Forum

Hello OuterCircle!

Mabon is upon us!  Grab yourself some bread, tip back some ale, and celebrate the last of the harvest. How do you celebrate Mabon?  Tell us on the forums, we would love to hear how others honor this occasion.

Get those pumpkins ready!

Factoid:

Shamelessly taken from Wikipedia - “Mabon, as it is celebrated today, is not an authentic ancient festival either in name or date. There is little doubt that the autumnal equinox was celebrated in Celtic countries as part of the harvest festivals, but as the Christian church began its systematic destruction of indigenous beliefs the true name and customs behind it have been lost to us. So modern Pagans are left with reconstructing the past. Meanwhile all that is known about Anglo-Saxon customs of that time was that September was known as haleg-monath or ‘holy month’.

The name Mabon has only been applied to the Neopagan festival of the autumn equinox very recently; the term was invented by Aidan Kelly in the 1970s as part of a religious studies project (the modern use of Litha for the Summer Solstice is also attributed to Kelly). Previously, in Gardnerian Wiccathe festival was simply known as the ‘Autumnal Equinox’, and many Neopagans still refer to it as such, or use alternative titles such as the neo-Druidical Alban Elfed, a term first used by Iolo Morganwg.

The name Mabon was chosen to impart a more authentic-sounding “Celtic” feel to the event, since all the other festivals either had names deriving from genuine tradition, or had had names grafted on to them. The Spring Equinox had already been termed ‘Ostara’, and so only the Autumnal Equinox was left with a technical rather than an evocative title. Accordingly, the name Mabon was given to it, having been supposedly drawn from Welsh mythology. However it should be noted that Mabon is a masculine personal name in Welsh; as well as being found as the given name of the mythological character Mabon fab Modron, it remains a popular name in Wales today.”

Wiccan Related news:

You may have heard Denessa Smith has gone into the Summerland.  Wayland has made a heartfelt post on the blog about her passing.  She will be missed greatly.

Fellow Wiccan Starhawk was in the new recently with the Republican National Convention.  I encourage everyone to take a look at this link (Starhawk) Voice your opinions and let yourself be heard.

The RavenMyst Circle Tradition held their annual WitchStock gathering.  Loads of pictures are posted on the website under the Outer Circle gallery.  Looks like everyone had a fantastic time.

Upcoming Raven Events:

Samhain open gathering    11/8/2008
Yule open gathering  12/20/2008
*The usual mailers detailing this information will still be sent out in advance of the events to everyone on this list*

Ideas?:

Let us know your ideas / suggestions on things you would like to see here.   A copy of this letter will be available in the public forum on the Coven of the Raven website.  Please feel free to post your responses there.  http://ravenscoven.org

Raven Website:

This is the second month of our new website. We are trying to work out some of the bugs on it and add some feature for you. The Raven blog, forums, picture galleries, registered user chat room, and a personal message system are all available for you to browse and participate in.  As before our current open schedule is on the side bar of the page and in the forums. The site has been redesigned with a new snazzy look, easy registration, easy navigation, and improved speed. Please stop on by and register using the side menu underneath the login information.  We are always pleased to interact with our OuterCircle community.

Thank you!
We look forward to seeing you at the open gatherings and on the website.