by Mary Gelfand,
Come ye thankful people, come. Raise the song of Harvest Home.All is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin.”
—English Christian harvest festival hymn written in 1844 by Henry Alford
The concept of Harvest Home feels a little irrelevant in 21st century American life. As a mostly urban nation, a significant percentage of us don’t understand the logistics and timing connected with planting, nurturing, and harvesting food. Yet our survival depends upon this ancient, organic process.
Life was different for our ancestors in both Western Europe and the northern US. The indigenous peoples of both continents had a deep, visceral connection with the cycles of planting and harvesting and understood that survival—on both an individual and a collective level—depended on a successful harvest each year.
The pre-Christian Celtic peoples celebrated 3 harvest festivals, each tied to a point in the solar calendar. Mabon--the Autumnal Equinox—was the second of these festivals, celebrating the harvest of fruits and vegetables. It was cider-making time!
The intense physical labor of harvest is made more challenging by the noticeable reduction in the hours of daylight as the year hastens toward its dark phase. On September 23, date of the autumnal equinox this year, we will have 2.5 hours less daylight than we did a mere 6 weeks earlier.
As our days grow shorter, and our nights longer, it is a time to reflect on our personal harvest. Perhaps in the spring you planted actual and metaphorical seeds. Perhaps, in the illumination and energy of high summer, those seeds blossomed and set fruit. Now, as the sun moves further south, it is time to reap the fruits of our labor. What is ready to harvest? What needs another season to be fully mature? What seeds simply failed to flourish, for whatever reason? What seeds will you set aside for planting next spring?
Mabon is a time to honor the intention and energy you set into motion last spring—to rejoice in the bounty of your harvest, and release those seeds that will return to Mother Earth.
Rev. Dr. Mary Gelfand is an ordained Interfaith Minister, a gifted teacher, and Wiccan High Priestess. She teaches and writes on the topics of feminist spirituality, Tarot, and Earth-centered spiritual paths. She resides in Wells with her husband Mark, two cats, and a forest full of birds, chipmunks, and other mysteries of life. You can see more of her writings at weavingthestars.blogspot.com.
Apples image by Capri23auto
