Mabon blessings, Alban Elfed and Happy Birthday to Frodo and Bilbo

And a Harvest Moon on top of everything else.

I am fortunate to share my birthday with Frodo and Bibo Baggins, something I discovered in junior high school lo these many years ago.  I've also seen my birthday usher out the summer or on occasion welcome in the autumn.  It may be one of the reasons I'm a Pagan.  I was born to be one.

I got a Farmer's Almanac last week and have been perusing it now and then and I wonder if the people who put it out are Pagans as well as there is so much in there to do with folk lore, magick and the seasons.  With a touch of astrology as well.  I think this will be an annual purchase because of the information it has about gardening. 

I'm not sure if I will do my celebration tonight because as usual, I'm behind on everything.  Yesterday was a crap day for me, not feeling well physically, feeling down emotionally (birthday blues?) and general malaise.  I got nothing done which means I'm behind on housework and just about everything else.  I haven't finished dressing my altar so I haven't taken any pictures and because the house is a wreck, I don't feel like cleaning it.  And if my surroundings aren't clean, I can't focus on ritual for some reason.

So I think I will bless some talismans I've come up with and re-charge my rune and crystals in the Full Moon but leave the ritual until tomorrow night.  I'd like to go for a walk tomorrow to celebrate the Equinox and also because I need to re-connect with Nature.  I've been feeling distanced from her of late. 

I'm normally pretty much a by-the-book person so I am learning that it doesn't work that way in Paganism, especially Druidry.  It's not about being out there at 10:09 p.m. to start my ritual or getting it done on the exact day since it's most likely that there wasn't a specific Autumnal Equinox celebration in the ancestor's times.  It was probably just an Autumn celebration once the harvest came in, maybe even just a Full Moon celebration combined with the Harvest. 

But being a modern Druid I like to think we should not only honor the way the ancestors did things, we should also find ways that have meaning to us in this day and age.  So I'm learning to relax and do things when it's time for me to do them.  Less stress that way and much more enjoyable.  So I will do my ritual tomorrow evening when I am more prepared, both emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

It's not about the rules, you know.

I'm healing from the knife wound in my back from someone who I thought was a friend.  Tana helped talk me through it, but I also thought of my many mentors in blogland and was amazed that I had a very pleasant sleep that night without the usual night of wide awake anxiety till the wee hours.  These incidents only serve to remind me why I left Christianity and reinforce my beliefs about it.  And why I should stay away from forums where they are the predominant religion because even the liberals who say they have tolerance for all religions really don't.

So I'm good to go and am focusing on what to cook for my birthday dinner.  Zach and I traditionally go to Appleby's for our birthdays.  I was going to pass it up today because I've got to get busy on getting my lab numbers down to reasonable numerical value but I decided to look at their Weight Watchers choices and see if I could eat anything there.  I had the Steak & Portabella dinner, which was delicious and a much smaller quantity than most other dishes there.  Not to mention seasoned pretty darned well without large amounts of oil or butter.  Pricey, but good. 

Happy Birthday to ME!!!!

I'm off to start supper now and get my items ready for blessings and re-charging.  I can smell rain in the air so I doubt we will see the moon tonight.  But I'm still counting on the energy to be there.