Autumn Retreat Day 4: Autumn Folktales
It's spooky season
Hello and a very warm welcome to day four of our Autumn Equinox retreat.
So far we’ve looked at the history and magic of the Equinox, added to our Autumn Bookstack, and got involved with some Autumn Baking. So much good stuff. Today we’re delving into Autumn folktales and myths.
As the air cools and the forest stills, this is the time of year when strange stories and eerie tales rise to the surface, carried along on a drift of woodsmoke and magic. Many tales at this time of year involve warnings about meddling with the strange and mysterious fungi that appear at this liminal time of year, and avoiding the enticing but dangerous realm of the fairy folk / the underworld.
Below I’ve shared a couple of stories to help you settle into the season. One is a traditional English folktale and one is an ancient Greek myth, both of which deal with magical realms and dark underworlds.
Are you sitting comfortably? Then let’s begin…
1. Beware of Fairy Circles
Autumn is the perfect time for walking in the woods and it’s also the perfect time to look for fairy circles. If you’ve never seen one, this is a perfect ring of mushrooms that can appear overnight on a lawn or forest floor.
Many stories and folk tales have been woven around such circles which are said to be a portal into the world of the fairy folk. Most stories involve warnings to never step inside one, never to break the circle, and never to walk widdershins around one. If you do step inside you must always leave one foot outside the circle to avoid being spirited away. Because once you enter the world of the fairies, you can never leave.
The traditional English folktale I’m sharing today can be found in many variations across English and Irish folklore. Martin Maudsley tells a beautiful version of this tale in his book Telling the Seasons which I really recommend if you love folklore.
Once there was a young man who decided to take a walk through the woods one sunny Autumn day. On entering the woods he heard a faint whisper of etherial, magical music. He followed the sound of this beautiful music all the way through the trees until he found himself in a clearing which contained a perfect fairy circle of mushrooms.
He couldn’t see anything inside the circle but he was desperate to find out where the music was coming from. He carefully stepped one foot into the circle to investigate further and he could suddenly see what was inside; fairies were dancing and whirling in time to the beautiful music.
When they saw him they beckoned him in and without thinking he stepped the other foot into the circle, upon which he was seized by the fairies and whisked away to the fairy realm never to return.
All that could be seen the next day were dozen of tiny footprints inside the fairy ring but no one could attempt to rescue him because a fairy circle renders everything inside it invisible.
So if you see a fairy circle or hear a faint whisper of beautiful fairy music in the forest this Autumn, you know what to do. Walk away quickly and don’t look back!
2. Remember Persephone and the Underworld
This preoccupation with the underworld and a fear of being spirited away is a recurring theme of Autumnal folklore.
Which is unsurprising really because this time is the time of year when so much of the natural world literally disappears from view and seems to sink down in the underworld. Trees and plants shed their leaves and send their energy down into their roots, earthworms drag these fallen leaves down into the ground and animals melt away underground to hibernate in the dark warm earth, out of sight.
Which brings us to a classic Greek myth that has become intrinsically connected with the Autumn Equinox; that of the goddess Persephone and her descent into the underworld.
Persephone was the daughter of Demeter, the Goddess of agriculture, crops and the seasons. One Summer’s day, as Persephone was out picking flowers she was abducted by Haides, the God of the underworld who dragged Persephone down into the underworld to be his wife.
Persephone’s mother Demeter was grief stricken and roamed the earth searching for her daughter. In doing so she abandoned her agricultural duties and the land grew barren and empty; no fruit, vegetables or crops grew.
Eventually, on discovering what had happened Zeus, Persephone’s father, sent a messenger to the underworld asking for the release of his daughter. (Although it’s worth noting that in some versions of the myth Zeus was complicit in the abduction plan. Sigh.)
Haides agreed, but before he released Persephone he offered her a pomegranate. Persephone ate the fruit without realising that anyone who eats the food of the underworld could never leave (classic mistake!). She was trapped yet again.
Eventually a bargain was struck that Persephone would spend half the year in the underworld, returning to the earth each Spring and Summer, then descending to the underworld again for Autumn and Winter.
As the years went by, this was the pattern that followed. When Persephone was released from the underworld each Spring, the earth bloomed and crops grew. But when she returned to the Underworld each Autumn her mother mourned her loss and the land above ground grew empty and cold, waiting for her return.
So when you see the leaves fall to the earth this Autumn and feel the pull to hunker down for the season, or feel apprehensive about the dark months, know that you’re not alone. This seasonal descent into the dark is something that writers have been trying to make sense of through myths and tales since the dawn of storytelling.
But remember; just like Persephone’s triumphant return in the Spring, brighter days will return. They always do.
Just try not to eat any forbidden fruit next time you’re offered some. That never ends well.
Ok, that’s it for now. I hope you enjoyed your Autumn tales! Have any of your own to share? Please do hop over to the chat or leave a Comment below.
I’ll see you tomorrow for day five of our retreat where we will rest and reflect with a Rebalancing Ritual (try saying that fast!)
Until then,
Vicky xx
Missed a day? You can catch up with all our Retreat activities on the Seasonal Retreat Members tab on my homepage. Enjoy.
Even more tempted to step inside a fairy circle now.
That's made me want to go out searching for fairy circles now. Enchanting stories 😊