Naturalistic Paganism
Autumn Equinox
In the Northern Hemisphere, the equinox is celebrated today as Mabon, also called Herfest, Halig, and Harvest Home. (Those in the Southern Hemisphere celebrate Eostar at this time.)
Mike Nichols writes of the day: “Mythically, this is the day of the year when the God of Light is defeated by his twin and alter ego, the God of Darkness. It is the time of the year when night conquers day.” The metaphor for the natural solar cycle is perfectly clear, and easily appreciable by naturalists. Likewise with the agricultural myth of John Barleycorn, personification of the ripened grain:
“Often this corn spirit was believed to reside most especially in the last sheaf or shock harvested, which was dressed in fine clothes, or woven into a wicker-like man-shaped form. This effigy was then cut and carried from the field, and usually burned, amidst much rejoicing.”
An Equinox-Themed Music Mix by Bart Everson
Our own Bart Everson has put together a great playlist of Equinox-themed music. Enjoy!
The Mix-Master
In addition to writing the A Pedagogy of Gaia column here at HumanisticPaganism, Bart Everson is a writer, a photographer, a baker of bread, a husband and a father. An award-winning videographer, he is co-creator of ROX, the first TV show on the internet. As a media artist and an advocate for faculty development in higher education, he is interested in current and emerging trends in social media, blogging, podcasting, et cetera, as well as contemplative pedagogy and integrative learning. He is a founding member of the Green Party of Louisiana, past president of Friends of Lafitte Corridor, sometime contributor to Rising Tide, and a participant in New Orleans Lamplight Circle.
The Wheel of Evolution, by Eric Steinhart: Mabon
Dr. Eric Steinhart draws on his philosophical background to create a naturalistic foundation for the Pagan Wheel of the Year. To better understand axiarchism, the philosophy on which Dr. Steinhart draws to create a Naturalistic Pagan theology, see Part 1 and Part 2 of his essay “Axiarchism and Paganism”.
At Mabon, light and darkness come into balance again; but this balance trends downwards, so that the darkness triumphs over the light. But the light was life. Mabon thus marks the second harvest, which is the biological harvest. At Mabon, all life on earth has gone extinct. The sun has incinerated our planet. Much worse, all life in the universe has gone extinct. Every suffering organism, including every organism on any planet in our entire universe, has made its prayers, and the species of every organism has made it prayers; and the answers to all these prayers have been gathered together into a set of possible universes, a set of utopian worlds, radiated by our universe. Read More
A Pedagogy of Gaia by Bart Everson: “The Other Equinox” (Part 2)
The Flower of Fall
Lycoris radiata in New Orleans
There’s a old bridge over Bayou St. John in New Orleans, made from wooden planks supported by a steel frame and now used only for foot traffic. A Vodou ceremony is performed here on St. John’s Eve, just after the summer solstice, but recently I’ve come to associate the bridge with the autumnal equinox — because of a flower, of all things.
I first noticed them a few years ago, gorgeous crimson spidery blooms which seemed to have sprung out of nowhere in mid-September, in a little planter box at the end of the bridge. A friend told me that her grandmother called them “naked ladies,” I suppose because they emerge tall and proud atop leafless stalks.
It wasn’t until several years later, as I was studying up on the equinoxes, that I realized these flowers are associated with the beginning of fall. They bloom around the time of the autumnal equinox. It’s a testimony to my own alienation from natural cycles that I noticed this not from direct observation or local lore, but by reading about rituals of Japanese Buddhism on the internet. Read More
A Pedagogy of Gaia by Bart Everson: “The Other Equinox” (Part 1)
The Boy Who Didn’t Believe in Autumn
The peak of hurricane season comes on September 10, statistically speaking, but the season officially runs until the first of November. Hurricane formation is driven by warm water in the mid-Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, which lingers on through the phenomenon of seasonal lag. It’s summer’s hangover.
Many locals take a dim view of September, the ostensible beginning of the fall season. September often seems like nothing more than an extension of the month before. August, Part II: The Revenge of the Humid. September is a sticky, sultry, summery month.
Here in the subtropics, spring may be ephemeral, but autumn can be downright elusive. Most of the trees in New Orleans stay green year-round, so we don’t see much fall foliage. However, there is one undeniable reality that can’t be missed, even at our latitude.
I start to notice it at the very beginning of September. I rise at the same time, but each day it’s a little darker. Dawn slips forward through our morning routines. We are losing light. The days are getting shorter, as night encroaches upon day. Thus, even in the subtropics, we experience a sense of loss.
The Saints may be playing football, kids may be back in school, and rumors of fall may filter down from the north, but when you’re mopping sweat off your brow it can be hard to believe autumn will ever come. The equinox can seem like a false premise. Read More
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