Mabon

Autumn Equinox, 2nd Harvest, Falls Between September 21 – 23

Mabon, (pronounced MAY-bun, MAY-bone, MAH-boon, or MAH-bawn) is the Autumn Equinox. 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 honour 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 ageing 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 marks the second harvest. The bounty of nature is dwindling. Earth begins to pull her fertility from the land. Humans and wild animals alike scramble to gather as much food as possible in preparation for the hard winter ahead.

Grains are appropriate for Mabon—particularly corn. Corn chowder, boiled ears of corn, and creamed corn fit Mabon symbolism well.

Beans, squash, and all other fall vegetables are also perfect for this festival.

## The Festival and its Meaning

Mabon celebrates the “Harvest home” the end of the grain harvest. The fields are all cleared and in the garden, most of the crops have come to an end. Only the Apples and Pears and the winter-hardy plants remain. As the sun retreats, the earth pulls in. All growth stops, the sap is withdrawn into the tree roots and the leaves begin to turn.

It is time to look over what we have achieved and what we have learned, to give thanks for it all and to share some of our riches. It is a winding downtime, for finishing things off and tying loose ends and preparing for the dark days of winter. It is also a time to reflect on the balance of the opposing forces in our lives, to stop rest and maybe change gear in time for the meditations of Samhain. In our own personal harvest, we think of our successes and achievements over the past year, however small. We also take note of the lessons we learned from the projects that were not as successful and we may have wished them to be. These achievements and lessons are the seeds from which new projects will grow in the future. We celebrate both as gifts of the Goddesses and Gods of the harvest and at the same time we clear away unwanted baggage that no longer plays any part in our lives.

## A Time of Balance

The theme of balance runs through the festival of Mabon. This is the balance of light and dark, life and death, summer and winter, of reviewing the past and looking to the future and of celebrating gifts and clearing out the unwanted. The harvest of the grain symbolizes the balance between life and death. The corn has been cut down, the stalks are dead, but the grains will grow again, producing next years harvest.

Giving thanks for gifts, successes, achievements, and gained wisdom can feature highly in the period of Mabon and the celebrations and rituals. The Goddess has given us all the food to keep our bodies healthy and food for our minds and souls. The God, on the other hand, has given his life so that this may all happen. We can celebrate and delight in everything we have received and learned and give thanks to the Gods and Goddesses and to the spirits and the elements.
Gifts can be best used if they are shared. We may look to see how we can benefit others through the wisdom we have gained through our achievements. This does not mean you have to actively go out and teach or in some cases preech to others about your new-found wisdom. Even a slight shift in attitude could make you a more understanding person, for example, one who is more ready to listen than before. You may wish to use your listening ability to help someone who may need an understanding or just a sympathetic ear.

## Clearing Away and Finishing Off

Although the corn is gathered, there is still apples, pears and berries left to be picked. Mabon is the time of year to tie up loose ends and also throw-away aspects of your life that are no longer relevant.

If any goal that you set yourself at the start of the year remains unfinished, you may wish to accept the fact that you have come as far as you can in this particular growth cycle. If you have gone along way in achieving this particular goal, you can probably be pleased with yourself that you have taken it this far. It was obviously a worthwhile goal and you can be proud of yourself for the effort you have made and doing so well. If you did not quite achieve what you wanted to with what you set out to do, maybe you can take note of the reason why and use this for the seed you sow for the coming year.Mabon can be a good time of the year to resolve personal relationships. You may owe someone an apology or may have borrowed something you need to give back. You may need to repair a relationship that has gone sour , or put some old squabble behind you. Mabon may be the appropriate time to do this.

## Harvest Home

There appear to be no folk customs ascociated with the actual equinox of Mabon , but there are many conected with the end of the grain harvest. In the days before combine harvestors and even reaping machines, the corn was cut by hand. First the reaper went through the field cutting armfuls of corn with a hook. The binders tied the corn into sheaves and stacked them into piles called stocks. After several days of drying in the sun, the sheaves were loaded onto carts and taken to the barn to be stored. Threshing and winnowing ( seperating the grain from the chaff) mostly took place during winter. Gathering the corn was a long process often using all available labour on the farm as well as additional casual workers. Bad weather, even for a few days could be disaterous, spoiling acres of ripe grainand causing poverty and hunger for months to come. This may possibly be why that at the end of the harvest there was huge relief and enourmous celebration

## The Corn Dolly

The mystery of the Corn Goddess and the sacrifice of the God remained very real to country people even after Christianity became the main religion. In Lammas, we learn of John Barley Corn being the symbol of the God. The Goddess was present in the belief in the corn-spirit. The corn-spirit is believed to of inhabited the harvest fields. As the corn was cut the corn Goddess retreated further and further away from the reapers until she was hiding in the last sheaf to be cut. It was often referred to as “the neck” from Celtic words meaning saved because it was eventually kept in the house and not threshed with the rest of the corn. For many years although this sheaf represented the end of the harvest and was a cause for celebration, it was though unlucky for one man to cut it deliberately. Other means were there for devised, such as the reapers throwing their sickles at it so no one single person cut it down. As soon as it was cut down it was held up and there were shouts of celebration. The neck was then decorated with ribbons and carried back to the farmyard on a decorated cart pulled by the best oxen or farm horse.

The Sheaf was sometimes made into the shape of a woman which would have the place of pride at the Harvest Supper and would be kept in the farmhouse until the following spring, when it would be ploughed back into the land. Other names for this figure would be The Hare, The Widow, The Kern, The Corn Baby and of course the Corn Dolly.

## Symbolism of Mabon

Second Harvest, the Mysteries, Equality and Balance.

## Symbols of Mabon

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

## Herbs of Mabon

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

## Foods of Mabon

Breads, nuts, apples, pomegranates, and vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, and onions.

## Colours of Mabon

Red, orange, russet, maroon, brown, and gold.

## Stones of Mabon

Sapphire, lapis lazuli, and yellow agates.

## Activities of Mabon

Making wine, gathering dried herbs, plants, seeds and seed pods, walking in the woods, scattering offerings in harvested fields, offering libations to trees, adorning burial sites with leaves, acorns, and pine cones to honour those who have passed over.

## Spellworkings of Mabon

Protection, prosperity, security, and self-confidence. Also those of harmony and balance.

## Deities of Mabon

At Mabon the Goddess is the Lady of the fruitful harvest. She has given nearly all she has to give and watches over us while we reap the final sheave. She is growing old and wise with the year and offers us wisdom, healing and rest. In the Land of Shadows, she receives the dying God with outstretched arms and yet, in her maiden aspect, she is pregnant with the God who will be born at Yule.

The God has laid down his life for the Harvest, is about to cross over into the Land of Shadows. He stands on the threshold of light and dark, life and death. Soon he will lay in the arms of the Goddess waiting to be reborn. Like the corn, the God has been cut down, but his seeds bring the promise of new life.

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

Mabon is considered a time of the Mysteries. It is a time to honour 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!

## Information Source

A Solitary Pagan

Pagan Green