Danu Forest - The Magic of the Autumn Equinox: Seasonal celebrations to honour natures ever-turning wheel

In this, the second in a series of e-books on the solstices and equinoxes of the years sacred cycle, Danu Forest reveals the secrets of the Autumn Equinox, when the sun begins to recede, and the days and nights are briefly of equal length. This is a festival of gratitude; a time for taking stock as plans come to fruition; a time of fulfilment and transformation. Throughout this book, Danu skilfully revives ancient traditions, encouraging you to reconnect with nature, and yourself, with a host of practical rituals. Decorate your home with edible apple garlands or an autumnal wall hanging. Meditate on the changing heavens with Celtic star lore. Make sloe gin, bake traditional harvest bread or gather acorns and cast an autumn spell to attract prosperity and your hearts desire. Theres also a magical guided visualization for exploring this stage of your souls journey.

The Magic of the Autumn Equinox

Danu Forest

For my family, and for that most mysterious woman, the ever radiant, ever-changing Mother Nature, into whose arms we must always surrender.

This edition published in the UK and USA 2015 by

Watkins, an imprint of Watkins Media Limited

19 Cecil Court, London WC2N 4EZ

Text Copyright Danu Forest 2015

Illustrations Dan Goodfellow 2015

Illustrations by Dan Goodfellow

Danu Forest has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without prior permission in writing from the Publishers.

ISBN: 978-1-78028-865-9

www.watkinspublishing.com

Publishers note: The information in this book is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice and treatment. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding or have any special dietary requirements or medical conditions, it is recommended that you consult a medical professional before following any of the information or recipes contained in this book. Watkins Media Limited, or any other persons who have been involved in working on this publication, cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions, inadvertent or not, that may be found in the recipes or text, nor for any problems that may arise as a result of preparing one of these recipes or following the advice contained in this work.

When working in the natural world, using the ceremonies and ideas in this book, remember to plan ahead and be safe. Follow any signs and local bylaws. Be considerate of plants, animals and other people, and always take your litter home.

About the author

Danu Forest has practised Celtic witchcraft, Druidry and Celtic shamanism for more than 25 years, and is a respected wisewoman and spiritual teacher. Born with the second sight, she is an experienced seer, or Awenydd, and has helped others to walk the green road, developing and healing their relationship with the spirits of nature and their ancestors for many years. She is a Druid-grade member of OBOD (the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids) and an Ard banDrui (Arch Druidess) of the Druid clan of Dana. She leads a Druid grove in Glastonbury in the UK, and has held public seasonal celebrations for over a decade. Danu is the author of several books on Celtic spirituality. For more information on her work and courses, visit www.danuforest.co.uk.

Introduction

At the Autumn Equinox day and night are of equal length and light and dark are held in balance. Then the weather begins to grow colder and the days shorter, giving way to longer nights until the Winter Solstice. During the Autumn and Spring Equinoxes, the sun rises and sets at the midpoint between its furthest northern and southern positions, marking a seasonal shift between these two extremes. The Celts, skilled astronomical observers, noticed these points in the solar year as times of change, tidal shifts in the productivity of the earth herself, which were of great spiritual as well as practical significance. In the northern hemisphere, the Autumn Equinox takes place on a day between 2023 September; in the southern hemisphere it falls between 2023 March. However, the suggestions for celebration that this book contains can be carried out any time between the end of summer and early autumn, as the whole of this period is considered to be the magical season of the Autumn Equinox.

Iron Age Celtic culture spanned much of northern Europe and the Atlantic coast, and was highly sophisticated for its time. Long-distance trade routes allowed the exchange of ideas, helped by a common language and shared values and spiritual outlook. The Celts relationship with nature and their environment was all encompassing; they understood that their very lives were dependent upon nature, its seasons and its patterns. The heavens above, their agricultural life below, and the wilderness that surrounded them were all infused with spiritual significance. In the Celtic worldview, the gods were immanent in nature; they were present in tree and rock, wind and rain, river and soil, sun and moon, together with a whole host of spirits and the ever-guiding ancestors.

The Druids, the Celts religious caste, were fabled for their extensive knowledge of nature, philosophy and the sciences, which included detailed starlore. This mastery allowed them to mark the passage of time and seasonal shifts with a startling accuracy that was beyond even the astronomical capabilities of the Roman Empire at the time. The wonderful Celtic calendar found in Coligny, France, in 1897 demonstrates the Druids' significant mathematical and astronomical knowledge, and is based on the moons 19-year cycle an astounding feat for the time. Each of the months recorded in the Coligny calendar runs from full moon to full moon, charting the fall and rise and fall again of the lunar rhythm. This method of tracking time placed importance upon the inner life, on the emotional and the spiritual, as well as on the ebb and flow of the tides both of the sea and of womens fertility balancing the solar pattern of the seasons to create a rich and deeply soulful way for the Celts to relate to the world and to themselves. Its clear the stars and seasons were observed not only for practical reasons, but also for their spiritual lessons: a pattern of increase, then decay, followed by rebirth and renewal.

Celtic culture waned in the centuries following the expansion of the Roman Empire, but lingered on in what is commonly called the Celtic fringe notably Brittany, Cornwall, Wales, Scotland, the Isle of Man and Ireland. When Christianity came, many Celtic gods were forgotten or turned into saints or faery figures remembered only in folklore, yet traditions that celebrated the turn of the seasons with ceremony and magic have spanned the millennia.

The turning of nature through the deep rest and renewal of winter, the bursting forth of green shoots in spring, the fiery exuberance of summer and the wholesome harvest of autumn (fall) is an endless cycle of growth and completion that can be mirrored in our own lives spiritually, psychologically and practically. Every one of the eight special seasonal festivals listed below has a history of observance going back to the very earliest times, surviving until the modern era in various forms across the Celtic fringe. In the last few decades these ancient celebrations have seen a passionate revival, as many people feel the call to relate spiritually to their environment once again and seek to rediscover their heritage. Woven together, these festivals make a consistent whole: the Wheel of the Year. This cycle of conscious celebration helps us, year on year, to align with natures rhythms with feelings of wonder and insight.