Arta, Bear Goddess, Cross Quarter Equinox 2012

Arta , 

Saw some PANDA-s on my way home from the store, 

this morning of the second cross-quarter day 2012

Later around the corner I saw this:

A connection with the DRAGON,the Chinese Emblem of the Year 2012,
And on the main drag, Thames St. another Dragon / Panda reference

Panda Bear reflects the theme of the DAY,
ARTA , MOTHER BEAR GODDESS 

The Bear Goddess, Mother Honey Paw

Can you think of a caption for the BEAR on THAMES St.?
 It would go on the Mailbox image above.

See:  Cavern's Wise Woman: The Bear Goddess, Revised    byAnnie Welch

and

Eternal Haunted Summer: interview with Anne Welch

for more info on the Mother Bear Goddess

For Equinox Ritual, Northern Hemisphere

Goddess Mabon

Website of the Grove of Manannan Mac Lir of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids

"Continuing to harvest and complete what has been created and worked upon. This might be done again by sharing what one is proud of and what they have accomplished and then acknowledging that. Ritualistically, descending into the underworld and bringing the Mabon back into this world. Sharing or focusing on what aspects of one's own child that you wish to bring back into this world for yourself. Celebrating the harvest by pouring wine or whisky upon the earth and spreading seed from the harvest upon the earth. Sharing of food and wine from the harvest. Calling in the earth good from the wilderness into the warmth of hearth and home, preparing for winter. This is symbolic of moving from the outer world towards the safety and security of the inner world. The inner world maybe the spiritual circle, one's friends, families, or one's own inner self."

"We shift to the lunar circle during the autumn equinox. We celebrate in the Monarch Bear Grove using the lunar circle. It is associated with the element of sea and water and the direction of the west. It focuses upon harvest and its completion. It is a time of balance between dark and light and a shift towards darkness. It is a time we move past the mid-point between the dark and light. It is the time of the full ascendancy of the earth god over the sky god. It is a time of connecting to the underworld. It is the time of the liberation of the spirit, preparing for death, to transcend death. Autumn is about retrieving the spirit of the child-god from the unconscious, before death. Autumn is the time of full adulthood. As we move from adulthood to old age, it is important to retrieve those positive child-lie qualities such as creativity, imagination, idealism, spontaneity, freedom, openness, purity, honesty, being in awe of life, wonderment, being active and creating and doing things, many people have lost their connection to the Mabon and their sacred youth. It is the time to go into the unconscious to retrieve the spiritual child, reconnect to it, bring it back into our lives, before we move to the next stage of death. This retrieval of the eternal child needs to happen constantly, at each Mabon season, and needs to be emphasized for spiritual development. This is an essential aspect for an elder to do before their death because they need to complete the cycle. They need to reclaim and return the child within before death. This is not acknowledged in our society, but this is a very important phase. If someone dies without connection and reclaiming their eternal child, they enter at death into a very dark and dreadful place. It is the Mabon energy of the eternal youth that transcends our physical death, therefore we need to nurture our connection to this throughout our lives in order to be prepared for our death. It's the Mabon who is reborn at the winter solstice.   

If we are not connected to our Mabon, how will this occur? 

Part of this mythos is how it is essential to keep the Mabon alive. 

Above Text FROM:  Website of the Grove of Manannan Mac Lir of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids