A Behind The Scenes Look At Mabon

This is the Autumn Equinox (also known as Mabon, Foghar, Alban Elfed, Harvest Home, 2nd Harvest, Fruit Harvest, Wine Harvest), when day and night, light and day are equal. It is the feast at the height of the harvest, when nearly all has been gathered in. This would have been a time of markets, festivals, processions and general gaiety. It is also known as a feast of the healer and the feast of the release of prisoners, for this is the time of year for setting aside old disputes, grudges and quarrels. Like the Spring Equinox it is a time of balance, a time to discard unwanted habits and traits and to take on new.

The Fall Equinox is our harvest celebration. Twin to the Spring Equinox, it’s a time, again, of balance between dark and light. But now we are moving from light into darkness, from warmth into cold. We gather in the harvest of summer and prepare for the winter ahead.

Everything in nature is constant giving to and receiving from everything else. The oxygen we breathe in is exhaled by the trees, and they take in the carbon dioxide we breathe out. Bees sip nectar from the flowers and in return carry their pollen to other blossoms so that the plants can make seeds. Nothing exists separately from the whole.

When we receive a gift, we give thanks. Sooner or later, we tr to give something back to the person who gave it to us – or perhaps pass the gift onto someone else. That’s part of keeping the balance. At this time of year when we are gathering in the gifts of the Goddess, the fruit, nuts, grain, and vegetables that are ripe, we also try to give something back, to make offerings and express our thanks. The Fall Equinox is our Thanksgiving. In fact, the Thanksgiving that we celebrate in the United States came from the old European Harvest Home, the special customs and rituals done when the last sheaf of grain was gathered in.

In ancient Greece, the Fall Equinox was the time when the mysteries of Demeter and Persephone were celebrated.

Mabon was not an actual ancient Pagan festival in date or name. In fact, there is actually very little evidence it was ever celebrated. In fact, Mabon came into practice in the 1970′ s. Adian Kelly is said to have created this holiday as part of a religious study project. The term Litha is also attributed to Kelly. The use of the term Mabon is more prevalent in American than in Britain.

The Magical Circle Newsletter: Mabon
Collen Criswell

Mabon: The God of Light Is Defeated By His Brother, The God of Darkness

“Mythically, this is the day of the year when the god of light is defeated by his twin and alter-ego, the god of darkness. It is the time of the year when night conquers day. And as I have recently shown in my seasonal reconstruction of the Welsh myth of Blodeuwedd, the Autumnal Equinox is the only day of the whole year when Llew (light) is vulnerable and it is possible to defeat him. Llew now stands on the balance (Libra/autumnal equinox), with one foot on the cauldron (Cancer/summer solstice) and his other foot on the goat (Capricorn/winter solstice). Thus he is betrayed by Blodeuwedd, the Virgin (Virgo) and transformed into an Eagle (Scorpio). Two things are now likely to occur mythically, in rapid succession. Having defeated Llew, Goronwy (darkness) now takes over Llew’s functions, both as lover to Blodeuwedd, the Goddess, and as King of our own world. Although Goronwy, the Horned King, now sits on Llew’s throne and begins his rule immediately, his formal coronation will not be for another six weeks, occurring at Samhain (Halloween) or the beginning of Winter, when he becomes the Winter Lord, the Dark King, Lord of Misrule. Goronwy’s other function has more immediate results, however. He mates with the virgin goddess, and Blodeuwedd conceives, and will give birth — nine months later (at the Summer Solstice) — to Goronwy’s son, who is really another incarnation of himself, the Dark Child. Llew’s sacrificial death at Harvest Home also identifies him with John Barleycorn, spirit of the fields. Thus, Llew represents not only the sun’s power, but also the sun’s life trapped and crystallized in the corn. Often this corn spirit was believed to reside most especially in the last sheaf or shock harvested, which was dressed in fine clothes, or woven into a wicker-like man-shaped form. This effigy was then cut and carried from the field, and usually burned, amidst much rejoicing. So one may see Blodeuwedd and Goronwy in a new guise, not as conspirators who murder their king, but as kindly farmers who harvest the crop which they had planted and so lovingly cared for. And yet, anyone who knows the old ballad of John Barleycorn knows that we have not heard the last of him.”

– Mike Nichols, Harvest Home

The Autumn Equinox Officially Heralds the Fall Season

The autumn equinox officially begins when the sun enters the astrological sign of Libra. As this date may vary from year to year,the sabbat’s actual calendar date is not set. It may vary between the twentieth of September to the twenty-fourth. However, this day does mark the time of equal daylight and nighttime hours and the true beginning of the fall season. (Contrary to what the weatherman tells you on television, fall does not begin after Labor Day. It truly begins at the autumn equinox.) At this time of balance, meditate on bringing stability into your life and prosperity and abundance to your home this autumn.

Get outside and rejoice in the beginning of the changing leaves and the glorious colors, scents,and textures of the fall. Traditional harvest themes and natural items, such as local grains, fruits, and vegetables, will work nicely in your witchery and beautifully in your home’s magickal decorations. Look around you; what do you see? Get outside and work in the yard. Fall is for planting! Plant some bulbs for next spring, and add some colorful pansies and mums now to keep the color going in your garden until late November.
Pick out a nice blooming shrub and add it to your landscape. Keep it watered so it will be established in its new home and ready to go come next spring

Seasons of Witchery: Celebrating the Sabbats with the Garden Witch
Ellen Dugan

About Mabon

A guide to the Sabbat’s symbolism

 

Date: September 20-23 (usually, the date of the calendar autumn equinox).

Alternative names: The Autumn Equinox, the Second Harvest Festival, the Feast of Avalon, Equizio di Autunoo and Alban Elfed.

Primary meanings: The Fall Equinox falls exactly opposite the Spring Equinox of March 20 to 23. Both are times of equal night and equal day. The Equinox is the time of equality between the God and Goddess–the God represented by the Sun, the Goddess by the Moon; fruitfulness of the land results from their connection, and now the harvest’s bounty is brought in and stored against winter and dark times. The key action at Mabon is giving thanks. At the Autumn Equinox, the Sun’s strength also begins markedly to diminish, even disappear, until Winter Solstice in December.

Symbols: Garlands, corn, apples, pinecones, gourds, acorns, wheat, dried leaves and horns of plenty (cornucopias). Foods include corn, beans, squash, nuts, apples and root vegetables; drink includes cider, wine and beer.

Colors: Red, orange, yellow, deep gold, brown, russet, maroon, indigo and violet.

Gemstones: Amethyst, carnelian, lapis lazuli, sapphire, yellow agate and yellow topaz.

Herbs: Acorns, aloe’s wood, asters, benzoin, cedar, chrysanthemums, cinnamon, cloves, ferns, frankincense, hazel, honeysuckle, hops, ivy, jasmine, marigold, milkweed, musk, myrrh, oak leaves, passionflower, pine, pomegranate, roses, sage, Solomon’s seal, thistles, tobacco and vines.

Goddesses and gods: Goddesses include Morgon, Snake Woman, Epona, the Muses and Demeter; gods include Thoth, Hermes, Thor, Dionysus, Bacchus and Herne. The Sabbat is named for a god, the Mabon ap Modron, who symbolizes the male fertilizing principle in Welsh myths. His full name (depending on the translation) means Great Son of the Great Mother, Young Son, Divine Youth or Son of Light. Modron, his mother, is the Great Goddess, Guardian of the Otherworld, Protector and Healer. She is Earth itself.

Customs and myths: In the myth of Mabon, the god disappears, taken from his mother, Modron, when only three nights old. Mabon is freed with the help of the wisdom and memory of the most ancient living animals — the blackbird, stag, owl, eagle and salmon. All along, Mabon has been quite happy, dwelling in Modron’s magickal Otherworld — Modron’s womb — to be reborn as his mother’s champion, the Son of Light. Mabon’s light has been drawn into the Earth, gathering strength and wisdom to become a new seed. In a Greek myth associated with the season, autumn begins when Persephone leaves her mother, the earth goddess Demeter, to return to the Underworld to live with her husband, Hades, lord of the dead.

Mabon is rather like Thanksgiving for pagans. The foods of Mabon consist of the second harvest’s gleanings, so grains, fruit and vegetables predominate. Pagan activities for the Sabbat include the making of wine and the adorning of graves. It is considered taboo to pass burial sites and not honor the dead. Another traditional practice is to walk wild places and forests, gathering seedpods and dried plants to decorate home or altar or to save for future herbal magick. The sounds of baying hounds passing through the sky, the “Hounds of Annwn” in the Welsh mythos, are associated with fall and winter.

Spell-work for protection, wealth and prosperity, security and self-confidence are appropriate for Mabon, as are spells that bring into balance and harmony the energies in a room, home or situation. Ritual actions might include the praising or honoring of fruit as proof of the love of the Goddess and God. River and stream stones gathered over the summer can be empowered now for various purposes.

–Arwynn MacFeylynnd, Author

“As autumn returns to earth’s northern hemisphere,
and day and night are briefly,
but perfectly,
balanced at the equinox,
may we remember anew how fragile life is —-
human life, surely,
but also the lives of all other creatures,
trees and plants,
waters and winds.

May we make wise choices in how and what we harvest,
may earth’s weather turn kinder,
may there be enough food for all creatures,
may the diminishing light in our daytime skies
be met by an increasing compassion and tolerance
in our hearts.”

–  Kathleen Jenks, Autumn Lore  

Mabon Lore

 

Autumn Equinox, around September 21, is the time of the descent of the Goddess into the Underworld. With her departure, we see the decline of nature and the coming of winter.This is a classic, ancient mythos, seen the Sumerian myth of Inanna and in the ancient Greek and Roman legends of Demeter andPersephone.

In September, we also bid farewell to the Harvest Lord who was slain at Lammas. He is the Green Man, seen as the cycle of nature in the plant kingdom. He is harvested and his seeds are planted into the Earth so that life may continue and be more abundant.

Mabon (“Great Son”) is a Welsh god. He was a great hunter with a swift horse and a wonderful hound. He may have been a mythologized actual leader. He was stolen from his mother, Modron(Great Mother),when he was three nights old, but was eventually rescued by King Arthur (other legends say he was rescued by the Blackbird, the Stag, the Owl, the Eagle, and the Salmon). All along, however, Mabon has been dwelling, a happy captive, in Modron’s magickal Otherworld — Madron’s womb. Only in this way can he be reborn. Mabon’s light has been drawn into the Earth, gathering strength and wisdom enough to become a new seed. In this sense, Mabon is the masculine counterpart of Persephone — the male fertilizing principle seasonally withdrawn. Modron corresponds with Demeter.

From the moment of the September Equinox, the Sun’s strength diminishes, until the moment of Winter Solstice in December, when the Sun grows stronger and the days once againbecome longer than the nights.

Symbols celebrating the season include various types of gourd and melons. Stalk can be tied together symbolizing the Harvest Lord and then set in a circle of gourds. A besom can be constructed to symbolize the polarity of male and female. The Harvest Lord is often symbolized by a straw man, whose sacrificial body is burned and its ashes scattered upon the earth. The Harvest Queen, or Kern Baby, is made from the last sheaf of the harvest and bundled by the reapers who proclaim, “We have the Kern! ”The sheaf is dressed in a white frock decorated with colorful ribbons depicting spring, and then hung upon a pole (a phallic fertility symbol).

In Scotland, the last sheaf of harvest is called the Maiden, and must be cut by the youngest female in attendance.

 

*From “Celebrate the Earth” by Laurie Cabot,Green Witchcraft by Ann Moura, Llewellyn’s Witches’ Calendar 1998, and The Witches’ God by Janet and Stewart Farrar.

On Friday, September 21, We Celebrate Mabon

From the moment of the September Equinox, the Sun’s strength diminishes, until the moment of the Winter Solstice in December, when the Sun grows stronger and the days once again become longer than the nights…

During this time Mabon, Young Son, Divine Youth, Son of Light also disappears. He is taken at birth when only three nights old.

His Mother Modron laments…

With the help of the wisdom and the memory of the most ancient of living animals – (the Blackbird , the Stag, the Eagle, the Salmon, and the Owl), Mabon is eventually found. His seeker asks the ritual question of each totem animal: “Tell me if thou knowest aught of Mabon, the son of Modron, who was taken when three nights old from between his mother and the wall?”

All along, Mabon has been dwelling, a happy captive, in his mother Modron’s magical Otherworld / her womb. Modron is Gaurdian of the Otherworld, Protector, Healer, the Earth herself. Her womb is nurturing and enchanted, but also filled with challenges. Only in so powerful a place of renewable strength can Mabon be reborn as his Mother’s champion, the source of joy and Son of Light.

Once reborn Mabon’s light is drawn into the Earth, gathering strength and wisdom enough to become a new seed.

During this time we celebrate Mabon’s death and his return to Modron’s womb, where he will soon be reborn.

 

The Faeries roam this land and mournful
music fills the air this day, at this hour.
Modron, O! great Queen and Earth Mother,
we call you here to share your sorrow.

O! shadowed God, great son of Modron,
we plead your return from the mysterious world that keeps you.
The power of your brilliance is the joy of your mother.
Modron is Earth and the Mother we all attend.
Her bittersweet lament
nurtures your return to be born again and again.