#michaelmas day - a seasonal feast day in september

[phaedraismyusername]

Abusing google every time I read a historical fiction because I don't know anything apparently

[artbybeckki]

The Feast of Saint Michaelmas Day

On September 29th during the pre industrial medieval period, St michaelmas Day was observed as a celebration of harvest, community and triumph. The day was a means to celebrate Saint Michael and his divine protection and vigilance as the days gradually start to become shorter and the nights longer.

It also observed the equinox of the Autumnal harvest season and prayers were given for divine protection during the coming winter months.

Another interesting note is that on st michaelmas day, it is regarded as the last day that blackberries may be eaten. As Michael cast out the devil from heaven whom fell to earth, the fallen angel landed in a bush of blackberry brambles. Prideful and indignant lucifer spat and stomped on the blackberries to render them poisonous after September 29th. So do take heed on the last day that they may be eaten!

[maypoleman1]

28th September

Michaelmas Eve

Source: onepeterfive.com

Today is Michaelmas Eve, which had a considerable set of customs to honour the Archangel Michael, the day before his feast day. As so often with the Christian saints, a merging with the pagan past can be detected. Michael was frequently conflated with the pre-Christian sea gods. In the Hebrides, the Archangel was revered as the patron saint of the sea. A dish called Straun Micheil was baked in his honour on this day consisting of locally grown post-harvest produce together with butter, eggs, and sheep’s milk. It was cooked in a lamb’s skin over an open fire, the echoes of pagan animal sacrifice being positively audible. The cakes were were marked with a cross before being eaten, with a slice tossed on the fire to pacify the devil/sea god. Dances also took place on Michaelmas Eve, anticipating the mummers’ plays of the Christmas season, but the death-and-resurrection theme featured, unusually, a woman, perhaps a further memory of the ancient Mother Goddess-worshipping religions once widely practiced.

In the Highlands of Scotland, the saint was often known as God Michael, whereas in Lincolnshire bonfires were lit in his honour, and seed scattered for the birds, a gesture believed to bring good luck.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Art: Saint Michael in Autumn Flame by MidJourney + Me

* * * *

The Feast Day of Michael and All Angels is coming up on September 29th. It’s called Michaelmas – yep, just like "Christmas" is to Christ. It’s adjacent to the changing of the seasons, the Autumn Equinox in the Western Hemisphere.

Conner Habib shines a clear light on why we’d benefit from the warmth, relationship-building connectivity, and radiant spiritual values of Michael today, saying:

"To understand Michael’s character, one must think of the turning of summer to fall. What was given to us from the outside is now going away, and we must cultivate the strength inwardly within ourselves what was once given from the outside. We now have to bring this out from ourselves. Just imagine the leaves on the trees; the green is being driven out by that fiery red. Those leaves are falling, and the tree has to depend upon a different kind of life in this season, as autumn approaches and we head into winter."

To me, this evokes two profound teachings of Jesus:

“Then Jesus told them, ‘Every scribe who has been apprenticed into the kingdom of heaven is like a householder, bringing forth out of their treasure things new and old.’”

(Gospel of Matthew 13:52)

and

“If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you suppress will destroy you.”

(Gospel of Thomas, Logion 70)

[Michael Morrell]

[troybeecham]

Today the Church celebrates the Feast day of St. Michael and All Angels, also known as Michaelmas.

Ora pro nobis.

In Christian angelology, the Archangel Michael is the greatest of all the Archangels and is honored for defeating Satan in the war in heaven. He is one of the principal angelic warriors, seen as a protector against the dark of night, and the administrator of cosmic intelligence. In Anglican and Episcopal tradition, there are three or four archangels in its calendar for 29 September feast for St. Michael and All Angels: namely Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, and often, Uriel.

Because it falls near the equinox, it is associated in the northern hemisphere with the beginning of autumn and the shortening of days. It is used in the extended sense of autumn, as the name of the first term of the academic year, which begins at this time, at various educational institutions, especially seminaries.

It is also the start of Michaelmas, a season marked in different lands in many different ways, but always with generosity to the stranger, orphans, widows, and the bereaved.

Here’s a poem about it:

Michaelmas

Archangel most fierce

The heart of heaven

The sword of justice

Most holy and wise

God’s own soldier

Warrior sublime

Lucifer cast down

All angels sing

Michael, Michael

Ancient choirs sing

For all the ages

The angels sing

Everlasting God, you have ordained and constituted in a wonderful order the ministries of angels and mortals: Mercifully grant that, as your holy angels always serve and worship you in heaven, so by your appointment they may help and defend us here on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

[brookston]

Holidays 9.29

Holidays

Amaranth Day (French Republic)

Battle of Boquerón Anniversary Day (a.k.a. Victory of Boquerón Day; Paraguay)

Broadway Musicals Day

Constitution Day (Brunei)

Day of Machine-Building Industry Workers (Russia)

Devil Spits Day

Han’gawi (North Korea)

Hidden Heroes Day (UK)

International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waster (UN)

Inventor's Day (Argentina)

Jitiya Parwa (Nepal)

Leif Erickson Day

MAGS (Memphis Archeological and Geological Society) Day

Make a List of the Top 10 Happiest Days in Your Life Day

Maneki Neko Day (Japan)

Manit Day (Culture Day; Marshall Islands)

Mid-Autumn Festival (Taiwan)

Mutation Day (TMNT)

National Attend Your Grandchild's Birth Day

National Bot Restock Day

National Brave Day

National Carson Day

National Day of Accountability

National Day of Belongingness

National Day of Remembrance for Policemen Killed (Australia)

National Oxygen Day

National Police Remembrance Day (Australia)

National Poisoned Blackberries Day (Scotland)

National Silent Movie Day

Police Remembrance Day (Australia)

Quick Draw Day

Sibling Support Day

Thimphu Drubchoe (Bhutan)

Urban National Wildlife Refuge Day

VFW Day

World Daddy Lumba Day

World Day of Primary Immune Thrombocytopenia

World Heart Day

Xenophobe Understanding Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Biscotti Day

Budweiser National Happy Hour

Happy Goose Day

National Coffee Day (a.k.a. Coffee Lovers Day)

National Dunkin’ Day

National Mocha Day

National Starbucks Day

Swedish Fish Day

5th & Last Friday in September

Ask a Stupid Question Day [Last Weekday]

Butterbrot Day (Germany) [Last Friday]

FSC Friday [Last Friday]

Go Gold Day [Last Friday]

Hug A Vegetarian Day [Last Friday]

Make Way Day [Last Friday]

Monterey Jazz Festival begins (California) [Last Friday thru Sunday]

Save the Koala Day [Last Friday]

Sport Purple For Platelets Day [Last Friday]

Vegan Baking Day [Last Friday]

World's Biggest Coffee Morning (UK) [Last Friday]

Independence Days

Villa Alicia (Declared; 2014) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

All Angels’ Day (Christian)

Caravaggio (Artology)

Confucius Day (Confucianism)

The Daily Double (Church of the SubGenius)

Day of Hestia Tamia (Pagan)

Double Entendre Day (Pastafarian)

Feast of the Ingathering [21 Tishrei] (a.k.a. ... 

Feast of the Tabernacles (Christian)

Festival of Shelters (Christian)

Harvest Home (UK)

Kirn (Scotland)

Mell-Supper (Northern England)

Sukkot (Judaism)

Festival of Tezcatzonctl (Chief Aztec God of Intoxication)

Fielding (Positivist; Saint)

François Boucher (Artology)

Full Moon [10th of the Year] (a.k.a. ... 

Blackberry Moon (Choctaw)

Blood Moon (England, Neo-Pagan, Wicca)

Boun Ok Phansa (Laos; end of Buddhist Lent)

Dying Moon (Alternate)

Freezing Moon (Traditional)

Harvest Moon (Amer. Indian, Celtic, Cherokee, North America)

Hunter’s Moon (Amer. Indian, Colonial , Traditional)

Ice Moon (Traditional)

Kindly Moon (China)

Kojagrat Purnima (Nepal)

Migrating Moon (Traditional)

Seed Moon (South Africa)

Southern Hemisphere: Egg, Fish, Pink, Seed, Waking

Thadingyut Full Moon (Myanmar)

Travel Moon (Alternate)

Vap Full Moon Poya Day (Sri Lanka)

Gwynn ap Nudd’s Fest (Celtic God of the Underworld)

Michael, Gabriel, Raphael (Christian; Angels)

Jacopo Robusti Tintoretto (Artology)

Michaelmas [traditional start of Bavarian lager brewing season]

Moon Festival (a.k.a. Moon Cake Day; China) [15th of 8th Lunar Month]

Quarter Day (England, Ireland & Wales) [3 of 4]

Rhipsime (Christian; Saint)

Telly (Muppetism)

Theodota (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Lucky Day (Philippines) [53 of 71]

Premieres

All the World’s a Stage, by Rush (Live Album; 1976)

Best in Show (Film; 2000)

Big Mouth (Animated TV Series; 2017)

Core, by Stone Temple Pilots (Album; 1992)

The Creator (Film; 2023)

Death on the Nile (Film; 1978)

Deduce, You Say! (WB LT Cartoon; 1956)

Felicity (TV Series; 1998)

Hamlet (Film; 1948)

Inhumans (TV Series; 2017)

MacGyver (TV Series; 1985)

Masters of Sex (TV Series; 2013)

Mickey Plays Papa (Disney Cartoon; 1934)

Moonlight and Valentino (Film; 1995)

Okie from Muskogee, by Merle Haggard (Song; 1969)

Open Season (Animated Film; 2006)

Painted from Memory, by Elvis Costello with Burt Bacharach (Album; 1998)

The Prisoner (UK TV Series; 1967)

Remember the Titans (Film; 2000)

Smells Like Teen Spirit, by Nirvana (Music Video; 1991)

A Star is Born (Musical Film; 1954)

The Stranger, by Billy Joel (Album; 1988)

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (WB Animated Film; 2009)

Tall in the Saddle (Film; 1944)

To Die For (Film; 1995)

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (Video Game; 1999)

Uptown Girl, by Billy Joel (Song; 1983)

Urban Hymns, by The Verve (Album; 1997)

Today’s Name Days

Gabriel, Gabriela, Michael, Michaela, Rafael, Rafaela (Austria)

Gabrijel, Mihael, Rafael (Croatia)

Michal (Czech Republic)

Michael (Denmark)

Mihkel, Miikael, Mikk, Miko, Miku (Estonia)

Miika, Miikka, Mika, Mikael, Mikaela, Mikko, Miko, Miska (Finland)

Gabriel, Michel, Raphaël (France)

Gabriel, Michael, Raphael (Germany)

Kyriakos (Greece)

Mihály (Hungary)

Gabriele, Michele, Nicolò, Raffaele (Italy)

Ivonna, Mihails, Miķelis, Mikus (Latvia)

Gabrielius, Michalina, Mykolas, Mykolė, Rapolas (Lithuania)

Mikael, Mikal, Mikkel (Norway)

Dadźbog, Franciszek, Michalina (Poland)

Chiriac (Romania)

Ludmila (Russia)

Michaela, Michal (Slovakia)

Gabriel, Miguel, Rafael (Spain)

Mikael, Mikaela (Sweden)

Teofan (Ukraine)

Carmichael, Mia, Micaela, Micah, Michael, Michaela, Micheal, Michele, Micheline, Michelle, Mickey, Miguel, Mikaela, Mikala, Mikayla, Mike, Mikel, Mitch, Mitchel, Mitchell (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 272 of 2024; 93 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 5 of week 39 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Muin (Vine) [Day 25 of 28]

Chinese: Month 8 (Xin-You), Day 15 (Geng-Yin)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 14 Tishri 5784

Islamic: 14 Rabi I 1445

J Cal: 2 Shù; Twosday [1 of 30]

Julian: 16 September 2023

Moon: 100%: Full Moon

Positivist: 20 Shakespeare (10th Month) [Fielding]

Runic Half Month: Gyfu (Gift) [Day 3 of 15]

Season: Autumn (Day 6 of 89)

Zodiac: Libra (Day 6 of 30)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 9.29

Holidays

Amaranth Day (French Republic)

Battle of Boquerón Anniversary Day (a.k.a. Victory of Boquerón Day; Paraguay)

Broadway Musicals Day

Constitution Day (Brunei)

Day of Machine-Building Industry Workers (Russia)

Devil Spits Day

Han’gawi (North Korea)

Hidden Heroes Day (UK)

International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waster (UN)

Inventor's Day (Argentina)

Jitiya Parwa (Nepal)

Leif Erickson Day

MAGS (Memphis Archeological and Geological Society) Day

Make a List of the Top 10 Happiest Days in Your Life Day

Maneki Neko Day (Japan)

Manit Day (Culture Day; Marshall Islands)

Mid-Autumn Festival (Taiwan)

Mutation Day (TMNT)

National Attend Your Grandchild's Birth Day

National Bot Restock Day

National Brave Day

National Carson Day

National Day of Accountability

National Day of Belongingness

National Day of Remembrance for Policemen Killed (Australia)

National Oxygen Day

National Police Remembrance Day (Australia)

National Poisoned Blackberries Day (Scotland)

National Silent Movie Day

Police Remembrance Day (Australia)

Quick Draw Day

Sibling Support Day

Thimphu Drubchoe (Bhutan)

Urban National Wildlife Refuge Day

VFW Day

World Daddy Lumba Day

World Day of Primary Immune Thrombocytopenia

World Heart Day

Xenophobe Understanding Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Biscotti Day

Budweiser National Happy Hour

Happy Goose Day

National Coffee Day (a.k.a. Coffee Lovers Day)

National Dunkin’ Day

National Mocha Day

National Starbucks Day

Swedish Fish Day

5th & Last Friday in September

Ask a Stupid Question Day [Last Weekday]

Butterbrot Day (Germany) [Last Friday]

FSC Friday [Last Friday]

Go Gold Day [Last Friday]

Hug A Vegetarian Day [Last Friday]

Make Way Day [Last Friday]

Monterey Jazz Festival begins (California) [Last Friday thru Sunday]

Save the Koala Day [Last Friday]

Sport Purple For Platelets Day [Last Friday]

Vegan Baking Day [Last Friday]

World's Biggest Coffee Morning (UK) [Last Friday]

Independence Days

Villa Alicia (Declared; 2014) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

All Angels’ Day (Christian)

Caravaggio (Artology)

Confucius Day (Confucianism)

The Daily Double (Church of the SubGenius)

Day of Hestia Tamia (Pagan)

Double Entendre Day (Pastafarian)

Feast of the Ingathering [21 Tishrei] (a.k.a. ... 

Feast of the Tabernacles (Christian)

Festival of Shelters (Christian)

Harvest Home (UK)

Kirn (Scotland)

Mell-Supper (Northern England)

Sukkot (Judaism)

Festival of Tezcatzonctl (Chief Aztec God of Intoxication)

Fielding (Positivist; Saint)

François Boucher (Artology)

Full Moon [10th of the Year] (a.k.a. ... 

Blackberry Moon (Choctaw)

Blood Moon (England, Neo-Pagan, Wicca)

Boun Ok Phansa (Laos; end of Buddhist Lent)

Dying Moon (Alternate)

Freezing Moon (Traditional)

Harvest Moon (Amer. Indian, Celtic, Cherokee, North America)

Hunter’s Moon (Amer. Indian, Colonial , Traditional)

Ice Moon (Traditional)

Kindly Moon (China)

Kojagrat Purnima (Nepal)

Migrating Moon (Traditional)

Seed Moon (South Africa)

Southern Hemisphere: Egg, Fish, Pink, Seed, Waking

Thadingyut Full Moon (Myanmar)

Travel Moon (Alternate)

Vap Full Moon Poya Day (Sri Lanka)

Gwynn ap Nudd’s Fest (Celtic God of the Underworld)

Michael, Gabriel, Raphael (Christian; Angels)

Jacopo Robusti Tintoretto (Artology)

Michaelmas [traditional start of Bavarian lager brewing season]

Moon Festival (a.k.a. Moon Cake Day; China) [15th of 8th Lunar Month]

Quarter Day (England, Ireland & Wales) [3 of 4]

Rhipsime (Christian; Saint)

Telly (Muppetism)

Theodota (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Lucky Day (Philippines) [53 of 71]

Premieres

All the World’s a Stage, by Rush (Live Album; 1976)

Best in Show (Film; 2000)

Big Mouth (Animated TV Series; 2017)

Core, by Stone Temple Pilots (Album; 1992)

The Creator (Film; 2023)

Death on the Nile (Film; 1978)

Deduce, You Say! (WB LT Cartoon; 1956)

Felicity (TV Series; 1998)

Hamlet (Film; 1948)

Inhumans (TV Series; 2017)

MacGyver (TV Series; 1985)

Masters of Sex (TV Series; 2013)

Mickey Plays Papa (Disney Cartoon; 1934)

Moonlight and Valentino (Film; 1995)

Okie from Muskogee, by Merle Haggard (Song; 1969)

Open Season (Animated Film; 2006)

Painted from Memory, by Elvis Costello with Burt Bacharach (Album; 1998)

The Prisoner (UK TV Series; 1967)

Remember the Titans (Film; 2000)

Smells Like Teen Spirit, by Nirvana (Music Video; 1991)

A Star is Born (Musical Film; 1954)

The Stranger, by Billy Joel (Album; 1988)

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (WB Animated Film; 2009)

Tall in the Saddle (Film; 1944)

To Die For (Film; 1995)

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (Video Game; 1999)

Uptown Girl, by Billy Joel (Song; 1983)

Urban Hymns, by The Verve (Album; 1997)

Today’s Name Days

Gabriel, Gabriela, Michael, Michaela, Rafael, Rafaela (Austria)

Gabrijel, Mihael, Rafael (Croatia)

Michal (Czech Republic)

Michael (Denmark)

Mihkel, Miikael, Mikk, Miko, Miku (Estonia)

Miika, Miikka, Mika, Mikael, Mikaela, Mikko, Miko, Miska (Finland)

Gabriel, Michel, Raphaël (France)

Gabriel, Michael, Raphael (Germany)

Kyriakos (Greece)

Mihály (Hungary)

Gabriele, Michele, Nicolò, Raffaele (Italy)

Ivonna, Mihails, Miķelis, Mikus (Latvia)

Gabrielius, Michalina, Mykolas, Mykolė, Rapolas (Lithuania)

Mikael, Mikal, Mikkel (Norway)

Dadźbog, Franciszek, Michalina (Poland)

Chiriac (Romania)

Ludmila (Russia)

Michaela, Michal (Slovakia)

Gabriel, Miguel, Rafael (Spain)

Mikael, Mikaela (Sweden)

Teofan (Ukraine)

Carmichael, Mia, Micaela, Micah, Michael, Michaela, Micheal, Michele, Micheline, Michelle, Mickey, Miguel, Mikaela, Mikala, Mikayla, Mike, Mikel, Mitch, Mitchel, Mitchell (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 272 of 2024; 93 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 5 of week 39 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Muin (Vine) [Day 25 of 28]

Chinese: Month 8 (Xin-You), Day 15 (Geng-Yin)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 14 Tishri 5784

Islamic: 14 Rabi I 1445

J Cal: 2 Shù; Twosday [1 of 30]

Julian: 16 September 2023

Moon: 100%: Full Moon

Positivist: 20 Shakespeare (10th Month) [Fielding]

Runic Half Month: Gyfu (Gift) [Day 3 of 15]

Season: Autumn (Day 6 of 89)

Zodiac: Libra (Day 6 of 30)

[jamieroxxartist]

Today our #Catholic Friends are celebrating the feast day of the #Archangels #Michael, #Gabriel, and #Raphael

#Michaelmas is celebrated on September 29 every year. Michaelmas is celebrated in honor of the three archangels, Angel Michael, Angel Gabriel, and Angel Raphael. On Michaelmas, families spend the day doing good, dancing, singing, and at the end of the day, sharing a feast of freshly baked bread, roast goose stuffed with potatoes, veggies, and herbs. It’s also a season for picking blackberries with friends and family!

(www.franciscanmedia.org/saints-michael-gabriel-and-raphael)

✔ Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael are the Patron Saints of: #Death #Germany #Grocers #PoliceOfficers #Radiologists

✔ Saint Gabriel is the Patron Saint of: #Broadcasters

✔ Saint Raphael is the Patron Saint of: The #Blind

[darlenefblog]

If you read historical romance books then you'll love this article about Michaelmas Day. I'd wondered but never bothered to look it up. It's not just English, it made it to America too. I received this article as is in an e-mail from the following blog...

Happy Michaelmas Day!

St. Michael the Archangel

Michaelmas Day, celebrated next day on September 29, is a day rich in religious and secular traditions in British culture. It’s also called the Feast of Michael and All Angels, including the angels Gabriel and Raphael.

In the Christian tradition, St. Michael is considered a mighty warrior angel who defeated the devil during the war in heaven. A holy day since the Middle Ages, Michaelmas falls near the autumn equinox and is associated with the beginning of the fall season.

Michaelmas also one of Britain’s four “quarter days,” a way to divide up the year. Traditionally, quarter days were when law courts and universities began their terms, magistrates were elected, rents were due, and servants were hired.The Company of Pikeman and Musketeers as they leave the Royal Courts of Justice and head south to the River Thames at the 2011 Lord Mayor’s Show

On Michaelmas Day the mayor of London is elected. Following the mayor’s inauguration in November a colorful street parade marches through the city. The Lord Mayor’s Show is a tradition that dates back to the 13th century, and is a popular annual event.

In addition, Michaelmas is also the name of the first of the four terms in the legal year in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In the United States, the Supreme Court has a schedule similar to the British model, with their annual term beginning on the first Monday after Michaelmas in October.

Quarter days not only represent holy days on the Catholic/Anglican liturgical calendar but are closely associated with the change of seasons as well. They are:

Lady Day, March 25 (Feast of the Assumption) just after the spring equinox

Midsummer Day, June 24 (Feast of St. John the Baptist) just after the summer solstice

Michaelmas Day, September 29, (Feast of St. Michael and All Angels), just after the autumn equinox

Christmas Day, December 25 (Feast of the Nativity) just after the winter solstice

The Michaelmas quarter day was especially important because it marked the successful completion of the harvest and signaled the start of a productive new farming cycle.

Like her contemporaries, Jane Austen would have been familiar with quarter days, especially Michaelmas – after all, her father was not only a clergyman but a farmer as well.

Austen mentions Michaelmas in the opening pages of Pride and Prejudice, when Mrs. Bennet gossips about her new neighbor, Mr. Bingley:

“Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England; that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much delighted with it that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take possession before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of next week.”Michael the Archangel defeating the devil, by Guido Reni, 1636

In the Bible’s Book of Revelation, the Archangel Michael successfully fights against Lucifer and his fallen angels. So, as a battle-tested warrior, Michael is a good choice to protect mankind against the encroaching darkness and potentially evil forces of the autumn and winter. (We all know what kind of evil forces Halloween can unleash!)

A traditional Michaelmas feast includes a roast goose, along with whatever remains of the just-completed harvest.

Why a goose? Well, as the saying goes: “Eat a goose on Michaelmas Day, want not for money all the year.”

The idea of eating a “good luck goose” on Michaelmas goes back to the reign of Elizabeth I. Legend has it the queen was eating a roast goose on Michaelmas Day in 1588 when she got the news that her royal navy had defeated the Spanish Armada. That was certainly a lucky day for Elizabeth and her country!

The association between geese and Michaelmas made its way to America as well. Michaelmas Day traditions were brought to Lewiston, Pennsylvania, by an English settler in the late 1700s. Today, the Juniata River Valley’s annual Goose Day Festival is a weekend event that includes a corn maze and a pumpkin fest. And geese, of course.

Another bit of folklore says you shouldn’t eat blackberries after Michaelmas Day. The reason? Because they were cursed by the devil.Queen Elizabeth I, the Armada portrait, circa 1588

The story goes that when St. Michael threw Lucifer out of heaven, the devil landed on a thorny blackberry bush. In retribution, Satan, not known for his even temper, did all sorts of things to the berries – stomped them, scorched them with his fiery breath, even urinated on them – to make the fruit dry, sour, and just plain inedible.

So, along with roasting a goose, a blackberry pie is traditionally baked, to use up all the good berries before Michaelmas Day.

Finally, Michaelmas Day is often represented by the Michaelmas daisy. This pretty flower provides a burst of color in autumn that outlasts most other blooms as winter approaches.

“The Michaelmas Daisies, among dede weeds, Bloom for St Michael’s valorous deeds. And seems the last of flowers that stood, Till the feast of St. Simon and St. Jude.”

(The Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude is on October 28.)

Whether you indulge in a roast goose on Michaelmas Day or enjoy a vegan alternative, I hope you have good luck that continues all year!

Michael the Archangel defeating the devil, by Guido Reni, 1636

[lunavenefica]

⛤History of Mabon⛤

The Mabon or Autumn Equinox is a holiday that takes place from the 21st of September to the 24th of the same month.

⛤The autumn equinox divides day and night equally - here we should all take a moment to pay homage to the impending darkness.

We also thank the sunset light, as we store this year's crop of crops.

The Druids call this celebration, Mea'n Fo'mhair, and honor the Green Man, the God of the Forest, by offering libations to the trees.

On this holiday it is appropriate to dress in elegant clothes and dine and celebrate in luxurious surroundings.

It is time to finish the old jobs and prepare for a period of rest, relaxation and reflection.

⛤ Pagans celebrate the aging Goddess as she passes from Mother to Crone, and her consort, the Lord, as she prepares for death and rebirth.

⛤The feast of the autumn equinox is also known by other names: Feast of the second harvest, Feast of Wine, Feast of Avalon, Autumn Equinox, or Cornucopia.

The Teutonic name, Winter Finding, spans a period of time between Mabon and October 15, which is the New Year in Old Norse.

The Romans celebrated a festival dedicated to Pomona, the goddess of fruit and growing things.

However, the most famous ancient myth comes from Greece. The autumn equinox marks Persephone's return to the underworld:

⛤In ancient Greek mythology, the beginning of the fall is closely linked to the story of the abduction of Persephone, also called Kore or Cora. Daughter of Demeter, goddess of earth and fertility, she was kidnapped and taken to the underworld to become the wife of Hades, the god-king of the underworld. After a period of mourning and struggle, Demeter eventually brought her daughter back from Hades to the light, but only for six months of the year. Each fall, Persephone must return to the underworld to spend six months with Hades. During these months, Nature withdraws.

⛤Mabon is a relatively modern neo-pagan celebration, which takes place around the September equinox.

⛤In the 1970s, the American author Aidan Kelley gave new names to the six pagan holidays rooted in the ancient Celtic tradition and added two new celebrations proper to the September and March equinox.

These holidays are celebrations based on the cycles of the sun.

⛤Inspired by a proper name derived from the Welsh word mab / map, meaning "son" or "boy", Kelly chose Mabon as the name for the autumn equinox celebration, and founded the ceremony he had composed for the festival in the Greek myth of Persephone.

⛤Mabon celebrates the second harvest and the start of winter preparations, and it's time to respect the impending darkness while giving thanks in the sunlight.

⛤Druids and pagans also flock to Stonehenge, the famous 5,000-year-old site in Wiltshire, and Castlerigg, another megalithic stone circle near Keswick, Cumbria, to watch the equinox dawn.

⛤The Christian church replaced many pagan celebrations with Christian observances. The most famous is Christmas, which replaced the ancient Yule festival around the December solstice.

⛤The closest Christian celebration to the September equinox is Michaelmas, also known as the feast of St. Michael and all angels, on September 29th. In this period, the feast of St. Michael is mainly observed in the Catholic church.

⛤Centuries ago in England, the time around the feast of St. Michael also had a commercial side: servants were paid wages after the harvest and workers looked for new jobs at job fairs that also became a place for celebrations.

⛤Mabon is a time full of magic, all connected to the changing seasons of the earth, this is the Second Harvest, the Fruit Harvest and the Great Thanksgiving.

⛤The Goddess is radiant and the God eventually dies with her gift of pure love with the cutting of the last grain. As the grain is harvested in abundance during Lammas and reaches completion, we enjoy the abundance of fruits and vegetables at this time.

⛤It is time to thank the waning sun for the richness of the harvest that has been bestowed on us.

⛤Sometimes it seems like every Holiday calls for thanks, and it really is: every spin of the Wheel brings both inner and outer gifts and insights, so Mabon is a celebration and also a period of rest after harvest work.

⛤In terms of your life path, it is time to reap what you have sown, time to look at the hopes and aspirations of Imbolc and Ostara and reflect on how they have manifested.

⛤It is time to complete projects, to clear out and leave what is no longer wanted or needed as we prepare for the descent, so that winter can offer a time for reflection and peace.

⛤And it's time to plant seeds of new ideas and hopes that lie dormant but nurtured in the dark, until spring returns.

I'll be posting more Mabon related content during the week so stay tuned for spells, rituals, prayers, history and affirmations!

Hopefully, you'll have a great Celebration this year too!

⛤Isidora⛤

[portersposse]

Porters Posse: Michaelmas Seasonal Cooking Challenge

Thinking about taking part? Reply to this entry - or send us a DM - and we’ll add you to the Michaelmas Posse list.

“The Feast of Saint Michael the Archangel on September 29 is associated with the beginning of autumn and the shortening of the days.  In the past it was celebrated as Michaelmas Day and was one of the most important days of the year; by Michaelmas, the harvest had to be completed, and it was also a time for beginning new leases, settling accounts and paying dues”

WHO: Anyone of any practice, or no practice at all, who enjoys seasonal celebrations, cooking, and feasting!  No restrictions, if you can pick up a spoon and stir you are invited!

WHAT: Your challenge is simple: choose at least one recipe from the Porters Seasonal Celebration Cookbook’s chapter on Michaelmas to incorporate into your seasonal celebration and share with us photos and/or a write up.  We hope you will use as many seasonal and local ingredients as possible and look forward to hearing about your experience with those ingredients and locales.

Southern Hemisphere friends!  We want you to participate.  If the chapter on Michaelmas doesn’t suit your seasonal celebration needs, please participate by choosing a recipe(s) from anywhere in the Spring section.

While the recipe(s) from Porters Seasonal Celebration Cookbook should be the star of your entry we’d also love to hear about other traditional favorites that you used in your celebration.

Dietary restrictions?  We welcome you to adapt the recipes to meet your needs!  This is ultimately about you and your celebration!

(Haven’t been able to snag your copy yet?  Contact us and we’ll see what we can do to help you access those recipes.)

WHERE: In the convenience of your kitchen! Though we’d also love to hear about those farmer’s markets, ditches and orchards! Be sure to tag your post @portersposse​!

WHEN: We are opening up a broad window for Michaelmas.  This challenge will take place between Michaelmas Eve (Wed. September 28th) and the weekend following Old Michaelmas Day (Monday, October 10th). So join us between September 28th and October 16th for the celebration and send us your entries between October 17th and 19th. Remember to tag them @portersposse​ so we can share them with the whole posse!

WHY: To celebrate the season in a way that includes everyone, and to quote Hagging Out “because it’s occasionally nice to be social in the comfort of your own home without actually having people over.”

HOW: By yourself or with family and friends! Just be sure to include at least one recipe from Porters Seasonal Celebrations Cookbook by Richard, Earl of Bradford and Carol Wilson.  

Don’t get hung up on Michaelmas being a religious holiday—we are looking at it as a cultural date that has its roots in the past. This is a seasonal cusp!

_________________________

Read more about Michaelmas in the intro from Porter’s Seasonal Celebrations Cookbook here.

Check out our first featured recipe here.  Get those pickled plums ready for old Michaelmas Day!

Don’t forget to leave us a message here or DM us @portersposse​ so we can add you to the Posse!

Your friends,

 @graveyarddirt​ / @msgraveyarddirt​ and @pagan-stitches​ / @goadthings​

[minnesotadruids]

Newbie druid here.. can I celebrate the wheel of the year in any way while being comfortably Catholic? I don't want to praise the Godess or anything like that.. I just want to appreciate the time and world around me. Is that inappropriate and or impossible? Thanks!

Yes you absolutely can :)

Monotheism in the Druidry Revival Period and Later

In fact historically from the onset of the Druidry Revival Period in the 1700s through the mid 20th century, most people who practiced druidry were still practicing Christianity as well. Sure in the 21st century, most druids might consider themselves neopagan now, but there are still many Christian druids today as well.

Reverend Henry Rowlands (also a druid) in 1723 believed the ancient druids and the Celtic cultures were descendants of Noah's son Japheth. He believed the ancient druids had been practicing a more pure form of pre-Abrahamic monotheism, despite Greek and Roman accounts that indicated the druids were polytheists. Of course this theory is also not supported by genetic evidence either, but in the Revival period these theories were enough to draw in many Christian druids.

The Bardo-Druidic Creed

The Reverend Dr. James published a long-winded statement called the Bardo-Druidic Creed in 1844, but in 1895 it was condensed down to much simpler terms without really changing its meaning in the following:

There was one God. There were five elements—earth, water, fire, air, and heavens. The soul—refined, vital, and imperishable—is a lapsed intelligence, regaining happiness by transmigration. Creation improved as man improved, and animals gradually became men. Man develops by experience in different states of being. Celestial beings aid man in development. Ultimately all will be happy, and evil finally extinguished.

The Wheel of the Year

Several major Christian holidays and also some feast days of saints have already been shoehorned to closely tie-in to the solstices, equinoxes, and times in between.

Samhain: near All Souls Day (November 2)

Midwinter Solstice: near Christmas (December 25)

Imbolc: St. Brigid's Day & Candlemas (February 1 & 2)

Vernal Equinox: near Easter (first Sunday after the first full moon after the equinox) gotta know astronomy or astrology for that one!)

Beltane: tenuously associated with Saint Walpurgis/Walpurgis Night (May 1) but mostly in Germanic and Scandinavian countries

Midsummer: near Feast of St. John (June 24) with bonfires

Lughnasadh/Lammas: Loaf Mass (August 1 to celebrate the first harvest and by extension, feeding Loaves & Fishes to the 3000)

Autumnal Equinox: near Michaelmas (September 29) with guidelines for certain crop harvesting and superstition: don't pick blackberries after Michaelmas because the devil pissed on them!

Another reason that it's fine to at least observe the Wheel of the Year holidays is because of how they are connected to the survival of humanity. In the centuries before calendars were a household item, the Church was largely in charge of keeping time, reminding parishioners which festivals and feast days were coming up. Agriculture and animal husbandry were coordinated with specific observations, and many events were treated as celebrations of some sort.

I can only imagine some of the pious monks in the medieval period uttering "isn't this a pagan tradition, your grace?" and the bishop replies, "yes, but it's tradition!"

So it is entirely possible to celebrate or observe the Wheel of the Year days for the sake of becoming in tune with the changing seasons, knowing what weather patterns to prepare for, when to expect different types of wildlife, and when certain local crops are ripe at the farmer's market. There's no need to tie the festivals to pagan deities. Each festival can even be used to express gratitude to the divine for whatever time of year it is, that way we aren't taking as many things for granted, which strengthens our humility.

[witchwood-inn]

An Irish Autumn Equinox and Midharvest

The info provided here comes from the book “Irish Customs and Rituals” by Marion McGarry! Whether or not the ancient Celts of Ireland celebrated or even acknowledged the autumn equinox is up for debate. Ancient monuments built before the celts arrived in Ireland however, such as the cairns of Loughcrew, catch the light of the sunrise on both the spring and autumn equinox to light up the back wall within the ancient tombs to reveal stone carvings, much like Newgrange. This indicates a significance for this time of year and is worth noting.

There are however, traditions associated with this time of year in Ireland but these celebrations lend themselves to the Catholic holiday Michaelmas, which falls on September 29th (Very close to the equinox, which falls on September 22nd). You could argue that there may be some connection between Michaelmas and the autumn equinox. Michaelmas is heavily associated with the harvest, much like the Autumn Equinox is and so I personally transfer these traditions into my own modern pagan Midharvest (Equinox) traditions. Before we discuss those though, I want to talk about some harvest superstitions!

The cutting of the last sheaf was an important ritual. Known as “The cutting of the Cailleach”, it was believed that the spirit of The Cailleach (An irish hag deity of winter and storms) resides in the last sheaf and it was important for the workers to slay her. A contest is held between them by flinging their hooks at the last standing sheaf until it was cut. The winner would wear it around the neck and bring it home to preserve for the year to come. The sheaf took various forms: an actual sheaf, a plait of straws or straws tied together. People believed that it was powerful and brought good health to livestock, safety to the people and luck to the household. It was also meant to prevent drowning. The sheaf was stored up in the roof rafters or above the fireplace. The “Harvest Home” or the “Reaping dance” was a feast given by farmers to their workers to celebrate the end of the harvest. The Cailleach was ceremonially presented to the women of the house and hung above the table for the duration of the meal. Bacon or beef and cabbage was often served. Drinking of whiskey, playing music, dancing and much merriment was also an important part! Harvest knots were also made and worn this time of year. They were made from straw plaits and twists usually worn in the hair of women and on the lapels of men.

It was said that harvesting had to be finished by Michaelmas. It was tradition for Goose to be roasted and eaten on that day and it was also given the name “Goose Harvest”. Killed and plucked geese were given as gifts to friends or distributed to the poor. Other foods were enjoyed too like Apples and blackberries though it was important not to pick and eat blackberries after Michaelmas, as the púca was said to spit on them and make them spoil. (The púca is an irish fairy that shapeshifts into various animals and was feared by the people. He is associated with Samhain and the end of the harvest) Mutton pies were also sold at fairs and markets around this time of year. I personally call the Irish autumn equinox celebration “Midharvest” as reference to the word for September in gaeilge “ Meán Fómhair “ which translates to “Middle of Harvest” (Similar to how May is Bealtaine, Samhain is November etc) and how the autumn equinox marks the very middle of autumn and the harvest season.

So how can we celebrate Midharvest? Host your own Harvest Home or Reaping dance! Have a feast and a party with music, dancing, drinking and eating! Serve up some goose, mutton pies, beef, bacon and cabbage and apple or blackberry desserts! Or anything from your own harvest if you have anything. Make some harvest knots with friends and family and do some final harvesting of blackberries before the púca gets them! If you’re harvesting anything you’ve grown this year, perhaps create a ceremony out of the last sheaf and bring it into the home for the feast.

Happy Midharvest!!

(This post can also be found on my tumblr, Pagans&Witches Amino and the Witches Circle Amino)

[the-clever-cupboard]

Correspondence: September

Number of Days: 30

Latin Name: Septembris

Anglo-Saxon Name: Haligmonath, “Holy Month”

Frankish Name: “Witumanoth, “Wood Month”

Word Origin: The name September means “seventh month” as it was the seventh month of the year according to the old Roman Calendar which began in March. Today, September is the ninth month in the modern Gregorian calendar as it was in its predecessor, the Julian Calendar.

Traditions and Folklore: In 1752, Great Britain adopted the Gregorian Calendar in favor of the Julian Calendar they had been using. The date they chose to make the switch was September 3rd according to the Julian calendar. However, it was September 14th according to the Gregorian calendar so the date went instantly from the 3rd to the 14th. 11 days of British history never happened. September is harvest season in the Northern Hemisphere and one European tradition associated with the season is that of the Corn Dolly. This was a decorative item woven of sheaves from the last of the season’s harvest and kept safe through the winter for the spirit of the grain to rest in until the following planting season. The September full moon may be called the Full Corn Moon, or the full Harvest Moon. The harvest moon is technically the full moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox, so it may fall in September or October. The full moon in September will always be in either Aries or Pisces (Pisces if before the equinox, Aries after.) The new moon in September will always take place in either Virgo (if before the equinox) or Libra (after the equinox.

Moon: Harvest, Barley, Corn, Wine

Zodiac: Virgo, Libra

Incense/Herbs: Storax, Bergamot, Gardenia, Rose, Lilac, Mastic, Copal, Fennel, Valerian, Rye, Mugwort, Marjoram, Thyme

Element: Earth, Air

Color: Brown, Yellow, Amber, Yellow, Green

Stone: Sapphire, Peridot, Olivine, Chrysolite, Bloodstone, Rainbow Obsidian

Flowers: Aster, Morning Glory, Forget-Me-Not

Spirits: Trooping Fairies

Animals: Snake, Jackal

Bird: Ibis, Sparrow

Tree: Hazel, Larch, Bay

Energy: Rest, Balance, Spiritual Development, Reflection, Feminine Energy, Love, Relationship, Psychic Work, Home, and Hearth. Rest After Labor, Organization,

Deities: Demeter, Ceres, Isis, Freyja, Nephthys, Ch’ang-O, Thor, Thoth, Persephone, Opis, Vulcan

Holidays: Mabon, Alban Elves, Harvest Home, Me’an Fomhair, Feast of Ingathering, Labor Day, Michaelmas Day

[rockofeye]

Bon fet St Gerard Majella! Gede walks beside many saints, and St Gerard is one of the more well-known ones. I’m not cooking for Gede today (he eats soon enough..), but the Dead Man has some fresh flowers next to his seat.

It’s been BUSY over here at kay Bonkira; September and October are packed on my personal calendar and it usually catches me by surprise after a summer full of ceremony down in Haiti. Things were different this summer--we postponed ceremony until January, but I did go to Haiti in August--and so I had a little more brain space to plan.

September is often a month where folks hold a fet Metrès over several days (or one really long day), which is a fet for many of the feminine lwa and most often for Metrès Ezili Freda, Metrès Danto, and sometimes Metrès LaSiren as well. Several feast days for these ladies fall within that month, so it’s a good time for them to be celebrated.

While I didn’t hold a fet, I certainly spent a lot of time with those ladies. I try to keep at the front a message that LaSiren had for me and that has come up in a leson more than once: I am male-spirit heavy by default, in that my closest relationships with the lwa are with masculine ones, and so I need to make sure I am balanced out. This means conscious effort to keep the ladies at the front as much as I keep the masculine spirits, and that’s not nearly as easy as I wish it was. It’s been a long, LOOOONG process of digging in deep to being more comfortable with femininity and finding how I can connect with that in ways that don’t feel too out of character. 

The ladies are patient with me and probably more patient than I really earn, so that’s a grace I don’t take lightly.

Then, it was time for Marassa, the divine twins and multiple births. I have previously been a person who has not really enjoyed children, but taking care of my pack of Marassa and my own twin who did not make it to life has changed things. The happy, playful energy lightens my household; I am a fairly quiet and reserved person (really) and so my household tends towards quiet and perhaps kind of serious...but children shake that up and remind me to be looser and more playful. We hold our Marassa in a set of special purpose-built clay vessels called plat Marassa, as well as utilizing some traditional wooden trays as well, and they all got bathed and refreshed, and then given an assortment of traditional snacks called manje marassa. Like all the metrès, they give me grace to understand and open up another part of myself and I think that’s pretty great.

A few days later was Michaelmas, which is Agaou’s feast day. Agaou has always been what is honestly a sort of gleeful surprise for me. He wasn’t a spirit I knew well at all until after my kanzo, when I started dreaming with him regularly. As I prepped for my maryaj lwa, he began presenting me with rings in dreams and asked to be included in the wedding. When he came down to marry me, the first thing he told me was that the choice for maryaj had been his, and that he would have pursued me until I said yes if I had fought him. 

How I have come to know him is unique and he is a huge presence in my day-to-day, so when his feast day rolled around you know I was making some of his favorites. He eats turkey, so there was sòs kodenn (heavy on the sòs), diri ak pwa wouj, a few kinds of labouyi, and kafe ayisyen. Something small to hold him over until fet Agaou this January in Haiti(!!!). I have never been to a fet Agaou before, so I am really REALLY excited.

And each year that I celebrate Agaou’s feast day, he gives me a gift in an area that I don’t have a lot of knowledge in: somehow, he is invested in my family and family history. Last year, he clarified a really significant dream I had about my family while in the djevo, and that was a personal and spiritual bomb going of, and this year he chose to answer a long-standing lifelong question about my parentage, complete with some namedropping of someone who actually exists. It’s like spiritual Jerry Springer and I sit with all of this in a mixture of gratitude and ‘you have got to be fucking kidding me’. Agaou holds his cards close when he wants, so the pieces he gives me are important. Mapping out my ancestors and family--a hugely difficult area for me--has become it’s own small act of devotion.

October 2 was for my girl Thérèse de Lisieux and, if it was Before Plague Time, I’d have gone to mass at one of the local Carmelite monasteries and brought her some flowers but the majority of the churches here are still closed and Thérèse knows I love her without me needing to go to church. And, as a saint who died of a respiratory illness (TB), pretty sure she doesn’t need me getting sick just to prove a point. 

What’s next? November brings Gede and time to feed ancestors, as well as a special time for Simbi right before Petwo season kicks off full force in September. January bring fet Twa Wa/Three Kings, and unless things burn down even worse than they are now, I’ll be in Haiti celebrating and enjoying all the ceremony we postponed from this summer.

In between those things, I am working on a contribution for a book on folks who are converts to African and African-descended religions which will be out in early 2021, pumping out art (pestilence has been good for my creativity), and celebrating some career milestones and successes. 2020 has been an absolute bitch of a year, but I’m glad there are some positives to hang onto.

Today, on a day for Gede, celebrate that you are still alive even in the most difficult of situations. Eat something delicious and try to find an opportunity to laugh. If you drink alcohol, have a favorite drink and remember the Dead Man (and Woman) that live in death with the fullness of life. 

[troybeecham]

St. Michael, Archangel

Today the Church celebrates the Feast day of St. Michael and All Angels, also known as Michaelmas.

Ora pro nobis.

In Christian angelology, the Archangel Michael is the greatest of all the Archangels and is honored for defeating Satan in the war in heaven. He is one of the principal angelic warriors, seen as a protector against the dark of night, and the administrator of cosmic intelligence. In Anglican and Episcopal tradition, there are three or four archangels in its calendar for 29 September feast for St. Michael and All Angels: namely Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, and often, Uriel.

Because it falls near the equinox, it is associated in the northern hemisphere with the beginning of autumn and the shortening of days. It is used in the extended sense of autumn, as the name of the first term of the academic year, which begins at this time, at various educational institutions, especially seminaries.

It is also the start of Michaelmas, a season marked in different lands in many different ways, but always with generosity to the stranger, orphans, widows, and the bereaved.

Here’s a poem about it:

Michaelmas

Archangel most fierce

The heart of heaven

The sword of justice

Most holy and wise

God’s own soldier

Warrior sublime

Lucifer cast down

All angels sing

Michael, Michael

Ancient choirs sing

For all the ages

The angels sing

Everlasting God, you have ordained and constituted in a wonderful order the ministries of angels and mortals: Mercifully grant that, as your holy angels always serve and worship you in heaven, so by your appointment they may help and defend us here on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.