This years Mabon Circle was held at the hill this past Wednesday, Sept 21. We had a lovely ritual led by Embris. The ritual consisted of a circle of stations that the attendee processed around, following the Kore as she descended into the underworld. Each station had words to recite and an action to do, such as partaking of mead and pomegranate seed, lighting a candle, anointing with salt and water. The last station was a meditation area. Then we sat and talked about Mabon and what the end of season is about, the cycles that we follow in this existence.
We had a few attendees including an anthropology student and a journalism/photography student. We were glad to talk to these students and answer questions about ourselves, AAP, and paganism in general. They were both enthusiastic to learn about paganism from people who actually practice, and not the stereotypes our world is filled with.
Personally, it was nice to get out and sit around a night fire in “the woods”. As one with chronic illnesses, i too find myself cycling through good and bad times constantly. Some days I am in the spring and summer and able to participate more fully in life. Other days I’m in my own underworld, forced to rest and recover in the darkness of pain and inflammation.