The backpack is laid out as I prepare to head down south the last week in September stopping in Washington DC, then over to a friend’s house in Virginia and finally ending in Milford, Pennsylvania for a Celtic Gathering being held in the beautiful Pocono Mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania. This year’s gathering seems to be shaping up to be quite exciting, despite Philip Carr-Gomm’s regrettable absence. He undoubtedly would have added a great deal to the weekend; nonetheless I am sure we will feel his warm-wishes from across the pond.
Celebrating the Autumnal Equinox or the festival of Alban Elfed, set in the deep wood of Pike’s County, surrounded by friends, bonfires blazing brightly, mugs of mead in hand, is sure to be memorable. As I think of the approaching festival, I cannot help but begin ruminating on what this time of the year means, both in nature and in the life of man. At the end of October we have the festival of Samhain moving right into All Souls Day, both of which are so prominent in the Old-faith’s calendar yet September mustn’t be overlooked.
September marks a turning within the wheel of the year. September marks a time of change both in nature and in our daily lives. The leaves upon the trees turn their shade and fall from their boughs, changing the face of the landscape. While we turn our focus from the tending of our fields to cultivation of our own minds and personal endeavors that have been growing within us during the months of laboring under the Sun. After the harvest is in, during the months when our hands no longer need tend the field, we may tend the seeds of new thoughts that have begun rooting within.
During the dark cold months as we begin to tend the hearth we must also stoke the fire of the mind; for the Autumn is a time of creativity and new beginnings. While during the Spring and Summer we labored, the Autumn is a time of meditation, wherein we can be satisfied in our accomplishments of the first half of the year and walk among the falling leaves musing on what we shall bring forth from ourselves to define the second half of our year.
In September the wind shifts, growing cool,
cradling leaves and seeds within its invisible river,
passing round us and through us
as we tread wooded paths—spiraling round us,
rustling the bower of the inner-grove
causing ripe fruits to rain down.
Deep Peace To You All ~
L.M.
