Mabon & the Autumn Equinox
Mabon is a Sabbat that celebrates the autumn equinox, which falls around September 21st each year. The name Mabon is a modern terminology set in the 1970s by Aiden Kelly, and influential figure in the Neopagan religion of Wicca. Before that, festivals during this time of year were usually referred to as the Autumnal Equinox. Although there is no proven connection between Mabon and the Autumnal Equinox, Kelly believed that the Celts celebrated at this time.
In Stonehenge, astronomer Sir Fred Hoyle determined a series of holes called Aubrey Holes that lined up with specific eclipses, allowing light to show through at exactly the moment of the equinox.
Kelly chose the name Mabon from the celtic tale of Mabon, an infant child stolen away from his mother and imprisoned. The mythic hero Culwch must seek out Mabon to help him hunt down a wild boar that was previously a king in order to win the hand of Olwen in marriage. The myth is indicative of the separation of the youthful gof from his mother, the great goddess, and the resulting deloation of the land, which can only be restored once he is restored.
The festival of the Eleusinian Mysteries was a sacred harvest held in Greece, once every four years in Eleusis and lasted nine or ten dats. It started at the full moon and included a procession hailing Demeter, the mother of Persephone. Like Mabon, Persephone was also stolen from her mother and imprisoned.
Connecting with the Season
Imagine the way ancestors would have lived during this time of year. Mostly farmers, they are likely working on the second harvest of the year, squash, pumpkin, root vegetables. They are well fed, they are enjoying the fruits of their labor, and preparing for the winter ahead. They are giving thanks and showing gratitude for food, for animals, and for surviving another year. It’s a time to make decisions about what to consume, what to store, and what to leave to decay in the fields.
No two Mabon feasts would look the same, but they usually included a shared meal, acknowledgement of sacrifices made during the year for survival, and offerings for protection through the Winter.
Even as modern people, we breathe the same air that our ancestors held in their lungs. We touch the same earth and water that they touched.
The Autumn Equinox falls when the sun rises in Libra, the sign that represents level-headed balance and careful judgement. An appropriate frame of mind when preparing for a harsher season. Mabon is both celebratory and somber. It is a busy time of year, and people are tired. With themes of gratitude, death, grief, and looming winter, it is time to acknowledge mixed feelings and seek inner balance.
How can you celebrate the Autumn Equinox?
Harvest what you have grown in the last year and take an honest look at what you need to let go. You don’t have to cut any chords right away, make it a gentle separation from now until Samhain or Yule.
Here are some light hearted ways to celebrate Mabon in the modern world.
- Plant bulbs for the Spring
- Organize your planner for the rest of the year, buy one for next year
- Improve your negotiation skills with a class or a ted talk {find one, link it}
- Can, jam, freeze, pickle, or dry goodies from your garden or a local farm
- Go for a long walk or hike
- Watch the sunset or the sunrise
- Have a full harvest moon ritual
- Go apple picking
- Have a bonfire
- Go out dancing or take a dance class
- Make corn dollies or wreaths
- Go horseback riding
- Have a “goodbye garden” parade – great for kids
- Have a tarot reading
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Mabon Tarot Spread
- As the nights get colder, what will the frost wilt and wither?
- What energetic cords need to be pruned during the Fall so that I can blossom in Spring?
- With darker nights approaching, how can I rake in my energy to hold light for myself and others during Winter?
- What dreams have ripened and need to be celebrated with a grateful heart?
Autumn Blessing
At Autumn Equinox, I name this place
A sacred time and sacred space.
Within it I now give my thanks,
With protection granted by Goddess grace!
The north grants ground to walk upon.
The east grants winds that gyrate.
The south grants fire so we live on.
The west grants fluids to sate us.
~Llewellyn’s Sabbat Essentials for Mabon
