Sabbat: Mabon (Autumn Equinox), September 22nd

Aug 23

Written By Lady Katie Bug, High Priestess

September 22

Mabon (Autumn Equinox) • Second Harvest

Mabon is recognized as the first day of Fall. It is a time to pay our respects to the impending dark. We give thanks to the waning sunlight, as we store our harvest of this year's crops. The Druids call this celebration Mea'n Fo'mhair, and honor the Green Man, the God of the Forest, by offering libations to trees. Wiccans celebrate the aging Goddess as she passes from Mother to Crone, and her consort the God as he prepares for death and re-birth. At this festival, it is appropriate to wear all of your finery, dine, and celebrate in a lavish setting. It is the drawing to and of family as we prepare for the winding down of the year at Samhain. It is a time to finish old business as we ready for a period of rest, relaxation, and reflection. Mabon is considered a time of the Mysteries. It is a time to honor aging Deities and the Spirit World.

Considered a time of balance, it is when we stop and relax and enjoy the fruits of our personal harvests, whether they be from toiling in our gardens, working at our jobs, raising our families, or just coping with the hustle-bustle of everyday life.

(source: wicca.com)

Traditions and Practices

offering ciders/wines/herbs/fertilizer to the trees
giving thanks (blessings, crops, protection, etc.)
lavish feasts and gatherings
finishing business
prioritizing rest, relaxation and reflection
journaling
grounding
making wine/mead/cider
gathering dried herbs, plants, and seeds to use for magick or crafts
making natural wreaths
walks in the woods/forests/countryside
adorning buriel sites with leaves, acorns, and/or pine cones to honor those who’ve passed on
making hearty meals like soups, casseroles, stir-frys, and pot pies (sharing with those you love)
making breads, pies, tarts, and cobblers (sharing with those you love)
divination readings as the veil is starting to thin (tarot, runes, pendulum, etc.)
canning food for the winter to come
simmer pots for home cleansing & fragrance

Magickal Correspondences

Symbolism: harvest(s), fall, giving thanks, equality and balance, the Mysteries, darkness, old age, death and rebirth, reflection, family, thanks, wine, gourds, acorns, grains, corn, apples, pomegranates, seeds, horns

Foods: breads, nuts, apples, pomegranates, potatoes, carrots, onions, and other harvest vegetables

Plants, Flowers, Trees, Fungus: acorn, benzoin, ferns, grains, sage, honeysuckle, marigold, milkweed, myrrh, rose, passionflower, Solomon’s seal, tobacco, thistle, and vegetables

Incense: autumn blend, benzoin, myrrh, sage

Crystals: lapis lazuli, sapphire, yellow agates

Colors: red, orange, maroon, brown, gold

Animals/Insects: bees, cows, goats, horses, oxen, pigs, roosters

Tarot Cards: Two of Pentacles, the Wheel of Fortune, the Hermit, the Justice