Bringing olden ways to modern days,
For Wiccans,
Witches,
Pagans,
And all who honor a nature-based path.
This is Desert Magic,
With Crow Moon.
Merry Meet,
And welcome once again to another episode of Desert Magic,
Coming to you from the beautiful and magical desert of Southern Arizona.
My name is Crow Moon,
And I'm your host.
For the second time this year,
The Earth experiences balance.
And by balance,
I mean equal day and equal night,
An equinox.
And now,
The Autumn Equinox.
For followers of Wicca,
This is a big day.
It's the Autumnal Equinox,
The Sabbath of Mabon,
And the Second Harvest,
Meaning that this is our Thanksgiving.
And for this particular follower of Wicca,
There is an additional celebration.
Happy Anniversary,
Mrs.
Crow.
Behold the Second Harvest is upon us.
Joined together are we to give thanks for Earth's continued abundance,
As we celebrate the Sabbath of Mabon and the Autumnal Equinox.
All hail.
That was Our Harvest by Yours Truly.
With Mabon being a time at which light and dark are equal,
By following nature's example,
We are invited to find balance also within ourselves.
It matters not if we feel as though the world in which we live is heavily weighted one way or another.
What matters most is being balanced ourselves,
And being able to feel that balance within ourselves.
Many times,
This can be a tall order.
We can pause for rest,
Of course,
And that is very healthy.
It is also very healthy and constructive to mindfully experience such a pause,
To actually see,
Sense,
And feel.
See,
Sense,
And feel the things around you,
Be they sounds,
Happenings,
And so forth,
Without judging or attempting to change them.
Then,
In turn,
Bring that same awareness to yourself.
Bring understanding,
Compassion,
And forgiveness to yourself.
Sometime this coming week,
I invite you to spend several minutes just sitting in silence with yourself.
Only do so this time with the realization that you are not sitting alone.
Realize that when you do this,
You are actually sitting with your best friend.
Pause and listen to what your best friend has to say to you.
Returning to this Sabbath being a time of Thanksgiving,
Our attention is once again drawn to the Wheel of the Year.
For those who enjoy eating with the seasons,
To one degree or another,
Traditional fare for the secular Thanksgiving differs somewhat from what is bountiful in nature at this time.
In some areas,
Pumpkins are ready to pick,
But planning our holiday feast by the Great Wheel calls us to adorn our dinner table with squash,
Grapes,
And apples.
As always,
What's most important is preparing a meal that you enjoy,
One that is meaningful to you.
But don't overlook apples at this Sabbath.
Apples symbolize life,
Death,
Rebirth,
And wisdom.
Most notably,
They symbolize immortality.
Because of this,
Many will place an apple on either their dinner table or their altar or ancestor table during Samhain as food for our departed loved ones.
The magical properties of apples include longevity,
Love,
And protection.
Apples are commonly associated with good health.
For centuries,
They have been viewed as a gift from the otherworldly for not only well-being,
But wisdom.
Celtic Arthurian mythology refers to one of the otherworlds as Avalon,
Or the Apple Valley,
Which is a paradise that is home to fairies.
Merlin the Magician was said to have lived in an apple grove.
In contemporary magic,
We see the pentagram represented inside apples.
Slice an apple crossways to reveal a five-pointed star right in the center.
That was Edmund's Mabon,
Also by me.
Equal day and equal night,
Nature giving us insight,
Balance and harmony,
To all on earth so mote it be.
I recognize that many New Wiccans who came to the craft from other religions are somewhat sensitive to expressions such as giving thanks,
And especially being grateful.
I struggled with that myself in the past,
And I hear it often enough to feel that it's worthy of a mention here.
Being grateful for something is not the same as professing that we are unworthy of something.
When I buy groceries,
I'm extremely thankful for everything in those bags that I bring home with me,
And while I am thankful for those groceries,
I'm quite aware of the fact that I earned the money with which to buy them.
No one simply gave them to me,
And in doing so,
Created a situation in which I owe a debt of gratitude.
I give thanks to myself for earning the money to buy those things.
I give thanks to those who labored so that those products were available for me to purchase.
Gratitude is not penned to worth.
Some gifts we receive were,
Indeed,
Not earned by us.
They are simply gifts,
Which can include things such as patience,
Compassion,
Listening,
A smile,
And in those cases,
Whether we earn them or not is immaterial,
And it is not a up to us to decide whether or not we are deserving of them.
We did not receive those gifts because we are unworthy,
And to assume such in many ways attempts to lessen the spirit of the gift itself,
As well as that of the gift-giver.
A gift,
With conditions attached to it,
Is not really a gift.
It's an instrument of barter.
So,
When you thank someone,
Be it a person,
Spirit,
Or deity,
Don't tarnish that moment by mingling an expression of gratitude with any sense of unworthiness.
Simply say,
Thank you,
And speak from the heart when you do,
And never forget to be of the same mindset when you say thank you to yourself.
Thank yourself often.
Until next time,
The crow flies from me to thee,
To send the message,
Blessed be.
