Autumn Equinox — FWM Wheel of the Year Open Ritual
Details
The Wheel of the Year is the cycle of eight seasonal festivals kept across the Western Mystery Traditions — eight turnings of the year that echo the seasonal rites of our ancestors.
This turning of the Wheel is the AUTUMN EQUINOX.
The Autumn Equinox is the second harvest and the point of balance. Day and night stand equal, as they did at the Spring Equinox — but the year is travelling the other way now, and after this evening the dark has the larger share. It is the last of the generous festivals before the turn toward winter.
The work of the season is gathering in. The orchards are heavy, the fields are nearly emptied, and there is a short window in which everything must be brought under cover. What is not gathered now is not gathered. Behind the harvest imagery sits an older story of a return out of the dark — someone who went down into the underworld coming back up into the light to claim what is theirs, and to take it with them when they go down again.
Our Autumn Equinox rite is a rite of balance and of gathering in: an honest accounting of the year so far, thanks given for what came good, and the settling of what will be carried into the dark half. It is a warm and companionable evening, with the year's turn plainly in view.
TICKETS
€15 plus Eventbrite booking fee online in advance (non-refundable), or €20 cash at the door. No cards — the door is cash only.
Book online here
The event and the ritual will be held in English unless otherwise noted. We sometimes have other groups host rituals, and sometimes they work in other languages. If that is the case it will be noted here.
Doors open at 19:30. The ritual talk-through begins around 20:00 and the ritual follows shortly after. Ritual length varies, but the ritual itself should be over between 21:30 and 22:00. Afterwards there is time to stay and talk, so plan to stay longer if you are feeling social and you can — and of course leave whenever you wish. There is a bar on site.
Attire: Street clothes are perfectly fine, but if you can, try to come dressed as much as possible in a single colour — black and white are best. If you have ritual dress (robes and so on) and would like to wear it, please do.
You do not need to have done anything like this before. Everything is explained beforehand — what will happen, what it means, what your part is, and what to do if you would rather simply stand and watch. Newcomers are guided through the ritual as it unfolds, so there is no problem at all coming with no idea what to expect.
Beginners, experienced practitioners and the merely curious are equally welcome. The environment is friendly and unpressured.
The Fellowship of the Western Mysteries is a Vienna community for the Western Mystery Traditions — Wicca, Paganism, Druidry, Ásatrú, Hermeticism and related paths.