Autumnal Equinox

Happy Mabon to all Pagans! To any non-Pagans, happy first day of Autumn! I wish I had remembered sooner, I guess I've just been busy. I'm enjoying the colorful leaves, I even risked looking like a leaf peeper by taking some pictures this morning.





Often around Mabon we remember the myth of Persephone and Demeter. While eating grapes this morning, though, I recalled the story of the god Dionysus (aka Bacchus). As a god of the harvest he, like Demeter, symbolizes the death and rebirth cycle of nature. He has appealed to me since I first began researching him last year.

Unfortunately I don't live near a place where I can pick my own grapes, but we can pick our own apples! That has been a tradition in my family since I was little. We always go apple picking every year. They went last weekend, so there will be plenty of apples for me to make yummy stuff with when I go home this weekend. If anyone has any awesome apple recipes they think I should try, please post them or a link to them.

Autumn In New England

This is why I love living in New England! Honestly, I understand why we get so many leaf peepers. The foliage this year is perfect. That is a picture from Hogback Mountain. The view is much better for real. You can blame the bad picture on my poor picture taking skills! There are so many colors this year. Driving down the road is a treat when you get to see the changing leaves everywhere.

On our way to Hogback Mountain we came across a group of people pressing apples for apple cider. I am so glad I had my camera at the time. I took pictures and watched them making the apple cider from start to finish right in front of me. I made a slide show of it, but I couldn't upload it on blogger because it was not made with the right program. I will have to just post the pictures instead.

Start with apples... Put them in the big chopper... Wrap the crushed apples in a cloth to filter...

The cider comes out down here when you press them... That gets put into a big container through another filter... And Finally into a jug to take home!

It is the best apple cider I have ever tasted. I'm happy we stopped so I could see this.

October!

I planned on writing some sort of informative post tonight. It’s been such a great day though and it just feels like Autumn has finally come! It’s also close to dinner and I have no information gathered for an educational post. xP So I am just going to talk about October and all the wonderful things that happen during this month.

First off is probably the most exciting blogging event of the month! Mrs. B.’s 31 Days of Halloween Event has finally begun! Mrs. B. is giving away at least one item every day this month! These items are donated by various people, and they are all truly amazing pieces of art! She will also have guest bloggers, craft ideas, and recipes. You should check out her blog if you haven’t already.

The next exciting blogging event is Sacred Suzie’s Halloween Etsy. She has made tons of handmade pendants and is selling them. They all look awesome, and they aren’t very expensive! Don’t miss out on buying one, go check out her blog!

Personally, October is my favorite month. During September we can still get some days that feel too warm. The Autumn weather is perfect. The leaves are beautiful. Plus, on the last day, we’ve got Halloween! You can really have the Halloween spirit all month long too. I know I plan on visiting Salem, Massachusetts, for at least a day. I went last year with my family, and I’ve been wanting to go back! There is a great haunted hay ride in the town near us that we go to every year. It’s the last month before I have to hear endless talking about snow, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Not that those things aren’t fun, but I truly do miss the month of October when it’s gone.

Happy Mabon!

For those who may not know what Mabon is, (I am still technically trying to help newcomers xP) it is the day of the Autumn Equinox. Today there is equal time of light and dark. For me, it is a day to celebrate the turning of the Wheel of The Year. After today the days will be a little shorter, and the nights a little longer.

I did not think I would be able to do much to celebrate today, because I don't usually get to do much. The rest of my family is not Pagan, so we don't have a big meal or do other things I would love to do. The day was in my favor though, because my mom, out of no where, decided to make corn chowder! We had some corn on the cob that she used to make it. Corn on the cob = I had corn husks! So, I got to do something I have been wanting to do since I was little. I got to make a corn husk doll. Then, while procrastinating on my homework, I was browsing some other blogs. I was really looking for ideas of what to write for this Mabon post, but what I found was an idea of what I can bake for Mabon instead! I made apple crisp. It was good. In our haste to eat it while it was hot we cut two pieces out before I could take a picture. So now I have a picture of the crisp in the pan, and on my plate with some vanilla ice cream.

Just about my whole family was in the mood for Autumn things. My mom with the corn chowder, me with the corn husk dolls and apple crisp, and then my sister who decided to make a scare crow! I have no clue why it's dressed for winter. She does have to spend all night outside, so maybe it's a good thing!

I hope everyone has (or had) a good Mabon! I know mine was better than I expected. =)