September: On Autumn Equinox, Fairies, and the Importance of Portals

 

Art credit: Daniela Simina

The treetops have just begun to turn gold. Whenever the wind picks up, leaves dance in the air and twirl their way to the ground.  The days are still long but the light has a different quality to it, and the sunsets are made of amber. September: the very word sounds magical, resonating like old bronze bells that in the century past called schoolchildren in to classrooms. September: the name, as the month itself, brims with memories and magic, and memories about magic from as far back as my childhood years, and sometimes from even farther back… 

Over the past few years, walking a fairy path added layers to both the meaning and the feeling surrounding September, as it shaped my perception not only of nature in general but of the Powers behind nature and natural world. Because of this – and few other contributing factors that I will detail farther – the Autumn Equinox has become an even more special time and a weightier marker on my calendar of seasonal celebrations.

 

Altar for Autumn Equinox 2016. Photo credit Daniela Simina

Going on a tangent, just a little bit, I must restate that Ireland is for me a most special place. I connected to it psychically a very long time ago, and when I visited in 2018 not only did I feel the connection strengthening, but also had one experience in particular which prompted a chain reaction that reconnected me with fairy faith and practices. Fast forward to Ireland, 2022. As if picking things up form where I left them in 2018, I found myself going through a multiple-steps initiatory experience (totally unplanned). As a result, I came to see my path and my relationship to fairies in a different light. This “new light” concretizes as new ways of perceiving and understanding things and also translates into assignments and instructions- all related to the fairy path I've been pursuing. Firstly, on June 21, while at the Hill of Tara, I received a list of 7 Powers/Fairy Gods and was instructed to connect with them and align myself with the nature aspects They represent. Based on this connection I would then begin to develop a personal cosmology (more on this in a future post). Second, on the night of June 23, I was released from contractual obligations I had with Zâne[1]. Finally, on July 11, my birthday, I was asked, in a take–it-or-leave-it fashion[2] to acknowledge and embrace my connection to a specific group among the Fair Folk[3] , and when I did, I knew that I was not only in a lifetime relationship with that specific group, but also officially in service to fairies in a larger scheme of things. I was then tasked to open portals between worlds at specific times, and keep them open.  I know this sounds bizarre and complicated, but things are far more nuanced the words can convey, particularly in this case when I cannot write about every single detail: I do not want to challenge readers’ patience by turning this post into a novel. Done going on tangents, and back to Autumn Equinox.

Autumn Equinox is one of the times, four in total, when I am to open the portals I talked about. This will be the first time when I will be performing the ceremony which I’m not sure yet what form will take precisely. What I know with a fair degree of certainty is that we need such portals to open wide again between our world and the Other. I am not alone in concluding that Powers of Fairy must flow freely to allow the restoration of an energetic balance that modern society is slipping away from, farther and faster with each passing day. Greed and aggressive industrialization coupled with policies of spiritual annihilation lead to the ossification of minds and spirits alike by rejecting the magic, the wild, the feral, the Fairy. 

This is destructive in both intent and outcome because healthy balance can only be achieved among competing and complementary forces. 

I am thus getting ready for the Autumn Equinox and once I’ll have a relatively clear outline for the ceremony, I will share. Maybe several of us can coordinate, and gather more power by working together. 

Opening Portal. Art credit Daniela Simina, womboart.com 

In line with everything that I said in the last part of this post about the need for ushering more of the Fairy into the human world as necessary albeit not devoid of danger course of action, I made a list of resources that I believe to be very useful.

1. Morgan Daimler, “Fairy Witchcraft”, “Fairycraft”, “Traveling the Fairy Path”, “Living Fairy”, “21st Century Fairy: The Good Folk in the New Millennium”, and for those particularly interested in the Irish fairies, “Aos Sidhe: Meeting the Irish Fair Folk” is one of the best resources available anywhere on the market. Also, I would recommend the books in the high fantasy series “Between the Worlds”, and “Into Shadow” by the same author. Daimler does an amazing job at developing fantasy characters in ways that do not distort traditional lore. 

Also, Morgan Daimler's blog “Living Liminally”, https://lairbhan.blogspot.com , is a great resource. 

2. Blythe Rhymer, “The Raven and the Lotus”, http://theravenandthelotus.com , an excellent blog written by Blythe oftentimes in collaboration with her fairy partner, Tadhg. I cannot recommend it highly enough for both style and content quality.

3. Barbara Campinoti, “Chime- A Space for UPG and Italian Fairy Folklore”, https://upgandfolklore.blogspot.com/2022/08/welcome.html . Barbara has a strong, lifelong connection to fairies who guide her personal and professional paths. Her approach to fairy faith is eclectic, and what Barbara shares on her blog, flows straight from her own experiences with the Fair Folk.

Thanks for reading, and until we meet again, bright Fairy blessings to all of you.

Daniela

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[1] Generic term used for Romanian fairies. 

[2] There have been three or four occasions in my entire life so far when the fairies I am partnering up with presented me with this kind of one way or no way choices. To be clear, the choice has always been mine.

[3] The name Fair Folk could be misleading so I shall specify that it is a generic name that I use for a group of fairies that are not all from among the Irish Aos Sidhe, but include Wights and members of the Álfar.