Mabon (mah-bawn), a lesser Wiccan Sabbat, is usually celebrated around September 23, though it sometimes falls as early as September 20, depending on the timing of the actual astrological event. This is the Autumn Equinox, when we see the days begin to grow shorter than the nights. The Sun's light will continue to wane each day through Samhain, the next festival and new year, until Yule, when the longest darkness will come again. Other names for the Fall Equinox Sabbat are the Second Harvest Festival, the Feast of Avalon, Equizio di Autunoo and Alban Elfed.
The Fall Equinox falls exactly opposite the Spring Equinox of March 20 to 23. Both are times of equal night and equal day. The Equinox is the time of equality between the God and Goddess, the God represented by the Sun, the Goddess by the Moon, each half of one whole fulfilled by their joining. Fruitfulness of the land being the result of their mutualness, the bounty of the harvest will be brought in and stored against winter and the dark times.
Mabon is the time of the year when we can rest after hard work. Most crops have been gathered, and winter is still a month and a half away. The nights are getting cooler, though the days are still warm, and perhaps something magickal is in the air. The light seems almost silver. We pick up our projects of making corn dollies and weaving wheat, but suddenly we stop because we hear the sounds of baying hounds passing through the sky, "The Hounds of Annwn" in the Welsh mythos. Lines of geese fly by, and a beautiful harvest moon hangs in the air. We move closer to our fires, and the longer evening hours give us time to catch up on our reading. We sit and munch popcorn, crunch apples, sip hot cider and drink home brews. What a wonderful time of the year Mabon is, the leaves turning colors, warm days, cool nights. How lucky we are to be alive.
The foods of Mabon consist of the second harvest's gleanings, so grains, fruit and vegetables predominate, especially corn. Corn bread and cider are traditional fare, as are beans and baked squash. Others foods and drinks include wines, grapes, breads, pomegranates, roots (carrots, onions, potatoes, and so on), nuts and apples. Some of the symbols of this Sabbat are garlands, pinecones, gourds, acorns, wheat, dried leaves and horns of plenty (cornucopias). Mabon is rather like Thanksgiving for pagans. As you decorate your altars, you might want to use some of these symbols, perhaps including a pomegranate to symbolize Persephone and her descent into the Underworld -- and, of course, a small statue of the goddess in her triple mother aspect.
Altar cloths made of material with fall designs are good for this Sabbat. Appropriate Mabon colors are red, orange, deep gold, brown, russet, maroon and violet. Candle colors are orange, dark red, yellow, indigo, or brown. Stones to use during Mabon are amethyst and yellow topaz, carnelian, lapis lazuli, sapphire and yellow agate. River and stream stones gathered over the summer can be empowered now for various purposes.
Plants associated with Mabon are vines, ivy, hazel, cedar, hops and tobacco, and traditional Mabon herbs include acorns, asters, chrysanthemums, ferns, honeysuckle, marigold, milkweed, myrrh, oak leaves, passionflower, pine, roses, sage, Solomon's seal and thistles. Incense might include frankincense, aloe's wood, jasmine, cinnamon, musk, cloves, benzoin, myrrh and sage. Animals associated with the Autumn Equinox are dogs, wolves and birds of prey, and mythical creatures include gnomes, minotaurs, sphinx and cyclops.
This Sabbat also has many associations among deities. Some goddesses associated with Mabon are Morgon, Snake Woman, Epona, the muses and Demeter. Some of the gods include Thoth, Hermes, Thor, Dionysus, Bacchus and Herne. The Sabbat is named for a god, the Mabon ap Modron, who symbolizes the male fertilizing principle in Welsh myths. His full name (depending on the translation) means Great Son of the Great Mother, Young Son, Divine Youth or Son of Light. Modron, his mother, is the Great Goddess, Guardian of the Otherworld, Protector and Healer. She is Earth itself.
At the Autumn Equinox, the Sun's strength begins markedly to diminish, even disappear, until Winter Solstice in December. In the myth of Mabon, the god disappears, taken at birth when only three nights old. His mother, Modron, cries. Although his whereabouts are initially veiled, Mabon is freed with the help of the wisdom and memory of the most ancient of living animals -- the blackbird, the stag, the owl, the eagle and the salmon. All along, Mabon has been quite happy, dwelling in Modron's magickal Otherworld -- Modron's womb. Only in so powerful a place of renewing strength can Mabon be reborn as his mother's champion, as the Son of Light. Mabon's light has been drawn into the Earth, gathering strength and wisdom enough to become a new seed.
In a Greek myth associated with the season, autumn begins when Persephone returns to the Underworld to live with her husband, Hades. Demeter's daughter, known as Kore, was out picking flowers in a meadow when the Earth opened and the god Hades dragged the girl into his Underworld kingdom to be his wife, whereupon her name became Persephone. For nine days, Demeter looked everywhere for Kore. The Sun god Helios told her that her brother Zeus had given the girl to Hades. Furious, Demeter cursed the Earth so it yielded no crops. Zeus became frantic and sent a message asking why. She told Zeus that there would be no renewing of crops on Earth until her daughter, Kore, was returned to her.
Zeus sent Hermes into the Underworld for the girl, but Hades did not want to give up his wife. He enticed Persephone to eat pomegranate seeds before she returned to her mother, a charm to keep her in his realm. When she learned of this trick, Demeter despaired, until Zeus declared that Persephone-Kore would live with her husband during half of the year and return to live with her mother the other half. In gratitude, Demeter lifted her curse on the Earth. She created spring as her time of joy for her daughter's return and fall as her time of sorrow when her daughter must return to Hades.
The key action at Mabon is giving thanks. Pagan activities for the Sabbat include the making of wine and the adorning of graves. It is considered taboo to pass burial sites and not honor the dead. Another traditional practice is to walk wild places and forests, gathering seedpods and dried plants. Some of these can be used to decorate the home or altar; others can be saved for future herbal magick.
Spellwork for protection, wealth and prosperity, security and to bring a feeling of self-confidence are appropriate for Mabon, as are spells that bring into balance and harmony the energies in a room, home, or situation. Ritual actions might include the praising or honoring of fruit as proof of the love of the Goddess and God, and a ritual sprinkling of autumn leaves.
May you be blessed with prosperity in the coming year, and may the Lord and Lady look out on you.