The holiday of the Autumnal Equinox or Mabon is a Pagan ritual of
thanksgiving for the fruits of the Earth and a recognition of the need to share
them to secure the blessings of the Goddess and the God during the coming
winter months. After the Autumn equinox
the Oak King slowly begins to regain his power as the Sun begins to wane.
The Sun slips below the western horizon, fully mature, signaling the
time for breaking addictions, weight-loss, banishing misery and pain,
transforming anguish and negative habits.
It is a time of Water, Autumn, Crone and Sage.
The God passes into the underworld.
While the Goddess is a crone-like figure, welcoming her consort to the
underworld. She is still pregnant with the
new God, waiting to be born once more at Yule.
God's Eyes originate from the Huichol
Indians of Mexico's Sierra Madre. The
Huichol bring flowers, arrows, feathers, prayer bowls, God's Eye (Tsikuri or Ojo de Dios),
and other symbolic gifts to deities in sacred caves in the hope of the return
of favor and protection. The Huichol not
only make wonderfully colorful God’s Eyes from yarn, they also make yarn
paintings by gluing yarn to wooden boards in nature-inspired shapes.
God's Eyes are one of the easiest crafts you can make
and they're versatile because you can create them in any color. For a harvest celebration like Mabon, make
them in fall colors - yellows and browns and reds and oranges. At Yule, the winter solstice, you can make
them in reds and greens. If you'd like
to make one for your household altar, you can make it in colors that correspond
to your family's deities and traditions. You'll need two sticks of equal length - like cinnamon
stick, dowel rod, popsicle stick, or just branches you've found on the ground. You'll also need yarn or ribbon in different
colors. If you like, you can include
decorative items like shells, feathers, beads, crystals, etc.
By using alternating colors of thread or yarn, the
finished result looks like an Eye. In
some traditions, you might associate the four points of the cross with the four
classical elements, or the directions on the compass. You could even see them as representative of
the four major Sabbats - the solstices and the equinoxes. One great thing to do while making God's Eyes
is use them as a spell working in themselves - visualize your intent while
wrapping the yarn, whether it's protection for your home and family, to bring
love your way or even a prosperity talisman.
Cut
the twigs to about equal lengths. To begin, hold your two
sticks together in a cross. If you'd
doing this with children, it's a good idea to put a small dab of glue on here
to prevent slipping.
Wrap a
length of yarn one or two times around the top arm of the cross, right where
the two sticks meet, going counterclockwise (be sure to hold the loose tail in
place and wrap the yarn over it to keep it from unraveling later). As you come around on the left side of the
upper arm, cross down and over to the bottom side of the right arm. Bring the yarn out behind the top of the right
arm, and cross over to the left side of the bottom arm. Finally, bring the yarn from the right side of
the bottom arm across to the top side of the left arm.
This is actually
easier than it sounds. Continue wrapping
the sticks in the same order until you have a good amount of the color you're
working in. Then switch to a new color
and continue the process until you want to change again. Glue the final yarn end to the back of the cross to hold it in
place. Finish
it off with a length of yarn tied in a loop, so you can hang your God's Eye.
Finally, you
can decorate the ends of the sticks with feathers, ribbons, beads, or crystals,
whatever you prefer. Hang your God's Eye
on a wall or use it on your altar for Sabbat celebrations.
A primitive
form of star weaving, reminiscent of a dreamcatcher, God's Eyes are still woven
today by the Huichol Indians of Mexico.
The idea is to use bright colors to serve as an Eye to watch over others
(especially babies) and to bring good luck.
Quick and easy, (it can be as simple or as complex as you wish), these
are attractive as a single dramatic wall accent or as a mobile for a child's
room.
The harvest is ending,
the earth is dying.
The cattle have come in from their fields.
We have the earth's bounty
on the table before us
and for this we give thanks to the Gods.
the earth is dying.
The cattle have come in from their fields.
We have the earth's bounty
on the table before us
and for this we give thanks to the Gods.
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