Autumn Equinox Day Dream

I forgot to hit enter!!

 I had started writing some imaginary fictional stuff around high days. I of course can't find them... so I'm just starting over here...

I every so often day dream about my ideal neopagan experience.  I decided to start to record them for... I don't know... a book? a guide to manifestation for the future? Who knows...

So what follows here is just that. It is also MINE and I will hold and enforce all applicable copywrite privileges.  

The leaves were just beginning to turn. The community had been in the fields for what seemed like days on end, bringing in the harvest.  Those that were not in the fields were in the kitchen, preserving whatever they could for the lean months to come.   The children were grabbing the corn husks and gathering them together fashioning two figures, male and female.  

The sun was beginning to set, earlier than the day before, and the people returned to their dwellings for the evening's meal.  Because a special time was upon them, the electric lights were dimmed after the dinner had been cleared, and points of light from lanterns and torches appeared through the village, mirroring the arrival of the stars in the dark heavens above.  The Harvest Moon hung low as it rose in the East, and the village hearth in the great hall was lit.  Families joined the great hall, the warm glow of its many candles greeting them.  There were great plates of food, those things harvested that were not canned, frozen, pickled or otherwise stored.  Several chickens had been slaughtered, and they and the hunters' deer were roasted and shared among the folk. Two large plates were prepared; one was placed at the shrine of the ancestors, before pictures of those community members who had died.  The other was placed at the main altar by the roaring hearth, decorated for season with leaves, gourds, and pumpkins.

The meal was merry, as such meals are.  The main courses were consumed and replaced by the desserts.  The musicians began to play and children danced... at least until they wore themselves out and fell asleep on laps, chairs, even a corner of the hall.  Finally, elders of each of the families approached the sacred hearth, and a comfortable silence fell on the group.  Each elder spoke about their own harvest, both of the fruits of the land, and the more esoteric things learned at this season.  Once done, the leader of the council of elders raises the plate of food to the icons of the gods of plenty, of harvest, and the vibrant energy of the summer lands, in praise and with thanksgiving for all the successful harvest that will see the group through the winter. She bids the 

The children come forth, with the large Corn Dolly they have made, and place it next to a well-worn Dolly from last year. The old dolly was removed from the field and the children watch to see if she when she whispers all her secrets to the new one, but somehow they always miss it!

The next morning, after breakfast at their dwellings, the village gathers again, at the outside altar to the Thunderer.  A great cask of ale was split with a might axe blow and offered.  The leader of the Elders spoke words of gratitude for the Thunderer's protection through the summer. There had been storms, but the damage was minimal, and the rains were useful for the fields. She asks again, with this offering, that the bargain be maintained, and that the village be protected from the coming winter's snows and wind.  Having made this offering, the folk return to the work of the community as they did before...harvesting, preserving, preparing for the winter.

The evening meal was held at individual dwellings, but again the folk gathered at the great hall.  The large hearth altar had been transformed.  The autumn decorations began to be cleared away, and symbols of ice, and snow, sparkling crystals, and white fabric.  A large goblet of vodka, and the first of the dried fruits and meats of the year laid on a plate.  The Leader of the Elders spoke of the Winter Spirits of the land, how they would be among us soon.  She cautioned especially the children not to fear or dislike these spirits, but understand them all as part of the turning of the great wheel, and as we need to rest once in a while, so too does the land.  Offerings given, and welcoming hospitality extended to the Spirits of Winter, the families retire to their dwellings.