Mabon-The Balancing Act

Welcome and Bright Blessings! This blurp is part of the special Mabon/Autumn Equinox edition of Kallan Kennedy's fabulous Sunday Stew! There is much Spirit nourishing goodness there and I tell you that the rest of the Stew is always fabulous! Please visit them all at The Secret Life of the American Witch!

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Mabon (or the Autumnal Equinox) is a time where day and night are of equal length. At this Second harvest we gather and get a clearer picture of what we have which will sustain us through the coming Winter. It is the time of contemplation and giving thanks. We are grateful for what we have, but ponder how we will make it through the dark days ahead. We celebrate the abundance that comes from our hard work but must acknowledge what is left to be done. For those of us who are not farmers and don’t live as close to the earth, I am talking of the spiritual balance we seek as the light of the year is conquered by the darkness.

Real spiritual balance…the moment where light and dark, positive and negative, life and death are absolutely equal…does not exist for very long. Balance in our spiritual life is not usually a case of pure stillness but in recognizing energy and mastering our inner motion. At times it is absolutely imperceptible to the eye, but spiritual balance is not about what we see, but what we FEEL. Even if we are sleeping or meditating and are silent and still, is there not still motion within our minds and bodies? Our heart beats, we inhale, we exhale and our minds work continuously on the sights, sounds, emotions and events that are processed through our brains.  Life is energy….motion….mental, physical and spiritual. At Mabon we go within and look at the way we have lived to this Second harvest, to see where we are in ‘imbalance’ and what we need to do to prepare to be more balanced as the new year approaches. Any imbalance can affect us the same way extreme stress or trauma does.  We have anxiety, depression, no time to relax, no time to play or socialize with friends and family, we are often angry or frustrated, we are tired all the time but never feel rested even after sleeping, we have headaches or other physical maladies flare up frequently, we don’t eat well, etc… The true blessing of Mabon is we ask spirits or God/Goddess to help as we honestly examine our lives and commit to the work of going within and renewing our balance during the Winter months.

There are three main areas that you can focus on when reflecting on how to work on your spiritual balance: 1-Balance in the community-This includes your work life, online activities, social activities, and your life in the Pagan/Wiccan communities. There is always one sure question to ask yourself: How do my beliefs and actions now allow me to be of service to my community? Within the past few months, I know of several online friends who realized the imbalance to their spiritual and emotional lives that has been caused by their Facebook activities. In realizing how this caused an imbalance, they deleted their accounts and renewed their commitment to the community in ways that were less harmful to them and allowed them to return to balanced activity within their communities. For me and many others, a strong commitment to keeping balance at work is necessary to maintain the positions which allow us to feed and support ourselves and our loved ones. As a solitary Witch, I also need to examine how my relationships with the online Pagan/Wiccan community are either hindering or helping me and make the necessary adjustments so I may continue to learn and grow on my spiritual path.

2-Balance with friends and family-This act of balance is often the one fraught with the most emotion. From our loved ones we received the kind of support that is necessary to support life. Scientific studies have shown that infants in hospitals who did not have adequate physical touch, socialization and affection would often become ill and fail to thrive. As adults, we can surround ourselves with those who love us and give us the support and affection we need. But…sometimes we give too much of ourselves and sometimes there are those who demand too much for themselves. Give and take in relationships is a real balancing act. At Mabon we must consider if there are relationships that support us in following the spiritual paths we have committed to or if they deter us from them. Then we consider how to act on those realizations.  Do we try to correct the imbalance by parting ways, or do we try to work them out? There is also a more advanced act of asking for feedback from our loved ones about what they see in our relationship and then reflecting on that. It takes a very strong constitution to attempt that. I know I am not in a place where I could hear that kind of feedback right now, so I won’t do that. However, there are friends I trust enough that this is something we practice regularly with each other. You must decide how to proceed in balancing your relationships as it works for you.

3-Balance within Us-For me, this is always the easiest one. I don’t have a lot of difficulty in analyzing myself. It is probably something I actually like about Mabon is the spiritual push to look within at what works and what doesn’t. The tricky part is deciding what to do about what we learn. Some decisions are easy; I’m a diabetic and I need to change my diet to take better care of my overall health. See? That was easy! The tricky part lies in actually deciding how to go forward and then committing to the actions to make that change. Ah, now THAT is the real Balancing Act! Working with what I already am aware of within myself (strengths and weaknesses) and still committing to making those changes takes some time. Like any magickal or spiritual act, it is an act of Will to take the actions that will restore balance to our lives. Perhaps I need to incorporate more spiritual practice into my daily life? Is my online life overly affecting my life in the real world? Do I consider enough how to take better care of my physical health? Do I need to enhance my spiritual knowledge? Would I be happier incorporating more creativity into my life? All of these are excellent questions to reflect on at Mabon for the answers will allow you to be centered as you go forward.

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At Mabon, the spiritual balance we seek is about us fulfilling our potential. What kind of people are we? What kind of people do we wish to be? Where do we successfully balance our spirituality in our lives? Do we balance activism and advocacy with tolerance and reason? Do we balance self-confidence with humility? Do we kick doors down or are we more likely to be doormats? How do we want the world to know us? Do we still have much more yet to know about ourselves? Do we need to pray, read, write, paint, dance, cook, exercise, meditate, etc.?  As I said before, at Mabon we seek to learn more about our inner motion and master the act of balance. We dig a little deeper to see where we need to shift and move to bring more joy, knowledge, love, confidence, energy and happiness into our lives. At Mabon, may you reflect on the ways to balance the light and dark within you, your loved ones and your community. May it lead you to the joys you seek that will sustain you in the darker days.

Blessed Be!