High Days - Autumn Equinox

Of all the High Days, the Autumn Equinox is perhaps the most problematic to link to ancient Pagan custom. For while Bede referred to the month of Septmber as 'Haleg-monath' or 'Holy Month' (a name suggestive of religious observance)¹, and there is record of harvest customs aplenty, t there is no evidence the equinox (which falls on the 21st of September )² was ever marked as an event in its own right. In my opinion, this is probably because the time taken to complete harvest would have depended on the size of the crop.

Because of this, many modern Pagans look towards harvest customs, and the theme of shorter days and harvesting in their celebrations, and there is a theme of giving thanks for what one has. As few Pagans now are farmers and have no experience of harvest in the literal sense, the harvest that is referred to here is often of a more abstract quality ie 'What have I harvested in life'?³. Many modern Pagans also refer to this festival as 'Mabon', after the Welsh god by the same name⁴. This is one of the least celebrated festivals by Pagans and is usually a time of giving thanks⁵.

There are some who consider the naming and cutting of the last sheaf as being potentially indicative of origins in fertility rites. In some places, the last sheaf is named 'Cailleach', in others, 'the Witch', and so on⁶. There is a wide variety of names depending on location, and the method for the treatment of that final sheaf varied too, with some people fearing cutting the sheaf and so throwing their sickles from a distance⁷.

Words - 290

1Hutton, R. (1996). The stations of the sun: A history of the ritual year in Britain (p. 332). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

2McColman, C. (2002). Chapter 13 - The Wheel of the Year. In The complete idiot's guide to paganism. Indianapolis, IN: Alpha.

3McColman, C. (2002). Chapter 13 - The Wheel of the Year. In The complete idiot's guide to paganism. Indianapolis, IN: Alpha.

4Ibid.

5Autumn Equinox. (2006, June 7). Retrieved April 22, 2015, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/paganism/holydays/autumnequinox.shtml

6Hutton, R. (1996). The stations of the sun: A history of the ritual year in Britain (p. 336). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

7Ibid.