Posted by Dorine King on September 22nd, 2022 in Autumn Equinox, Mabon, What's In Your Medicine Cabinet?

Autumn Equinox

Autumn Equinox also Known as Mabon

Today is the Autumn Equinox – also known as Mabon.  This is my favorite time of the year.  The weather gets cooler, the days get shorter, we begin to go within and things get quieter.  This is a time of equality.  The day and the night are equal.  The leaves are turning brilliant colors; we begin to harvest our final fruits and vegetables from the garden.  We begin to think about soups and stews, and baking bread.  It’s a time to build strength, take stock, and repair.  It’s a good time to rethink what rest really is.  For me, it’s time to pull out my knitting and finish some projects that have been around for a while and some that are just ideas.

Feng Shui 5-Element

Since I am a Feng Shui Practitioner I think of the seasons as a cycle and try to pay attention to the 5-Element Theory.  The 5-Elements work in a cycle.  Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal.  September is a Metal time of the cycle.  It’s a time to bring things to completion – hence putting the gardens to bed, formulating that schedule, and letting go of things that no longer serve us.  I’m letting go of feeling guilty about being “productive” vs taking care of myself.  This year, I’m going deeper within.  I’m finding this Autumn Equinox a time to recapture a bit of myself before I go back into the business of the outer world.  I’m healing from a foot surgery and realizing it’s a time to heal not only my physical self, but a bit if my spiritual self as well.

Metal Element

The Metal Element governs our skin, our lungs and our large intestine.  I am also an Aromatherapist.  This is the time of year I think about medicine and preparing elixirs, inhalers, lotions, teas and foods to keep us healthy over the coming winter months.  This weekend is not only the Equinox weekend, but a new moon weekend and it’s also Rosh Hashanah – the Jewish New Year.  I am not Jewish, but this really does feel like a time to begin anew and celebrate.

New Moon Medicine

Because it’s the New Moon this weekend, I’ve already taken stock of what medicines I have and what I need to prepare.  We need inhalers, to support our lungs and breathing over the coming season, we need some good chicken stock in the freezer in case one of us gets sick.  We need new pots of Chest Balm to sooth our lungs from coughs help clear the passages.  I have a class that I haven’t taught for about 5 years called “What’s in Your Medicine Cabinet?”,  but will be teaching it this coming Spring on April 15, 2023.

Food, Fire & Ritual

I always celebrate everything with food.  This year for Autumn Equinox dinner we are having Parmesan-Herbed Baked Salmon, Parmesan-Garlic Green Beans with Almonds and rice.  After dinner we will go outside for our Mabon Ritual and Fire.   This year our Ritual is taken right out of Llewellyn’s 2022 Sabbats Almanac, page 301.  We will name things we want to put to rest (or let die – so to speak) in order to make room for new beginnings.  We will use the Elements to identify different areas of release.

• Earth:  The physical body
• Air:  The Mind and Intellect
• Fire:  The Spirit and Passion
• Water:  The Emotion and Empathy

When our ritual is finished, we will enjoy the fire and some spiked cocoa and each other’s company.  What will you do to celebrate the Autumn Equinox this year?