“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 In this sense, Mabon is the masculine counterpart of Persephone — the male fertilizing principle seasonally withdrawn.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.

“Smoke hangs like haze over harvested fields
The gold of stubble, the brown of turned earth
And you walk under the red light of fall
The scent of fallen apples, the dust of threshed grain
The sharp, gentle chill of fall.
Here as we move into the shadows of autumn
The night that brings the morning of spring
Come to us, Lord of Harvest
Teach us to be thankful for the gifts you bring us
The bounty of your sacrifice
The warmth and the light of friends gathered around the bounty of the earth.
Dionysus, Osiris, Cernunnos, Dumuzi, Frey,
Lord of the grain,
Welcome!”

–   Autumn Equinox Celebration  

Elements of Celebration for Mabon

Herbs of Mabon:
Acorn, benzoin, ferns, grains, honeysuckle, marigold, milkweed, myrrh, passionflower, rose, sage, solomon’s seal, tobacco, thistle, and vegetables.

Foods of Mabon:
Bread, nuts, apples, pomegranates, and vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and onions.

Incense of Mabon:
Autumn Blend – benzoin, myrrh and sage.

Colors of Mabon:
Red, orange, russet, maroon, brown and gold.

Stones of Mabon:
Sapphire, lapis lazuli and yellow agates.

The Wicca Book of Days for September 21 – Mabon to Samhain

Wiccans and Witches observe the autumnal equinox with a lesser sabbat that many call Mabon. The day and night may briefly be of equal length, but from now on the hours of darkness will grow steadily longer, with the signs of natural life fading a pace. With harvest over, the Goddess of the Waning Moon now descends to the Otherworld, where she will reign alongside the Horned God, who has battled hideous being in his quest to become Lord of Death.

—The Wicca Book of Days
Selena Eilidh Ash

“The Fall Equinox, often called Michaelmas, is the last pagan holiday of the year and occurs somewhere around September 21st or so. This is a thanksgiving feast and signals the beginning of the ‘Hunting Season’, for deer and other large game, in many parts of Europe and North America. Thus, it is dedicated to the Hunting and Fishing deities and the deities of Plenty, in thankfulness for benefits received and hoped for. Outdoor picnics in the woods are a popular tradition in those areas where the weather is still good at this time of year. It is, also, known as Mabon, Second Harvest Festival, Wine Harvest, Feast of Avalon, Alben Elfed, and Cornucopia.   This is the time of the year when the god’s power weakens toward his death as the goddess reaches her full maturity as the Crone. It is considered the end of the harvest and a time of gathering in for the forth coming winter. It is a family oriented period during which pagan families draw together and reflect on the value of home and hearth.”

–   Understanding Pagan Holidays 

“At Harvest Home, the sun enters Libra, the astrological sign traditionally represented by balanced scales, and this is appropriate given the fragile balance in which the whole cosmos is poised on this day. Occurring at a point in the year when day and night are again equal in length, Harvest Home represents a time of balance and equilibrium in the natural cycle (as does the vernal equinox), but the thoughts which move us now are not the thoughts which captivated us in Spring. At the time of the vernal equinox, our thoughts turned from winter toward the lengthening hours of sunlight, the greening fields and gardens, and the new life bursting forth everywhere. Now with the harvest completed, the crops gathered in, and the nights becoming longer, we pause to enjoy the warm slanted sunlight of these golden autumn days, to give thanks for summer’s bounty and to prepare ourselves mentally for the coming winter. The gods associated with Harvest Home are harvest (particularly the grape harvest) or vegetation gods such as Dionysus and Bacchus, gods in their maturity like Thor, Mabon, Thoth and Hermes, and nature spirits like John Barleycorn. The goddesses of this time are also mature deities associated with abundance, harvest, home and hearth, and they include Demeter, Ceres, Hestia, Modron, Morgan, the Muses and Persephone.”

– Mabon – Harvest Home, Catherine Kerr