Autumn Equinox/Mabon - Project and info

                              
I got the following info from http://witchonthego.com/fall.html :

FALL EQUINOX

September 22, 2003 (variable)

The Fall Equinox, or Mabon, is celebrated as the final harvest of the season. This holiday was pivotal in ancient times, since a good final harvest was crucial to surviving the winter months ahead. This is the time of year where we truly reap what we have sown and we prepare for the long winter that lays before us. The day and night are again equal in time and the God has traveled at last to His place of rest. Now, He has sacrificed the last of Himself to provide us with a final harvest of food before the winter begins. Celebrants gather to mark the turning of the wheel and to give thanks for the ultimate sacrifice of The God, recognizing that He will be reborn at Yule. This holiday has been called "The Witches' Thanksgiving" and is a time for feasting together with family and friends.

This is also the time to welcome the season of the Crone. Kore' goes to the Underworld to learn the secrets of the Crone (or in some stories she is kidnapped by Hades), and the earth is bare as Her mother, Demeter, mourns Her loss. But although the winter is before us, we know that the wheel will turn again, life will be reborn, and our blessings are bountiful.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's a fun site about autumn that include activities, worksheets, craft ideas, info, etc:

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/fall/

Here's a site dedicated to crafts for the pagan special days:

http://pentacle.swankivy.com/crafts.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How to make a Mabon centerpiece

       (Craft project for Mabon)

Materials:

•A basket (in fall colors or with trimmings to make it autumn-oriented)

•A doll-sized scarecrow (or materials to make one of your own)

•Real or fake autumn leaves

•Real or fake gourds/nuts/seeds of the season

•Dried herbs or potpourri of the season (apple scent works well)

Directions:

First you'll want to prepare your basket.

It can be a small or large basket of any style,

 but you can decorate it for the season any way you desire

(if it has a handle, consider winding or gluing acorn strings around it).

Into the center of the basket, you place your scarecrow figure.

It can be bought as a harvest decoration at a store, or it can be one you make yourself out of straw and fabric—if you opt to make your own, you can dress it up appropriately and give it season-appropriate clothing and symbols.

There is the option of making only the torso of the figure since only that will show,

but if you've already got one with legs, they will be covered up by the ornamentation. Find a way to anchor the doll into the basket.

Then you can dump an apple-cinnamon or autumn-flavored potpourri or series of dried herbs around the scarecrow in the basket, and intersperse this with leaves, nuts, and gourds.

Buying tiny craft gourds around this time of year is easy and cheap,

and they don't go rancid in the middle of the season, which is a plus. You might even throw in stars made out of twigs and tied together with wire, or any other symbol that means something to you.

The basket has a nice effect of decorating a table or altar for the time between the autumn equinox and the landmark of Halloween.

Ritual use:

In ritual, you can use an actual corn dolly instead of a crafty scarecrow, so that it has more meaning, and each item added to the basket can have symbolic value. One suggestion is to gather up enough acorns to stand for your wishes for the season, and ceremoniously place each in the basket as you think of its purpose. The basket can be anointed and dedicated to a deity if you wish.  This ritual is really fun to do with children! Enjoy!