By Natalie Zaman
You may have noticed that Broomstix puts a new issue out at each Sabbat. Sabbats are special days within a season that mark the time of change. Some people call the calendar the "Wheel of the Year" because time is always moving, and like a wheel, it goes around and around. As the wheel turns, the seasons pass one into another: Samhain to Yule to Imbolc to Spring Equinox to Beltane, to Midsummer, to Lammas, to Autumnal Equinox and then back to Samhain, and the cycle begins again.
We are nearing the end of the pagan year. Remember, Samhain marks the end of the old year and the beginning of the new. Now we're gearing up to celebrate the penultimate (a fancy word for next-to-the-last) Sabbat, the Autumnal Equinox or as some people like to call it, Mabon!
Like Lammas, Mabon is a Harvest Festival. While Lammas marks the first Harvest (fruits), Mabon marks the last (grains). If you live on or near a farm, you can see that the plants are starting to yellow. It's the end of the growing season, and the world is getting ready to renew itself, and go to sleep for a while.
The pictures you see on this page are "Corn Dollies." They don't look much like dolls, do they? You may see people hang these in their houses or on their doors once the cooler weather of Fall settles in. They do look lovely, but they are more than just a decoration.
When the Harvest was gathered, stalks of the best corn were set aside to be woven into a Corn Dollie. This is where the spirit of the fields would dwell during the Winter, when the land was dormant (at rest). They're called Corn Dollies, but these talismans were made using the crop that was at hand (for example, in the UK and Ireland, "corn" was wheat).
The Corn Dollie would be presented to the landlord. We're not talking about the kind of landlord you'd rent an apartment from. This was a "Land Lord." He owned many acres of land, and families who lived close by would rent the land from him and grow crops on it.
The Corn Dollie would be accepted and in return, a feast would be given. Today, we know these as Fall Festivals or Harvest Home banquets. These feasts were held not only to show thanks to the Earth and enjoy Her bounty, but as an act of faith that the fields would bloom again. When the fields were plowed for the next Spring's planting, the Corn Dollie would be returned to the Earth.
Visit Spellworx to learn how to make a simple Corn Dollie. Or if you're really ambitious, visit the Guild of Straw Craftsmen, or our friend Maddy's Corn Dollie website. Everyone's Sabbat traditions are different; they're shaped by your family and the folks you celebrate with.