Celebrating the Harvest - Celtic Winter

Here in Oregon the seasons are very similar to those of the Celtic year.  We had our first frost last week and it was very cold last night.   The days are considerably shorter and the chickens have slowed down in egg production.  Parts of the country have had there first snow storm.  Despite what the Gregorian calendar tells us it feels like winter is upon us.  In fact, November 1 is the first day of Celtic winter.

I like to mark the changing of the seasons with little rituals.  For instance, I remove the screen door on Samhain and replace it on Beltane. Flannel sheets are put on the bed Winter Solstice and come off Spring Equinox.  Today, I will put the barbecue under shelter for the winter months and fill the porch with firewood.

Samhain is about celebrating the last of the harvest and we will spend the next few days here at  Borgo Pass picking the cabernet wine grapes.  The winter squash has been put into cold storage and the apples are soon  to be picked.  According to the weather forecast, we have two nice days before the rains set in.

The daylight will continue to shorten until the solstice when we gather to celebrate the rebirth of the sun.  In this time of darkness we are invited to explore the depths of the inner self.   I look forward to slowing down the pace, clearing away the cobwebs, and searching my soul.

I would love to hear how you mark the turning of the year.

Mayan Calendar and 2012

Is the sun rising or setting?

 I have to make an editorial statement about all this fear around the Mayan calendar and 2012.   Really, there is nothing to fear. The  calendar does not end it simply starts over again. The calendar is a wheel or Great Cycle that began in August 3113 BC and is completed in December 2012. The calendar reflects our planet's movement through the galaxy which is also circular. The Mayans were connected to the natural world and understood its cycles and seasons. Change is in the air most definitely and this is an opportunity for us to move in a more harmonic direction.
The Mayan calendar is made up of 13 bhaktuns of slightly less than 400 years each. In 2012 we will have completed the Great Cycle of the Piscean age and will be aligned to the Aquarian age. Remember the Age of Aquarius, harmony and understanding, trust, living together in peace. You may be saying, " I don't see more harmony, I see the "end times."

In an interview about 2012,Sai Baba explained:

"There is not more evil...there is "more light". Imagine that you have a room or warehouse where for years you have been storing your things and is lit by a 40 w. bulb. Change the bulb to a 100 w. and you will see what happens. You will see the mess and the dust you didn't think existed. The dirt will be clearer."

As the wheel turns and the light increases, I believe we are being given the opportunity to come back into alignment with nature and the feminine. The masculine energy has dominated the planet for too long. The Great Mother Earth is no longer going to just let us "have our way with her." We have moved so far away from the natural  world and become so reliant on technologically that many of our children have forgotten how to go outside and play.

Since we are all just making up stories about the future, if you want to make up a horror story I guess that is your choice. I like to imagine a future where we get our population under control, respect and love each other, and live more in harmony with nature. We only have the moment, the rest is a mystery.