Autumn Equinox Festival Report
Foundation Centre - Ireland
September 28, 2024
By: Noeleen Watson
With all the rain and wind, we had coming up to our Autumn Equinox Celebration, I thought we may need a boat, but the Gods and Goddesses always look after us when it’s a festival. Walking into the castle grounds there were blue skies and a very warm sun. It was so good to see new faces and returning faces. We gathered and waited patiently to start our procession. The slow walk brings us on our completive journey around the grounds, giving us time out from our busy lives.
When we reached the Rose Garden, there was one rose to greet us and to join us for our ceremony. Going inside to our own hearts and living from a place of love is what we all aim for. As we made our way down to the Grove of Danu, walking through the gateway into the grove, one could be overwhelmed in a good way by the fragrance of the grove. The ground was soft under foot and had a really autumnal feeling as you could hear fallen twigs crunch as people walked over them. Here we all joined together to chant ‘Imbas’. All voices in harmony with each other and tapping into the pure inspiration that is available to us all.
Moving up towards the Abbey, there were still vibrant pink roses with a scent that dazzled your senses. There was a new flower, again pink, which some said was a Naked Lily and I was caught by the simple beauty of the flower. We left the abbey and walked again slowly towards the temple. A Priestess invoked Persephone and all the time the sun shined so strongly down on our faces.
The time to enter the temple (underworld) had approached, there was such a large group today that the Holy Well area was full to the brim. Cait read an oracle from Olivia ‘The Goddess Isis of Egypt’ from the Dulce Domum. The oracle reading shares wisdom that we are immortal as our soul lives on; it is our physical body that dies. Enjoy the simple delights like love, joy and always be in your truth. ‘Laugh and you laugh with love, weep with compassion’. Everyone received a beautiful blessing from our Priestesses, and we then made our way to the High Altar where a Priestess was waiting to share her oracle.
The Cailleach came through to remind us not to fear her and to welcome her as we approach the dark time of the year. Show kindness as much as possible, live from our heart and follow our hearts. She spoke of the importance of community especially during the dark months. Love and our hearts were certainly a theme throughout today.
Cait sang a beautiful song as we contemplated the oracle we received. Cait shared a fabulous story about Persephone and Demeter, how Demeter lost her daughter to Hades and that some of the Gods/Goddesses helped and some turned away. I love this story because even though there is heartbreak, there is hope and resilience for us all.
We went on a journey to meet Demeter and while there we had the opportunity to leave anything behind that made our hearts heavy. Before we returned to the temple, Demeter gave us a gift of seeds for us to plant and we were to plant them in fertile soil and give them lots of love.
There were poems and songs shared as part of the creative offering. Thanks was given to all Deities. Our ceremony ended with love in our hearts. Coffee, tea and cake were calling us but unfortunately the sun that had graced our fabulous day had tucked itself behind the clouds.
Our next festival. Samhain 2nd November 2024 at 11am.
(Festivals are accessible by invitation only - to request one, please see this page: Events)
