HAPPY AUTUMNAL EQUINOX

The Equinox is not just a car.......

      This is the second harvest, Alban Elfed, the Celtic celebration of Mabon.  On the 23rd the sun rises due east and sets due west. It is the fleeting union of solar and lunar forces. A time for thanksgiving. A time of wonder. A time of balance as the sun enters Libra, a special sign for me. A time ruled by love and the planet Venus.

        According to legend and ancient belief it is the time of the dying sun and we honor our dead and celebrate their memory with joyous remembrance.  We pray for their rebirth into another plane another world that we do not understand. 

We honor our elders and all who have taught us regardless of their age.  The wheel turns, we should be thankful for the goodness the year had brought rather than lamenting the darkness ahead.  Endings are new beginnings.  Sometimes a painful concept

Mabon has grown old and will die at Samhain. This time of year is associated with Herne the Hunter, who leads a wild phantom chase through the forest, heralding confusion and change. It is the Night of the Hunter. 

 

 It is the "assumption of the Crone," when the dark face of the Goddess assumes the sway over the world which She will hold until the return of the Maiden at Imbolc.  The month of September also marks the "Wine Moon," the lunar cycle when grapes are harvested  The full moon closest to the Autumnal Equinox is the Harvest Moon. 

 It is a day sacred to Carpo, goddess of Autumn, and Carmon the Irish patroness of poetry.  It is the time of Frey, and we ask for fertility of mind and spirit.

In the days ahead when the sun is our friend and we seek his warmth rather than running from his touch of fire, let us be thankful for the food we have stored and the love we have garnered (deserving or not).

  This is the only day in which light is vulnerable and is overtaken by darkness.  Today we feel the earth wobble on its axis, it is the day of the sacrificial death of  Llew the god of light. The fall of John Barleycorn-spirit of the fields. For the Christians it is Michaelmas.

In stories of old it is the time when Demeter’s daughter, Kore, is given by Zeus to Hades. Her name now Persephone, she abides in the underworld. Demeter curses the earth and no crops will grow. 

Zeus sends Hermes to retrieve the girl but Persephone has been tricked into eating the seeds of the pomegranate. Demeter is furious. Trying to find a peaceful accord, Zeus declares that Persephone will spend 6 months with her mother and 6 months in the underworld with her husband Hades. The time has come for her to descend to darkness and yet to her lover. It is the time that Demeter’s curse still rules the land and all the plants sleep as we await their return in springtime.

words to ponder

The leaves fall, the wind blows, and the farm country slowly

changes from the summer cottons into its winter wools."

-Henry Beston, Northern Farm

 

Autumn is a season followed immediately by looking forward to Spring."

-Anonymous

Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile.

-William Cullen Bryant

I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself,
than be crowded on a velvet cushion.
-Henry David Thoreau

Summer, where did you go?

I hardly knew your face at all.

Did you hide yourself from me?

Or did I not take the time to look?

-Gini

FYI
While the September equinox occurs on September 22 in 2008 and 2009, it occurs on September 23 in 2010 and 2011 (UTC). The September equinox has also occurred on September 24(UTC), with the last occurrence on that date being 1931. The next time a September 24 equinox occurs will be in the year 2303. Moreover, a September 21 equinox will occur in 2092.

There are a few explanations on why the equinox dates differ in the Gregorian calendar. The varying dates of the equinox are mainly due to the calendar system – most western countries use the Gregorian calendar, which has 365 days in a year, or 366 days in a leap year. According to the National Maritime Museum, the equinoxes generally occur about six hours later each year, with a jump of a day (backwards) on leap years. An extra day is added in a leap year to minimize a gradual drift of the equinox date through the seasons.

AND THEN THERE WERE TEN

    I'm so sad. My duck died last night. We'd been together for ten years, her name was Emily, named for Emily Bronte, and she was one of the original three.

Dear Emmy Duck:

     You liked to hide in tall grass and make nests and I had to look all over for you. I would call you, but you would just hunker down and pretend no one could see you. One day, I found you sitting in the water bucket and you couldn’t get out. Don’t know how you even got in there.

    You survived the West Nile epidemic, were the smartest of all the ducks I ever had, and taught the rest of them how to use the ramp to get in the barn and the step to climb into the pool. You never fought with your buddies, you were gentle, a pretty kaki Campbell. You didn’t talk much, had a black beak and black feet and got grey “hair” in the end. You waddled so cute and made me laugh, you were the one I loved the best, (don’t tell the other fowl.)

    I’m not sure why you died. You acted a little droopy the night before but you’d done that before. And you’d spent a fine day in the sun chasing grasshoppers.

    A long while ago, when we lived at our other house, you hurt your leg, but with TLC and hydrotherapy in the middle of winter, you recovered just fine. I’m sorry you died alone, I hope you are okay now and with your sister Charlotte and swimming in a real pool with moss and flowers and lots of bugs and cracked corn to eat.  

I miss you little brown duck.

Love

Mom.

I hope when we die, we get to see not only the people we love, but all the animals who have brightened our journey and taught us those lessons humans cannot impart.

FULL MOON WEB HUNT CONTEST @ NIGHT OWL REVIEWS

 

Full Moon Web Hunt

sponsored by

Night Owl Reviews

Open - 09/01/2011 (Noon PST)

untill 10/31/2011 - Ends at Midnight PST

For details on how to enter, click on www.nightowlreviews.com/nor/Pages/FullMoonDetails.aspx

GRAND PRIZE to be divided between five winners
Silver Publishing - Amazon Kindle and 5 eBooks from Silver Publishing
Erin Kellison - $15 Amazon Gift Card
Terry Wright - $15 Amazon Gift Card
Beverly Rae - $5 gift certificate to Samhain Publishing's eStore
Castles & Guns - $20 Amazon Gift Card + $10 Amazon Gift Card + eBooks - Unbreak Me by Lex Valentine, Crimson by Nickie Asher
Donna Brown - eBook copy of Short Stories I-IV + and eBook copy of Fezariu's Epiphany
Angela Johnson - Autographed copy of Vow of Seduction
Rachel Haimowitz - eBook Copy of Each - Counterpoint: Song of the Fallen, Sublime: Collected Shorts, Where He Belongs, and Anchored: Belonging
McKenna Chase - Readers Choice of my available ebooks (McKenna Chase) via Kindle or directly to winner's computer via the Free Kindle app
Simone Bern - $10 Amazon gift card + Readers Choice - a copy of one of my ebooks
Darah Lace - eBook from my back list and $15 gift cert
Mary Abshire - 5 of my ebooks (I have three in a series to select from)
Carol North - $15 Amazon Gift Card
Elle Druskin - eBooks - To Catch A Cop, Nominated as Best Romantic Comedy of 2010 by The Romance Reviews | To Catch A Crook, the second book in the "To Catch" series due for release on June 30, 2011 | Outback Hero, a contemporary romance set in the Australian Outback
Maggie Jaimeson - Choice of autographed print copy of ETERNITY and print copy of EXPENDABLE OR a $15 gift card from Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
Karen McCullough - ebook copy of Heart of the Night - ebook copy of A Question of Fire

JOIN THE FUN  
enter the
 FULL MOON WEB HUNT

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FEELING PROUD

  

IRON HEART receives a “Great, would want to read it again”

review from Lisa at Once upon a chapter.

                           www.onceuponachapter.com

Thank you Lisa @ Once upon a chapter: An inspiring in depth review like this makes the process of writing worth all the blood, sweat, and tears and doubts, worries, and fears.

Iron Heart by Gini Rifkin

Faran Kilbraun is on a mission to reclaim his pride and honor. He is traveling across the sea to retrieve ancient relics that are priceless to his people when he becomes shipwrecked on a deserted island. There he finds a castaway, Leanora Wrenn, who is mysterious as she is beautiful. Leanora’s past has made her reluctant to trust anyone. She was forced to hide away on this lonely island to escape punishment when she was wrongly accused of her terrible husband’s murder. Faran has now disrupted her quiet life and wants to take her away from her sanctuary. What neither of them realizes is that once they depart they will begin the adventure of a lifetime together.

Iron Heart is an exciting adventure from the first page to the last. Filled with plenty of drama and romance, this novel will easily sweep you into another time and place.

One thing I love about Iron Heart was the fact that you have two great characters with an undeniable attraction. Both individuals are on the run together fighting side by side against evil to win the day. Leanora was a great characters because she was such a fierce survivor who overcame her greatest fears to work for her own freedom and to help Faran. Leanora was at an uncertain time in her life and in this journey she progressed into a warrior. Faran was the loyal, resilient warrior that could easily be seen at the perfect hero. Always faithful and honest, he was the man you would want on your side. His treatment of Leanora was heartwarming because he viewed her as his equal in many ways. He was always pointing out her strengths yet he also saw her as a woman worthy of great admiration. It was enough to soften any reader’s heart.

Leanora & Faran have a very shy and uncertain love...Hesitant to admit their feelings to one other. It’s a very sweet and charming romance...at first. As things develop between these two characters the romance certainly becomes very passionate. Cabin romances are one of my favorite themes in romance...where the hero and heroine are constantly on the run, and Iron Heart fits that category easily. Leanora and Faran travel far and wide on their quest encountering new dangers and adventures along the way. They do so without involving a overwhelmingly large cast of characters which leads to a stronger character development.

Rifkin not only writes a charming romance, but a novel with interesting historical detail as well. Her novel references and shares some qualities with the mythical Beowulf, having unnatural creatures, chilling villains and a spectacular hero to save the day. Iron Heart also focuses on the classic ideals of honor and prestige being of the utmost importance to our hero’s everyday life. Ultimately being what he risks his life and health to reclaim. The novel also contains the excitement and drama of that time in history, including details concerning warring clans in a fight for supreme power and major religious changes. It added great interest and entertainment to the story.

Iron Heart is a fabulous tale for historical romance fans. With a great plot, well developed story and a breathtaking romance it is easy to see why this novel stands out amongst the rest. Iron Heart is a mythical adventure that’s a lot of fun, very exciting and certainly a journey you won’t want to miss.

WIN A KINDLE

Enter the Digikindle hunt.
Contest runs July 19-Aug. 22
2011

www.digibookscafe.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=9

A summer treasure hunt, what could be more fun?

___________________________ 

Come on Sweetheart,

we should get in on this deal.

_______________________________

we won't need no stinking badges....

  _________________________

                              Sounds like fun, let's do it

                           and we can visit       

            Gini Rifkin, a participating author @

                                                 www.ginirifkin.com



CONTEMPLATIONS REGARDING THE 4TH OF JULY

     On July 4^th 1776 we declared our independence and formed a new nation. But amidst all the flag waving and bombs bursting in air, I tend to forget the war had only just begun. It would rage on for many years demanding much sorrow and many lives to secure for me the freedom I enjoy today.

     Beyond the snippets learned along the way in public school, I am guilty of not being well versed in the political atmosphere or military maneuvers that constituted the Revolutionary War. This is something I intend to rectify.  

Loss of life from battle, disease, starvation, and deplorable conditions as prisoners of war is thought to be at least 50,000.

       The war finally ended in 1783 at the Treaty of Paris. The sovereignty of the United States over the territory bounded roughly by what is now Canada to the north, Florida to the south, and the Mississippi River to the west was recognized.

        How far we’ve come, how large we’ve grown. Sadly we are once again at war. War is such a nasty business as it pits man against man. I’m not here to debate the moral legitimacy or necessity of war. Only to give thanks to the soldiers who have stepped up to protect my country and my freedoms and to offer my deepest sympathy to those who have lost loved ones related to battle.

   Of late, I'm beginning to think

the only thing worth fighting for is Peace……

                                             

WISHING YOU A MAGICAL SUMMER SOLSTICE

Litha is upon us, Alban Hefin. The summer solstice.

The longest day of the year. 

     Keeping track of the seasons can get confusing because nearly every week on TV there is a season finale of one program or another and I keep wondering exactly what season they are talking about. But there is no mistaking the longest day of the year, June 21st.

     The summer solstice occurs exactly when the Earth's axial tilt is most inclined towards the sun. Although the summer solstice is an instant in time, the term is also colloquially used like Midsummer to refer to the day on which it occurs. Except in the polar regions (where daylight is continuous for many months during the spring and summer), the day on which the summer solstice occurs is the day of the year with the longest period of daylight. Thus the seasonal significance of the Summer solstice is in the reversal of the gradual shortening of nights and lengthening of days. The summer solstice occurs in June in the Northern Hemisphere and in December in the Southern Hemisphere.

This magical day has been celebrated since time began from Stonehenge on the Salisbury Plain in England to Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. 

            It is also celebrated in literature, most notably in Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream".

     So take a moment on June 21st and revel in the sun and know that the days will begin to grow shorter until the Autumnal Equinox when they will be equal and soon to begin to wane. A Celtic quarter day, as opposed to a cross-quarter day, is a direct barometer of what the future weather will hold. 

Should you be so inclined, here is a short ceremony of celebration.

  

From the East comes the Spirit of the Air.  Warm and gentle you carry the fragrance of the roses and other midsummer flowers.  Hot and full of fury you usher in the storms.  Welcome to our circle Spirit of Air.

From the South comes the Spirit of Fire:  Seen in the lightening the forks across the summer sky.  Seen in the power of the Sun King who now reaches his Zenith:  Welcome to our circle Spirit of Fire:

From the West comes the spirit of Water:  You nourish our crops, quench the thirst of the parched earth, and remind us of Aphrodite and Yameya Goddesses of the Sea.  Welcome to our circle Spirit of Water.

From the North comes the spirit of the Earth:  The mother of all of us in whose womb grows the seeds we have planted.  You are the ship upon which we travel the universe.  Welcome to our circle spirit of Earth.

At Midsummer, it is by wedding you, Mother Goddess, that the Sun King indeed becomes King.   Mother Nature, you are at your finest for it is your most passionate and abundant time.  Tonight your consort is at his Zenith of power and the lust you shared at Beltane becomes mature love and though the Oak King becomes the Holly King light will continue to rule until the Equinox.

We honor St. John the Baptist and the horned spirit of the forest, we ask protection from unfriendly spirits as we acknowledge and hope for a glimpse of the Tuatha De Danaan.

If we jump the fire will the crops grow up higher?  We ask blessings on our land and the animals that abide here.  Purify us and see to our health in body and soul. 

It is a time of joy though we miss and grieve for our loved ones departed.  Remember those who have gone before us and cradle them in your compassionate hand.

To the family and friends still with us on this plane we thank them for their strength, friendship, and encouragement.  Tonight we forget the cold dark days of Winter, we are languid in the heat of the day and energized by the coolness of the evenings.  Yet we remember that the fullness of Summer is transitory and we are thankful for what this season brings as the wheel of the years ever turns.