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Mabon Lore 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seasonally withdrawn.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 Queen, 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.
Altar Dressings
* candles should be brown or cinnamon.
* decorate circle with autumn flowers,
acorns, gourds, corn sheaves and fall
leaves.
Mabon Magickal Herbs
Rue, yarrow, rosemary, marigold, sage, walnut
leaves and husks, mistletoe, saffron, chamomile,
almond leaves, passionflower, frankincense,
rose hips, bittersweet, sunflower, wheat, oak
leaves, dried apple or apple seeds.
Incense
Pine, sage, sweetgrass or myrhh. You can also mix
marigold, passionflower, and fern, using
frankincense or myrhh as a resin for Mabon incense
Mabon Magickal Stones
During Mabon, stones ruled by the Sun will help
bring the Sun's energy to you.clear quartz,
amber, peridot, diamond, gold, citrine, yellow
topaz, cat's-eye, adventurine.
Mabon is a good time to cast spells of balance
and harmony. It's also a time of change.
Protection, wealth and prosperity spells are
appropriate as well.
Holiday Fare
Mabon is the Witch's Thanksgiving, a time to
appreciate and give thanks to the Goddess for
her bounty and to share in the joys of the
harvest. Fall fruits, squash, gourds, pumpkins,
grains, nut breads, vegetables.
A magickal Mabon beverage: hot apple cider.
Apple rules the heart, cider alone is a self-
love potion. By spicing it with cinnamon, ruled
by Jupiter and the Sun, we are in essence,
ingesting the sunlight.
Sample menu #1: Mabon Wine Moon Cider, Roast
Chicken Rubbed with Sage, Basil, and Thyme,
Acorn Squash made with Sweet Butter, Cinnamon
and Honey, and Apple Bread.
Sample menu #2: Wine from the god and beans and
squashes from the goddess. A hearty multi-bean
soup with smoked meats (optional), including
such as cut-up mild sausage like mild Italian
or Polish.
Mabon Wine Moon Cider
4 cups apple cider 1/2 tsp. whole cloves
4 cups grape juice additional cinnamon sticks
2 cinnamon sticks for cups, 6 inches long
1 tsp allspice
In a 4-quart saucepan, heat cider and grape
juice. Add cinnamon, allspice and cloves.
Bring just to boiling. Lower heat and simmer
for 5 minutes.
Serve with ladle from a cauldron. Makes 8 cups.
Mabon Activities
* Make grapevine wreaths using dried bitter-
sweet herb for protection. Use ribbons of
gold and yellow to bring in the energy of the
Sun, and decorate with sprigs of dried yarrow
or cinnamon sticks.
* Make a Magickal Horn of Plenty.
* Make Magickal Scented Pinecones.
* Make a protection charm of hazelnuts
(filberts) strung on red thread.
* Collect milkweed pods to decorate at Yuletide
and attract the faeries.
* Call upon the elementals and honor them for
their help with (N-earth) the home and
finances, (E-air) school and knowledge,
(S-fire) careers and accomplishments,
(W-water) emotional balance and fruitful
relationships.
* Make a witch's broom. Tie dried corn husks or
herbs (broom, cedar, fennel, lavender,
peppermint, rosemary) around a strong,
relatively straight branch of your choice.
* Make magic Apple Dolls: Apples are sacred
symbols of the witch. Our holy land, Avalon,
means Apple-land or Island of Apples. Slice
an apple through the midsection and its seeds
reveal the sacred shape of the pentacle.
You will need two large apples, one for Mabon
and one for Modron, 2 pencils and 2 dowels
about 12 inches long, a paring knife, a glass
or bowl of water to wash your fingers, a plate,
and a towel to wipe your hands. Peel and core
the apples. Carve a face in the apples. Place
apples on a dowel and stand them in a jar
to dry (start now). Then charge in a magick
circle. After 2 or 3 weeks, they should look
like shrunken heads. Make them into dolls. Use
wheat, dried herbs or doll's hair for hair.
Dress them in tiny robes and bring them into
the circle, asking god/dess to charge them with
their light.
Hang these Mabon and Madron heads on a Witch's
cord or a Mabon wreath.
From "Celebrate the Earth" by Laurie Cabot,
Green Witchcraft by Ann Moura, Llewellyn's Witches'Calendar 1998, and The Witches' God by Janet and Stewart Farrar.
source: http://www.earthwitchery.com/mabon.html
