Of Strength and Courage

This passed weekend we welcomed the festival of Michaelmas into our home. This has become one of my favorite times of year, it's sort of like New Years to me. This time marks the beginning of the festival/holiday season, the weather has begun to change, the leaves are losing their vitality through beautiful changes of color and then gently dropping to the ground below, the world around us is preparing for winter's darkness and chill, the garden is slowly ceasing to produce the more tender crops yet harvests are full and bountiful to help us fill our larder with storage fruits and vegetables. Our inner strength is being fortified by the reminder that summer is over, the sunshine's light is looking and feeling less intense, our minds focus on having enough wood cut and stacked to keep our hearth burning for months, filling up the hay sheds for our livestock friends who will brave the changing weather out of doors, and watching as daylight diminishes a little more each day. For some, the coming of winter is a harsh time. Depression, sadness, loneliness,and isolation set in. This is why I find Michaelmas to be such an important time of reflection. As we notice all the changes around us and knowing that winter and blustery weather is right around the corner, it is imperative that we look within to find the strength and courage to tame those inner dragons that make the winter unbearable. We have this time to prepare, accept, and honor the many months ahead that we will lack actual light, but instead will need to depend on our own inner light. We must guide ourselves through the darkest of hours lighting our way with the candle the we've lit and that burns within. This is what Michaelmas means to me.

To begin the honoring of St. Michael we made our annual dragon bread. They are always so much fun to make, the kids love seeing him come together. My only problem this year was finding a recipe that uses a gluten free bread recipe that can be molded and eaten. Most gf bread is quite liquidy and cannot be molded but ones that you can mold are so dense they can hardly be eaten (and enjoyed). If anyone has a recipe to share, I would be most grateful. This year, we shared our bread with a dear friend who celebrates her birthday on Michaelmas. 

Another one of our favorite ways to celebrate Michaelmas is by crafting something. Last year, we did Michaelmas Shooting Stars. This year, we decided to dye some silk scarves, Courage Scarves, that we could wear throughout the winter that will help remind us of our inner light that is shining  and guiding us through our darkest days. 

We made a dye bath out of golden rod harvested from our backyard.

After the dye bath cooled a bit we added a few tablespoons of alum (something I'd never used before when dying but thought we could try it. I'm so glad we did. It was so magical to see the golden rod dye turn from a greenish/yellowish/brownish color to a vibrant yellow).

We put the silk scarves into the the dye bath and stirred them and let them soak for a bit in the sunshine.

After long last, we pulled the scarves from the golden yellow water and watched as they shimmered in the sunshine.

We hung them up to dry and within moments, the scarves were ready to be worn. And just in time, too! Charlotte had her very first dentist appointment shortly after our scarves were completed. She wore her scarf to the dentist to symbolize the courage she was mustering (and desperately seeking) to get her through her first visit to the dentist. It was a beautiful event to witness as she struggled with the fear that was bubbling up inside of her. After a thorough discussion by the dentist about what was in store, Charlotte (albeit teary eyed and worried) held on to her scarf and with much bravery and valor, opened her mouth wide and had a very successful and quite funny experience at the dentist.

All in all, it has been a perfect welcoming into the season of Michaelmas. Our celebrations will continue all week as we continue to harvest apples for applesauce,  make some calendula healing salve to get us through the dryness of winter, read "The Kite" and then make a kite that we will hang up in our schoolroom to remind us of our ability to soar and discover all the amazing soul parts of ourselves that help us to be strong and courageous.  

Many blessings to you and yours as your travels take you closer to Winter. May you be warmed by the light that burns deeply inside of you.