Tiocobrextio: An Autumnal Equinox Feast

The spirit of the north wind.

This is my first high-day ritual incorporating the Gaul hearth culture. One of the great challenges was to find the Gaulish equivalent for Mabon.

There is no clear evidence as to whether the Gauls celebrate the Automnal Equinox. In fact, it isn't very clear either whether there's a Gaulish word for "autumn". Scholars suggest the words uogiamos ("before winter"), or messus ("harvest"), but being in the Pacific tropics I wanted a less season-related word. I may be worshiping Gaulish gods but I'd like to keep my rituals relevant to the spirit of the land.

In the ADF dedicant manual, the Gaulish fall equinox festival is called Diocomrextios. I could hardly find any resources as to the origin of this word though, and it seems that the more correct, or at least the more popular reconstruction of the word is Tiocobrextio. However, far from what the manual says, this is not a festival specific to the fall equinox. In the Coligny calendar, an ancient artifact that has preserved the time keeping method of the Gauls, Tiocobrextio appears a few times throughout the Gaulish year, notably in the months of Simiuissonā (around May) and Ēdrini (around August). The word can either mean a "day of justice" (rextu, "law", "justice") or a "day of magic" (brixto, "magic", "incantation"). It works for me either way. A day for doing magic and for making things right.

It might be preposterous to make associations from Western astrology, but this being the time when the Sun enters Libra (the scales of Justice) makes it even easier for me to accept Tiocobrextio. The narrative may have changed but the theme remains largely the same with Mabon: transition, equlibrium, moderation.

Wheel and lightning. Votive offerings to the thunder god.

The Wheel of Taranis

Taranis is the Gaulish god of the skies and lord of storms. His most popular symbol is the wheel, which is associated with thunder. It is said that in the olden days, the sound of thunder was thought to be made by Taranis' chariot passing through the heavens. In this age of weather satellites, I see Taranis' wheels in tropical cyclones and in the shifting currents of the monsoon winds.

In the Philippines, the weeks following the fall equinox is a period of transition from wet to dry season. The cool, northern winds begin to prevail over the rainy, southwesterly winds. This also signals the peak of the migration of birds coming from the cold north going to the warmer south. The Philippine islands, sitting smack in the middle of the Asian and Australian continents, serves as a stop-over for the migratory birds, hence earning its title, "the avian archipelago".

I think it's a wonderful synchronicity that, in the old Filipino myth about the creation of man, the north wind, Amihan, is represented by a giant bird.

The boon of the tropics (clockwise starting from the big, spiky one): 

durian, rambutan, marang, lanzones and atis.

A Tropical Harvest

I usually just have wine and bread (and the occasional chocolate bar) for the celebratory feast, but from now on I am resolved to buy local seasonal produce. It's healthy; it's a good way to attune with the land; and it's quite cheap. For just a litte more than 200 pesos, I got enough food to share with family. Therefore, it's also one way to get the rest of the non-pagan household to join in with the celebration.

We may not have the corn-and-grain type, pre-winter harvest of the temperate lands, but we still do have seasonal crops. And it just happens that the fruits in season this time of the year are the really weird-looking and funky-smelling ones. Here's what I had in the shopping list:

• Durián - Banned in malls, hotels and train stations because of its infamous, foul odor; and occasionally bludgeoning innocent people to death passing by under it's tree, this so-called "king of fruits" in the tropics is actually more like the super-villain of fruits.
• Rambután - Very cheap and very nutritious. Soft, furry, and sturdy. I think they would make great stress balls too.
• Márang - Exudes a strong smell even unopen, but the scent is more pleasant than Durian's. It's one of the most delicious and addicting fruit I've ever tasted.
• Lanzónes - The grapes of the tropics. Sour and sweet and tastes a bit like lychee. I actually find more joy popping them open than eating them. 
• Átis - A friend told me they look like dinosaur balls - as if he'd actually seen a pair. I like the taste, but the seeds get in the way from fully enjoying it.

My dedicant shrine. The sacred fire, a lamp with a triple flame. The sacred well, a pot filled with rain water. The sacred tree, represented by the goddess Danu with a symbolic tree design on her dress and standing on a triple spiral, a symbol of the convergence of the three worlds. 

Offerings and libations. I had Korean soju for ritual drink.

The dedicant shrine, post-ritual. 

Perth-Sowilo-Dagaz denotes a bright new beginning. 

Votive offerings to Taranis by a storm drain.

Basbasan Nawa!

Update - Oct 15, 2012: I think I'm changing the name to Cantlos - the name by which the Three Cranes Grove, an ADF grove which adopts the Gaulish hearth culture, calls this High Day. Cantlos is the last month of the Gaulish year, corresponding roughly to September, and literally means "the month of songs". This, being the month of my birth day, makes better sense for me. It's also a lot less mouthful (and sounds less pretentious) than Tiocobrextio. Why haven't I discovered this sooner? 

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Remembering the Departed

I have to admit, I still am afraid of death despite all the wisdom teachings that tell me I shouldn't be. I think fear of death comes with the survival instinct implanted by Mother Nature herself and it would just be unnatural not to be afraid of it. While not having fear may mean transcending my lowly animalistic self and my attachments to the mundane world, being afraid on the other hand means I am still finding reasons to live in this world despite all its faults, and it also makes me focus on what's really important and "live my life to the full" as the cliché goes.

My fear of death must have its roots from the fear of the unknown. I always say that death does not mean an end but rather a transition from one form to another. But what form comes next after life? The wisest gurus in history and scientists of recent years have given us ideas some of which I have adapted to believe, but deep inside I know that in the end they are all but a product of human experience and do not tell us what really is beyond there.



Three nights before undas, a beautiful ritual in the style of the Babaylans was led by Pol to honor the dead (umalagad). Food, flowers and dance were offered to the ancestors and the recently parted under the watchful eyes of the diwatas.

I think the ritual actually does more benefit to us, the living, than to the departed. In remembering them, we recall that part of us that has gotten lost when they left this world.

Pol calls upon the spirits of the land.

Candles are lit in remembrance of the dead. Names, photos and belongings of the departed are placed on the altar. 

Dancing and drumming around the altar.

Ancestors of the babaylans were also honored during the ritual.

Papa Legba.

The feast is shared among the participants after the ritual.

Basbasan Nawa!

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Why I Do Not Celebrate Litha

"A tree that cannot bend will crack in the wind." 

-- Tao Te Ching

Because first of all, "Litha" is an Old English word meaning "navigable" - pertaining to the calmness of the winds in the European seas during this time of the year. Here in the eastern Pacific however, the seas sure are far from looking very "navigable" with winds occasionally running up to 250 km/h (and more).

Of course it also has that less archaic-sounding name, Midsummer. But it's hardly the middle of summer here with we Pinoys declaring it the "end of summer" just as soon as the first tropical storm hits, which usually happens just around the end of May.

Apolaki's altar

Of all the years of doing the sabbats, the fact that Litha is the longest day of the year just hasn't sink in to my consciousness. I know that the sun will rise tomorrow around 5:30 in the morning and set around 5:30 in the evening giving us almost equal parts of night and day - just like it does throughout the entire frickin' year on every country that's near the equator. It's not like in some parts of Sweden where we could get to experience 20 hours of daylight in June, and then 20 hours of darkness during winter.

Midsummer was originally celebrated by people who live just a few latitudes below the icy north pole where the heat of the sun is a boon - ergo all the glorifying and praising the sun receives in those textbook Wiccan rituals. Down here in the tropics, it just doesn't make sense for me to rejoice in the strength of the Sun seeing that the people are fanning themselves with any flat piece of material they could grab and occasionally blurting out: "ang ineeet!", usually followed by some kind of expletive. That is, in those days when the sun is not hidden behind gray skies. Yeah I know, the sun is the "source of all life on Earth" blah-blah-goddess and all that, but at these times it can also be the cause of  heatstroke, skin cancer and grumpy mood.

Fortunately, the middle of summer does have a significant effect on our lands which is a worthy cause of ritual itself: The warm air of the Pacific ocean stirred by the heat of the sun becomes the seed of tropical cyclones which often find their way onto our shores, while in east continental Asia, the land mass heats up and pulls the monsoon winds from the southern seas, bringing us rain and wetting our shoes as they make their way to Japan. Our ancestors have aptly given these winds a masculine sounding name, Habagat, which has eventually also become the name of our season of rain and storm. As the heat of the summer wanes, the monsoons stop and the colder trade winds from the northeast take over, and to these winds the wise ancestors have given the feminine name, Amihan, completing the Yin and Yang of our annual tropical climate.

Habagat season. The eastern portion of inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ) bends towards northern Asia, the southwesterly monsoon winds become prevalent.

Amihan season. The ITCZ finds itself way below the Philippine area, the colder easterly trade winds become prevalent.

I would much rather prepare myself physically and spiritually for the coming of Habagat than pretend to be a Viking welcoming the humid heat of the tropical sun.

As a city Pagan, Habagat is a tough season for me. Crop-growers in the farmlands may welcome the rainy season, but for me it also means having to deal with flood, mind-numbing traffic, ruined travel plans, deadly mosquitoes, pain-in-the-ass commuting, wet shoes (I hate wet shoes) and the possibilty of being stranded in the middle of nowhere during a superstorm (which happened to me on my birthday in 2006).  True to its name, Habagat calls for masculine virtues in order to us get by: strength, endurance, hard-work, patience, and self-control, as this period will surely bring about some test of nerves as well.

I'm planning to do a short personal ritual for this reason. I would not wish for the storms to leave us alone knowing that these are an inevitable and necessary part of Nature, although I would pray that they lay upon us lightly. I just want Habagat to teach me how to be strong but calm, enduring but adapting, tough but able to yield - like a bamboo tree bending in the wind.

Basbasan Nawa!

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A Mystical Beltane

"I unite the powers of the Sun and Moon within me. With my wand I father the Child, with my chalice I mother it. Within me lives the alchemy of this union of opposites. Let the magical child of my creative nature blossom and thrive in the inner and the outer worlds" -- Rite of Beltane, The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids

My nemeton wears the festive colors of the occasion.

Normally I would have my solo ceremony within a week after celebrating the Sabbat with friends. But this time typhoons happened and Hong Kong happened and then laziness and procrastination creeped in until I realized it's only a week away from summer solstice. I can't believe it took me five weeks and and a ritual-making seminar to pull my lazy ass into doing Beltane. Thankfully, OBOD rites are so focused on inner transformations that you can never really be late for them.

The season's themes are fertility, creativity and union. I used my Hindu deity images to represent the male and female energies within and without me. The altar ended up having a distinctive Asian look to it with all the trinkets coming from India, Thailand and Bali. I think it's one of the best-looking (and best-smelling) impromptu altars I have ever created so far, and my camera just couldn't do justice to it.

Since I decided to go Asian-style I did my grounding-and-centering listening to a techno version of the Kali mantra at the start of the ritual and had the Gayatri chant playing in the background during the entire ceremony. All these visual, auditory and olfactory inputs had a tremendously powerful effect to me and I went on a ritual-high in no time. I finished the rite having written pages of inspiration in my journal and still had enough energy to photoshop the ritual photos and write this blog entry. Creativity and fertility indeed. Or it must be the Milo I had as after-ritual food.

Asian-flavored Beltane altar.

"Yemaya Regina", my attempt on pointillist painting, portrays the rape of Yemaya by her own son, Oggun (symbolized as a green phallic fish). The parable reminds me of the Wiccan narrative about the Goddess making love with her child and consort, the Horned God, on Beltane. The painting shows the mystical union of the male and female from which is born Light and Wisdom (hidden here are the Greek words "Phos" and "Sophia").

The left side of the altar is dedicated to the female while the right side to the male. The shiva-lingam, the stones and the wand all represent the masculine creative force and the animus.

The central candle represents me passing through the fires of Beltane each representing the masculine and feminine energies. By the end of the ritual, the central candle will have reached the area by the flowers which symbolize the fruit of the union of the god and goddess within me.

The most important tool many magicians tend to forget about: the journal

Basbasan Nawa!

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Beltane by the Sea

In keeping with our tradition, my friends and I went out for another nature trip to celebrate the Sabbat. We headed this time for the lush island of Potipot in the province of Zambales. It was the farthest journey we've taken so far: we left the bus terminal in Manila in the morning and arrived on the island just before the dark. The trip was extremely exhausting but thankfully we were all well rewarded.

Our Li'l maypole. 

Ate Bet and the Beltane sun.

The beauty of the place was apparent even in the darkness of the twilight. The sea was very calm, and the sound of the gentle waves was like soothing balm to our tired souls. Stars were all a-flicker over the night sky and by our feet glimmer tiny, bioluminescent creatures as we walk by the shore. We were in a setting stolen from a romantic shojo anime.

The Beltane ritual in the morning was short and sweet and was almost just for formality’s sake. The real celebration I believe was the communing with nature itself. I always feel that the gods express themselves better through the elements of nature than with words.

Even though it’s fast becoming a popular tourist spot now, Potipot is still incredibly teeming with living creatures both flora and fauna. The observant Pagan can immediately perceive the essence of Beltane in the land and sea and air:

"...In every aspect, the colorful Sabbat of Beltane stands in contrast with its dark, polar opposite: Samhain. Beltane celebrates union, while Samhain acknowledges separation. In Beltane we reach out, while in Samhain we introspect. Beltane teaches about life and creation, and anticipates those who will be born, while the lesson of Samhain is death and entropy, and commemorates those who have come before." – Murmur’s Pink Cattleya Filler of Shadows

Cam-cam and Rei posing on the Potipot tree.

Incidentally, as Aldrin noted on his blog, the usual Wiccan narratives about the fullness of life on the land doesn’t very well apply to our little tropical country during this time of the year where many farmlands are dried up by the extreme summer heat. But as I realized in our trip, life is still abundant and the harvest is rich but we just have to know where to look:

“...In our case: underwater. I know, many local Wiccans are too caught up with all the earth stuff that we forget we're an archipelago - half of our country is submerged in the sea. Our warm waters seem to be attractive to marine life so fishing activities begin to peak around this time of the year (the absence of rain and anticipation for the Habagat season may also be a factor)." -- Christian Fernandez, Facebook comment

To end this exceptionally long and photo-rich blog entry, here are some useful tips I found to live the spirit of Beltane throughout the years to come. (Note: Some of the tips I don't necessarily agree with): www.wikihow.com/Live-Life-to-the-Fullest

Basbasan Nawa!

The customary summer beach jump shot.

Starting a bonfire is apparently quite tough.

Happy Happy Joy Joy

Jumping over the bonfire - with style.

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Alban Eilir on the Earth Hour

Due to my day job, I wasn't able to celebrate the equinox on March 21, but the Universe gave me another good option.

What better way to celebrate an earth sabbat than during the Earth Hour?

My Pagan altar shall be a place of birth and life, as I monitor and tend to these fast growing sprouts for the months to come.

Soil, seed, ash and water. A little earth magic on the earth hour.

Nice to know that the rest of the world are celebrating with me in their own little ways.

A week after planting, the mung bean sprouts are growing out of control. Hopefully they flower just in time for Beltane.

Basbasan Nawa!

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La Fheile Brighid: A Solitary Imbolc

I truly enjoyed and learned so much from my little Imbolc feast. This time, I cooked the ritual food by my own. What better offering to the muse of creativity than something you created yourself? I actually spent more time in the kitchen than in front of the altar. But then, the kitchen is the modern hearth. Here is the true altar of Brighid.

Brighid's Flames

Imbolc food: bannocks with raisins, honey-sweetened milk with a pinch of nutmeg, and clarified butter. Too much dairy for poor lactose-intolerant me, but I had fun making them

Eight candles partly submerged in a pan of water representing the Fire and the Well, to call upon the blessings of Brighid.

Boiling butter. Mmm, smells good!

Adopted the ADF practice of using augury to determine the message of the Kindreds. True to the spirit of the season, the first rune that was drawn was Cen - "Fire".

Butter. And butter clarified.

It's all about fire and creativity. So it makes more sense to cook my own food.

Beannacht oraibh!

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Back in Candlemas Hotel

It was supposed to be an out-of-town trip to Potipot, but things happened and some people couldn't go and so we came to Plan B instead - rent a hotel room. It was the same hotel in the sleazy outskirts of Makati where we celebrated some of our previous Imbolcs and Samhains. Why do we come back here? It's cheap, it does the job, and we really have nowhere else to go. 

Even though I am a solitary druid (or witch, or whatever) I always look forward to casual Sabbat celebrations like this with friends. Not too academic, not too solemn, and just the right combination of magic and mirth. What I like most of all is that you get a chance to comfortably speak yourself out to other humans (unlike solitary rituals where you virtually speak to ether), and maybe learn about yourself from a different perspective in return.

Lighting a candle for each other, before lighting one for ourselves.

Long time, no see. Darn sabbats, why do they have to be six weeks apart? 

The cool amihan breeze and the warmth of the candles combine to create a soothing atmosphere.

The usual photo ops.

Of course, it just wouldn't be right without pizza.

Basbasan Nawa!

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Belated Happy Yule

Just received a beautiful Yule greeting card from our ADF Mother Grove. How sweet! (At least it arrived before Imbolc.)

The message inside reads: "Whatever is beautiful, whatever is meaningful, whatever means the most to you...May it be yours this Yule Season and throughout the coming year."

Wow. Blessed be.

Basbasan Nawa!

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