Danu's Cauldron: Wisewoman's Ways, and Wild Fey Magic

Living in a sacred landscape, walking between the worlds in the veil of Avalon Glastonbury. Where the old gods roam the hills, and the sidhe dance beneath the moon...wander into the mists with me and let us see what we may find...

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The Magic of the Autumn Equinox; part 2.

Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs

The equinoxes have been marked across the British Isles since the earliest times as agricultural markers, revealing the times of seed sowing and crop reaping as well as honouring the patterns of growth and decrease in our lives. In Ireland the Neolithic burial complex at Loughcrew known as Sliabh na Callighe of  'the hills of the veiled one' contains many astronomical alignments, and the interior of one of its structures, known as Cairn T is illuminated by the equinox sunrise, revealing spectacular designs carved into the rock over five thousand of years ago.  Archaeology reveals that Loughcrew has been a place of ritual and ceremony at the equinoxes for much of that time, a tradition that has been revived enthusiastically in the modern era, the footsteps of the pilgrims today walking the same paths as the ancestors thousands of years ago.

Another lesser known ancient place aligned to the equinoxes is West Kennet Longbarrow, part of the Avebury sacred complex, now a UNESCO world heritage site. I've spent many a night here, in communion with the ancestors, and to me this is a place where the barrow forms a recumbent goddess, receiving the spirits of the dead to return their spirits to life in the spring. 

There is a silence here, a sense of infinite time that suits the feel of the season as summer draws to a close. Above, the pleiades begin to be seen once more glimmering in the predawn sky. They will grow in brightness until at Samhain they are clearly visible in the deep dark of the night sky. In the Celtic tradition these are associated with mourning and grief, and to me these 'seven sisters' act like priestesses, attending to the earth goddess as she descends into the sleeping earth for the winter. 

I give thanks for these last days of summer, and the fiery abundance of autumn when the forests turn to gold. I give thanks to the earth goddess for her beauty, abundance and her sacrifice with every seed I gather from the garden, with every berry and fruit I turn to potions and preserves. Now is the time to get out into the sunlight, feel the seasons turn, and revel in the last of summers glory while we can. Soak it all in, hold it in your heart like golden treasure to shine bright inside you as winter comes. Like those rays of sun touching the rock walls of the tombs, now the light must go within, but we can hold it, and nurture it, just like the earth, and see its return when spring comes renewed.   

Blessed Be! 

 

©danuforest2015 www.danuforest.co.uk

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Danu Forest is a wisewoman in the Celtic Bean Feasa tradition of her Irish ancestors. You could call her many things- witch, seer, walker between the worlds, healer, druid, priestess, teacher, writer, gardener, herbwife, stargazer, faery friend, tree planter, poet, and wild woman. Danu lives in a cottage near Glastonbury Tor in the midst of the Avalon lakes, in the southwest of England. Exploring the Celtic mysteries for over 25 years, and noted for her quality research, practical experience, as well as her deep love of the land, Danu writes for numerous national and international magazines and is the author of several books including Wild Magic, The Druid Shaman, Celtic Tree Magic, Gwyn ap Nudd and The Magical Year'. She teaches regular workshops and online courses and is available for consultations, including healings readings and other ceremonies.

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