The Pagan Heart Seasonal Festivals

August-September 2005 Issue

Alban Elfed - the Druidic Autumnal Equinox By Axiom     With Alban Elfed (meaning Light of the Water) arrives the one day of the year that the god of Light can be defeated by the God of Dark. There isn't a corresponding "old" tradition as the autumnal Equinox tended not to be celebrated by the ancestors of the various Celtic peoples. Lughnasadh and Samhaine were seen as more important. But today, with the prediliction for the Wheel of the Year style observances, followers of the various Celtic-based traditions have brought forth the Autumnal Equinox to balance out the festivals. Alban Elfed has become a day of spiritual balance to match the physical nature of it. Day and Night are of equal length, and we stand midway between the Solstices on the crux of power between Summer and Winter Kings. When this day of balance ends, Night takes power, conquering Day, and we descend into winter. Many modern Druid traditions look to the Mabinogion, the Welsh mythology, for the mythic overtones in celebrating this festival. The story of Math, son of Mathonwy is often used to illustrate the defeat of Summer by Winter. At the turning point of power, Llew stands balanced upon the edge of the cauldron-bath and the buck, vulnerable to betrayal by Blodeuwedd and defeat by Gronw. "Verily," said she, "in what manner then canst thou be slain?" "I will tell thee," said he. "By making a bath for me by the side of a river, and by putting a roof over the cauldron, and thatching it well and tightly, and bringing a buck, and putting it beside the cauldron. Then if I place one foot on the buck's back, and the other on the edge of the cauldron, whosoever strikes me thus will cause my death." "Well," said she, "I thank Heaven that it will be easy to avoid this." No sooner had she held this discourse than she sent to Gronw Pebyr. Gronw toiled at making the spear, and that day twelvemonth it was ready. And that very day he caused her to be informed thereof. ~ from the Mabinogion: "Math, son of Mathonwy", part 9 When Gronw defeats Llew, he takes his place as the king, ascending the throne and mating with Blodeuwedd. According to the mythic cycle, she is the Earth Goddess to his Winter King. Their union results in the new Summer King, Llew reincarnated, who will be born at the Winter Solstice. Here, in this cycle, it is clear that Gronw and Llew are the brothers, fathers, and sons of each other. They are the two faces of the year - winter and summer. In them lies the cycle of balance. It is their meetings at the Autumnal and Vernal Equinoxes that restore balance to the world. Some Druid traditions see Blodeuwedd's pregnancy as being a nine month one - she is impregnated by Gronw with his own mirror self, the new Winter King, who will be born at the Summer Solstice. I have always had issues with this view however as if she spends nine months pregnant with Gronw, she has little time to be pregnant with Llew her other son and husband. The lack of balance disturbs me when the mythic cycle is ultimately about balance. And it makes little sense to me that she would be pregnant with the living king rather than the dead one.... It has always made more sense to me that when Gronw impregnates her at the Autumnal Equinox it is the reincarnated Llew that she carries and - being divine - gives birth to three months later. Three months after that Llew is fully grown, defeats his rival Goronwy at the Vernal Equinox, marries Blodeuwedd and she conceives the reincarnation of Gronw. Death and rebirth occuring in order and cyclical. In the story of Llew, Gronw, and Blodeuwedd are many mythic and human elements. The story of illicit love and lust, of betrayal and murder, of vengeance, is all too human in its tone - and to me this shows not so much the "humanising" of the divine, but rather the "natural" nature of such things. The emotions and interpretations we impart to the actions may be human, but the actions themselves - the choice of the female for the stronger mate, the end of one dominant male when a younger, stronger one arises, - are very much the way of things. I am not suggesting we return to such a lifestyle, but acknowledging such impulses is important. Providing an outlet for them to be recognised and for nature to be honoured keeps us grounded in our connection to nature. And this is what Alban Elfed does. This is the time to acknowledge the dark face of the Gods and Goddesses - death, destruction, jealousy, and so on. For over the coming months we will be in the time of the Dark, facing the shadow face of our own soul. We retell the story, reenact the actions of Summer God, Earth Goddess, and Winter King and honour the change, the restoration of balance as the old sun dies and the young King of Night rises up. We celebrate the pregnancy of the Goddess, the promise of life to return. In her belly the power of the sun is caught, safely nourished within the earth while winter looms over us all. Of course, in the story of Math, Blodeuwedd and Llew do not come together again. Rather she is changed into an owl while he takes back his lands and rules ever after. In this we see the truth of the cycle - while we may be born again, we do not return to live the same life as the same person performing the same acts. We start anew. It is the cycle of life and death that is eternal, not the life itself. For only in change can come growth, death, and rebirth. The same life lived again and again is stagnation with no true death. Aside from the spiritual and emotional value of this festival, it is also a time of thanks - the second harvest is in, we have gathered more of the earth's bounty and are building our supplies to last through the dark winter months of cold and need. We offer thanks to the Earth Goddess, make offerings to her and her consort, and celebrate her bounty. May balance fill your life with joy for the tears, plenty for the emptiness, and sunlight for the rain.

Primary Article - Greek Harvest Time   
Greater Eleusinian Mysteries   
Mundus Cereris   
Stenia   
Thesmophoria   

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