About Mabon:

Mabon is the Celebration of the Great Harvest. It is our time of Thanksgiving, when we offer gratitude for the abundance and beauty that surrounds us and for all that our hard work and effort has manifested. We give thanks for Gaia’s generosity and blessings, and for all we and the Divine have created together.

 

Mabon is celebrated at the Autumn Equinox, another moment of perfect balance when day and night are of equal length. A holy time when light and dark, feminine and masculine, inner and outer are in perfect balance. A time when we reflect on the balance in our own lives and where we may be out of balance. 

 

At Mabon, we are also once again on the cusp of transition. After this day, the nights will continue to grow longer and the days shorter. The sap of trees returns back to their roots deep in the earth, changing the green of summer to the fire of autumn, to the flaming reds, oranges and golds. Light surrenders to darkness and Mother Earth and her children prepare for our descent into the dreaming time, when we are return to the dark from whence we came.

 

At the time of Mabon and the Autumn Equinox, the sun is also entering the astrological sign of Libra. Libra is represented by the scales, a time of balance, harmony, and discernment. The harvest requires level heading thinking and careful judgement about what to store and what to consume. What to keep. What to release. What should be left to decay in the fields to return to the mother. What bulbs do we wish to plant in the ground to await the reawakening energy of spring. We gather in the harvest of summer and prepare for the winter ahead.

 

Goddesses and Gods:

At Mabon we honor the triple goddess, personified by Persephone, Demeter, and Hecate. 

 

In the story of Persephone, she is the maiden, daughter of Demeter, whose curiosity leads her into the depths of the Underworld. She teaches us to bravely go within, into the darkness with only curiosity leading us, and to bravely ascend our personal throne, our soverign power. 

 

Demeter is the mother, the Goddess of the Harvest, who reminds us to revel in the gifts of Gaia, the abundance that continually surrounds us and is so evident at this time. She also teaches us to rest after our labors and enjoy what we have worked so hard to manifest. 

 

Hecate, the wise Crone, the grandmother, the Divine one who meets us at the crossroads when choices need to be made and discernment is required. She is our guide, as we begin to release anything we had hoped would manifest during this turn of the Wheel, but did not or not in the manner we had planned or expected. It is time to release back to the mother, any attachments that may have formed. Release all earlier worries of what the harvest would manifest, along with any regrets, “should haves,” or resentments that may have formed. At this time, Hecate can also help us to cull and release unhealthy habits, self-destructive beliefs, and bad relationships.

 

This holiday takes its name from the God, Mabon. He is such an ancient god that little is known about him other than he was stolen from his mother, Modron, when he was only three nights old and imprisoned until he was rescued much later by King Arthur’s companions. Because he knows what it is like to be imprisoned, Mabon is a God of freedom. He loosens our bonds and protects all things that are wild and free – our human spirits and all of life on Earth.

 

Symbols and Correspondences:

Symbols: Cornucopia (horn of plenty), pinecones, seeds

Colors: Orange, red, yellow, brown, copper, dark yellow, dark green 

Foods: Corn, beans, squash, apples, pumpkins, cider, root vegetables, pomegranate, wine   

Herbs: Yarrow, rosemary, sage, mugwort, rosehips,   

Stones: Amber, citrine, cat’s eye, aventurine, sapphire, jasper 

Flowers: Sunflowers, thistle, marigolds 

Deities: Mabon, Green Man, Demeter, Persephone, Morgan, Pomona, Inanna 

Animals: Owl, stag, blackbird, salmon

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Mabon Is The Perfect Time To:

Read and share the story of Persephone.

Create an altar with autumnal local harvest of flowers, fruits, and vegetables. An ear of corn still on its stalk. A sickle – symbolizing the harvest and the Crone.

Celebrate outside, enjoying the last few days of warm weather.