FUN FALL FAVORITES GIVEAWAY!

28 authors have come together to give you a
 reading list of FUN FALL FAVORITES!

PLUS a $300 GIVEAWAY

Autumn Memories..

On this lovely 22nd day of September, 2013, autumn has officially arrived in all her glorious splendor.  Well, at least here in the northern hemisphere, anyway, and I for one, couldn't be happier about that!  

Apple orchard on the Blue Ridge Parkway by KenThomas.us

I love the autumn season. For me it calls up sweet memories of my early childhood days. I can still see the trees that lined our street, all adorned in vivid, radiant colors. I fondly recall the odor of orchard-ripened apples and pears in all their varieties as I walked to and from my little elementary school up the hill.  

We would play for hours on end in these richly-scented orchards. They served as all the magical kingdoms our little hearts could possibly imagine. And then, every year my parents would load all five of us kids into the car (usually a station wagon) and take us for  a ride through the canyons, so we could witness even more of mother nature's majesty.

Why the Trees Shed Their Leaves...

To celebrate the arrival of Fall, in all her splendid, colorful glory, and because I have a love for all myths as I have so often reiterated in my blogs, I thought I’d share a few Native American legends surrounding the autumn season.

The Cherokee speak of a time when animals could talk to the trees and the trees could respond because they lived so closely and could share so much with each other.

During this wondrous era, autumn finally arrived and the cold season began to overtake the warm summer days. The birds, needing the warmth of the sun flew south...all but one, that is. A small, injured sparrow didn’t have the strength to travel with his companions. So, in a bid to survive the harsh cold of winter, he began asking the majestic trees, one by one, for permission to shelter in their leaves. They all refused. Sorrow crushed his tender soul.

The Wicker Man...

The Welch call it Gwyl canol Hydref, the other Celts refer to it as Mabon, the Harvest Home, or Harvest Tide. This celebration runs from September 21 through September 23, coinciding with the annual astronomical phenomenon that gives us nearly equal hours of daylight and night. (Okay...okay... the Autumn Equinox). During this phase, the sun enters the sign of Libra, and brings balance to the earth. The vivid colors of fall, oranges, reds, and browns are associated with this festival.

Also on this day, the god of darkness, known as Goronwy the Horned King, defeats his twin brother Llew, the mythical god of light. Llew transforms into an Eagle or Scorpio. Goronwy then sits on Llew’s throne as King of our world and as a lover to Blodeuwedd, the Goddess who betrays Llew. (Aren’t myths fascinating?) Goronwy now functions as the King even though he has to wait six weeks for his coronation at Samhain (Halloween)—or the beginning of Winter. He mates with Blodeuwedd, and sires his own incarnation, the Dark Child. Eventually, Gwydion, Llew’s uncle, hears this news. He sets out to find and cure his nephew. He finds the wounded eagle perched on the branch of an oak tree and restores him to human form.

Moving right along...

Glorious Autumn... A Time to Give Thanks... Part Two

~ Mabon ~

In continuation of Harvest celebrations and the autumn equinox...

Emilie Preyer

Mabon is an old Celtic mid-harvest celebration, which occurs during the Autumn Equinox. This particular celebration, one of three Pagan Harvest Festivals, honors Mabon, the Welsh God of male fertility. This is a time designated to give thanks, and to celebrate the ‘second-harvest.’ The Druids refer to this celebration as Mea'n Fo'mhair, in honor of the God of the Forest or The Green Man. They offer gifts of wine, cider, and herbs to the trees. They also celebrate Alban Elfed, a time of balance between the light and the dark.

Thomas Moran - Under the Trees

The autumn season is a time to gather and store crops—and marks the beginning of the hunt. Traditionally, men hunt game animals, such as deer, elk, and other wild animals to provide food for the winter table. Symbols of Mabon include mid-autumn vegetables, like squash, gourds, apples, pies, and cider. Seeds, pods, sickles, scythes and baskets all symbolize harvest gathering.

Other worldwide myths and legends emphasize these themes of life, death, and rebirth, as the earth enters her death-like sleep of winter. As we discussed last week, Demeter and her daughter Persephone, kidnapped by Hades has to return to the Underworld once a year, which brings on winter. 

The Autumnal Equinox and the Harvest Moon... A Time of Balance

Our pagan ancestors, by necessity, immersed themselves in the rhythms of nature. We see the proof for that in ancient archeological sites all over the world. Within agricultural societies, seasonal or astronomical occurrences were critical to their survival. Over the centuries, some of these events have become Christian holidays, while others remain routed in our pagan past. For many, the Autumn Equinox is a period of feasting, thanksgiving, and contemplating the approach of winter.

An equinox, by definition indicates equal periods of light and darkness, suggesting balance. After the day passes, the northern latitudes slips day by day, into the long night of winter. The Autumn Equinox stands opposite the Vernal Equinox, also known as the spring equinox. In the spring, we celebrate rebirth as the earth awakens from the winter, sheds her drab winter coat, and adorns herself with vivid, beautiful colors. But I digress. We were talking about the equinox of autumn, were we not... And did I mention the pomegranates?

By Simone Pignoni

As one version goes, the Greeks labeled this delightful, delicious fruit as the “food of the dead,” and it’s all because of Persephone. Persephone is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, the Greek goddess of the harvest. According to the myth, the beautiful Persephone captured the attention of Hades, ruler of the Underworld and he wanted her for his own.

With the help of mighty Zeus, Hades kidnapped Persephone and without a backward glance, carried her off to his gloomy realm. When Demeter discovered her daughter missing, she sunk into despair. While she mourned, all green things ceased to grow and earth fell into perpetual winter. Zeus had no choice but to order her release.

BUT...