Autumnal Sabbats '13

Hello all!
So sorry that this has arrived late to Fire&Ashe.  Lately been having bipolar sparks of inspiration, therefore is ruining the sanctity of this blog... Really hoping to stick to a schedule or create drafts ahead of time so I know to stay focused.  Plus, with the holidays coming up, it's going to get even crazier & I've been vowing to myself for the longest time to mark these wonderful times for years later to look back on.  You only get to live your early twenties out once.  Life passes by without a wink of your existance, you have to make time to look at the simple things as well as the complex in order to prepare for a wonderful & beautiful life ahead.

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The 31st of October, known these days as Halloween, was the last of the 3 harvest sabbats (Lughnasadh, Mabon & Samhain).  I did not have a chance to celebrate Lughnasadh because I was very busy that day, but Mabon & Samhain was definitely noticed in my household.  I would love to share what all I did to celebrate the festivities, and give a little insight to those who don't quite understand.

Even though I did not celebrate Lughnasadh, or Laamas, I will give you all a quick description of the Sabbat. Lughnasadh (Loo-naa-sa) is the 1st harvest sabbat, and originated in Scotland.  It is a gaelic festival marking the beginning of the harvest season throughout Ireland as well.  It usually falls upon July 31 or August 1, but over time it shifted towards the closest Sunday to those dates.   I usually just celebrate it on the first of August, though (everyone is different).  The name is of Old Irish, and breaks down to Lug, of the god "Lugh" & Nasad(h), meaning "an assembly".  As far as traditions & activities, you can go to THIS WEBSITE.  It has all kinds of information, not just for Lammas :) .

MABON

The next sabbat, one that I did celebrate this year, is Mabon!  I love this sabbat, and I feel as if it is becoming my favorite.  During this time I feel so much more connected to my path than ever.  Mabon is the 2nd harvest sabbat as well as the Autumnal Equinox.  Night & day are at balance, and it is a time of Thanksgiving for witches.  It is celebrated on the first day of fall, September 21st.
For the day, I invited my friend who is new to the craft over to spend the day with me.  I wanted to make his first equinox special, so we went all out.
The first thing we did was bake!  He brought with him the ingredients to make "Apple Mabon bread".  CharmingPixieFlora of  Youtube originally posted this recipe & made a video on how to do so.  I didn't think it would turn out as amazing as it did, but oh man it was scrumptious.  So flavorful from the spices & fruit, delish!  While we were prepping that, we made a delicious Autumn Cider.  It lit the whole kitchen up with inticing aromas of apples & cinnamon.  If you would like the recipe, just message me, but over the holidays I will be doing a few recipe posts.  I also decided to make something with pumpkin, because everyone knows you can't celebrate the beginning of Autumn without some cucurbita!!! So, pumpkin cupcakes it was.
After everything was baked, we went outside to set up the altar.
For (North), We used herbs.  Thistle, to be exact.  We also used an apple, which is one of the many fruits of the seasons.
For Fire (South), we used the three candles.  They had a scent to it which brought the aromas of autumn into the ritual.  Rustic retreat, Pumpkin apple & Mulled Cider, YUM!
For Air (East), we used a few items to represent this item.  Incense, Myrhh & a feather.
For Water (West), We used spring water & placed a few stones in there.  Amethyst, citrine, and clear quartz.
For Spirit,  I placed my pentacle and 2 homemade polymer clay pumpkins in the center.
For the Gods & Goddesses, we used the large candle pictured below.  It had all of the colours that we wanted to represent & it had a wonderful aroma to it.  Here is the finished altar, before ritual & after!  In the bowl of .. we had 2 candles for the Gods & Goddesses.  My friend connects toward the Goddesses & the moon more.  I feel more connected to the sun and the Gods, so it was only fair to swap :)

Before the ritual.

We used the cupcakes & cider for the cakes & ale portion of the ritual.  I included all of the elements, because I work with them the most, as well as a meditation for personal reflection.  During the ritual, it started to rain, but the rain never touched our circle that we casted.  My friend thought it was the coolest thing.

After the ritual.  We decided to keep it lit

Afterwards, we just sat and engaged in fellowship.  Talking about the season, giving thanks for what we have in the present as well as the future, and also about the faith.  He was full of questions, but that did not bother me one bit.  I am a curious person as well, and he reminded me of how I was when I first started.
After a while my husband joined us and it started to heavily rain so we packed everything up and moved the party inside.  Before my friend left, to celebrate a new friendship, I gave some of my tea stash away.  We met at my workplace (which was a tea shop) & what better way to end the night.  It was a beautiful & wonderful day! 

SAMHAIN

Last but definitely not least is Samhain (Pronounced sow-win ; sow-wayne; or sometimes sah-vin) is known to many as Halloween.  There is so much traditon, lore, history behind it, so I will link you THIS.
I didn't have much $, and this sabbat can run you if you are very traditonal like me.  So, I just created a simple altar for my biological grandmother who passed away in 2010.  She adopted my sister & me when we were babies, and raised us like we were her own.  She was a beautiful soul who had a wonderful life, so I decided to dedicate the sabbat to her this year.
The eve of Samhain I made soul cakes & prepared the raisins for my barmbrack bread.  When I woke up on Samhain the first thing I did was start on the bread.  When the bread was done, I lit the altar & went outside to do an apple divination with my husband.
We also did a midnight(November 1) pumpkin carving.  It was the first time my husband ever carved a pumpkin.  I was super surpised, so I let him do the eyes and most of the mouth.  I did the nose & the tooth.  On the left picture, you can see the delicious soul cakes.  We went outside, lit the candle, and ended the night with a peaceful reflection.

And those were the Autumn sabbats this year!  I hope you enjoyed my post, and if you have any questions regarding the sabbats, or what I did to celebrate.. do not hesitate to comment!
Blessed Be!