Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Pagan
The Blessings of Autumn

The Blessings of Autumn

Last updated on: September 7, 2015 at 11:46 am by Jason Mankey

The Blessings of Autumn 2015-09-07T11:46:03-06:00 Jason Mankey

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Seasons don’t neatly change, and depending on what calendar you follow they start at various times of the year. The Autumn Equinox this year is on September 23, for some Pagans Lammas marks the beginning of Fall and that was over a month ago now. The secular calendar of the United States celebrates the start of Autumn over the Labor Day Weekend, and traditionally September is seen as a Fall month. Decorative motifs turn like the Wheel of the Year, moving from Summer scenes to images of falling leaves and freshly reaped fields.

It’s been a hot Summer here in Silicon Valley and that heat is not going away anytime soon, but the last few days have been pleasant, nearly Fall like. This past Friday I redecorated our living room altars, putting the Maiden and GoatBoy statues away and replacing them with older deities. Decorative flowers were exchanged for garlands of Autumn leaves and the centerpiece of our grand altar is now a pumpkin from the backyard garden.

While I decorated, football played on the television, the windows were open wide wide, and the day was cool enough that we didn’t even have a fan going at the house. Very rarely does it feel like a switch has been flipped, turning one season into another, but for those prefect five or so hours it did. (And today someone threw the switch right back to Summer, today’s high is 90 degrees F.)

I don’t know if Pagandom has a “favorite season,” but most of my friends seem to love Fall the best. In the Autumn I feel the turn of the Wheel more keenly than at other times of the year, and there always just seems to be an excitement in the air this time of year that’s absent from other seasons. By the dog-days of August Summer turns into a slog, Winter days are too short for most of us, and Spring always feels like a series of starts and stops instead of one smooth transition. Every time of year has something to offer, but Autumn will aways be my favorite.

Every September I find myself anxiously looking forward to what the next few weeks and months will bring. Autumn is home to three of my favorite holidays: Mabon Halig, Samhain, and the secular Thanksgiving. The Anglo-Saxon name for what is roughly our September was Haligmonað which according to the Historian Bede translates as “holy month.” For me September-November has always been my most “holy time” so I find the name quite fitting. Here are some of my favorite things about the Fall, I hope at least some of them resonate with you as well. Happy Harvest! Happy Autumn!

New Beginnings/Back to School For many of us the “new year” starts in the Fall. Traditionally it’s when kids in the America go back to school, and with each new grade comes new challenges and new starts. My life has never changed that much on January 1 or November 1, but it did every year in late August for much of my life. I’m no longer in school nor do I have kids headed that way, but I still enjoy watching the roll out of back to school sales and the like. It’s a part of the Wheel and I still enjoy viewing it all from afar.

“The Flash” airs on The CW in the United States.

New TV This is less and less of a thing as how we consume media has changed, but I especially remember the rollout of new TV shows in September/August when I was younger. There was excitement over new cartoons and returning favorites. In college it meant nights spent with new episodes of The Simpsons and King of the Hill, and other shows I’m too embarrassed to tell you about. In this new golden age of Fantasy and Science Fiction this Fall means the return of Arrow and The Flash two of my absolute favorite things on TV right now. There’s absolutely nothing Pagan about sitting in front of the idiot box, but through social media it connects with me a lot of the friends I don’t live near. (I also can’t wait for Supergirl this Fall too!)

Halloween Many of my friends (justifiably) complain about Christmas Creep, but Halloween Creep is starting to give the Yuletide a run for its money. Halloween stuff is already out at several stores near me, and it feels like the holiday is arriving earlier every year. You won’t see me complaining here of course, I love Halloween and it’s a great time of year to pick up Witchy things nearly everywhere you go. Halloween as a big-time event has arrived and the amount we spend on it just grows year to year.

The Witch’s Busy Season I think for my Christian friends Christmas-time is probably their busy season, but as a Witch the Autumn is the busiest time of year for me by far. It’s not just that everyone and their beard wants me involved in their Samhain Ritual (and the practices for their Samhain ritual), but there always seems to be extra social obligations too. In the second half of October I think I’m involved in seven different rituals . . . . .that’s just insane to me. That doesn’t take into account the other Pagan stuff I tend to do more of in the Fall too, like write this blog (and I’m working on my second Llewellyn book too!). For me there’s also a trip to the Parliament of World Religions in October. From now until the middle of November my Witch’s Datebook is rather full.

Samhain For many of us Witchy-types Samhain is the ultimate sabbat. It’s the beginning of a new turn of the Wheel, and for a lot of open circles it’s the biggest yearly event on the calendar. Samhain always feels like it needs a little bit of extra work because everyone seems to have a bigger set of expectations for it. You know how Christians only show up for church on Christmas and Easter? Well there are a whole lot of Pagans who only show up for Samhain and Beltane. I always feel like I can half-ass Lammas, not so with Samhain.

The Thinning of the Veil By the end of September every year I can generally feel the veil between the worlds start to thin. Perhaps it’s just because death is in the air. Fields are being harvested, leaves are starting to drop, and apples are being plucked. Even removed from the agricultural cycle of the American Midwest I can still feel the change in the air this time of year. I’ve never been much for ancestor work but the last few years have found me calling out more and more to the Mighty Dead of the Craft, asking for their blessings and to look over my work and that of my coven.

Football This doesn’t mean much to many of my friends but hope does spring eternal every Autumn when a new grid-iron season begins. Not only does football keep me occupied over Fall weekends, it’s also been a social outlet over the years. No matter where I am it’s generally easy to strike up a conversation about football, and I’ve made a lot of new friends simply by watching it too. For sports-fans the beginnings and endings of (sports) seasons are a part of how we observe the Wheel of the Year. Though I don’t love it as much as football, there’s something about the Major League Baseball playoffs in Autumn too.

The Harvest I live in an area of many harvests, but unless I grow it in my backyard, my only real connection to harvest-time are the changing types of produce at my local Farmer’s Market. Even though I’m a bit disconnected from many agricultural rhythms I do like to stop and acknowledge them in my life. My family has owned a farm in Indiana for nearly 100 years now and while I’m not close to it, it’s a part of my heritage. My Grandmother grew upon a farm and a picture of that farmhouse hangs in the hallway of our house. I may not see corn, wheat, or soybeans from seed to harvest every year, but I feel it in my heart none the less.

Longer Nights, Cooler Temps There’s something about a good hoodie and a comfortable pair of jeans, and I just can’t dress that way in July. Besides everyone knows that “good sleeping weather” is when it starts to get a bit chilly outside. Nothing like a sleeping in on a Saturday morning, wrapped up in the blankets and the arms of your significant other. It also means changes for the coven. With the sun setting earlier ritual start-times are moved down giving us more hang-out opportunities post-ritual. And who doesn’t mind an extra hour or two of night? By the end of August I’m tired of seeing the sun set at 8:00 PM, I want the moon up that time of day.

Pumpkin Flavored Stuff & Other Fall Foods I realize “pumpkin flavored” everything has gotten a bit out of control, but I still enjoy a good cup of pumpkin flavored coffee. The best Fall foods aren’t just flavored with pumpkin either. It’s chili and potato soup, foods I only make when it gets a little cooler outside. It’s my wife’s homemade apple pie after a good roast-turkey dinner. (It’s too hot to leave the oven on that long in June.) Autumn is for eating and celebrating the harvest.

Previous Post

September 2, 2015

When They Hate What You Love

Next Post

September 8, 2015 You Don't Have to Be Initiated To Be a Wiccan

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Editorializing Gateways to Paganism Guest Posts Holiday Histories Led Zeppelin News and Views Occult Pagan Pagan TV Club Paganism polytheism Ramble On Reviews Ritual Strange Days Uncategorized

Select a Month August 2026 March 2026 February 2026 November 2025 September 2025 August 2025 April 2025 August 2024 April 2024 February 2024 December 2023 October 2023 August 2023 June 2023 May 2023 January 2023 October 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 April 2012 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many men did Gideon initially gather?

Select your answer to see how you score.

20,000 15,000 10,000 32,000