Mabon Blessings

Wishing everyone a Happy and Blessed Mabon. If you missed my Mabon post, I hope you'll enjoy it now!

I also added a Mabon Apple Harvest Ritual to my 'Sabbat and Esbat Ritual Pages' if you're looking for a simple, yet meaningful, Mabon ritual.

Mabon Blessings!

The Wheel of the Year is turning into fall and with that comes the fall harvest Sabbats. Mabon falls on September 23rd this year and I'm looking for the colors of fall and enjoying the cooler weather after a summer filled with extremely hot and humid weather.

Mabon, which falls at the Autumnal Equinox, is the second harvest celebration. As at the Spring Equinox, it is a time of balance between light and dark. In the autumn, we move from light to dark and from warmth to cold. It is a time to gather the harvest of summer, apples, grapes, corn, wheat, and vegetables such as squashes and gourds, and prepare for the long winter ahead. It is also a time for thanksgiving and enjoying the bounty set before us.

One of the best known harvest mythologies is the story of Demeter and Persephone. Demeter, was a goddess of grain and of the harvest in ancient Greece. Her daughter, Persephone, caught the eye of Hades, god of the underworld. When Hades abducted Persephone and took her back to the underworld, Demeter's grief caused the crops on earth to die and go dormant. By the time she finally recovered her daughter, Persephone had eaten six pomegranate seeds, and so was doomed to spend six months of the year in the underworld. These six months are the time when the earth dies, beginning at the time of the Autumn Equinox.

The Sumerian goddess Inanna is the incarnation of fertility and abundance. Inanna descended into the underworld where her sister, Ereshkigal, ruled. Erishkigal decreed that Inanna could only enter her world in the traditional ways, by stripping herself of her clothing and earthly posessions. By the time Inanna got there, Erishkigal had unleashed a series of plagues upon her sister, killing Inanna. While Inanna was visiting the underworld, the earth ceased to grow and produce. A vizier restored Inanna to life, and sent her back to earth. As she journeyed home, the earth was restored to its former glory.

In the British Isles, the ancient name for the goddess of this time was Modron, which means 'mother'. Sometimes she was pictured as a trio of women, each seated on a throne. Together, they were called the 'Mothers'. They were responsible for abundance and sustaining the life of the people in the Celtic myths, as was Modron's son who was stolen away into the underworld. Whenever we feed the hungry, we honor the Mothers.

This Sabbat takes its name from the god 'Mabon'. He was called 'Mabon, son of Modron', which means 'son of the mother'. Mabon is such an ancient god that most of the stories about him have been lost. All we know is that he was stolen away from his mother when he was only three nights old and imprisoned until he was rescued by King Arthur's companions. Because Mabon knows what it is like to be imprisoned, he is also the god of freedom. He frees animals from their cages and loosens the bonds of all those unjustly imprisoned. He protects all things wild and free. His totem animals are the owl, blackbird, stag, eagle and salmon. We honor Mabon when we protect animals and when we work for freedom for all people.

The Mabon altar can be as simple or as elaborate as you like. For a simple altar you can have an arrangement of some of the things harvested that will keep for a few weeks like winter squash, dried corn, wheat, pumpkins, and pomegranates. Autumn leaves, a bouquet of late-blooming flowers, a picture or figurines of animals are also appropriate for your Mabon altar.

Candles in various shades of autumn colors like yellow, red, rust, and orange are also nice additions. You may also add fresh herbs like juniper berries, sage, campunala and cloves. Crystals are also a nice addition and I've included ones like carnelian, red tiger's eye, garnet, orange calcite, and citrine. You can also include incense such as sandalwood and myrrh.

Be sure to get outside as much as possible now and enjoy the sunlight. All too soon, we will be enveloped in darkness and cold as the wheel turns into winter.

Mabon Blessings!

Mabon Blessings

Well, best laid plans . . . I was going to prepare a lovely feast for my husband and I tonight to celebrate Mabon, but he's in San Franciso this week at a conference. So I guess I'll make the feast on Saturday so that we can enjoy it together.

I was able to get my outside decorating finished yesterday just in time for the first day of Autumn today. The store where I purchased the corn stalks from just got them in yesterday morning so they're nice and fresh!

Tonight I'll have a light supper and then after the birds are in bed, I'll perform my rituals. I'll be performing a ritual to the Dark Mother, Demeter, as she's represented at this time of year, and her daughter Persephone.

The ritual welcomes the Dark Mother, and celebrates that aspect of the Goddess which we may not always find comforting or appealing, but which we must always be willing to acknowledge. It's a lovely ritual and one that honors Demeter and celebrates the Autumn Equinox.

I'll also be performing a Self-Dedication tonight which I'm looking forward to. Since the moon will be full tonight, and a time for new beginnings, I decided that now would be a good time to dedicate myself to my new path.

Mabon Altar

I found the Pilgrims at a lovely shop that I frequent and thought why not use them to represent the Goddess and God? I have pine cones sitting along the top of the altar, a basket of apples, pomegranates, a bundle of wheat, a loaf of whole grain bread and candles in the colors of the harvest. It's a beautiful altar and I'm looking forward to sharing it with Brian on Saturday.

An offering of pomegranates to Demeter.

The maple leaf rose bouquet I made the other day.

May the blessings of Autumn be upon you as you celebrate Mabon.

Preparing for Mabon

As I was lying in my bed this morning trying to wake up, a trio of Canadian Geese flew past my window. And then looking further into the distance, flock after flock of sea gulls flew by, their feathers catching the morning sun. They looked like little diamonds in the sky. Beautiful . . . just beautiful. Don't you wish every day started out that way?

Anyway, it got me to thinking about making preparations for Mabon.

Mabon, also known as the Autumn Equinox, will be celebrated on September 23rd this year (also a full moon night). It is a celebration of the second harvest and preparations for winter are underway. Mabon is a time of reflection and of giving thanks for the abundance in our lives, whether it be for abundant crops or other blessings. It is also the time when there is an equal balance between light and dark.

Depending on your individual spiritual path, there are many different ways you can celebrate Mabon, but typically the focus is on either the second harvest aspect, or the balance between light and dark. While we celebrate the gifts of the harvest, we also acknowledge that the crops are turning brown and going dormant. The warmth of summer is behind us and the cold of winter lies ahead.

This is also the time to honor the Dark Mother, Demeter, and her daughter Persephone who are strongly connected to the time of the Autumn Equinox. When Hades abducted Persephone, it set in motion a chain of events that eventually led to the earth falling into darkness each winter. This is the time of the Dark Mother, the Crone aspect of the triple goddess. The goddess is bearing this time not a basket of flowers, but a sickle and scythe. She is prepared to reap what has been sown.

This being my first Mabon, I have such an abundance of choices to make in how to celebrate. I'll definitely be putting together an altar to honor Demeter and perform a Mabon ritual. Perhaps I'll make a nice pot roast dinner and celebrate with a nice glass of red wine. And if the day is nice, maybe I can convince Brian to go on a long walk with me through the Pheasant Branch Conservancy and take in the sights and smells of Autumn. Perhaps I can even find some Apple Cider to heat up and enjoy with a cinnamon stick after our walk . . .

Any way you celebrate Mabon, I hope you enjoy the day and reap the many blessings offered to you at this time of the year!