19/03/2022
So interesting!
Autumn Equinox/Mabon in Oz
Here in Australia, the season of Autumn Equinox/Mabon brings cool mornings and warm, still days. By some Aboriginal groups, it is called the eel season as they are fat and ready to harvest as they head out to sea for breeding. The birds begin their migration patterns, the possums and dingos begin their breeding seasons. The skinks and tortoises begin their hibernation. Red–tailed black cockatoos begin to chip away inside dead trees to create their nesting spaces.
The ribbon gum begins its flowering season. You can recognise these eucalypts by their blazing white bark. At the base of their trunk, the bark seems to fall away in ribbons – hanging like the petals of a flower and the branches shooting straight into the air like a 40 metre tall stamen.
If the weather conditions are right, rainfall is a high possibility. Autumn is known in the Northern Hemisphere as the season of fall – where the leaves fall from the trees. Here in South–East Queensland, only a few trees lose their leaves. The black bean or Moreton Bay chestnut begins flowering (these beans are highly toxic causing diarrhoea and vomiting). Velvet leaf or callicarpa bushes will slowly turn their inconspicuous, small, green berries a stunning, bright purple. Brush cherry trees and Moreton Bay fig trees are growing their edible fruits. Native fruit trees provide important fruit for native animals. Interestingly, each of the native fig trees have their own particular type of wasp which contributes to their pollination.
In gardens, native banksia bushes are flowering. Non–natives such as the purple tibouchina and the Easter May (the cassia) are flowering as well. The mulberry and gooseberry bushes are fruiting and will be ready for harvesting in the coming weeks.
This is a season for getting out into the garden. The sun is not as hot and there is still some daylight in the early evening to w**d, prune and sing to your plants. It is a time to prepare the vegetable beds. Some will require fallow (or rest) time while others may be planted with your next crop. It is also a time for nurturing the land of your home – de–clutter both inside and out.
The common ringtail possum begins its breeding season during Autumn Equinox/Mabon. Possum awareness week is usually in early April. In particular, awareness is focussed on the Leadbeater’s possum or fairy possum. Once considered extinct, it was rediscovered on April 3 1961. Sadly, bushfires, logging and development have caused it to become endangered again. The mountain pygmy possum begins to prepare for its winter hibernation. It is the only Australian marsupial which hibernates for a long period of time.
Wombats give birth during Autumn Equinox/Mabon. Baby wombats are called joeys are carried by their mother for twenty-five weeks.
As a season of rainfall, you may wish to work with water goddesses, the colours of the ribbon gum (silvery white, blue and pink) or the medicine of the eel and possum.
Of course, many people will be celebrating Easter. You may choose to follow both the energy of mass consciousness alongside your Mabon celebrations. Do what feels right for you and your intention for being in connection with the cycle of time. Easter can become just a fun time of sharing chocolate while Ostara can be something more profound.
Chapter Thirteen
The Turning of The Wheel
A Wiccan’s Walk in Oz
Gorgeous photo from “GRANT DIXON PHOTOGRAPHY”
