Tag: Mabon

Flashback 2000 Lammas

At Lammas, the Sun is at the very peak of Leo, the sign this planet loves above all others. Our star’s warmth is at its most powerful now in the Northern Hemisphere, as it appears directly overhead. At this time, life too, ia at its peak—as are the crops. The ancients celebrated this festival by giving thanks for their first harvest, most especially the grain harvest, even as they accepted the beginning of the God’s descent into the underworld. The myth of the asteroid-Goddess Ceres (Demeter), giver of the grain, also relates to this season. It was now when she would bid her daughter Farwell, since Persephone was obligated to return to the Underworld to rejoin Hades (Pluto). So bereaved was Ceres to see her daughter leave her, she refused to all the Earth to produce grain until her return. At this time,nothing, modern practitioners should be remind of both astrological principles: the fullness of life the Sun brings, and the necessity for rest, as signified by the coming fall.

©️ By Kim Rogers-Gallagher Llewellyn’s Witches’ Datebook 2000 Page 95

Summer Solstice Printable Coloring Pages

For Your Viewing Pleasure – Winter Solstice

What happens during the winter solstice?

For Your Listening PLeasure

SONG OF SUMMER SOLSTICE | Kulning & Nyckelharpa

This song is short but sweet.

Happy and Blessed Mabon Dear Sisters, Brothers, and Guests

Ancient Celebrations for Today – MABON

For more about Mabon and the Wheel of The Year

Known as the pagan Thanksgiving, Mabon marks the Autumn Equinox, when day and night are equal, making it a time of balance, equality and harmony.  In ancient times Mabon was a celebration of the second harvest (Lughnasadh was the first) when farmers gathered hearty foods like gourds, pumpkins, grapes and apples.

Modern Mabon celebrations are a time to give thanks for the abundance of Mother Earth – both literally and spiritually.  It’s also a good time to reflect on the Wheel of the Year, recognizing your successes and letting go of the things that did not serve you during the past twelve months.

History Of Mabon

Modern Pagans began celebrating Mabon as the last of the eight Sabbats in the 1970s, but its roots as a harvest festival go back to ancient times.

Named after the ancient Welsh hero named Mabon ap Modron, which means Son of Mother, Mabon is the second of three harvest festivals that take place in the Wheel of the Year (Lughnasadh is the first and Samhain is the third).  Similar to Apollo, the figure of Mabon was depicted as a handsome youth with a lyre. As a baby Mabon was said to have been held hostage as a baby in the underworld, similar to the story of Persephone and Demeter.

Indeed, the Greek goddess Demeter is much more closely associated with the Autumn harvest, as…

Mabon Sabbat Lore and Traditions

For more about Mabon

Date: September 20th – 23rd, depending on the year

Other Names: Atumn Equinox, 2nd Harvest

Pronunciations: MAY-bun, MAY-bon, MAH-boon, MAH-bawn

The Autumn Equinox divides the day and night equally, and we all take a moment to pay our respects to the impending dark. We also give thanks to the waning sunlight, as we store our harvest of this year’s crops. The Druids call this celebration, Mea’n Fo’mhair, and honor the The Green Man, the God of the Forest, by offering libations to trees. Offerings of ciders, wines, herbs and fertilizer are appropriate at this time. Wiccans celebrate the aging Goddess as she passes from Mother to Crone, and her consort the God as he prepares for death and re-birth.

Various other names for this Lesser Wiccan Sabbat are The Second Harvest Festival, Wine Harvest, Feast of Avalon, Equinozio di Autunno (Strega), Alben Elfed (Caledonii), or Cornucopia. The Teutonic name, Winter Finding, spans a period of time from the Sabbat to Oct. 15th, Winter’s Night, which is the Norse New Year.

At this festival it is appropriate to wear all of your finery and dine and celebrate in a lavish setting. It is the drawing to and of family as we prepare for the winding down of the year at Samhain. It is a time to finish old business as we ready for a period of rest, relaxation, and reflection.

Mabon is considered a time of the Mysteries. It is a time to honor Aging Deities and the Spirit World. Considered a time of balance, it is when we stop and relax and enjoy the fruits of our personal harvests, whether they be from toiling in our gardens, working at our jobs, raising our families, or just coping with the hussle-bussle of everyday life. May your Mabon be memorable, and your hearts and spirits be filled to overflowing!

Deities: Goddesses – Modron, Morgan, Epona, Persephone, Pamona and the Muses. Gods – Mabon, Thoth, Thor, Hermes, and The Green Man

Symbolism: Second Harvest, the Mysteries, Equality and Balance

Symbols: wine, gourds, pine cones, acorns, grains, corn, apples, pomegranates, vines such as ivy, dried seeds, and horns of plenty

Colors: Red, orange, russet, maroon, brown, and gold

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

Traditional Foods: Breads, nuts, apples, pomegranates, and vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, and onions

Incense: Autumn Blend-benzoin, myrrh, and sage

Stones: Sapphire, lapis lazuli, and yellow agates

Ritual

Category Samhain/Deep Autumn

WE ARE THE ANCESTORS: MAY WE BE INTERESTING FOOD

May 9, 2020 · by Glenys D. Livingstone · in Samhain/Deep Autumn · Leave a comment Our present lives are formed by all who came before us. We are in-formed by them, whether conscious or not. In PaGaian Samhain ceremony as it has been done traditionally, participants are invited to remember the ancestors in this way: Let us remember our ancestors, those who have gone before, whose lives have been harvested, […]

THREADS OF GOLD IN THE COMPOST

April 20, 2020 · by Glenys D. Livingstone · in Samhain/Deep Autumn · 2 Comments There are threads of gold in the compost, if one has the vision for it. And we may take the golden thread, exclaim the strongest natural fibre known – our creative selves, our imaginations – for the building of a new world made sacred, of our conceiving: yet beyond our knowings, across the vast Darkness between […] For more interesting article about Southern Hemisphere Samhain click here  

From Pennsylvania USA, Groundhog Day 2021: Punxsutawney Phil predicts 6 more weeks of winter

I don’t know about all of you but even as a child I thought they had the predictions backwards. I mean wouldn’t it make more sense if the groundhog didn’t see his shadow that there would be 6 more weeks of winter? Anyway, no matter whether Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow or not according to the Sabbat dates on our Northern Hemisphere Wheel of The Year from Imbolc we go approximately 6 weeks and 4 to 5 days to when we celebrate Ostara. I wonder if it means 6 more weeks until fall starts in the Southern Hemisphere? Today is Lammas in the Southern Hemisphere and the end of the 6 weeks and 4 to 5 days would be on Mabon. Well enough of my ramblings on the actual Groundhog Day not the movie.

Here is what CBS News has to say about Groundhog day 2021

Some Mabon Correspondences

Blessed Mabon and Happy Autumn Equinox 202

This year Mabon/Autumn Equinox is on September 22nd starting at 9:30 AM EDT in the northern hemisphere lasting 89 days, 20 hours, and 31 minutes.

This is the time to start preparing for the colder weather. The time to reap what you had sowed in the spring. The Fea Folk so active outside during the warm weather are stock piling what they need to get through the cold months. This is a time for them to start moving a little slower so if you are in your yard or hiking in the woods and hills in you see the grass or undergrowth move when there is no wind do not be startled or frighten it is only the Fea doing their gathering.

This is the time when the animal born in the spring starting eating more from the land-side or what they are fed to fatten up to survive the cold. They are no longer drink their mother’s milk and have grown quite a bit. This is the time the sheep are sheared, the grain is harvested, and we stock up on stables in our pantries. Here is a trivia question for you…Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable and why?

Some Ostara Correspondences

Five Simple Ostara Ritual Ideas

Blessed Ostara and Happy Spring Equinox 2020

This year Ostara falls on September 22 at 11:30 PM AEST. Spring in the southern hemisphere will last 89 days 20 hours and 30 minutes. As your weather warms up in the Southern Hemisphere let us hope there are no bushfires burning out of control and that number of people who contract COVID-19 stays to very low numbers.

May the Goddesses and Gods who help to bring in the spring smile on you as you sow new things to reap in the fall. here’s a trivia questions for you… Is a tomato a fruit or vegetable and why?

This is a time when the Fea Folk start venturing out of their homes to find tender new growth of plants and flowers to replenish their stock that was used up over the cold months. So be careful where you step when in a grassy place or hike up a hillside for you never know what might be forging in the same place.

This is also the time of rebirth and new birth for all wildlife and domestic animals big and small. Remember the babies of any mammal needs it’s mother’s milk especially in the first 24 hours so they get all the things that come in the first milk to help them live healthy lives.

A Very Happy and Blessed Ostara or Mabon

Well, I just learned something new about the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere and the fall equinox in the southern hemisphere. Ostara the spring equinox is on Thursday, March 19, 2020 at 10:49 PM PM CT while Mabon the fall equinox is on Friday, March 20, 2020 at 2:49 PM AEDT in the southern hemisphere. Which means we are experiencing the equinoxes at the exact same time just in different time zones and because of the international date line on a different date.

When I read this I felt it covered more than just a blessing for Ostara and Mabon. I felt it was a blessing to carry with us all through the year.

Northern Brothers and Sisters: May what you sow this spring come to a bountiful harvest in the fall.

Southern Brothers and Sisters: May what you sowed in the spring be bring you a bountiful harvest this fall.

Remember we can sow different things for our own reasons they do not have to be something we plant in the ground and watch grow, they can be something we change in our lifestyle or in our spiritual or magickal path. Then when we harvest them they become part of us and who we are.

Sabbat: NH Ostara Sunday, March 22nd, SH Mabon Monday, March 23rd

All Witches and Pagans are invited to join the Heart’s Spirit Coven as we celebrate Ostara in the Northern Hemisphere and Mabon in the Southern Hemisphere

WHEN:

Sunday, March 22nd, 2020 NH

Monday, March 23rd, 2020 SH

At 6:00 PM CDT NH/ 10.00 AM AEDT SH

Circle starts at 7:00 PM CDT NH/ 11.00 AM AEDT SH- SHARP.

45 minutes will be allocated for a chance to talk to our Brothers and Sisters. Please do not enter the chat room once the circle has started. Thank you!

WHERE:

Heart’s Spirit Coven Chatroom

 

Beginning the Sabbat with a Universal Prayer

Just before we begin our Sabbat, I would like to acknowledge all that has happened and is happening in 2020, before and beyond. It is a significant time of much change and challenges for both humanity and the Great Earth Mother and all within her. Let us take a minute to pray for the universal healing in this time of need.

“May the Great Mother and Great Father give us strength and refuge in our time of need. Help us to remain calm and strong in the face of uncertainty, help us find compassion without the overwhelming feeling of empathy. Great Mother and Father teach me humility, acceptance and to remember my kindness”

So mote it be……..

 

Ostara in the NH

Ying Yang Drawing for OSTARA

 

You will need (aside from your altar usual set up)

See how to set up basic elemental altar below:

https://covenlife.co/2017/07/06/simple-basic-altar-set-up/

Green Candle

White candle

Yin/Yang  Symbol- cut out the wholes specified once printed, or you can draw or paint the symbol.

2 eggs colored one darker one lighter

 

Mabon in the SH

You will need (aside from your altar usual set up)

See how to set up basic elemental altar below:

https://covenlife.co/2017/07/06/simple-basic-altar-set-up/

 

A wicker basket

Red Apple

Fallen Branch

Seasonal fruit and vegetables

Incense of your choice

Knife to cut apple

Picture of a large pentacle (I use a pentacle disk or you can draw or print one on a piece of paper)

A candle-(the larger the better, one to re-light, whenever you wish to contemplate during the winter months over your magickal and mystical path. If your candle runs low transfer the light to another large candle with love and intent of the energy of the first. Contemplations are done for short periods of time so candle needs to burn for only a couple of minutes at a time, longer if you wish it is purely up to you. Note; DO NOT BLOW OUT CANDLE, SNUFF THE CANDLE INSTEAD)

See how to snuffing candle

Set up for Ritual:

Mabon SH

Sweep your circle with a broom clockwise (use whatever you have on hand, it’s about physically cleaning your space)

Place the wicker basket with seasonal fruit and vegetables in the center of alter

Tree branch to the right of the wicker basket

Ostara NH

Sweep your circle with a broom clockwise (use whatever you have on hand, it’s about physically cleaning your space)

Have your Yin/Yang symbol prepared, holes cut out as indicated on diagram provided ready for ritual

Hard boil your eggs, colour one darker than the other ready to place on symbol

Purify the self and the Environment NH & SH:

Take a shower or bath with your favorite oils

Play your favorite music

Burn your favorite incense

Meditate and ground yourself

Ostara is the beginning of spring, the season for new beginnings and the renewal of life through planting. This is the time we can now plant seeds and nurture them throughout the coming months to bare their fruit. What is it that you would like to plant in your life? What are you willing to nurture throughout the growing season? For this ritual as this season is also a time for re-birth, new life and fertility we will be concentrating on the symbology of the egg. Think of the dark and light as the feminine and the masculine. The Goddess and the God resorting your outer and inner balance.

Mabon is the second of 3 harvest festivals celebrating the equinox and the harvest of apples. On the day of the equinox, day and night is of equal length. For the next 6 months the nights will be longer than the days.  This is such a great time of abundance. All the hard work that it takes to collect the harvest, it is now a time to rest, reap what you have sown and take the time to look at you hopes and aspirations and reflect how they have manifested. Most importantly spend it with the people you love. This is a time of giving, sharing and loving.

 

Cast the Circle:

Hypatia Casting the circle-

To the Guardians of the North:

I call you into our Watchtowers to protect us.

 

To the Guardians of the East:

I call you into our Watchtowers to protect us.

 

To the Guardians of the South:

I call you into our Watchtowers to protect us.

 

To the Guardians of the West:

I call you into our Watchtowers to protect us.

 

I cast this circle three times three with the assistance of the Great Mother and the Great God.

I call Upon the Guardians of spirit to protect us from above and below. As is above so is below, as is below so is above. May the power of The Great God and The great Goddess join us within this circle now, to protect us and to work with us and allow us to see beyond the veil.

Protect us Great Mother and Great Father for all gathered here and those afar who are unable to be with us. Allow no negative energy to touch us, to harm us and that nothing we call upon will harm us and others. We come together in perfect love and perfect trust.

Greeting:

Hypatia – Merry meet brothers and sisters and honored guests.

Everyone – Respond Merry Greet. Please tell us your first name and state or country you are from.

Ceremony:

Please ALL light your main altar candles (not the Mabon or Ostara candles as yet)

Ritual begins:

Ostara

Place green candle to your left and the white candle to your right. Leaving enough room in the middle to place your Yin/Yang symbol.
Place the Yin/Yang symbol in between the lit candles. Place the darker egg into the hole in the lighter colored side of the Yin/Yang and the lighter colored egg into the hole in the darker side.
When done type in “Ready.”
We offer these eggs to Ostara as all new life grows from an eggs or a seed.
Ostara we ask you to bless these eggs to help us renew ourselves as Mother Earth wakens from her slumber. That we may find new life coursing through us as cleansing energy.
Oak King we ask that your fertilize the hopes and wishes we have written here so they may grow and come to fruition as the year progresses.
As the Spring Equinox is the balance of day and night as equals so is the relationship of all males and females. We ask Hecate and her Consort to bless our relationships with others be they men or women. That we feel equal to them and not above or below them.
Take the eggs and set them on the side. Tape the circle of opposite color into the now empty holes. (Before breaking the eggs to eat them write the same runes on to the circles now in the Yin/Yang symbol. The side you write them on should be the same color as the egg they are written on.
We will take a 2 minutes to complete the Yin/Yang symbol. When you are done type in “Blessed be”.

 

Mabon

Your wand in right hand, facing your alter, arms stretched out above head……….

“Autumn Queen and Harvest God I honor Thee. As the change of seasons begins the Wheel has turned once more. A time to reflect, a time to come together in the here and now in this sacred space where all time becomes one. The second harvest has been reaped, now take the time to rest and feel the change as the season passes from one to the next.

My Mother, go now and slumber

My Father go now and dream of re-birth”

Arms outstretched, lower your head and close your eyes, sit in contemplation for 30 seconds.

When ready open your eyes and lower your arms

Pick up the apple and place it on the pentacle

Cut the apple crosswise to reveal the pentagram bringing the elements into your life

Lift the half apple up as in offering and say….

“The year gives way to the next as the season passes and the Great Wheel turns. Ancestors, Guardians and Wise ones guide me. Every begging has an ending and every ending a new beginning”.

Light your Mabon candle now

Take a bite of the apple, put aside to share with nature later

Take the tree branch and shake in each direction, starting with the North, then West, South, East and say…….

“Allow me to remember the summer past as the days grow longer and the days shorter. Memories will warm my soul as the sunlight fades and hearth becomes inviting through this divine light of the candle dedicated to the Mother and Father.

Great Mother calls me forward to rest and lull myself to sleep with her songs as I cling myself to her bosom”.

Face the altar and branch held out in front of you and say……

“May I never forget the summer memories and continue to strive during the colder months. May I take this time to go within and reflect on the Mysteries that lead me to a better understanding of myself, of others and all that is in life and death”.

Put the tree branch back on the altar, take 30 seconds to contemplate about :

The symbols that you have mentally attached to this ritual,

The various projects that you will put in action over the winter months, no matter how small or insignificant they may feel.

After the ceremony please feel free to share the consecrated fruit and vegetables in a beautiful meal with family and friends. Make a beautiful dinner for all to enjoy and be thankful for what is.

 

CLOSING

Dismiss the circle:

  • To the Guardians of the North:

I dismiss and thank you from our Watchtowers and give Gratitude for protect us.

 

  • To the Guardians of the West:

I dismiss and thank you from our Watchtowers and give Gratitude for protect us.

 

  • To the Guardians of the South:

I dismiss and thank you from our Watchtowers and give Gratitude for protect us.

 

  • To the Guardians of the East:

I dismiss and thank you from our Watchtowers and give Gratitude for protect us.

 

As you leave here tonight may the Lady and Lord bless you with all that you need.

 

I bid you Blessings and great Joy Brothers and sisters of the Craft

 

Thank you and farewell

 

Celtic Tree Month – Coll – Hazel Moon August 5 – September 1

 

About the Celtic Tree Month – Coll (Hazel Moon): August 5 – September 1

“The lunar tree calendar of the Celts has long been a source of controversy among Celtic scholars. Some even claim it was never a part of the old Celtic world, but was an invention of author/researcher Robert Graves. The Druids are generally given credit by other researchers for creating this system. There seems to be no scholarly evidence to prove otherwise, yet many Celtic Pagans feel that the system pre-dates the time of Druidic influence over Celtic religious matters. It is probably reasonable to believe that the truth lies somewhere in between these three extremes. It is most likely that the tree system was in place, with minor regional variations before the time of the Druids who experimented with it, discovered the magical properties of each tree, and codified all the information into the system we have today.”

—-Joelles Sacred Grove

The Hazel Moon was known to the Celts as Coll, which translates to “the life force inside you.” This is the time of year when Hazelnuts are appearing on the trees, and are an early part of the harvest. Hazelnuts are also associated with wisdom and protection. Hazel is often associated in Celtic lore with sacred wells and magical springs containing the salmon of knowledge. This is a good month to do workings related to wisdom and knowledge, dowsing and divination, and dream journeys. If you’re a creative type, such as an artist, writer, or musician, this is a good month to get your muse back, and find inspiration for your talents. Even if you normally don’t do so, write a poem or song this month.

Source

Patti Wigington, Author
Published on ThoughtCo

Mea’n Fo’mhair

Autumn Comments & Graphics
Mea’n Fo’mhair

 

“Mea’n Fo’mhair honors The Green Man, God of the Forest, by offerings of wines, ciders and herbs. The Goddess is commemorated as she passes from Mother to Crone. Mabon is an occasion of the Mysteries and to honor deities and the spirit world. Finery is worn in shades of red, maroon, violet, orange, gold, brown, yellow, russet and indigo. Jewelry is made with yellow topaz and agate, carnelian, sapphire, amethyst and sapphire, crystals. The feast includes breads, nuts, acorns, grains, corn, beans, squash, root vegetables, some seasoned with sage, dried fruits, pomegranates, grapes and apples spiced with cinnamon and cloves, ale, wine and cider. It’s a gathering of family as people ready for Samhain and a time to finish old business for a phase of reflection, rest and relaxation. Activities include scattering offerings in harvested fields, making wine, gathering dried herbs, plants, seeds and pods, walking in the woods and adorning graves with leaves, acorns, and pine cones to honor those who have gone on. Spellwork is for protection, harmony, prosperity, balance, security, and self-confidence. The animals of Mabon are dogs, wolves, stags, salmon, goats and raptors, especially eagles and owls, and black birds.”
– Mabon, Pagan Fire Festival by Jill Stefko

Mabon Balance Meditation


Mabon Comments & GraphicsMabon Balance Meditation

 

Celebrating the Dark and the Light
A Time of Positive and Negative Energy

Mabon is one of those times of year that affect people in different ways. For some, it’s a season to honor the darker aspects of the goddess, calling upon that which is devoid of light. For others, it’s a time of thankfulness, of gratitude for the abundance we have at the season of harvest. No matter how you see it, Mabon is traditionally a time of balance. After all, it’s one of the two times each year that has equal amounts of darkness and daytime.

Because this is, for many people, a time of high energy, there is sometimes a feeling of restlessness in the air, a sense that something is just a bit “off”. If you’re feeling a bit spiritually lopsided, with this simple meditation you can restore a little balance into your life.

Setting the Mood
Now that fall is here, why not do an autumn version of Spring Cleaning? Get rid of any emotional baggage you’re dragging around with you. Accept that there are darker aspects to life, and embrace them, but don’t let them rule you. Understand that a healthy life finds balance in all things.

You can perform this ritual anywhere, but the best place to do it is outside, in the evening as the sun goes down. Decorate your altar (or if you’re outside, use a flat stone or tree stump) with colorful autumn leaves, acorns, small pumpkins, and other symbols of the season. You’ll need a black candle and a white one of any size, although tealights probably work best. Make sure you have something safe to put them in, either a candle holder or a bowl of sand.

Light both candles, and say the following:

A balance of night and day, a balance of light and dark
Tonight I seek balance in my life
as it is found in the Universe.
A black candle for darkness and pain
and things I can eliminate from my life.
A white candle for the light, and for joy
and all the abundance I wish to bring forth.
At Mabon, the time of the equinox,
there is harmony and balance in the Universe,
and so there shall be in my life.

Meditate on the things you wish to change. Focus on eliminating the bad, and strengthening the good around you. Put toxic relationships into the past, where they belong, and welcome new positive relationships into your life. Let your baggage go, and take heart in knowing that for every dark night of the soul, there will be a sunrise the next morning.
 

By Patti Wigington,Paganism/Wicca Expert
Article found on & owned by About.com