Autumnal Equinox: summer ends, fall begins

Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Wisdom Quarterly

I like to bring the candles out to focus power.

What is the meaning of "autumn" after a long, strange summer full of rain, springlike conditions, cold snaps, and scorching heat with just a few raging wildfires?

It's time to turn inward because the seasons have psychology (or mimic) psychological states:

"Don't just do something, sit there."

Summer is so extroverted, winter utterly introverted. Spring is a showoff, but what to say of autumn? It's the shy cousin of depressed winter or can be. Indian summer begins soon, with yesterday being "Native American Day" and Indigenous Peoples' Day (Oct. 11th) coming.

There's candy on Halloween and thoughts of mortality for Obon, Samhain, Dia de Los Muertos, Islamic Thursday of the Dead, and the All Saints' Day tagalong holy-day.

The Addams Family cast 1964, featuring the uber coo' kid "Wednesday"

You're no Lily. - You're no Herman.

Maybe Buddhism's greatest claim to American Halloween is the Buddhist American who was the head of The Addams Family (The Munsters knockoff show built around "Wednesday"), husband of "Morticia," the dad "Gomez" (John Astin), real-life vegetarian and Nichiren Buddhist.

It's easy to meditate in the winter. What else is there to do but keep warm and watch the stillness? Spring is a riot, full of sensual triggers. And the way the human world dresses for summer, essentially naked and alluring, has too many distractions.

Let us be mindful of death, hungry ghosts, the departed ones who still cling to this realm.

Just as the departed were, so am I of a nature to fade and pass away. Mindful of this, I strive.

.

But for autumn we begin to bake again, keep the hearth, remember traditions, have forethoughts of the death to come, which is winter's chill. It will get so bad that we will need a festival of lights, whether we get it from Irish paganism, Hinduism, Jainism, Judaism,  or Christism, it's all astrotheology, those grand themes that guide religion to align their dates and details of the return of a savior figure (a sun god like Surya or Sol) born of a virgin, a Maitreya/Messiah, a Future-Teacher.

Like Quetzalcoatl, a returning savior-figure may not be coming back any time soon, so it is up to us to "save" ourselves. It's the only person who can, really, whether with help or relying on the Dharma still existing in the world.

• Autumnal equinox 2023 brings fall to the Northern Hemisphere today (Sept. 23) | Space
• COASTAL CLEANUP 2023 - The Watershed Project

Human v alien: Fionn fights Aillen, who burned Tara every Samhain (Irish lore)

Life is beachy in California, and today is COASTAL CLEANUP DAY 2023

Pagan Pride Day/Harvest Festival (10/6)

PaganPrideLA.org; Crystal Quintero, Ashley Wells, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

The Pagan Pride Los Angeles/Orange County chapter invites all to enjoy Pagan Pride Day on Sunday, October 6th, 2019, 10:00 AM-5:00 PM, FREE at the Rainbow Lagoon in Long Beach (when and where).

Bring as much dry food to donate for this year's charity drive. The Harvest Festival that coincides with this event is about reaping AND sharing! Let's shatter past records.

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YULE: Solstice. Santa was a Shaman (video)

English Heritage; Amber Larson, Pat Macpherson, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly




The Story of Yule

Wikipedia edited by Wisdom Quarterly

Xmas traditions came from the Vikings

Yuletide ("Yule time") is a festival observed by the historical Germanic peoples.

Scholars have connected the celebration to the Wild Hunt, the god Odin, and the pagan Anglo-Saxon Mōdraniht. It was later ruined as it underwent Christianized reformulation resulting in the term Christmas time.

 
Terms with an etymological equivalent to Yule are used in the Nordic countries for Xmas with its religious rites and also for the holidays of this season.

Today Yule is used to a lesser extent in the English-speaking world as a synonym for Christmas.

Present-day "Christmas" appropriated many customs and traditions such as the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar, Yule singing, and others stem from pagan Yule.

Today the event is celebrated in Heathenry and some other forms of Modern Paganism.



This video is a timelapse of the sun rising at Stonehenge -- the ancient British site revered by Neopagans, Druids, Wiccans, and New Agers -- on the 22nd of December 2017. It shows the first sunrise after the shortest day of the year and the winter solstice.

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Why "Yule"?

Yule (modern English representation of Old English ġéol/ġéohol and ġéola/ġéoli) the former indicating the 12-day Yule Festival -- later stolen by Christians and renamed "Christmas time."

The latter indicates the month of "Yule," whereby ǽrra ġéola referred to the period before the Yule festival (December) and æftera ġéola referred to the period after Yule (January).

Shamanism worldwide: Scythia to USA

Both words are thought to be derived from Common Germanic, jeχʷla-.

They are cognate with Gothic (fruma) jiuleis; Old Norse, Icelandic, Faroese, and Norwegian Nynorsk jól, jol, ýlir; Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian Bokmål jul [Bosworth & Toller (1898:424); Hoad (1996:550); Orel (2003:205); "Bokmålsordboka | Nynorskordboka" (ordbok.uib.no)].
 
The etymology of the word, however, remains uncertain. But numerous speculative attempts have been made to find Indo-European cognates outside the Germanic group, too (Orel, 2003:205). The noun Yuletide is first attested from around 1475 (Barnhart, 1995:896).
 
The word is attested in an explicitly pre-Christian context primarily in Old Norse. Among many others (see List of Names of Odin), the long-bearded god Odin bears the names jólfaðr (Old Norse for "Yule father") and jólnir ("the Yule one"). More

The Longest Night of the Year

• What and When is Winter Solstice?

(timeanddate.com) Northern Hemisphere Winter Solstice: (North America, Central America, Europe, Asia, Northern Africa). December Solstice in New York, NY, USA is on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017 at 11:28 am EST.

• Winter Solstice: Astrologers say Dec. 21 will be the worst day of 2017 

(usatoday.com) The winter solstice -- also known as Yule, Midwinter, the Shortest Day of the Year, and the Longest Night -- occurs at 11:28 am ET Thursday. But this short, little day with the great many names also may be the worst day of the year, according to astrologers. The reason? Saturn. Apparently, the sun will...

• Winter solstice: 5 things about the shortest day

(washingtonpost.com) The 2017 winter solstice arrives on Thursday at 11:28 AM Eastern Time.

• Winter solstice 2017 worst day of year, astrologers say

(northjersey.com) The winter solstice of 2017 is coinciding with a nasty astrological situation. 

• Winter Solstice 2017 

(cnn.com) The winter solstice not only marks the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, but it also marks the shortest night. If you live south of the equator, everything is flipped and reversed -- longest day and shortest night of the year.

• Winter Solstice 2017: Shortest day of the year: USA

(aljazeera.com) Today Google celebrates the solstice, which marks the start of summer in the south, and winter in the north. 

• Winter solstice: Why are days so short at this time?

(independent.co.uk) Today's animated Google Doodle marks winter solstice as the UK is plunged into darkness, with just seven hours and 49 minutes of daylight to relieve the gloom. 

• Winter Solstice 2017: Meanings and celebration ideas...

(newsweek.com) When the sun directly hits the Tropic of Capricorn on Dec. 21 at 11:28 am EST, it will mark the deepest and longest part of winter. The winter solstice, in a literal sense, marks the shortest day of the year in the Northern hemisphere. But it's a scientific phenomenon steeped in cultural... 

• Spiritual Significance of the December Solstice 2017 

(foreverconscious.com) The December 2017 Solstice falls on the 21st and marks a significant turning point and start of a new cycle. In the Northern Hemisphere, the December Solstice is the first day of winter and a time of inward reflection. In the Southern Hemisphere, the December Solstice is the start of summer and a time of... 

• Hundreds gather for Stonehenge sunrise, winter solstice

(theguardian.com) It was soggy but joyful among the stones, which have been found this year to help mental wellbeing.

Autumnal Equinox 2014

Amber Larson, Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly; Almanac.com

Golden Buddhas, Kamphaeng Phet, Thailand (Piyawit Kampput/p_kampput/flickr.com)

The Autumnal Equinox

Laughing Buddha (Eldholms)

The word equinox comes from the Latin words for "equal night." The fall and spring equinoxes are the only days of the year when the Sun crosses the celestial equator.

 

From then on the temperatures begin to drop, and the days begin to get shorter than the nights (i.e., hours of daylight decline).

Question: Why aren't there exactly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness on the fall equinox?

 

Answer: On the equinoxes, the very center of the Sun sets just 12 hours after it rises. But the day begins when the upper edge of the Sun reaches the horizon (which happens a bit before the center rises), and it doesn't end until the entire Sun has set. Not only that, but the Sun is actually visible when it is below the horizon.

Seasons change: Fall begins with the Autumnal Equinox (timeanddate.com)

"Changing Aspens" in Snowmass, Colorado (Randall Day/almanac.com)

 

Pagans celebrate Mabon (danadeilers.com)

How? Earth's atmosphere refracts the Sun's rays and bends them in an arc over the horizon. According to astronomer George Greenstein, "If the Sun were to shrink to a starlike point and we lived in a world without air, the spring and fall equinoxes would truly have 'equal nights.'"

 

Question: The autumn leaves seems to be hanging on longer than usual in my neck of the woods. Is this an indication of winter weather to come?

 

Answer: There's an old weather proverb that states, "If autumn leaves are slow to fall, prepare for a cold winter." Or perhaps you just haven't had the kind of wind or rain needed to shake the leaves loose from their branches. But look on the bright side -- beautiful autumn foliage for a little bit longer! More

Autumn Equinox (Temple of the Goddess)

Seven, Wisdom Quarterly; Temple of the Goddess; Voices of the Sacred Feminine

Goddess Saraswati on her delicate veena mounted on her swan offering wisdom

 

Autumn Equinox 2013

Rev. Xia, Temple of the Goddess (Sabbat)

Ritual story telling (T.O.G.)

The Wheel of the Year spins, and we come together to honor the turning of the seasons and the Earth's life cycles. We open our arms to welcome new beginnings and a year filled with wondrous possibilities. We gather at Autumn Equinox to give thanks for blessings, claim the spark of creativity and the fire of inner wisdom from the Goddess Sarasvati. We seek wisdom and creativity to discern the direction along our divine path.

• Autumn Equinox Ritual
• Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013, doors open 6:45 pm, begins 7:30 pm
• Temple of the Goddess Center for Awakening Consciousness
• 690 East Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104
• Pagans Keep the World Alive

For Pagans, teachings are found in nature, earthly seasons, natural cycles, and the cosmos -- all of which are in a constant state of flux. 

We have no fixed Christian Bible, Jewish Torah, or Hindu Bhagavad Gita. But in nature we find the reflections and lessons for how to grow, live consciously, and create the life we wish. To that end rather than emphasize need, we express a desire for change. Inevitably there are new beginnings, new directions to follow. For Pagans that is a given. There is a clarion call for continual renewal.

 

Goddess Saraswati

What we are bringing to our ritual-theatrical celebrations in 2013 are mythic lessons about standing at the crossroads of new directions and discerning through wise, contemplative choices which direction, which new path to take.

 

This year we will explore the tools we need to move forward with courage down paths not yet trodden, consciously choosing new directions life is offering. It is a fertile subject, and we are excited to be opening ourselves artistically and spiritually (and perhaps sexually) to this mythic theme and the possibilities within it.

Vasilisa the Brave and her doll (intuition)

This year our mythic guide is Vasilisa the Brave, who ushers us through our seasonal rituals and myths in 2013. She comes from the Slavic mythic tradition, a young heroine who journeys in search of wisdom, knowledge, on a quest for truth and assistance. Before beginning her journey, Vasilisa is given a doll by her mother; it represents intuition. We each carry it as a guide on our own quest throughout the year. 

Vasilisa's special doll offers wisdom and encourages her to trust her as a source of inner wisdom. She is told to seek the Wise Woman, the Shaman in the woods, whose myths and stories will guide her in her search. Will Vasilisa the Brave find what she is searching for? Come and find out on Saturday night.

The Wise Woman's Autumn myth 

Vedic Goddess Saraswati on her mount with her enchanting veena instrument

 

The story of Vasilisa is a modern retelling of the story of Saraswati, goddess of knowledge, music, arts, science, and the free flow of wisdom, creativity, and consciousness.

She is the Goddess of the River and one of the major figures in the Vedic pantheon, the Mother of the Vedas ("Knowledge Books" of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization) preserved by the Brahmins in India.

 

Saraswati is often pictured as luminous, shining as brightly as the Moon, often with eight arms, each hand holding a symbol of her power: trident, conch, pestle, bow, arrow, bell, discus, and plow. 

Mounted on her white swan, a symbol of purity and discernment, Saraswati plays the music of love and life on a stringed instrument called the veena. A goddess of grace, filled with the abiding confidence of deep wisdom, she offers followers true knowledge, symbolized by a beautiful white lotus.

Radio: Sacred Feminine Voices

Wencke Braathen chats with priestess Rev. Karen Tate (Voices of the Sacred Feminine Radio) about her book, Rituals in Stone: Yeshua and Mariam, Priest & Priestess, King and Queen, followed by Isidora Forrest discussing the old mystery schools and Isis as Goddess of Initiation, Roman vs. Egyptian Mysteries, and Isis in the Western Esoteric Tradition today. Tune in.

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• Author Polly Campbell (Imperfect Spirituality: Extraordinary Enlightenment for Ordinary People) will discuss how to integrate everyday moments with traditional spiritual techniques to experience personal growth in our regular routines. Then Gwilda Wiyaka (So, We're Still Here - Now What? Spiritual and Personal Empowerment in a New Era) discusses how shamanic principles can aid spiritual evolution.

Call in (718) 766-4662 to speak to guests about sex, power, and spirituality. Recent shows: Sherry Ruth Anderson, "Ripening Time - Aging with Grace," Judy Foster, "Invisible Women of Pre-History," Ava Park, "Mistresses vs. Queen Archetype," Anodea Judith, "The Global Heart Awakens, Marriage of the Divine Masculine and Feminine," Julia Stonehouse, "How women were denied spiritual authority because of the incorrect facts of life."

Check Out Spirituality Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Karen Tate on BlogTalkRadio

Voices of the Sacred Feminine will run your commercial telling the like-minded about your event, service, or product! The show is looking for a sponsor as it is currently supported by the host, Dr. Tate, as a service to the community, providing obscure guests with a platform to share their insight and wisdom with the world. Feedback and show ideas are welcome. May the Great She embrace all in Her golden wings!

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St. Patrick destroyed the Pagans of Ireland

Pat Macpherson, Seven Dharmachari, Amber Dorrian, Wisdom Quarterly

Earthbound devas still wander about, sometimes in human-hybrid form, like at Psytrance dance festivals (Bhakti Omwoods/Facebook). Below: Four leaf clovers are luckier than shamrocks (wisdomportal.com).

St. Paddy’s Day is the one day of the year when everyone becomes at least part Irish. Who was Saint Patrick, and how do pagans figure into the story?

• The Real History of St. Patrick's Day

"St. Patrick" was neither Irish nor born in Ireland. He was Welsh from Wales and lived in circa 385 ACE. Before being designated a "saint" by the corporate Catholic Church, he was a pagan teen by the name of Maewyn. Most people were.

At 16 he was kidnapped by Irish marauders, who kept him as a slave for six years until, like many jailhouse converts, prisoners under duress, he caved in and converted to Christianity.

After escaping his enslavement, like a newly lost tribe member freed of some pharoah's bondage, he traveled to Gaul where he became a monastic for 12 years.

That intensive "re-education" convinced him that he had to convert the pagans to Christianity. He moved through Ireland for three decades barbarically converting Irish pagans to Christianity by various means, co-opting their holidays, and establishing monasteries (re-education centers) finally dying on March 17th, 461 ACE.

How did Christians convert pagans?
The interesting question is, How did Maewyn and his Catholic army achieve the conversion of the pagans? By driving away the nagas (snakes, reptilians, demons) or by bringing them onto the Emerald Isle? By casting pagans as demons, rather than the hegemonic church sent in to wipe them out, maybe the snakes were the nature-loving, bhumi-deva (earthbound fairy) honoring pagans.

The luck of the Irish is the four leaf clover. But the three leaf variety is far more common, and the folklore is that Patrick used it to teach the Vedic/Hindu-centric idea of the trinity to the new converts. (Strangely that trinity does not occur in the Bible, if that. There are three things, but not the ones usually recited in Vatican-approved catechisms).

It is such a common feature of Hinduism and its predecessor tradition, Brahmanism, that it is a wonder nobody notices. Brahma has three faces, being three in one, a space shamrock. Other figures -- like wee people or fairies (devas), dryads, gnomes and leprechauns (kumbandhas), snakes (nagas), banshees or unhappy spirits (pretas), bird people (garudas) -- have Vedic, Hindu, and Buddhist parallels. The forest is a magic place for anyone who goes to meditate in it. Just ask Siddhartha, Rumpelstiltskin, or the pre-Patrick pagans.

• Leprechauns in the News: St. Patrick's Day
  

Pagan Blog Project 2012

PaganBlogProject.com

While taking some time to reflect on 2011 Rowan Pendragon began to think about what 2012 would bring. During this meditative period guidance came toward doing something for the new year, but it took time to figure out what it was.

Ideas were coming in bits and pieces with each feeling incomplete, as though it had a friend it were trying to bring. This is how The Pagan Blog Project 2012 came about.

What is it?
(The Short Answer) It is a way to spend a year dedicating time each week to studying, reflecting, and sharing your spiritual and magickal path.

The project consists of a single blog post each week posted on your blog each Friday for the year of 2012 that will involve a topic that relates to Paganism, Witchcraft, magick, spirituality, and so on.

Use your posts to share your views on a topic, to talk about your own personal experiences, or to act as a catalyst for research into a subject you want to learn more about then share what you learn and feel. Each week has a prompt from a letter of the alphabet to act as a common thread linking all participants.

Are there really Pagan-Buddhists (Pegabus)? Yes, anyone interested in the Earth and spirituality, the environment and the Dharma, fairies (devas) and reconnecting with our forests might be called to Buddhism and Paganism. Approached with the right intention, even Padmasambhava Guru Rinpoche, seen here in the mist, would bless it.

The Details
When? To build togetherness and community, we will all POST on the same day, Fridays, starting Jan. 6, 2012.

How do I know what to write about?
There is a structure to how the weekly blog posts will be done in order to help stay on track. The Pagan Blog Project is set up to keep posts and topics focused specifically on Paganism, Wicca, Witchcraft, Goddess spirituality, the occult, and so on. Rather than a specific topic to write about, we will be working with a letter each week. There are 26 letters and 52 weeks. That means using the same letter for two weeks. The first week could be about affirmations, altars, amulets, animism, Aradia, Alexandrian tradition, and so on. More

Life During Wartime: "Xmas Truce" (video)

Wisdom Quarterly, Noe's Buddhist Christmas; History Channel
(TheDocumentarySite, Dec. 2011)

Imagine living in a time of endless war consuming country after country. But then it's the day before the night before Xmas. There is no reason to shop because you're in a ditch, with wet feet, freezing. It's not December 2011 with the US on its way to invading Iran. It's August 1914 and 10 million men are about to die in Europe -- then an unexpected and unexplained truce.

The "Christmas Truce" was a series of widespread unofficial ceasefires that took place along the Western Front. Instead of killing one another, men laid down their arms and celebrated together.

The truce began at Flander's Field around Christmas 1914, during the WW I. Parties of German and British soldiers began to exchange seasonal greetings and songs between their trenches. On occasion, the tension was reduced to the point that individuals would walk across to talk to their opposite numbers bearing gifts.

On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, many soldiers from both sides -- as well as, to a lesser degree, from French units -- independently ventured into "No Man's Land" (the space between opposing trenches), where they mingled, exchanging food and souvenirs.

• When this Buddha in meditation ornament was auctioned, I simply had to bid. Its purpose on the tree is to represent diversity and tolerance for differences during the holidays. It may seem odd or even irreverent to some to have a Buddha or menorah hanging from a Christmas tree, but it is very important to me to be respectful of all beliefs.

In addition to joint burial ceremonies, several meetings ended in carol-singing. Troops from both sides even played friendly games of football (soccer) -- which were to eventually replace war as we took sports to extremes of hooliganism, mass violence, drunken debauchery and child sex trafficking in the US and possibly in the EU.

The truce is seen as a symbolic moment of peace and humanity amidst one of the most violent events of modern history

The Germans began by placing candles on their freezing trenches and on Pagan-holdover Christmas trees, then continued the celebration by singing Christmas carols.

The British responded by singing carols of their own. The two sides continued by shouting Christmas greetings to each other. Soon there were excursions across No Man's Land, where small gifts were exchanged, such as food, tobacco, spirits, and souvenirs such as buttons and hats.

The artillery in the region fell silent that night. The truce also allowed a breathing spell where recently fallen soldiers could be brought back behind their lines by burial parties. Joint services were held.

The fraternization was not, however, without its risks: Some soldiers were shot by opposing forces. In many sectors, the truce lasted through Christmas night. In others, it continued until New Year's Day.

• FOOTNOTE: Adolf Hitler, then a young corporal of the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry, was a notable opponent of the truce. Why? Hitter, bad; Vandals, good.
  

Merry Solstice! ("Rain" in a change of season)

Wisdom Quarterly

Winter has officially begun in the northern hemisphere on the same day summer starts for the southern side of planet Gaia. But it actually arrived days ago in Los Angeles, which has been experiencing more rain (our equivalent of lowland snow) in these few days than it usually gets in a year.

So the time of the Prophetic Visions, in a rare case of Buddhist dream interpretation (Jataka 77), seems to have arrived with the eclipse of the Moon:

The Reason for Weather Disturbances

"The Sixteen Dreams" (Mahasupina Jataka) derived from Ken & Visakha Kawasaki

"Tell me your tenth dream," the Buddha invited King Pasenadi, who reigned over Kosala. "I saw rice boiling in a pot but not being done," the king explained. "By not getting done I mean that it looked as if the cooking was taking place in three parts: One was wet, another hard and raw, and a third looked perfectly cooked. This was my tenth dream. What does it foretell?"

"This is a dream of future events," the Buddha explained. "In days to come rulers will become unrighteous. The nobles will follow the ruler's example, and so will the intellectuals (brahmins). The townspeople, the merchants, and at last even the farmers will become corrupted. Eventually, everyone in the country [mahajanapada, a tribe's territory or ruling clan's foothold], the sages and even the earthbound-devas [akin to mischevious Greek demigods], will become immoral.

"Even the winds that blow over the realm of such an unrighteous ruler will grow cruel and lawless. Because even the skies and the sky-devas over that land will be disturbed, they will cause drought.

"Rain will never fall on the entire country all at once. It may rain in the upper districts, but in the lower it will not. In one place a heavy downpour will damage the crops, while in another area the crops will wither from drought. The crops sown within a single country -- like the rice in the one pot -- shall have no uniform character" (Jat. 77). More>>

• In a rarity, both lunar eclipse and winter solstice today
• Spiritual lessons on an extraordinary winter solstice

Winter Solstice
Wisdom Quarterly with help from Chiff.com

The winter solstice marks the longest night of the year. (Summer solstice marks the longest day). In the north, the predictably gloomy weather around the winter solstice has been responsible for many symbols, ancient myths, and religious beliefs.

In ancient Rome, the original "Xmas" was a Pagan celebration called the Feast of Saturnalia, in honor of the Roman "god" or "titan" (Buddhist deva or asura) Saturn. In pre-Christian England, the end of December centered around the Pagan Yule log holiday tradition, a special piece of wood blazing to defrost winter's handiwork.

Nowadays, of course, festive corporations have co-opted our natural desire for relief from the winter doldrums (as the triumphant pharmaceutical industry advocated for a DSM entry, S.A.D., that allows it to inflate its obscene profits from the joyous insurance companies when staring at light is known to safely remedy wintertime blues). We are convinced we are meant to be "consumers" who need buy our way to "celebrating" and enjoying Christmas, in honor of the Roman "god" the Sun.

So the West was taken from Kronos to Kristos to Kwanzaa in a modern festival of lights, to overcome the dark, and a lively social feast, to overcome the effects of Mother Nature's dormant season. Even Buddhists in India celebrate a festival of lights, Diwali. And because Buddhists in China have Bodhi Day, we say: Let there be light! Merry Winter Solstice from Wisdom Quarterly to one and all!

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