar this Mabon I will ask Hecate with each flickering flame to help me select better seeds. Come spring I will plant them carefully in my heart, and water them with the blood of my faith in the hope of harvesting a crop of greater enlightenment next year. 

Regardless of the harvest there is always a immense lesson to learn, as it is the alchemy and the transformation that create my path to consciousness. To understand my path I must be good a gardener – diligently watching the light, the air, the Earth, the wind and the creatures Goddess sends to help me. So, I watched the butterflies today clustering in unusual numbers on my Agastache, dancing over my roses and sampling the herbs in my flowering pots. I realized that these lovely creatures are the Goddess’ symbol of transformation.  From egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to the Painted Lady waltzing in the sunlight just beyond the reach of my hose, the butterfly embodies the circle of transformation that is life. This, I believe, is the message Goddess sends me on the wings of the gentle butterfly – transform, adapt and be ready for the next thing because no nightmare lasts forever. We must all be ready.

May I wish you, my friends, an abundant and golden autumn, a warm and restful winter in which to select the seeds that you will plant in spring and nurture through the long days of light for harvest next Mabon. May you harvest joy, understanding, kindness and peace with every seed. Blessed Be.