The Parsley Patch

Drying winds and rain by the bucket followed by scorching sun made for a difficult gardening year, but things didn’t end up too bad. We added many new roses this year, turning the Medicine Wheel garden into a rose garden.

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The days of summer have waned as we’ve toiled endlessly in our gardens and played with the carefree abandon of a child. One last task remains before putting the land to bed for the winter and that is bringing in the grape harvest. Traditionally, grapes are harvested and pressed for wine now, giving us the alternate name for this moon – the full Wine Moon.

As the Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the Autumnal equinox, a time of balance, great balancing powers stream from the light of the silver orb. Use this energy to regain perspective and sweep away the clutter of your mind, body, spirit and surroundings. Refocus on the manifestation of your goals and dreams by asking the gods for their blessings on the path you have plotted to the destiny you dream of. Use this moon’s energy in mediation to cleanse your senses and clear away the clutter that may be impeding their sensitivity.

It is also a good time for spiritual initiation or rededication. Under the light of a full moon with a glass of white wine or grape juice in hand, allow the moon to illuminate the surface of the liquid. Feel it being instilled with the powers of the moon, of balance, spiritual awareness and completeness. Take a sip and feel those qualities illuminate in your being as you rededicate yourself to your chosen path. Use the rest of the wine as an offering to the land and gods as thanks for their blessings and guidance.

ACTIVITIES
· Bring in the last of the harvest, including grapes and apples
· Make your own homemade wines or grape preserves
· Continue garden cleanup by cutting back all faded plant material
· Plant fall flowers for autumn color
· Refocus and redefine your goals
· Rededicate yourself to your chosen path

FULL MOON INCENSE(burn on incense charcoal or cast into the fire)
1 scoops sandalwood powder – protection, healing, spirituality
1 granule amber – renewal, alertness, cleansing, protection, purification
3 drops vanilla – love, lust, mental powers
1 part Copal – cleansing and aid in mental and spiritual endeavors; opens the soul and stimulates creativity and imagination
1 granule gum mastic – cleansing, clarifying and mentally refreshing, meditation and reflection, its bright radiant energy is helpful when you need clarity
1 part bergamot – ceativity, luck
1 part fennel – protection, healing
1 part cinnamon – success, healing, psychic powers

Mabon, the second of three Celtic harvest festivals takes place on the Autumnal equinox. It’s a time of balance as light and dark are equal. But from this point light dwindles as the cold, dark days of winter approach. This is a time of great celebration and thanksgiving for all the good that has come from the year. A witch’s thanksgiving feast can consist of much the same fare as a traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner, but also includes many fruits and games of the harvest as we celebrate the bounty that the land has given to us. This is a time to lie back and enjoy the fruits of your labors.

As apples are sacred to this time of the year, it is also known as The Feast of Avalon for Avalon is the only place where the apple tree is in perfect balance – always being in flower and always being in fruit. Also known as The Isle of Apples, this mysterious otherworldly place shrouded by a protective veiling of mist is where King Arthur is said to sleep, awaiting a time to rise when he is needed once again. Arthur, who sacrificed himself for the protection of Britain, is a fitting symbol as the pagan god for whom this festival is named sacrificed himself knowing that only through his death could he be reborn of the goddess at Yule.

As Arthur journeyed to Avalon to be healed of his wounds, so too can we take an inward journey through meditation. As we pass through the veil of mist and across the lake and are greeted by The Lady of the Lake, she may take us to the Crone stirring her cauldron who may have healing or words of wisdom to impart.

ASSOCIATIONS
· Animals: blackbird, owl, eagle
· Colors: orange, red, deep gold, russet, violet, indigo
· Element: water
· Food: grains products, berries, nuts, seeds, grapes, apples, root vegetable, wine, cider
· Plants: oak tree, hazel, mums, marigold, rose, sage, aster, ivy, cedar
· Power: balance, beauty, joy, thanksgiving

DECORATIONS
· Fall flowers such as mums and asters, fall leaves, grapevine
· Gourds and pumpkins
· Cornucopias and horns of plenty

ACTIVITIES
· Gather ripe seed pods and dried flower heads from the garden
· Put up applebutter made with freshly picked apples
· Eat a pork roast with roasted root vegetables and apple pie for dinner
· Give thanks and make offerings to the land for all of the blessings your received

MABON INCENSE
2 Parts Frankincense – protection, spirituality
1 Part Sandalwood – protection, healing, spirituality
1 Part cedar – money, purification
1 Part Juniper – health and beauty
1 Part Pine – purifying and cleansing, protection, healing, money
1/2 Part cinnamon – success, healing, psychic powers.
a few drops of Oakmoss – drawing of money
a few drops of apple blossom – to promote happiness