Since getting back from my trip this weekend, I have been involved in a whirlwind of decorating activities. Fall has arrived and my house is ready. From putting up the Fall green Man plaque in my office to washing the Halloween cloths, and tableware, I have been luxuriating in the throes of Fall. The house is ready with only the outside front porch left to do next weekend. The back porch is ready to enjoy for our beautiful fall evenings and fall rituals. The skeleton lights are glowing in the nearby bush with candy corn lights and leaves are strung across the porch. The cauldron sits ready on it's pumpkin colored mat and the side table is full of pumpkin candles and lights. I also put pumpkin lights and fall leaves in my large terracotta pots along with some gourds and pumpkins which I feel will be squirrel proof because they are made of plastic.
The mantle is festooned with ravens, leaves and apples, pumpkin candle holders, brown tea light holders, mini pumpkins soon, and some black vine garland. My dining room is dedicated to Day of the Dead with a graveyard altar and my misting cauldron, among other things. With pictures of my spirit cats, framed in a ghost and pumpkin frame, the dining room will make a natural Samhain ritual spot if I decide to not go outside for ritual.
To celebrate the season I ordered 4 new movies to add to my already sizable Halloween movie collection. I plan on spending a few nights doing nothing but watching one Halloween movie after another, with some "Charmed sprinkled in for good measure, while knitting or needle crafting something spooky. I also have plans to re-read my many Halloween books, along with three new ones I picked up on my trip. I have a crafting Halloween party coming up along with a Halloween theme game dinner and plans for an elegant seasonal dinner with a few friends. This is the time of year that I especially love having a friend over for afternoon tea or cinnamon coffee and a home baked fall goodie. Before I left on my trip, I went crazy buying some fall and Halloween inspired placemats, napkins and holders that will go well with my black dishes and give me tons of entertaining options throughout the fall. Half the fun of a house party for me is setting the stage! The other half is sharing it with special friends.

With clouds overhead and the promise of rain today, I am most aware that the promise of Fall is just around the corner. As I savor the last of summer, I await the Fall with eager anticipation. Fall is my favorite season. It's a natural for me since I was born on Mabon. I started putting Summer to rest yesterday, doing some final harvests before I pull my plants. The herbs are still doing well as are my fairy gardens. I hope to bring both of my fairy gardens inside for the winter to put in my garden room. I harvested basil and made a nice pesto to enjoy before we head out to California. so many of the leaves were damaged but I decided to dry them to use for magical purposes. I will do the same with the mint, lemon balm and lemon verbena.
Today I have decorated the mantle with leaves, ravens, owls and candle jars. I will add some tiny pumpkins when they are available. My harvest wreath and Celtic knot doormat are out on the front porch. So often in the past I have bypassed Mabon in terms of decorating, and gone straight to Samhain, which is my favorite holiday. In the past few years as my magical practice has grown, I have made it a point to do something with every holiday. as much as I have come to appreciate and be fully in the moment of each season, the dark side of the year calls to me still. Some associate the dark side of the year with isolation, cold and perhaps a touch of loneliness. I see this time of year as a season of both going inside for inner dialogue and also a season of celebration with friends as gatherings become a festive time against the cold the the outside.  Dinner parties, game nights, movie nights, Samhain parties, Yule. The dark side of the year is a great time to snuggle down and escape into a good book, knit a warm wooly sweater or scarf, sip hot chocolate or Irish coffees, bake, cook stews, chili, pot roasts & soups.

For me fall means:

Apples & apple crisp

cinnamon as a scent and in my coffee

chili

Harry potter movies

Halloween movies and witchy TV shows (this year I have "Beautiful Creatures" in my collection, next year I will have City of Bones as well)

raking leaves

pumpkins

pumpkin pie

apple pie

decorating for Samhain both inside and out

witches ball

witches tea

ravens

spicy teas served hot with honey

re reading Halloween books I have collected over the years

knitting and cross stitching spooky things

I carry the spirit of Owl, Deer and Raven with me always, but during the dark side of the year, the spirit of Raven is prominent in my thoughts. The raven as messenger and totem is a reminder that those around you are reflecting back at you the things you most have to learn about yourself.

"Know that when Raven appears that magic is imminent. Raven is about rebirth, recovery, renewal  recycling and certainly reflection and healing. He signifies moving through transitions smoothly by casting light into the darkness."