A History of Ancient Britain

Winding Down With the Witches' Mabon

As a practicing Wiccan, my thoughts are inevitably turning towards the next Sabbat in the Wheel of the Year. September 23rd 2011 is a date which even the scientists are able to mark, though perhaps not with the same interpretation as the witches. It is the Autumn Equinox (aka Mabon or Harvest Home). In witchcraft, this means a time of winding down.

The Historical Heritage of Witches in Bringing the Harvest Home

Outside the air is coming more chill and the leaves are changing colour on the trees. This is Britain, so the summer hasn't been particularly hot either, but not quite like this. Even on the most rain-drenched summer's day, it was difficult to imagine that there ever was a winter. It's not anymore. Pause for a moment in the wind and the hints of it are there. Just a few more turns of the wheel will have us in snow and ice.

There's a tendency to rush! If we don't pack that last day-trip in right now, then it wil be too cold! That is the modern equivalent of what used to drive this Sabbat. It is the Harvest Home. The last good crop of the year, before the ground starts to harden and there was nothing more to add to the stores. Only the hunt, in the deep midwinter.

Everyone's so busy at Autumn Equinox, squeezing the marrow out of the bone of life (to misquote 'Dead Poets' Society'). Then the Sabbat itself hits and it's time to take stock.

Witchcraft and Mabon: A Time of Reflection

Taking stock used to literally mean that. There are still a couple of months worth of gathering and hunting, before snow closed down the community. It would live or starve on the produce stored for the winter. These days of 24 hour supermarkets make that less of an issue.

Witches reflect in other ways. Mabon is when we look back across the past few months and see how all of those ideas, planted at Imbolc, came to bloom. Did they grow as we had planned? Where are we now, compared to at Spring Equinox? All of those things, that we promised ourselves that we'd do (or not do), did we honour them?

In all of the business (in both senses of the word) of the summer, it's hard to sit back and muse upon things. As the Autumn Equinox bites, now is our moment. It is 'me' time. It is chilling out time. It is our chance to meditate upon our own, very personal world, while not forgetting the broader picture.

How will you celebrate Mabon? What are your thoughts as you approach the day?

Protecting Wolverhampton: A Religious Response

Wolverhampton is a city of many religions and a large proportion of atheists too. As the riots raged, there were a lot of people who turned to their prayers, especially those who felt helpless in the face of the violence. But spirituality had a practical side and unifying side too.

The RiotCleanUpWolv gathering saw a very visible Christian continguent. Reverends Arun Arora and Richard Moy were there with their brooms and both stood on benches to speak with the crowd. The former led everyone in a prayer, which he acknowledged in advance might not tally with the religion (or lack thereof) of all present. He hoped that we'd agree with the sentiment and, if not an amen, then a 'hey yeah!' could be substituted at the end. It struck a cord with everyone. It was all about keeping Wolverhampton safe.

As I ventured into St John's Retail Park yesterday, I bumped into Mandy Chatha. She saw my broom, so approached me to ask what it was like in the city centre. She was about to go and lend a hand too. During the course of our conversation, she told me about the people that had protected Sedgley Street Sikh Temple, off the Dudley Road, the night before. The temple has a gym attached and, on the night of August 9th, the news went out there that the city was rioting. Those inside immediately ended their work-outs and dashed to protect the building.

Word-of-mouth quickly swelled their numbers, until 'between 70-80' men were arm in arm around the temple. Some of the older men were wearing all five of the sacred Ks of Sikhism, including the curved kirpan blade. It wasn't just the Sikh Temple under their protection, it was the entire neighbourhood. The nearby church also got a cordon of Sikh men around it. It wasn't about religious pathways. It was about keeping the rioters away from Dudley Road's sacred places and they were happy to go where they were needed.

Though I have heard nothing specific about Wolverhampton's other religious communities, that doesn't mean that they aren't also out there, helping where they can. Islam was certainly represented in Birmingham two nights ago, when three young Muslim men were killed, while protecting properties in their city centre. It is heart-breaking to note that Tariq Jahan heard the bang and rushed to the scene to discover that one of the casualties was his son. He immediately administered CPR to another man, having already accepted that his own boy was beyond help. Could we all hope to remain so calm in such circumstances?

So what then of my own lot - the Pagans? Unless we're in full regalia, floating down the high street with our cloaks billowing behind us, it might not be obvious that we are there. Pagan holy places tend to be temporary circles, so there aren't the huge edifices of buildings to protect. But nevertheless there has been a Pagan response up and down the country. What you do you expect from witches? We dug out our broomsticks!

There is a reason that brooms (often called besoms in Wicca) are associated with witchcraft. As much as we'd love to soar, like Harry Potter, over the rooftops, unfortunately flight isn't actually amongst its uses. However, their use as everyday religious artefacts is well documented, both historically and in modern practice. In previous burning times, the stick would conceal a stang (an old Norse word meaning 'stick'), which became an altar, with the addition of a few flowers and other foliage. Moreover, a besom is commonly used in purification rituals.

Negative energy is swept away with each thrust of the broom handle. In its wake comes positivity. Out with the old; in with the new. It's a rite in which even non-Pagans still participate, though many call it 'spring cleaning'.

So when the clarion call of @RiotCleanUp sounded, Pagans throughout the nation noted with glee the encouragement to bring their brooms into the city centres. There were practical purposes, of course, but there was definitely the spiritual too. Did the sweeper beside you seem lost in concentration? Then it is possible that (s)he was a witch performing a rite, as the glass and litter got swept into the waiting bin-bags.

The Pagans were present and I can assure you that, on August 10th, 2011, the diameter of Wolverhampton's Ring Road was enclosed in a protective circle. The streets within it were purified. The witches brought their brooms.