Mabon
Mabon/ Autumn Equinox usually takes place around September 21st and marks the last harvest. This is considered, by many Wiccan Traditions, the official turning point to the dark of the year. This is the time of the Vine. The God, who was Lord of the Greenwood in the summer and the Corn King at Lughnasadh now dances His last dance upon the earth, as Dionysus, God of wine, music and dance, before making his descent to the underworld to take up his role as Dread Lord of Shadows. The Lord of Light, the Sun King, His power waning, exists briefly in balance with the Dark Lord before giving way to the growing power of darkness, but the power of the sun is encapsulated in the grape and the fruits of the earth. The wine will remind us of his power throughout the year. The leaves falling from the trees and rotting into the earth are a reflection of the Horned God's journey from the Greenwood to the underworld, deep into the womb of the Mother, where He will reside until He begins to emerge with the new green shoots in the spring. The Autumnal Equinox marks the completion of the harvest, and thanksgiving, with the emphasis on the future return of that abundance.
The Eleusinian mysteries took place at this time, during which the initiate was said to have been shown a single ear of grain with the words "In silence is the seed of wisdom gained". The themes then of the Autumnal Equinox are the completion of the harvest, the balance of light and dark, and of male and female, and an acknowledgement of the waning power of the sun and the waxing power of the Dark Lord.
Some History : The ancient Celts saw this as a time of celebrating the bounty the Earth had given them. The giver was personified as the Mother Goddess, who with the fruitfulness of the womb, had made a great Gift to mankind of wheat, corn, oats and all the fruits of field and tree. One of the Goddess' incarnations, Bridget, had 19 priestesses who kept alive a sacred Fire at Kildaire in Ireland, as a shrine to her. Sacrifices of a part of the Harvest was given to the Grain Lord--he who would be laid in the Earth to arise again-- bonfires were lit, honey-mead was drunk and the Harvest stored for the coming Winter.
The Japanese marked the spring and fall Equinox with higan, a seven day period in which they remember their ancestors by visiting the family grave, cleaning the tombstone, offering flowers and food, burning incense sticks, and praying. The Polish Feast of Greenery involves bringing bouquets and foods for blessing by a priest, then using them for medicine or keeping them until the following years harvest.
The Roman celebration of the Fall Equinox was dedicated to Pomona, goddess of fruits and growing things. A feast was celebrated with a traditional well fattened goose which had fed well on the stubble of the fields after the harvest. Another tradition of of the Autumnal Equinox is the use of ginger. All manner of foods seasoned with ginger are part of the day's menu from gingerbread to ginger beer.
In England, the last sheaf of corn harvested represented the `spirit of the field' and was made into a doll. Corn dolls were drenched with water representing rain or burned to represent the death of the grain spirit. Large wickerwork figures were also constructed to represent a vegetation spirit and burnt in mock sacrifice. Farmers and merchants gathered at fairs. Often a large glove was suspended above the fair, symbolizing the handshake of promises and openhandedness and generosity.
Druids honored the willow tree, a tree associated with the Goddess and with death, and cut their wands from its branches just before Mabon. After this night of balance, darkness will once again overcome the light. This Sabbat was named for Mabon, the Welsh God who symbolized the male fertilizing principle. Rituals which enact the elderly aspects of both the Goddess and the God are performed at this Sabbat. The God is preparing for his death at Samhain and the Goddess is entering into her aspect of The Crone, though deep inside her Maiden aspect the impregnated seed of the God lives on to be born again at Yule. And so the Wheel of the year eternally turns...
Decoration: wines, pinecones, acorns, corn, apples, gourds, horns of plenty and ivy vines.
Foods: pomegranates, potatos, carrots, breads, nuts, apples, onions and garlic.
Herbs: myrrh, marigold, passion flower, rose, sage and thistle.
Colors: orange, brown, gold, red and maroon.
Stones: amethyst and yellow topaz.
Taboos: passing burial sites and not honoring the dead.
Activities: wine making and adoring graves.
Other things to try: Dip leaves in paraffin and use in ritual or bless and give as gifts. Make corn dollies. Thank a field for rendering it's harvest.
