Festival Mabon

Mabon (pronounced: May-bon) falls between September 20 and 23 in the Northern Hemisphere and March 20 and 23 in the Southern Hemisphere. It's also know as the Autumn Equinox.  It's the time where the lenght of day and night are equal and in perfect balance, and we celebrate the triumph of the darkness over the light. Mabon i salso the second harvest of the cycle, a time when the grain has been brought in, and only plants remain in the ground.

It is around now that we start to feel that fall (autumn) is finally upon us, as the leaves start to turn gold, red, and brown and all the fields are nearly empty. The cycle is still Waning and there's a sense of winding down in the natural world. Harvest time id the busiest time in the agricultural year, so Mabon gives us the opportunity to relax, anjoy ourselves, and be thankful for the fruits of our labors. It's also a reminder for us to try and work to gain more balance in our own lives, particularly our work/rest balance.

At Mabon, the God finaly dies, and begins his journey to the Underworld after sacrificing himself for the sake of the first harvest at Lammas. The God retreats from the worl and as he departs, he takes the warmth and power of the Sun with him, which turns the weather colder. The Goddness, now in her Crone phase, is growing old, even though she is still pregnant, but she misses God so much that she decides to follow him to the Underworl. As she departs, she also withdraws her power and energy, which makes the leaves on the trees die off.

There is no historical evidence that this Sabbat was called anything but the Autumn Equinox until the 1970s when Aidan Kelly, the founder of the Covenant of the Goddess, began to use Mabon as a name. Since then, this has become a popular name for the Sabbat. Interestingly, the word Mabon does appear in historical documents, but as a name and not a festival. The name came from the Welsh God „Mabon ap Madron“, meaning „The Son of the Mother“. Welsh stories speak of a divine birth, and a boy from a divine mother. Sound familiar? We can identify this theme with the pregnant Goddess carrying the God to be born at Yule.

MABON RITUALS

Apple magick is practiced at Mabon and can be as simple as peeling an apple (the color doesn't matter) and burying the peel in the ground to symbolize the birth, death, and rebirth cycle. Eat the peeled apple to take in its wisdom and lessons you need to learn. You can the save the apple seeds for use in magick related to love, fertility, wisdom, beauty, and fidelity.

Apples represent the second harvest, and many traditions consider them to be symbols of wholeness, wisdom, and guidance. They are also associated wuth the Goddess as the seeds form a star, much like a pentagram when cut vertically. Apples can be use din many rituals and activities to celebrate Mabon. Apple picking is a popular activitiy, as is getting creative in the kitchen and making apple pie or crumbles and cobblers.

Mabon is the time we give thanks for all that Mother Nature has given us, and is a great time practice gratitude for the blessings in our lives. One of my favorite ways to practice gratitude is to make your own incense. As you grind and mix the herbs and resins, fill them with thanks for the blessings in your life. When you burni t, the smoke will carry your gratitude u pinto the universe. This incense recipe is perfect for the Mabon: 1 part pine, 1 part juniper, 1 part frankincense, 1 part sandalwood, and 1 part rosemary.

During Mabon, continue the ritual of going outside into nature on each of the Sabbats as a way to connect with the cycles of the seasons. Collect fall (autumn) finds leaves and conkers to decorate your home, space, or altar, and take time to look at the leaves on the trees in all their fall (autumanl) beauty. Hearing the rustle of leaves on the ground, and completely immersing yourself in the seasonal changes you can see all around can have a stabilizing and grounding effect.

The Autumn Equinox is a remider that we often need to bring more balance into our lives. It is an opportunity to reflect on your live and ask yourself what areas of your life are currentl out of balance. Light a black and a white candle to represent this balance as you reflect on practical thoughts of how you can help to bring about the change that will enable you to rech an equilibrium.

„Mabon can be seen as a character who epitomizes the pan-European concept of the infant in exile and return. (…) This myth is indicative of the separation of the youthful god from his mother, the great goddess, and the resulting desolation of the land, which is only restored once the youthful god is reunited with his mother“ (Hughes, 73).

In the Book of Taliesin, Mabon takes on a psychopompic aspect and was called on for those qualities, again making him an excellent representative of the Fall Equinox: „Here Maponos is perceived as a god who traverses the fickle line between the under– and upperworld, the realm of light and darkness; having access to both worlds, he is useful to those who require the qualities of either state. Fertility, birth, and death, in the case of Mabon, are simply opposite sides of the same coin; all are necessary“ (Hughes, 74).