Physical Setting & Preparation
Position yourself where you can feel the gentle pull of gravity anchoring you to the earth's core, perhaps on a patch of ground where fallen leaves create a natural cushion, or beside a tree whose roots mirror your own need for stability. Let your body settle into natural alignment, like a mountain that has found its perfect balance between earth and sky. Place both hands flat upon the ground beside you, feeling the pulse of life that flows through soil and stone. Breathe deeply of the September air, rich with the scent of ripening seeds and the first whisper of woodsmoke from distant hearths.
Opening Invocation | Fosgladh
Máthair na hUaire Seo - Mother of This Hour
As September's fifth dawn paints the sky with colors borrowed from autumn's palette, we stand witness to the earth's patient artistry in change. The morning air carries the coolness that speaks of deeper transformations to come, while the late summer sun still warms the faces of sunflowers turning eastward in eternal devotion.
Oscail na geataí - Open the gates
Here where wild grapes hang in purple clusters and the first maple leaves blush scarlet against the green tapestry of summer's end, we invoke the Mother's presence. The field mice gather their winter stores while high above, turkey vultures ride the thermals with ancient patience, reminding us that even death serves life's greater purpose.
Fáilte roimh an rúndiamhair - Welcome to the mystery
Body of the Working | Corp
Tonn ar thonn - Wave upon wave
Today we carry within our spirits the energies of skeptical doubt and vivacious enthusiasm - two currents that seem to war within us yet create the very tension that sparks growth, like lightning born from the marriage of opposing forces in September's gathering storms.
Feel the skeptical questioning that rises within you like groundwater seeking the surface, bringing with it the mineral taste of hard-earned wisdom. This sacred doubt is the earth's own testing - the way she examines each seed before it sprouts, the way she measures each season before it fully arrives.
Amhras ciallmhar - Wise doubt
The September afternoon buzzes with the urgent work of honeybees gathering the last of summer's nectar while distant combines harvest golden wheat under skies that threaten rain. In this skeptical energy, you mirror the cautious deer at the forest edge, the squirrel that tests each branch before trusting its weight. The Mother speaks through the rustling oak leaves: "Child, doubt is not the enemy of faith but its refining fire."
Now feel the vivacious enthusiasm that bubbles up within you like a spring newly freed from winter's ice. This is the earth's own irrepressible joy - the way she erupts in wildflowers after rain, the way she sends up green shoots through the smallest cracks in stone.
Spleodar na beatha - Vivacity of life
The Deep Working | An Obair Dhomhain
Lár na fírinne - Center of truth
Sink now into the sacred paradox where doubt and enthusiasm forge themselves into luminous wisdom. Feel your consciousness descending like autumn rain into the rich, dark soil where the Mother transforms all contradictions into fertile ground for new understanding.
Envision yourself standing at the edge of a September pond where the last water lilies float like stars fallen to earth. The surface reflects both the questioning clouds above and the enthusiastic light dancing between them. Dragonflies skim the water with wings that catch and scatter rainbows, while deep below, ancient fish move with the unhurried wisdom of those who have witnessed countless seasons turn.
Scáthán na cruinne - Mirror of the universe
Your doubting mind recognizes itself in the pond's questioning surface, rippling with uncertainty yet always returning to stillness. Your enthusiastic spirit soars with the dragonflies that dance between doubt and delight, finding in each moment a new reason for wonder.
Feel the Mother's healing energy rising from the depths of the earth like thermal springs, warming away the chill of excessive doubt, cooling the fever of unreasoned enthusiasm. She sings through every ripple on the water: "Beloved child, question everything with love, embrace everything with wisdom."
Comhairle na Máthar - Counsel of the Mother
Afterthought | Smuain Dheiridh
Take a moment to contemplate:
Ceist don intinn - Question for the mind
How might your healthy skepticism become a tool for discernment rather than a barrier to experience, and how can your natural enthusiasm be grounded in wisdom without losing its spark?
Closing Blessing | Beannachd Dheiridh
Beannacht na Cothromaíochta Nua - Blessing of New Balance
As we close this sacred gathering, feel the September evening wrapping around you like a shawl woven from twilight and possibility. The Mother's blessing flows through both your questioning and your celebrating - the understanding that doubt and enthusiasm are both necessary companions on the journey toward truth.
Eagna sa cheist - Wisdom in the question
May you walk with the discernment of the old oak that has weathered many storms, and may your heart remain as open as the evening primrose that blooms when darkness falls. May your doubts become doorways to deeper knowing, and your enthusiasm become fuel for service to all life.
Le beannacht na Máthar síoraí - With the blessing of the eternal Mother