Mabon: Harvest Home

 Dear Reader,

Today is the Wiccan high holiday of Mabon. It is the feast of Harvest Home and the second harvest celebration of the year. Mabon is a joyful time where the abundant fruits of the harvest are shared and we take time to reflect on what joys we are harvesting in our lives. It is also the Autumnal Equinox and considered the time to reflect and begin to take stock of what you need to prepare for winter.

Some households, like mine, will do "autumn cleaning" and make a point of putting away all of the summer goods before the weather turns truly questionable as it does later in the season. While some years we have the good fortune of feeling a bit of summer's warmth still during this time, it is wise to prepare for the lean times of winter that will be soon upon us. 

If a coven hasn't celebrated the sacrifice of the Grain Lord at Lammas (which falls around August 1st), it is typically observed at Mabon. Bread figures heavily in celebrations as does wine. (This should not be mistaken for the bread and wine of Christian communion, though there are some superficial commonalities.) A ritual may be practiced where one casts into a bonfire a piece of bread representing some element of themselves that they are giving away to the gods, usually with a petition for growth in an area of corresponding weakness (i.e. I cast into the fire a bit of bread representing my social insecurities and ask the gods to grant me growth in personal confidence.).

At Mabon, we prepare to enter the 'dark' half of the year. Some of this manifests as magical work. Some of this manifests in practical things like preparing the household for winter storms and (if your skilled and fortunate enough) processing the fruits of your garden (or local farmer's markets) so that you will have that fresh goodness in the dead of winter. It is one last great party that celebrates abundance before it is time to kunckle down for the challenge of winter.

Cuivanya: The Feast of Divine Life

 Dear Reader,

Cuivanya is the Feast of Divine Life within the Filianic and Déanic religion. It falls on the same day as Mabon, generally the same date as the Autumnal equinox. This is the second harvest festival of the year. Where Chelanya is known as the Golden Festival or the Feast of Regeneration, the focus of this harvest festival is different. Chelanya falls near the first of August which is when (in the northern hemisphere) is when the grain is being taken in for harvest. Chelanya celebrates the regeneration of life from the resurrection of the Daughter at Eastre. Grain is the primary symbol of this holy day. It is a spiritual memory of the primordial era when all things were in harmony and bounty was plentiful.

Cuivanya is the Feast of Divine Life and can be celebrated recognizing the entire life cycle story of the Daughter, it is more common to focus upon the Dark Mother as the Ground of All Being and the source of all fruitfulness. In the cosmology of Filianism and Déanism, the Bright Mother (Marya) eminates from the Dark Mother (Deam Mysterium) even as the Daughter (Anna) eminates from the Bright Mother. While they are three, they are in mystical union as one. The Dark Mother does not get as much attention as the Bright Mother or the Daughter. This is because she is the most mysterious of the three and quite literally beyond our comprehension.

Chelanya could be considered a festival of the Dark Mother as well in her action as the First Cause of existence and the Final Completion of its Dissolution. The cycle of the Ages is described as the breathing of the Dark Mother. She exhales existance into being and inhales all things back to their singular point of origin. (I would like to note that this theological argument aligns with several theories regarding the 'big bang' and how our universe came into being, but I digress.) The Dark Mother is the Queen of Mysteries.  She is the one who stands beyond and above the Bright Mother, known as the light which blinds and the darkness that illuminates. The Dark Mother is the root of all being, thus she is known as the Ground of All Being in direct reference to a Filianic scriptural reading.

Let her trust not the ground her feet are set upon and doubt the Ground upon which that ground stands. Let her rather doubt the sea, the sky, the fingers of her hand and the breath of her mouth; for all these things may be illusion, as in some sense they are. - Gospel of Our Mother God, pg. 108, paragraph 2. 

That "Ground" is the Dark Mother who holds all of existence in her hand. The passage above cautions the faithful to doubt all but Déa and place wholly their trust into her. The Feast of Divine Life is a celebration of the Dark Mother and the Bright Mother as the source of Life. The Feast of Regeneration was a celebration of the Daughter and the Bright Mother as the source of renewal of Life. In many ways, this is a reversal of the Eastre mysteries. One enters the Eastre mysteries at Lucaid with the Daughter moving into mortal life as she takes on her fate. Then she dies at Kala and hangs upon the world pillar at Hiatus. After this, she is resurrected and renewed at Eastre. The final festival of the Mysteries of Life comes at Tamala, where we celebrate the union of the soul and the collective body of the faithful including the living and dead. Tamala is a reminder of our mortality and the promise of union with Déa after our time within this world. But, I'll talk more about that at Tamala.

High Holidays: Filianic

Eastre

Florimaia

Exaultation

Rosa Mundi

• Blessed Solstice & Rosa Mundi 2016

Chelayna

• Autumn:Harvest and Creation 2018

Cuviyana

• Autumn: Harvest and Creation 2018

Tamala

• Tamala/Samhain 2018
• A Shrine for the Beloved Dead 2014

Nativity

• Yuletide 2015
• Advent Begins 2015

Lucaid

Amity Day

• Love is Love is Love 2017

Moura Day

• The Season of Moura 2018
• Moura Day 2016
• Moura Eve 2016

Kala

• Eve of Kala Thoughts 2018

Hiatus

• Hiatus and Equinox 2017

This page will be updated as the relevant posts are collated and put here.

Autumn: Harvest and Creation

Image courtesy of Pexels.com

Within Filianic and Déanic faith systems, the season of autumn is a celebration of harvest and of the
creation of the universe. It is the central portion of the 'Mother' half of the year (which is considered to begin at the feast day of Rosa Mundi, Midsummer and end at Nativity day). The major feast days of this part of the year celebrate the whole of Dea. The first harvest festival of Chelanya is the feast of Regeneration. It mirrors the Eastre cycle and is during the second month of Summer (Kerea, named for Ceres) and corresponds with when the harvest of produce begins in earnest. Some consider it the unofficial start of autumn.

The second harvest festival falls during the month of Abolan near the Autumnal Equinox. It is called Cuviyania. This festival is consider the proper harvest festival and is during the height of harvest time. It celebrates Dea as the Ground of All Being, or the fundamental cause of all existence. All three aspects of Dea is celebrated but greater emphasis is placed on the Bright Mother as the benevolent and abundant giver to all of creation. The major meditative focus for this celebration is the mysteries of creation.

The third harvest festival falls during the beginning of the month of Werde and is a three day celebration. It begins on the 30st of October and continues until the 1st of November. Known as Tamala, it is a celebration of the soul's reunion with Dea. It is also a time where the Dark Mother aspect of Dea is celebrated as the comforter and consolation of the dead. Tamala is very much a time for the meditation upon those who have gone before us and for the celebration of the bonds of love that ties us to them, as well as the bonds of love that tie us to the Dark Mother, Deam Mysterium.

Cuivanya, Mabon, Autumn Equinox: What day is it?

Near the autumnal equinox, many people within the pagan community celebrate the harvest. Many people celebrate Mabon at this time. The Filianic community (and others of related faiths) celebrate Cuivanya. And there are people within the pagan community who don't celebrate this time of year beyond the secular joys of football and pumpkin spice everything. The 21^st of September is generally the day these celebrations happen on (though the equinox falls on the 23^rd this year). It falls roughly at the mid point of the harvest season in the northern hemisphere. This season is reflected in the names of the moons for the months of August, September, and October.

The full moon of August is known colloquially as the full Corn moon. This is because the grains planted in spring begin to become ripe at this time. August first is the date of Freyfaxi, Lammas, and Chelanya. Freyfaxi is a holy day for Freyr, wherein the first harvest is celebrated, his sacrifice for the good of all life is recalled, and (for me) a day honoring the labor of taking in the harvest. Lammas has many spellings. The date is also called Lughnassadh, in honor of the Irish Celtic god Lugh whose myth cycle includes matters pertaining to grain, fertility, and prosperity. The Wiccan community (and pagan faiths derived from Wicca) honor Lammas as a time of fertility and prosperity. There is much celebration of things that have come to fruition over the year. This is the theme over the entire harvest season.

Chelanya is the first of the Filianic harvest connected holy days. It is, by some, considered to be a mirror of the celebration of Eastre, when the Daughter dies and then returns from life. Chelanya is a time focused upon the resurrection of the Daughter and the soul into new life as children of Dea. The time of Chelanya is a period where the resurrection/rebirth of the world that comes with the Daughter's return from death is celebrated along side the harvest. Scriptural readings focus upon the elements of the Daughter's mythos where she arises from death and upon her giving of herself in holy sacrifice¹.

The full moon of September is known colloquially as the full Harvest moon. During this time, the harvest is in full swing and pretty much everything that is ripe this time of year is ready for gathering. Mabon is a celebration of, amongst other things, the grape harvest. This is because the grapes become ripe for harvest at this point and traditionally wine making began with the harvest. Wine, in the Wiccan faith, is considered to be holy and by some to be the blood of the Green Man (also known as the Harvest God, a vegetal deity who, again, sustains the world through his death and rebirth).

Cuivanya is the second of the Filianic harvest connected holy days. It is the celebration of Divine Life. The focus of this holy day shifts from the renewal of all things in the Daughter to the life of Dea in all three aspects. The predominant focus rests upon the Bright Mother. The bounty of the season is celebrated as gifts from Marya to the world, given to keep all things alive and well. Interestingly, where the symbol most predominant with Chelanya is the grain itself, the symbol that is most important in Cuivanya is the sickle. Here, we see Dea as the giver of life in the sickle that cuts the grain which feeds us. We also see Dea as the Dark Mother to whom all life returns in the sickle as it ends the life of the grain². Another symbol of this holiday is the apple of wisdom, due to this being when apples are most predominant. The common meditative focus of this holy day is Dea as the Ground of All being, the source of all that exists.

The full moon of October is known as the full Blood Moon. In antiquity, this was the time when livestock was slaughtered in preparation for the winter. This could be described as the final harvest of the season when the herds are culled to both provide meat for the winter and to render them a size that could survive the winter given the supplies set by for the coming season. At the end of October comes the celebration of Halloween, Samhain, Winter Nights³, and Tamala. So much has been written about Halloween and Samhain, I really leave that to others right now. Winter Nights is when a blóts are held to honor the alfar and the disir. Many focus upon honoring the dead at large at this time. In antiquity, this celebration was held during the first three days of winter.

Like Winter Nights, Tamala is a three day celebration. It is the third of the Fire Festivals (the other two being Sai Herthe's Day in January and Rosa Mundi in June). Tamala is the time where Dea as the Dark Mother is honored. But it is predominantly when the dead are honored. Tamala is when death is a meditative focus. Here, it is not the cosmic death of the Daughter or the 'death' of the universe as it is brought into union with Deam Mysterium. The death that is considered is the death of the individual and the transmigration of the soul through the lives that happen upon the wheel of incarnation. It is a time where the living reach out to the dead and honor them. It is also a time where the 'Family of the Faithful' is celebrated, wherein all are united within the Daughter via her sacrifice. Thus, there is emphasis placed upon reunion with those who have died before us and shall be reborn into incarnation at some point in the future.


Now, back to the matter of September's celebrations. I personally view Cuivanya and Mabon as much the same celebration. Both are harvest celebrations that focus upon life's preciousness. I also consider this time to be one where the holy work of harvesting should be honored, though I primarily celebrate the work of harvest at Chelanya/Frefaxi/Lammas. If I am able, I give offerings of what I have harvested thus far through the season. I also try to make a point at this time of year to begin the process of preparing for winter. If I have nothing I have harvested (such as produce or herbs), I try to give an offering of homemade bread or something else that I have fashioned myself.

If you celebrate the Filianic holiday or the Wiccan/Wiccan derived one, it is still a time for thanksgiving and preparation for the coming season.

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1. The sacrifice of the Daughter is much like the sacrifice of Freyr. Her life is given for the sake of the world and it is compared to the lifecycle of grain. While orthodox Filianism does not give much exposition upon this, it is my belief that the Daughter's sacrifice not only brings the rebirth/resurrection/renewal of the world but also that which sustains it. For, like Freyr, she sustains the world through her actions.

2. While the grain is technically not alive anymore when it is harvested, it is viewed as still 'alive' while it is standing in the fields. This is an ancient perspective that is reflected in some of the oldest of folk music out there. I encourage you to consider the song John Barelycorn as a British isles manifestation of this musical theme.

3. Winter Nights is celebrated pretty much anytime between the Blood Moon and Yule in the Heathen community. Many of the kindreds that I know of will celebrate it around the time of Halloween because it is convenient and dovetails nicely with the secular celebrations of this date.