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Mabon: We Are Seeds
Mabon (pronounced MAY-BON) is a fairly new term for an ancient holiday on the Celtic calendar that marks the Autumn Equinox, the first day of fall, when the length of day and night are the same. This year in the northern hemisphere, the Autumn Equinox falls on Friday, September 22nd. It is a time to celebrate a moment of solar balance, to go hearth-side, welcome the longer nights, and relish the cooler days. In this bundle, we’ll be exploring seasonal themes of Harvest, Decay, Regeneration, and Seeds.
All Creative Alchemy Cycle bundles are self-guided. I’ve created this landing page as a home base for us as we journey through the season of Litha. We’ll also meet in person on the fourth Sunday of each month (scroll down for links.) Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!
Table of Contents
PART ONE: DIGITAL CONTENT
Story of the Season: a Homily for Mabon (audio & PDF)
The Great Wide Open (video)
In the Studio (video)
Collaborative Alchemy Podcast: with Yusef Seevers (audio)
Fuel for the Fire: Writing prompts, links, reading lists, Spotify playlists, etc.
Further Connection: Monthly Community Zoom Call / Recording (links)
PART TWO: FOR PATREON SUBSCRIBERS
CAC Network: Online communication platform
NOTE of ENGAGEMENT:
Please do not share the link to this page with others. This content was created just for you. Thank you for your respect and understanding.
PART ONE: Digital Content
Seasonal Focus: Gratitude Practice
All life is teetering in the balance now. This is a moment to take stock of what we have, give gratitude, and plan for the coming dark. The Autumn Equinox marks a moment of solar harmony as the sun moves north across the celestial equator and we embark on the dark half of the year. A Celtic thanksgiving holiday, Mabon honors the second harvest of the year. It's time to give gratitude!! (Isn't it always?)
Over the past few decades, the self-help industry has co-opted and commodified gratitude as a practice. Gratitude is sold to us in the form of ‘health and wellness,” something to be cultivated as a means for building wealth, longevity, and even a kind of mental fitness. Gratitude has been relegated to the “to-do” list along with skin exfoliation and your morning protein smoothie. Let's reclaim a gratitude practice for ourselves.
I invite you to take some time this season to explore why and how gratitude is the foundation of joy, contentment, and creative flow. The greater your capacity for sincere appreciation, the deeper the connection to your heart, where intuition and unlimited inspiration and possibilities reside.
Calling You Home — A Homily
This is a great place to begin. For each of the eight bundles that make up the Creative Alchemy Cycle, I write a seasonal story to set the container for the bundle. These homilies are my way of practicing alongside you and using the creative alchemy tools to create my own work. You can download a copy using the button below and/or listen to the audio.
The Great Wide Open
Follow me deep into the Eagle Cap Wilderness of Eastern Oregon. Explore waterways and remote mountain meadows. Forage for berries and blossoms. Soak up inspiration from early autumn seed pods and enjoy this meditation on loving the small things.
In the Studio
After viewing The Great Wide Open, let’s head into my studio. We’ll start with some Red Clover blossom tea and a short tour of my space. Then we’ll create a seed pod portrait and explore some color theory inspired by our time outside. Let’s dive in!
Collaborative Alchemy Podcast
Collaborative Alchemy is a series of conversations with artists, thought leaders, activists, farmers, educators, creatives, and other polymaths where we tell our stories, expand our histories, and hold space for new ways of being.
Yusef Seevers is back for a second time on the Collaborative Alchemy Podcast! Yusef is an actor, musician, dancer, choreographer, and creative entrepreneur. Our first conversation in December of 2020 was about radical self-love, Black joy, and the healing power of meditation. In this episode, we talk about the importance of foregrounding pleasure as a means of befriending our more difficult emotions. We talk about the why and how of creative process as a way to develop a personal vocabulary our experience of grief. Yusef also asks some big questions about how to normalize emotional intelligence training and somatic practice for kids. Join us for this enlivening conversation as we discuss grief, parental loss, and what happens when our sense of balance is rocked.
Fuel for the Fire
Writing prompts and further exploration, links, reading lists, spotify playlists, etc. Click on the images or buttons below to view, visit, or download.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Invitations for Further Connection
CREATIVE ALCHEMY COMMUNITY CALLS are come as you are virtual one-hour gatherings where we find community and do some joyful creative work together! They are recorded and posted right here the day after. Sarah will send a reminder email to subscribers the week before and the day before each gathering.
Join us on SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2022 from 10:00am — 11:00am
We’ll be meeting at this link: https://zoom.us/j/98405687741?pwd=bXo2R25QUDI5UVIwdTNvZEViY1ZGZz09
Meeting ID: 984 0568 7741
Passcode: Alchemy
PART TWO: For Full Subscribers
The Mabon Community Network & Gallery
The community network & gallery is a communication platform for those who are full subscribers! It’s like Facebook but WAY better: no advertisements, completely private, and built collectively. As a member of the Cycle you received an invitation to join our Creative Alchemy Cycle (CAC) online network via Mighty Networks. The button below will take you to the network.
“…here, exactly as you already are,
break ground, dig down,
and simply, faithfully,
bury the seed.”
— Brooke McNamara