Mehregan

Mehregan (pronounced ‘meh-re-gahn’), is an ancient Persian festival, older even than Zoroastrianism, that began as a feast for the sun god/dess, Mehr.

Mehr (also known as Mithra) is responsible for knowledge, love, friendship, promises, and the light. The word "mehr" in Farsi means kindness.

When Zoroastrianism took hold in Persia, in around 1400 BCE, Mehr was reduced from a God to an angel, but the festival of Mehregan remained. Now Iranians celebrate it usually on October 1st or 2nd, as a day of thanksgiving and the start of the second half of the year (Noruz, in March, is the start of the first half). People decorate their houses, put on new clothes, and visit their relatives and friends, wishing each other a good harvest, long life, and happiness.

Agenda Today:
1. October thoughts

2. Journal queries

3. Read "Comfortable with Uncertainty"

4. Make Aash-e-jo (barley soup) with lamb
5. Set the table
6. Fire

1. October thoughts:

We are fully launched into autumn now; the nights are longer, the days are darker and wetter, and I am preparing for winter with foresight. 

October is the mystical month, when the veil between my everyday world and the world of the dead is thin; when I can more easily see into places deeper in and further beyond. This makes it an ideal time to reawaken my intuition, work on my spiritual development, and restore a strong connection to my ancestors and other spirit guides. It’s also a good time to become reacquainted with my own mortality and to cultivate a relationship with death and the after-life.

And it's time for quieter energy, steady but gentle, allowing plenty of space for reflection and introspection. In the autumn I recognize my fears; I call on the wisdom and judgment of experience, and open my inner senses wide to feel my way forward through the shadows.

2. Journal queries:
Because Mehregan's focus is on friendship and love, today I give attention to how well I honor the promises and commitments of friendship.

In what condition are my friendships? 

How might I be a better friend?

What do the spirits of my ancestors need from me?

I made a list of the friends that I want to nurture and pay special attention to this month - those I feel distant from or whom I want to understand better and appreciate more.

3. Read "Comfortable with Uncertainty":

I'm looking again at "Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion", by Pema Chödrön (2002). The last time my world fell apart this book caught me and saved me.

Chapter 2 is the Healing Power of Bodhichitta, a word meaning awakened heart: "It is said that in difficult times, it is only bodhichitta that heals. ... healing can be found in the tenderness of pain itself. Bodhichitta is also equated, in part, with compassion -- our ability to feel the pain that we share with others."

She goes on to talk about how we try to shield ourselves from this pain with opinions, strategies, prejudices, and emotions. (I've been distracting myself with worry about finances and getting loose ends tied and projects finished, as if we must complete just one more task before we die....)

"This tenderness for life, bodhichitta, awakens when we no longer shield ourselves from the vulnerability of our condition, from the basic fragility of existence. ... We train in the bodhichitta practices in order to become so open that we can take the pain of the world in, let it touch our hearts, and turn it into compassion."

4. Make aash-e-jo (barley soup) with lamb:

  

Zoroastrians in Iran and India have a community feast today, and non-Zoroastrians have a family feast.Sometimes I make a large pot of vegetarian noodle stew, called âsh-e-reshte, or this Persian lamb and barley stew.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 large onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 red chili pepper
• 2 lb. lamb leg meat
• 2-3 fresh tomatoes
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 2-1/2 c. chicken stock
• 1 can chickpeas
• 1/2 c. dried pearl barley
• handful of parsley
• 1/2 lemon

1. Chop the onion, and mince the garlic and chili pepper. Cube the lamb meat. Peel the tomatoes, and roughly chop them.

2. Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat, add onion, and cook until soft. Add garlic and chili pepper, and stir for 1 minute.

3. Add the lamb cubes to brown on all sides for about 5 minutes. Add the powdered spices and stir for 1 more minute. Add the tomatoes.

4. Pour in chicken stock and lower the heat. Partially cover the pot and simmer gently for 60 minutes.

5. Add chickpeas and pearl barley and cook for another 30 minutes, or until lamb is tender and barley is cooked. 

6. Chop the parsley and squeeze the lemon. Add salt and pepper to taste, parsley, and lemon juice. Serve hot with flatbread.

5. Set the table:

Zoroastrians set a very elaborate table display for this celebration, with a copy of Khordeh Avesta (Little 
Avesta), a mirror, an antimony container, rosewater, sweets, flowers, vegetables and fruits (especially pomegranates and apples), nuts such as almonds or pistachios,silver coins and lotus seeds; also a burner for burning frankincense and rue seeds. The sides of the tablecloth are decorated with dry wild marjoram. 

I don’t even try to duplicate it but sometimes I include these Zoroastrian symbols:

• Mirror – symbolizing Sky 
• Apple – symbolizing Earth 
• Candles – symbolizing Fire 
• Rose water – symbolizing Water 
• Seeds (such as peas, beans, and lentils) – symbolizing last year's harvest and next year's plan.

Or sometimes we keep it simple with only branches of herbs to decorate the table. We will have a moment of silent prayer, with a focus on thankfulness for food, family, and friendship. 

After our meal, we have fun tearing up rosemary and lavender leaves to sprinkle on each other’s heads as a blessing of love.

We put the pot down for Sadie, because Zoroastrians revere dogs and always make sure they get soup on this day.

6. Fire:
Persians sometimes begin this festival with a bonfire and fireworks, but we skipped the fire this year.