Mabon is Here!

Excerpt from my book “Animae Mundi ~ Dialogues With Earth”

The Autumnal Equinox, known by Neo-Pagans as Mabon, is celebrated around 21 September. This Quarter Day gets its name from the Welsh hero Mabon ap Modron (Mabon of Modron). Modron is a name of the Great Goddess in Welsh mythologies. Though there is little to no evidence that the celebration we call ‘Mabon’ is from antiquity, as the first written reference is from the 1970’s, the celestial event itself is a historically auspicious day. There is ample evidence of other cultures celebrating this occasion. For instance, the harvest celebration Oktoberfest occurs in late September and was celebrated as early as the 1700’s.

The modern word ‘equinox’ comes from late Middle English from Old French ‘equinoxe’ from Latin ‘æquinoctium’ (æqui - ‘equal’ + nox, noct - ‘night’). Contrary to what many of us think, one do not necessarily experience equal amounts of night and day during the equinox. For example, the 2022 Autumnal Equinox sunrise where I live occurred at 6:42 am and the Sun set at 6:52 pm giving us 10 minutes more daylight than darkness. More appropriately explained, the moment of Equinox is when the Sun appears to cross Earth’s equator in its seasonal migration across the Sky. When the Sun’s path crosses to the north of the equator, the northern hemisphere experiences the Vernal or Spring Equinox and when it crosses south of the equator, it is the Autumnal Equinox, both of which is cause for celebration. For the most part, however, the Sun does indeed rise due east and set due west on this Quarter Day.

Mabon represents the second harvest and is also referred to as the ‘Fruit Harvest’ and the ‘Great Feast of Thanksgiving’. It is a time for gratitude and balance. Appropriately it falls on the Vine Moon of the Celtic Tree month calendar. The Sun’s power is waning noticeably now and the push is on to collect enough food to get through the winter.

Mabon Blessings

• Happy Mabon to all of you! May the bounty of our Earth Mother’s horn of plenty spill into your lives and may the forest feast of Dagda, the Good Father, find its way to your tables

Blessed Be!

• Blessed Mabon to those who recognise and acknowledge this auspicious time of year. Harvest that which makes you happy, healthy, and prosperous

• As we bring in the life-giving harvest joyfully celebrating Earth's bounty, we may also feel the resolute tug of Death. Warm, lazy days, bright daylight, and plants slowly wane and a curious juxtaposition ebbs and flows. It is a delicious, exquisite bittersweetness. We continue the gardens’ harvest and have begun preparing the garden beds for their long sleep while, at the same time, longing to silently wander and haunt the dark wood in search of game, the Gift. The almost crippling nostalgic Hiraeth, along with the solemn intent of slaying a beautiful Wild One, makes one serious, introspective, and grateful

• I wish for you all the bounty of this season and may you celebrate it doing and remembering the things that connect you with our Great Mother. So Mote it Be

• Praise the balance of Nature as She provides all that we need to live

Honour and give thanks to All who give us life

• It is Mabon! Gwyl canol Hydref!

I wish you a Blessed and Bountiful harvest

Mabon Musings

• Internalise the Horned One, the Lord of the Hunt

Shed the gentler mantle of the Green Man and don the powerful antlers of the Stag

• Today we acknowledge the passing of the Sun into the distant South

Father Sun nestles gently into the Great Mother as she embraces Him, soothing His death

• The days grow short, the shadows grow long, and the winds blow ever more coolly

Exhausted plants push forth the last of the season's bounty, storing Sun’s energy in fruits and seeds

• Wan fields are heavy with harvest

The winged ones fly-write the message for all to hear: "Winter is Coming" and the antlered four-leggeds prepare for battle during the imminent Rutting Moon