Autumn Equinox Festival
Foundation Centre - Ireland
September 19, 2026
By: Rev. Noeleen Watson
The sun was shining and a wind was blowing wild at times. It was a beautiful autumnal day. When we arrived at Huntington Castle, we were greeted by three pigs who were ever so interested in us and what we were doing.
We gave our temple a little autumn cleaning. Every candle placed with love and intention for all who would attend our ceremony today. As people started to gather in the courtyard, the warm sun shined down. One thing I always notice is the smiley faces and the welcoming hugs. We stood in a circle listening to our presiding Priestess Cait, she shared wisdom about the time of the year and the abundance all around us.
We started our procession towards the Rose Garden, here Katheriona, one of our priestesses blessed each of us with her own handmade rose oil she has being making. Even though the physical roses had all gone now, we had the scent of the roses through the rose oil. We took a little while to connect to the Rosa Mundi.
We made our way to the Sacred Grove of Dana, as we walked through the grounds of the castle one could see the changes nature was showing us with the trees and the flowers. As we walked through the gateway into the grove, you could hear the fallen branches crunch as we walked in. The Goddess Danu was invoked here, and we all sang to her in harmony. We joined together to chant Imbas, our voices echoed throughout the trees.
We walked in quietness towards the abbey, the place of the Noble Order of Tara. Eriu was invoked here and a lovely member of the Fellowship of Isis sang a song that generated such joy in our hearts. Here there were still a few yellow and pink roses in full bloom.
A Priestess invoked Persephone, she also reminded us of the importance of entering the temple with love in our hearts. We all made our way towards the sacred Brigid's Well. Deity was invoked and Cait shared one of Lady Olivia's oracles entitled, The Goddess Hathor of Egypt. One line that stood out for me was: "Be happy! For if you are happy now, you are happy forever. Make the decision to be happy." Blessings were given to all who wanted a blessing from the Goddess.
We made our way around to the High Altar where a priestess was waiting to share an oracle from the Goddess Hathor, "I am Hathor, I am Love, I am Joy, I am Beauty and I am Truth." She told us to look into her mirror and see the beauty inside. To become joyful in our lives. Eimear, one of our priestesses played the harp as we sat in contemplation of the oracle. There was a beautiful autumn themed poem by Keats read. We were brought on a gentle and very relaxing journey. I shared my poem I wrote called An Cailleach. Cait shared beautiful juicy grapes grown in Dublin to celebrate the abundance we do have in our lives. All deity was thanked and everyone was thanked for being there today. The importance of community and reaching out as we enter the dark half of the year.
After the sharing of the oracle, I happened to look at the High Altar and to my amazement I saw a sword formed by a sacred light over our Goddess Isis statute. It was truly wonderful and very apt as to the theme of speaking our truth and being true to ourselves. After our ceremony I brought the sword to the attention of whoever was around the altar and we were all amazed.
Our next ceremony is Saturday 31st October 2026 at 11am
(Please note: Festival attendance is by invitation only - to request one, see this page: Events)
