MABON
WELCOME!
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 Tuesday, 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 Mabon. We’ll also meet in person on Sunday, September 29th for a Community Connection Call via Zoom (scroll down for links.)
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)
Podcast: Body of Work, Sarah Greenman in conversation with Julie Harrelson
Fuel for the Fire: Writing prompts, links, reading lists, Spotify playlists, etc.
Further Connection: Monthly Community Zoom Call / Recording (links)
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.
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!
Podcast: Conversation with Sarah Greenman & Julie Harrelson
Living Through the Threshold: Grief, Joy, and Building Paradise on Earth
This month, I sat down with Julie Harrelson on her her podcast, Body of Work. I’m excited to share this conversation with you here at the Creative Alchemy Cycle!
EPISODE DESCRIPTION:
What happens when life asks you to hold grief and joy in the same hand? In this episode, host Julie talks with Sarah Greenman — artist, writer, executive coach, and nonprofit leader — about the threshold moments that reshape a life.
Sarah traces her path from executive director to consultant, writer, and book coach, and speaks openly about caregiving for her medically complex son, Charlie, and what that experience has taught her about grief, disability, and staying in right relationship with the people around her. She and Julie dig into the value of curiosity, the courage it takes to hold more than one truth at once, and what it looks like to build a life around reciprocity, creativity, and presence.
The conversation also turns personal, as Sarah reflects on coming out later in life, learning to take herself less seriously, and making room for a fuller, more honest version of who she is.
This is an episode for anyone in the middle of their own transition — a candid, generous invitation to tell the truth and build something like paradise, right where you are.
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! Sarah will send a reminder email to subscribers the week before and the day before each gathering.
Sunday, October 4th @ 10:00 AM Pacific Standard Time
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/5380603687?omn=81251216045
BURY THE SEED
Pain always teaches me to make new things.
Less than for what the things become
than for how the making re-makes me
brave and grateful.
Early this morning, under a cobalt, cloudless sky,
my steps each send instructions
up to worried, humble ears:
The bells are ringing. It’s time you knew –
In your gripped fist has always been your specific, hallowed seed.
Release that lifelong holding into open hands
And here, exactly as you already are,
break ground, dig down, and simply, faithfully, bury the seed.
In the moist eternal darkness,
let life split open, and become.
— Brooke McNamara