Mabon Lore
(various sources)

Autumn Equinox, around September 21, is the time of the descent of the Goddess into the Underworld. With her departure, we see the decline of nature and the coming of winter. This is a classic, ancient mythos, seen the Sumerian myth of Inanna and in the ancient Greek and Roman legends of Demeter and Persephone.

In September, we also bid farewell to the Harvest Lord who was slain at Lammas. He is the Green Man, seen as the cycle of nature in the plant kingdom. He is harvested and his seeds are planted into the Earth so that life may continue and be more abundant.

Mabon ("Great Son") is a Welsh god. He was a great hunter with a swift horse and a wonderful hound. He may have been a mythologized actual leader. He was stolen from his mother, Modron (Great Mother),when he was three nights old, but was eventually rescued by King Arthur (other legends say he was rescued by the Blackbird, the Stag, the Owl, the Eagle, and the Salmon). All along, however, Mabon has been dwelling, a happy captive, in Modron's magickal Otherworld -- Madron's womb. Only in this way can he be reborn. Mabon's light has been drawn into the Earth, gathering strength and wisdom enough to become a new seed. In this sense, Mabon is the masculine counterpart of Persephone -- the male fertilizing principle seasonally withdrawn. Modron corresponds with Demeter.

From the moment of the September Equinox, the Sun's strength diminishes, until the moment of Winter Solstice in December, when the Sun grows stronger and the days once again become longer than the nights.

Symbols celebrating the season include various types of gourd and melons. Stalk can be tied together symbolizing the Harvest Lord and then set in a circle of gourds. A besom can be constructed to symbolize the polarity of male and female. The Harvest Lord is often symbolized by a straw man, whose sacrificial body is burned and its ashes scattered upon the earth. The Harvest ueen, or Kern Baby, is made from the last sheaf of the harvest and bundled by the reapers who proclaim, "We have the Kern!" The sheaf is dressed in a white frock decorated with colorful ribbons depicting spring, and then hung upon a pole (a phallic fertility symbol). In Scotland, the last sheaf of harvest is called the Maiden, and must be cut by the youngest female in attendance.
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Historical Mabon

Mabon, the second of the great harvest festivals, is celebrated at the Autumnal Equinox (between September 21-September 25). The Wheel has turned and for this single day the hours of daylight and darkness are once again equal. The air is cooler and the harvest of fruits and vegetables means that we are busy canning, pickling, drying and bottling the bounties of orchard and garden.

In modern times, September often means that children are returning to school. Life seems to slow down. This is often a time of reflection and re-establishment of routines that may have slipped during the heat of the summer. We pull out the boxes of winter clothing and realize how much our children have grown when clothing that fit them just a few months ago is far too short and tight.

Mabon is the Welsh name for a Celtic god who was stolen from his mother three days after his birth and locked away till he was a man. His name was Mabon, son of Modron, which translated means "Son, son of the Mother". Mabon was also known as the Son of Light. He was the god of liberation, harmony, music and unity.

The story has very ancient origins and much of it has been lost. The version which has come down to us tells of, Kyllwch, one of King Arthur's knights, finding and freeing Mabon as a step toward fulfilling one of the conditions for his betrothal to the fair Olwen. Through the intervention of the Stag, Blackbird, Owl, Eagle and Salmon -- the ancient Celtic symbols of wisdom-- Mabon is freed from his mysterious captivity and Kyllwch wins Olwen.

Mabon marks the end of the corn harvest which started with Lughnasadh. It is the time of the apple harvest. For our ancestors, apples were the fruit that sustained them through the winter. Apples themselves and the cider which was pressed from them were an important part of the diet.
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