Balance – day equals night.  The harvest of fruit is almost done, and preparations for preserving it are beginning.  Harvests of grain and vegetables continue, in anticipation of the coming winter, just starting to bite in the air.  This is the second of the harvest festivals and thanks are given for its continued bounty.  Great feasts are one of the center points of this festival, very similar to our modern day Thanksgiving.

Neo-Pagans have a multitude of names for the celebrations appropriate for this time of year.  Groups with a Greek influence may use this time to remember and contemplate the myth and mystery of Persephone and Demeter.  One of the names for this festival is Mabon, referring to the son of Modron, a Goddess of the Earth, and is another myth of disappearance or kidnapping as the sun’s power dims.

Winterfinding, the Teutonic name for the season, begins on the equinox and continues thru till the middle of October.  Known for their connection with fertility, the Vanir are invoked for the continuing fertility of the fields and the harvest.

My favorite memory of this time of year – driving up I94 to I90 in Wisconsin, past this one long tree line, and seeing every color of autumn within their leaves.  (209 words)