Personal Harvest

Last week was Autumn equinox, a sabbat that is considered to be a harvest celebration, the second of three harvest festivals in some traditions. In our times, few people actively participate in the harvest by collecting vegetables from a field, canning fruits or doing any of the work associated with harvest. Mostly, we enjoy that a variety of fresh, local food is available.
However, harvest time is also the perfect time for a personal harvest. Take some time for yourself and think back. Write a list: what have you already achieved this year? Have you learned something new? Completed an art project? Gotten a promotion? Read five books? Have you come to know yourself better? The Gods? Have you been able to appreciate the turn of the seasons? Have you raised a kid for another year? Have you finished one of your many projects? Have you found the courage to say no to yet another project? What were the important, the beautiful, the most moving times, the most rewarding moments, the most breathtaking scenery, the most joyful company? Take your time to make this list of things you have achieved or received during the last year.
Then, if you want to, make a second list: the year is not yet over, and quite likely you have some projects you would like to finish, or at least take another step towards finishing them. List everything that comes to your mind, and think about what you can do tomorrow – or better yet, today – to get closer towards including that project in your personal harvest for this year. Or, if it is something you think you should be doing, but do not really want to do, let it go.

Finally, go back to your first list. Read through it. Chances are the list is much longer than you would have guessed initially. If it is not, you probably forgot a lot of things that would be worth being mentioned in your personal harvest. Read through the list and realise that there are a lot of things you have received, and also a lot of things you have achieved. Be grateful for the gifts of the universe. And allow yourself to be proud of your achievements. This is your harvest.

Autumn equinox

This week is the time of autumn equinox (the exact date is 22nd of September). Day and night are of equal length. The sun is slowly loosing strength. In nature, it is early autumn right now: the first coloured leaves can be seen, and harvest is in full swing. In my area, the first pumpkins are ripe and the temperature has dropped below 20°C most of the time, so it is easy to notice that autumn has arrived.



Pathworking Spring equinox

Make yourself comfortable. Take some deep breaths and relax. Let go of stress, anger, anxiety.
Close your eyes and go to your safe place. Turn around and look for a door. It is there, quite unobtrusive, with an eight spoked wheel engraved.
Open the door. It is day on the other side, with the light filtering through the huge trees of the forest. Before you, there is a path through the forest. The normally green forest is dotted with the red, yellow and brown of the changing leaves. Some late flowers are blossoming, and an elder is heavy with berries.
Follow the path. It leads you through the forest, among huge trees. Everything is quiet and peaceful.
The area is hilly, and your path leads you downwards, getting steeper...
You reach the bottom of the descent, and the trees give way to a wide open meadow. In the centre, you can see a huge buffet laden with the fruits of forest and field, and with mouth-watering dishes made from those fresh fruits. There is a large table where people are sitting and eating, presided over by a kingly man you recognize as the God. He has aged a lot since you last saw him, but he and everyone else seems to enjoy himself. He notices you, and begs you to join them, so you get a platter of food from the buffet and sit down with the others and celebrate the harvest festival with them.
...
You have finished your plate, and it is time for you to go. You turn towards the path that leads you home and return, up the hill, and through the autumn forest, until you stand before the door once more. You open the door and return to your safe place. ...
From here, return to your body. Take some breaths to return and readjust. Count from 10 to 1. Open your eyes. Welcome back.


Note
What did you pick from the buffet of food? Can you create it and celebrate harvest by sharing that dish with your family or some friends?

Pathworking: The Dark One

On a night of the new moon, sit down in a quiet spot, preferably somewhere where you can see the night sky.
Take some deep breaths and relax. Gaze upon the night sky while you let go of anger, stress, anxiety and distractions.
Then, close your eyes. Go to your safe place. It is a very dark night here. Only the slimmest crescent of the moon is visible in the sky. Its light touches you, and in response, you feel your wings grow once again, delicate, slightly luminescent, strong enough to carry you easily. Stretch your wings experimentally.
Then, the last light of the moon vanishes. There is no crescent visible anymore, and yet you can feel the presence of the dark moon, there up in the sky.
Now, with some strong beats of your wings, you raise yourself into the air. Feel the resistance of the air, against your wings, the air that is rushing around you as you fly into the sky, into the direction of the waning moon. There is an updraft that carries you higher... and higher... effortlessly higher and higher...
You look ahead and you can see a shadow where the dark moon has to be. It grows bigger and bigger, until you are no longer sure whether it is there. Then you can make out features, rocks, mountains, crater. As you flow even nearer, you can see a round, darker shadow on the black moon surface. You fly closer, and you can see that it is a building, so you land at one side of it. Follow the wall until you find an opening. Very little light shines through, and as you enter, you see that the huge room is illuminated only by candles, one in each corner and one in the centre.
The room is filled with statues you cannot quite make out. However, at least some of them seem to be monsters, and you are not sure whether all of them are statues or some of them are moving when you are not looking.
There is a moving figure in the centre of the temple, so you walk there. The figure turns out to be a woman waring a black cloack, with the hood up. You shiver. She seems to notice, because she speaks up:
“There is no need for you to fear me. Unless you wake my wrath, I am quite peaceful. But woe betide those who do raise my anger by violating basic human rights. Those I pursue without remorse, and they shall have no rest.
If ever you have truly need of me, do not hesitate to call me – I shall come, whether it be for protection from evil, rightful revenge, or company at your last breath.”
She looks at you intensly...
Silently, take your leave of the Goddess and leave Her temple. Look into the sky. There, in the distance, you can see the earth, blue, green and beautiful. Stretch your wings again and rise into the sky. Fly back, home to your safe place. There is a feeling that is gently leading you into the right direction, a pulling, like a homing instinct. You follow it, flying back, and finally, you return to your safe place. As you land, you feel your wings dissolving.
Return to your body. Take a few deep breaths to return and readjust. Count from 10 to 1, open your eyes. Welcome back.

Note: As you can see, it seems rational to meet the Goddesses during their assigned moon phases. However, that is not necessary. All of them exist, no matter whether we can see their moon phase or not, and they are associated with the moon phases but they are not the moon itself. Use the symbol, but avoid being bound by the symbol.

The Dark One

The fourth face of the Goddess is her terrible one: destruction, war and death. She is the Dark Mother, the one who takes back what the Mother has given. A mythological example might be Persephone, who reigns the underworld, or the war Goddess Morrigan. She is not gentle, and Her wrath is terrible.
Most often, this forth face is not part of the mythology of the moon Goddess. Her warrior aspects can also be attributed to the maiden, and her death aspect may be attributed with the crone, and rightfully so. A fight for freedom and independence is definitely something that would find the approval of the Maiden, and the wisdom of the Crone would help those passing the veil. So if you are uncomfortable with the idea of meeting this dark Goddess, skip this pathworking, go and do some of the earlier ones this week.
The Dark Goddess is different. Experience for yourself.

Pathworking: The Crone

On a night of the waning moon, sit down in a quiet spot, preferably somewhere where you can see the moon.
Take some deep breaths and relax. Gaze upon or visualize the waning moon while you let go of anger, stress, anxiety and distractions.
Then, close your eyes. Go to your safe place. It is night here, but the night is illuminated a bit by a waning moon shining dimly in the sky. The moonlight touches you, and in response, you feel delicate, luminescent wings grow, strong enough to carry you easily. Stretch your wings experimentally.
Now, with some strong beats of your wings, raise yourself into the air. Feel the resistance of the air, against your wings, the air that is rushing around you as you fly into the sky, into the direction of the waning moon. There is an updraft that carries you higher... and higher... effortlessly higher and higher...
You look ahead and see the moon in front of you, huge, and growing even bigger and bigger as you approach it, until you can no longer see it in its entirety. You can see a building, shaped like a crescent, waning moon. It is a temple of white marble, dappled with black bits.
You land in the middle of the courtyard framed by the crescent. There is an open entrance in front of you, and you fold your wings and walk towards it. You notice the lack of statues, but as you look upon the floor, you can see designs and symbols inlaid, grey in white.
You enter the temple. It smells slightly of incense. Inside, there are some statues, and again mosaics on the walls and floor, displaying partly abstract symbols, and designs, partly scenes such as a woman with a torch guiding another woman through a maze of corridors.
In the centre of the temple, there is a cauldron, bubbling over a fire pit. An old woman stands beside it, stirring it and adding something. She is singing softly, but you cannot understand it. It appears as if she has not noticed you, but before you can make up your mind to do something, the singing stops and she says: “Come over. I won't bite you”, without turning away from the cauldron. You go closer and look into the cauldron. The contents look like boiling soup.
The crone stirs a last time and then turns towards you. “Ah, a guest.
Expect no fancy words of me. I am the old one, and I have no need or want for them. I know that which is hidden, the secrets dark. Mine is the art of change, the mystery of transformation.
I grant you a drink from the cauldron of change. Choose what you want to transform. But be careful, for change may come at a prize.”
She looks at you and giggles, then begins stirring the cauldron once more. From somewhere, she produces a cup, fills it from the cauldron and hands it to you. It is hot, and even if you wait, or stir it, it does not cool down. Choose something to transform, then focus on it as you drain the cup. You may decide to skip, then give the cup back to her. ...
You can take some time talking to her, or just explore the temple. ...
It is time to return. Take your leave of the Goddess. You leave the temple. Look into the sky. There, in the distance, you can see the earth, blue, green and beautiful. Stretch your wings again and rise into the sky. Fly back, home to your safe place. There is a feeling that is gently leading you into the right direction, a pulling, like a homing instinct. You follow it, flying back, and finally, you return to your safe place. As you land, you feel your wings dissolving.
Return to your body. Take a few deep breaths to return and readjust. Count from 10 to 1, open your eyes. Welcome back.

Note: The moon pathworkings might be a bit difficult to memorize because of the speeches they include. I recommend recording these pathworkings. Alternatively, it is possible to adapt them by listening to what the Goddesses say of themselves instead of memorizing the speech.

The Crone

The Crone is the Old One, the Wise One. Her children have grown up, become independent and so she is free once more. But she has the experience of a lifetime that helps her judge any situation, and from that comes the wisdom that avoids rash actions, but knows when to act.
The crone also has come to know loss, and grief, and in times when we need consolation, we can turn to her. She can teach us how to let go, and how to get rid of attachments, habits, destructive relationships, fears, whatever necessary.
A mythological example may be Hecate, who guides Persephone on her way out of the underworld.
The crone is experienced enough to know the truth, and old enough to speak it, so do not be surprised if you are confronted with uncomfortable truths, spiced with a good bit of humor or even irony.
The corresponding moon phase is of course the waning moon, so we will visit it this week.