Brave and true will I be;
each good deed sets me free.
Each kind word makes me strong.
I will fight for the right! I will conquer the wrong!
(Traditional Waldorf morning verse for Michaelmas)
Michaelmas, an early autumn festival, is traditionally observed in Waldorf schools across the globe. The celebration originated in Medieval Europe, marking one of the four quarter days of the year (similar to the Autumnal Equinox, which falls close to Michaelmas on the calendar). Michaelmas shares elements of many other harvest festivals celebrated during this time of year, and although it is technically a Christian Saint’s day, the themes embodied in Michaelmas celebrations reach across cultural and religious boundaries in their attention to fighting or taming the dragons we find within ourselves and bringing balance to the inner self as we move into the colder months.
As we bring in the summer’s harvest and begin to store up food for winter, many of us are called to likewise fortify our inner stores of strength, compassion, and creativity in preparation for the long, dark days ahead. We are preparing for a seasonal “inbreath” as we turn from the excitement and physicality of summer toward the slower, restful days of winter. As many of our forest friends prepare for hibernation, we prepare – in our unique human capacities – for a time of pulling-in, a time of introspection and intellectuality. Many cultures observe holidays and feast days during this time of shifting seasons, taking the opportunity to dust out the corners of our inner selves, tame any bad habits that may have taken root over the past year, and prepare the spirit for atonement and development. We are all invited to take the summer’s gifts of physical abundance and use them for the purposes of inner, intellectual and spiritual growth.
It takes great courage and determination to look into these dark corners and face the dragons that sometimes lurk there; Michaelmas invites us celebrate the onset of Autumn with a festival of bravery. Many Waldorf schools put on a theatrical re-enactment of the story of Michael and the Dragon; with our relatively young group of children, we’ve chosen the yearly tradition of crossing the rough waters of Lake Wyola (it does always seem particularly windy around Michaelmas!). From our youngest canoe passengers to our oldest raft-builders, there was a lot of courageousness on display this year!
Our Michaelmas preparations began on Monday, when both groups joined together to dye their silk capes. The Elderberries (i.e. the Middle Childhood group) built a fire while the Early Childhood group prepared a golden mixture of marigolds and goldenrod in which to dye their silks. The Elderberries used ochre to dye theirs, which Crispin collected from the riverbank over the weekend. After steeping in the boiled mixture of late-summer blossoms, the younger children’s capes turned a bright, golden yellow. The older children’s ochre mixture produced a deep, earthy gold.
The Early Childhood group heard a story about the Golden Cape of courage, which introduced themes of honesty and bravery in a fun and gentle manner. They also began learning some autumn songs about the changing leaves: “put on your dresses of red and gold,” they sang, as they prepared their own capes of gold to match the autumnal colors beginning to grace their forest surroundings.
The Elderberries had actually begun preparations much earlier, and had been working on an ambitious raft-building project since our first week of the program. Crispin guided the children through the entire process, teaching safe axe- and other tool-handling skills, and encouraging teamwork at every step of the process. They felled dead pines, split the logs, and bound the raft together with bittersweet, wisteria, and grape vines. On Wednesday morning, the raft awaited its maiden voyage, and the raft builders could hardly wait to climb aboard.
Last week, the Elderberries heard the traditional Onondaga tale of the Earth on Turtle’s back – one of the origin stories we’ve been discussing this month – and as I watched the children bravely, if slowly, paddle across the lake, I couldn’t help but think of Sky Woman being borne over the waters by the great turtle. The tale is a story of courage and determination: many animals dare to brave the watery depths in search of a bit of earth for Sky Woman to live upon. In the end, the tiny but determined muskrat succeeds, even while others doubt her abilities. I never doubted the Elderberries’ abilities, as they’ve been excited to work together from day one, but I sure was impressed at the completion of their project and their courageous crossing of the Lake.
Once everyone had landed safely on the other side of Lake Wyola – and once the children had worked through their own rambunctious re-enactments of dragon battles – we gathered together for lunch and a slightly more traditional Michaelmas story. While primary sources like the Bible and the Torah relate Michael’s defeat of the dragon/serpent, our tale this year concluded with a brave little boy’s taming of a fierce dragon who had been pillaging the villagers’ crops.
After the story, children were given their own golden capes of courage in a sweet ceremony led by Galiya and Clara. “I give to you this cape of light, to bring you courage, strength, and might.” As everyone boarded their canoes, the billowy silks cast their golden hues across the waters, below the clear blue sky, and our brave but tired retinue made their way back home. A HUGE Thank You to all the parents who came along for the adventure, and for all your help with the celebration!
There was a lot of talk of dragons in our group this past week; children spoke of the dragons they’d slay as they voyaged over the lake, they played tag pretending to be dragons and knights, and I reflected with a number of parents and teachers on the impetus to face our own dragons at this time of year as we prepare for a long, cozy winter of inner work. I love the way these archetypes operate on different levels, and can speak to people of all ages and backgrounds. On Thursday, Izzy and I made dragon bread in observation of Michaelmas, and told another version of the story as we baked (see link below). It was fun and therapeutic to “lay waste to the fields” as we kneaded the dough!
At home, late at night, I found myself drawn to one of my favorite old texts, John Milton’s Paradise Lost, in search of the Archangel Michael. As in the Torah and the Old Testament, it is Michael who casts Lucifer out of Heaven, and Michael who escorts Adam and Eve out of Eden after their own “fall.” In Milton’s poem, Michael likewise sees the sorry couple out of the gates of Paradise with his flaming sword, but offers some measured reassurance as they pass:
“know I am sent / To show thee what shall come in future days / To thee and thy offspring; good with bad / Expect to hear, supernal grace contending / With sinfulness of men; thereby to learn / True patience, and to temper joy with fear / and pious sorrow, equally inured / By moderation either state to bear, / Prosperous or adverse: so shalt thou lead / Safest thy life, and best prepared endure / Thy mortal passage when it comes.” (XI.356-66)
This passage recalls the sense of balance we strive for during this transitional season; having just observed the Autumnal Equinox, where light and darkness share equal portions of the day, we are now invited to consider what sort of balance we need to strike within our own lives, our own selves, as the darker winter months offer time for reflection, introspection, and inner development. For Milton, this balance is evoked in terms of temperance and moderation, giving space for both joy and sorrow, comfort and fear – as Michael explains, this is what life will be like for generations to come. It’s as if Adam and Eve just spent a long summer in Paradise and are now faced with the harsh reality that life won’t be all fun and games anymore… Winter is coming. This is a new concept for that particular couple after their fall from innocence, and the Christian story bears a heavy sense of loss. Broadly speaking, I think the idea is more about acceptance of all of life’s polarities: considering how we can evolve as we work through all of life’s ups and downs, and how we must strive for temperance within, facing challenges and meeting new opportunities with a sense of moderation. Festivals, ceremonies, and celebrations like Michaelmas remind us that we can call upon Nature’s seasonal cycles to support us in this ebb and flow.
I’m left wondering about the ways our Autumnal adventurousness might be tempered with a pulling-in, an in-breath that feels generative and imaginative, and I’m excited to see what type of balance we strike as our program moves into colder seasons, what types of play and activities children gravitate toward as the weather and the landscape change. As teachers, I know we’ll be challenged to temper the rambunctious energy of the late summer into a more focused and grounded sense of ease and togetherness. As we get to know the children better, and as children continue to form relationships with each other, I know we’ll feel supported in this endeavor. And I’m sure the fun and games will continue in our little corner of forest paradise here in Shutesbury.
Adorable, fun story to guide your dragon bread-baking! http://bobbinsandbrambles.blogspot.com/2010/09/michaelmas-bakingdragon-bread.html?m=1
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