The Spirit of the Place - Indiana October

Ancient and enduring .....


A mound construct, estimated to be as old as three to four thousand years. This one, like most of the earthworks in this area, is located on the south bank of a river. This mound is rectangular in shape and the
ramp leading to the central platform aligns with the spring and autumn equinoxes. The silence in this place is palpable, and I believe time would stand still there if only a person could remember the secret spell.

Alive with beauty and meaning .....

Just as the October of Medieval Europe brought the final flurry of work to carry in the last of the summer's harvest, even now in the new world of the American Mid-West, farmers push to get grain crops out of the fields at the optimum time of harvest, while all around them, the countryside says "Hurry, summer is leaving - the Wheel still turns!" The sun dips behind the horizon a bit sooner each day just as it has for centuries. Cows in newly acquired winter coats watch curiously as the world around them bustles by with a sense of purpose and direction, and always the message is "Hurry! Hurry! The days are slipping by, summer is leaving, summer is leaving!" The modern counterpart of the feudal shareholder raises clouds of dust visible for miles as he scurries to combine a bean crop, but the same voice whispers in his ear as well, "Hurry, hurry, the corn is ready too!" And from Sun to Sun, the message of late October is as ancient as the Wheel of the Year which turns toward the end of Harvest ... "Hurry, Hurry - Summer is over!"

End of Harvest, Last of Summer....



The waxing moon rides high in the October skies, escorting sparkling Jupiter for a brief time each night, as the Wheel of the Year turns and pushes the season of summer toward the time of the year the ancient Celts called "Samhain," or the "end of summer." The days of harvest are ending, and it is time now to gather all in and wait for the first cold winds of winter to drive away the last balmy days of Indian Summer. The hours of lengthening darkness are increasing each day and we're moving quickly toward the Winter Solstice and the longest night of the year. For many who followed the ancient religions, the time between Samhain, which was also the Celtic New Year, and Yule, or the Winter Solstice" was a time which did not pass according to the natural laws of the planet. The "time which is no time," or "the time between" was seen as a period of chaos during which rules, both physical and social were not followed or adhered to. It was a time of great opportunity for magic, mystery and mystical happenings - a time which could also be very dangerous for those who did not keep their wits about them. A time born in the festival of harvest, a time of respite from the unceasing toil and boredom of daily work in the fields, and a time when hearth fires would be lit from the embers of festival bonfires and kept burning to fend off the cold of the darkest time of year.