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!

The Winter Solstice & Yule

I have to admit I'm feeling somewhat discombobulated this holiday season. It is the first for me as a Wiccan and although I embrace all that being Wiccan entails, those old belief systems are there in the back of my mind. I expect that as I go through the month and enjoy all that it has to offer in the way of the Winter Solstice and Yule celebrations, that feeling will go away and I'll be left to revel in the mysteries.

My Yule Altar

Brian and I are going to the Winter Solstice/Yule celebration on December 21st at Circle Sanctuary. Although I practice as a Solitary, it will be nice to celebrate the Sabbat with others who share in my beliefs.

As the Wheel of the Year turns and the days get shorter, the skies become gray and it seems as though the sun is dying, it's in this time of darkness we pause at the Winter Solstice to celebrate something wonderful. On Yule, the sun stops its decline into the south. For a few days it seems as though it’s rising in exactly the same place . . . and then an amazing, wonderful, and miraculous thing happens - the light begins to return!

In celebration of the Sun's return, the most important part of any Yule festivity is light which could include candles, a fire in the hearth or even a bonfire. It is customary to burn a Yule log to honour the Lord Cernunnos or the Horned God. Because each type of wood is associated with various magickal and spiritual properties, logs from different types of trees might be burned to get a variety of effects. Aspen is the wood of choice for spiritual understanding, while the mighty oak is symbolic of strength and wisdom. A family hoping for a year of prosperity might burn a log of pine, while a couple hoping to be blessed with fertility would drag a bough of birch to their hearth.

This year we'll be making our Yule log out of pine. Here's how to make a basic Yule log . . .

You'll need:
A log about 14"–18” long; pinecones; dried berries (such as cranberries); cuttings of mistletoe, holly, ivy and pine needles; feathers and cinnamon sticks; some festive ribbon (use paper or cloth ribbon, not synthetic or wire-lined types) or rafia; fruits and nuts; and a hot glue gun.

A picture from the internet - I'll replace it once my own Yule log is made. Isn't this one pretty?

Most of these items can be gathered outside or found easily enough at craft stores or the supermarket. Just keep in mind you'll be burning the log on your Yule fire so you'll want to use as close to nature as you can. And remember, only pick up items found on the ground, rather than taking cuttings from live plants.

Begin by wrapping the log loosely with the ribbon or rafia. Leave enough space that you can insert your branches, cuttings and feathers under the ribbon or rafia. In our house, I'll be placing nine feathers on our Yule log – one for each member of the family (yes, I include the birds and dogs in that count). Once you’ve gotten your branches and cuttings in place, begin gluing on the pinecones, nuts, cinnamon sticks and berries. If you're adding fruit (such as apples) try piercing them first with a floral stick and then 'sticking' them in. Add as much or as little as you like.

Once you’ve decorated your Yule log, use it as a centerpiece for your holiday table. A Yule log looks lovely on a table surrounded by candles and holiday greenery. You could also use your Yule log as our ancestors did and burn it in your hearth or in a bonfire outside if you're lucky enough to have a space available for that purpose. Before burning your log, write down a wish on a piece of paper and insert it into the ribbon or rafia. It's your wish for the upcoming year and should be kept to yourself in hope that it comes true. While watching the Yule log burn, share in a cup of hot cocoa, discuss how thankful you are for the good things that have come your way this year and how you hope for abundance, good health, and happiness in the next.

In many Celtic-based traditions of neopaganism, there is the enduring legend of the battle between the Oak King and the Holly King. These two mighty rulers fight for supremacy as the Wheel of the Year turns each season. At the Winter Solstice, or Yule, the Oak King kills the Holly King, and then reigns until Midsummer, or Litha. Once the Summer Solstice arrives, the Holly King returns to do battle with the Oak King and defeats him. The Holly King then rules until Yule.

In some Wiccan traditions, the Oak King and the Holly King are seen as dual aspects of the Horned God. Each of these twin aspects rules for half the year, battles for the favor of the Goddess, and then retires to nurse his wounds for the next six months, until it is time for him to reign once more.

Often, these two entities are portrayed in familiar ways - the Holly King frequently appears as a woodsy version of Santa Claus. He dresses in red, wears a sprig of holly in his tangled hair, and is sometimes depicted driving a team of eight stags. The Oak King is portrayed as a fertility god, and occasionally appears as the Green Man or other lord of the forest.

Ultimately, while these two beings do battle all year long, they are two essential parts of a whole. Despite being enemies, without one, the other would no longer exist.

The Yule season is full of magic, much of it focusing on rebirth and renewal, as the sun makes its way back to the earth. Focus on this time of new beginnings with your magical workings!

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!