Mabon
(Michaelmas (29th) * Alban Elfed * Second Harvest * Wine Harvest * Festival of Dionysus)
Autumn Equinox (around) 21st September
The Autumnal Equinox, balance between light and darkness
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The second of the harvest festivals. As Lughnasadh is to cereal crops, Mabon is to orchards, gardens and fruit. The Wine Festival, a time to feast and give thanks for the fruits of the late Summer.
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A festival of both joy and sorrow, a time to reflect on the passing Year and to honour the aging God & Goddess and take comfort from their abiding love, the love that will sustain the Crone Goddess through the dark Winter months until the rebirth of the Sun God.
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A time to honour our elders and learn from the wisdom that comes with age.
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The days leading up to Mabon are traditionally a busy time of preparation for the coming Winter, the pressing of wine and preparing jams, conserves and pickles, preparation and preservation of the Autumn harvest to see us through the Winter months. With Mabon we welcome the coming rest and respite from working the land as the prepared fields sleep through the Winter awaiting the warmth of a new Spring.
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Mabon is the festival of the Wine deities and as such is a time of mature mischief and merrymaking quite different from the childlike jesting of Spring. We honour the Green Man at this Sabbat, by offering libations to the trees of the woods and forests to 'warm them through the Winter months'.
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And so the Wheel turns
| Gods | Bacchus ~ Dionysus ~ Green Man ~ Hermes ~ John Barleycorn ~ Thor ~ Thoth |
| Goddesses | Ceres ~ Demeter ~ Morgan ~ Muses ~ Pamona ~ Persephone |
| Colours | Brown ~ Dark purple ~ Gold ~ Red grape ~ Maroon ~ Orange ~ Red ~ Russet ~ Wine |
| Tools | Boline ~ Fruit-gathering basket ~ Harvest tools ~ Scrying Mirror |
| Symbols | Cornucopia ~ Gourd ~ Green Man |
| Animals | Birds of Prey ~ Blackbird ~ Canines ~ Goat ~ Owl ~ Stag |
| Herbs | Apple ~ Cinnamon ~ Hops ~ Marigold ~ Nettle ~ Nutmeg ~ Pepper ~ Sage ~ Solomon's Seal ~ Sweetgrass ~ Thistle |
| Feast Food | Apple ~ Autumn berries ~ Bread ~ Grapes ~ Nuts ~ Pomegranate ~ Roast Game ~ Root vegetables |
| Feast Drink | Berry juice ~ Cider ~ Wine |
| Metals | Bronze ~ Burnished Metals ~ Tin |
| Incense & Oils | Benzoin ~ Cedar ~ Myrrh ~ Oak Moss ~ Patchouli ~ Pine ~ Sage ~ Sandalwood ~ Sweetgrass |
| Flowers | Ferns ~ Ivy ~ Nicotiana ~ Rose ~ Vines |
| Trees | Fir ~ Hazel ~ Oak |
| Gemstones | Carnelian ~ Lapis Lazuli ~ Smoky Quartz ~ Yellow Agate |
| Altar Decorations | Acorns ~ Green Man ~ Ivy ~ Nuts ~ Pine cones ~ Vines |
| Rituals & Spells | Cutting of Willow Wands ~ Drying herbs ~ Gathering Autumn fruits ~ Harmony Spells ~ Harvest Moon rituals ~ Offer libations to trees ~ Past Life work ~ Preparing conserves and preserves for the Winter ~ Protection/Security Spells ~ Self-esteem Spells ~ Treading grapes ~ Wealth Spells ~ Wine making |
| For Small Pagans & Wiccans All activities obviously require adult supervision | Gather seed and seed-pods to dye with food colouring then make home-made pot Pourri with some Mabon oils * Make an Autumn decoration with Autumn foliage to remember your family & pets who are no longer with you * Fill a cornucopia with Autumn fruits and share it with your friends and family * Prepare an offering for your garden to say thank you for the year's flowers & fruits * Walk in the woods and gather fallen Autumn fruits, leaves and twigs to make a Mabon picture for the Altar * Make a mini-besom from fallen twigs |
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