Autumn Equinox [Paperback]

"In recent years, some folks began to refer to this holiday as the `forgotten sabbat', which mystifies me. How can it be forgotten when the change in the air, the turning of the leaves, and the shortening days are doing everything possible to catch your attention?" - From the book

The Autumn Equinox is an enchanting time of year. As the days get shorter, the clime turns cooler and leaves burst with color-their last hurrah before withering. Hues of orange, russet, gold, and auburn adorn the landscape, hearth, and home. Folks gather the fall crops, celebrate the harvest, and offer thanks for family, friends, health, and bounty.

Mabon, Feast of Avalon, Festival of the Vine, Harvest Home-there are many names for the magickal holiday that celebrates the Autumn Equinox. Ellen Dugan, commonly known as the "Garden Witch", has written an engaging new book examining this "forgotten" Sabbat. Autumn Equinox - The Enchantment of Mabon shows you how you can make the most of this time of year - imbuing sacredness, fun and creativity in both solitary and group celebrations.

Taking a fresh look at the fall season, Dugan shares personal anecdotes of family celebrations, provides tips on garden and moon magick, discusses the autumnal correlations for crystals, Tarot cards, planets and candles, and shares tempting recipes using seasonal fruits and vegetables.

Autumn Equinox - The Enchantment of Mabon also features easy, inventive craft projects, over 40 holiday charms, spells and rituals, and several Pagan prayers.

I especially enjoyed the sections on harvest goddesses, gods of vegetation and vine, harvest legends, and the astrological energies of September. The author's description of Demeter and Persephone are especially engaging, especially as she offers her original take on just what Persephone may have really been thinking! After all, she asserts, Persephone was a goddess. Would she have *really* been a damsel in distress? Or was she actually pining for an exciting "bad boy" to take her away from her "ordinary" life? And could it be that she made Hades *work* (and work *hard*) for her affection?

Some of the fascinating discoveries that await you in Autumn Equinox include:

* Scarecrow folklore and magic
* Michaelmas, Oktoberfest, Holy Rood Day, and other harvest celebrations from around the world
* Autumn faery meditation
* Tarot and candle spells for Libra and Virgo
* Full moon solitary ritual: The Wine Moon
* Persephone, Pomona, Dionysus, Green Man, John Barleycorn, Herne the Stag King and other legendary figures and harvest deities
* Autumn in the garden (including 13 magickal fall plants, fall foliage enchantments, bulb planting charm, U.S. cold hardiness zone map, color magick with various trees, and much more)
* Herbal soap recipes
* Leafy luminaries, lighted fall garlands, grape wreaths and other easy crafts
* Harvest Deities correspondence charts for Autumn enchantments
* Recipes for harvest goodies like Rosemary Garlic Potatoes, Shoepeg Corn Casserole, Pumpkin Bread, Roast Pheasant, Vegetarian Spinach Lasagna, Apple Sauce Cookies, Harvest Apple Upside-Down Cake, and many more

Although Autumn Equinox - The Enchantment of Mabon is geared towards Wiccans and Pagans, the author's engaging prose, creative tips, and witty insights weave a bewitching autumnal spell-luring in even non-Wiccans like myself. I found this book to be utterly charming-full of myth, magic, and mystery. Autumn is my absolute favorite time of the year, so I reveled in Dugan's enthusiasm as she shared personal stories, practical and sacred rituals, and harvest customs and legends. In fact, she has whetted my appetite for incorporating ritual and mindfulness in the everyday sacred, especially when correlated to the seasons and sabats. And quite frankly, I can't wait to try the tempting recipes!

The latest offering from Llewellyn in their "Sabbat Series" is the Autumn Equinox. Ellen Dugan is well known for "Garden Witchery" and "Elements of Witchcraft". She is a "Master Gardener" and a psychic-clairvoyant.

The book takes the tone from the expertise of the author. There is a lot here about gardening. While Mabon is one of the "Harvest Festivals", the flavor of the book is written by a gardener and she expresses her interests fully in this book. There is much talk about the Harvest in this book. From different forms of "Harvest Festivals" celebrated around the world, to American traditional holidays, the topic is explored and discussed. There is even a small notation about "Harvest Down Under".

The book goes into suggest activities for this time of year, harvest dances, magics to practice at Full Moon, a ritual for Full Moon for a solitary and group. There is discussion on Goddess who are associated with the Harvest, citing Demeter and Persephone, Elen of the Ways and Pomona of the Apples. The focus switches to "The Gods of Vegetation and Vine" and we are introduced to Dionysys, The Green Man, and Herne the Hunter.

There is a good section on "Seasonal Recipes" which includes roasting a turkey as well as all the trimmings. Then there are the spells and crafts. None of these books would be complete without a section on this. From making grape vine wreaths, garlands for protection, nighttime luminaries to recipes for herbal soaps, whatever your skill level you will find something fun to make here.

Yes, this book is better researched than previous volumes, but the focus is more on the season and how nature takes on a new face at this time of year. There is more about enjoying what we have, celebrating in a way familiar to our culture, and enjoying nature in it's last stage before it sleeps for the winter.

This is a good look at the way we celebrate today, and how we can incorporate the season into our home, our garden and our lives. I think this is one of the better books in the Sabbat Series that Llewellyn offers and one which I think many folks will enjoy and use for many years to come. boudica

Wow! Another absolute WOW! Ellen Dugan had done it again. If you are a fan of this witty and wonderfully charming author, "Autumn Equinox: The Enchantment of Mabon" is a must have for your Craft collection. Inofrmation, ideas, spells, recipes, traditions...it's all in this easy,accessible, 208 page package.

As a practicing Wiccan for 7 years, I thought that I had always had a handle on the Sabbats. You know...cast a cirlce there, whip out the athame here, say your stuff and move right along, right? Sure...for a beginner. I've always wanted to move on to the history, the ideas and the knowledge behind these absolutley fascinating holidays. What better way to learn than from one of Llewellyn's hottest up-and-coming authors with my favorite Wiccan holiday of the year?

As always, Mrs. Dugan breaks it down clear and simple, beginning with her own personal stories of this bewitching time of the season, continuing with the mythological backbones to autumn through the tales of Persephone, Demeter,Elen, Pomona, Dionysus, the Green Man and Herene the Hunter. However, Ellen only does this after humoursly deciphering the meaning of the word "maize" (you have to read and find out for yourself now, won't you?). And just what else would this Garden Witch include as a chapter in her book? You guessed it! A chapter completley dedicated to "The Garden in Autumn: Fall Flower and Foliage Fascinations"--with an included Cold Hardiness Zone Map to easily pick out whether an Oakleaf Hydrangea or a Sweet Autumn Clematis would be better to plant in your backyard.

All I have to say is that with spell after spell, charm after charm, tid-bit after tid-bit, you come to wonder how the Autumn Equinox became known as the "forgotten sabbat" as Mrs. Dugan dutifully points out. I mean this season deals out the most recognizable changes of any other Sabbat. Just look at the leaves in your own neighborhood! If you want to come and fully experience such a wonderful holiday and time of year, I strongly suggest for you to pick up this fabulous book, get readin' and prepare to experience Mabon in a whole new "changed" way.