Mabon is quickly approaching us as the autumnal equinox heads out way here in the Northern Hemisphere tomorrow.  Mabon is a celebration of life and death in many ways.  Also known as Harvest Home and Alban Elfed, it is a time in many Wiccan traditions which honors the final stage of the death cycle for the God while honoring the gifts of life that are bestowed as the result.  Mabon is the second of three harvest festivals, the first being Lughnasadh in August and the last being Samhain in October.  But it’s Mabon, taking place during the time of the Harvest Moon, the full moon of September, which really brings to mind the traditional harvest images.   At Mabon many Pagans celebrate what is sometimes referred to as the “Pagan Thanksgiving”.  We gather, we feast, we celebrate the harvests in our own lives all while thanking the God for his sacrifice which has allowed us to have this feast.

In our modern culture many of the seasonal festivals have taken on a bit of a different face as we have grown from being small, agricultural communities to where we are today.  In times past it would be critical for the food that came in through this harvest to be plentiful otherwise there would be a good chance that there wouldn’t be enough food to last through the winter and people could lose their lives as a result.  From Mabon to Samhain would be a time for assessing what else there might be to harvest and by Samhain you knew how much you had for the winter and you would inevitably know if there would be enough for all those that would need it to survive.

When we honor the Dying God at Mabon, we honor his sacrifice.  At Litha his energy peaks and we begin to see it wane at Lughnasadh at, at Mabon, he is now ready to give the last sacrifice.  Here we honor his death as the wheat and grain are cut down in the fields, and as the fields are plowed for the last time, we honor the burial of the God though the act of remains from the harvest being turned back into the soil and buried deep within the earth.  However, at Mabon we are not necessarily in mourning but rather in a state of celebration for what he has given us.  During the sabbat of Samhain we may find ourselves more in a place of mourning as we acknowledge and honor the God’s descent and time in the Underworld awaiting his rebirth at Yule.

The name for the sabbat, Mabon, is connected to the Welsh God of the same name, Mabon ap Modron.  He is a God of death and resurrection whose name means “son of the mother” (Mabon = son, ap = descendant of, Modron = mother).  Mabon is the son of the Goddess Modron and, while we have ideas of his specific tale, it’s hard to really be specific as Mabon is a name that is common in many different Medieval tales originating from the area of Wales.  Typically when we think of Mabon we think of the story of Culhwch and Olwen from The Mabinogion.  In this tale we learn of Mabon’s rescue after he had been taken from his mother when he was only three days old.  King Arthur and his men rescue Mabon from a watery prison where he’s been kept in Gloucester.  He is released and helps Arthur and his men hunt for Twrch Trwyth, the great boar, since he is the only one that can hunt with the dog Drudwyn.  You can read the story on SacredTexts.com.

For many this is a time to focus on the God, the male aspect and energy as this is what truly wanes at this time, but this is also the time in the myth cycle of Persephone when she returns to the Underworld to be with Hades for six months and a time when Demeter walks the earth crying out for the return of her blessed Kore.  As Persephone resides with Hades Demeter becomes too mournful to maintain the growth of the plants and the green earth and thus everything falls into a state of barrenness.   One at her daughter’s return at the spring equinox will Demeter once again set the flowers abloom as she rejoices and celebrates the return of her most beloved child.  You can read more about the myth of Demeter and Persephone on Sacred Texts.

Since many of us will not be out harvesting from the fields tomorrow night by the full moon light of the Harvest Moon (which happens on Thursday).  What we can do is work on the harvesting of our creative and spiritual seeds that we planted early in the year with Ostara.  Think about to your Imbolc and Ostara rituals and meditations this year.  What did you decide during this time needed to be birthed and planted for the year?  Did you do the work that you needed to do?  Are you in a place now where you can “harvest” from this work and give thanks to the God and Goddess for their help with its growth?  All of us tend to have something that “died on the vine” during the growing and waxing part of the year, but in the waning half of the year, rather than mourning it, take lessons from it and learn how you can work with those things next year so that they are able to grow to their full potential.

If you’re working to put together a ritual for Mabon, you can use this list of correspondences in a previous post to help you put together something simple or something elaborate.  Mabon, like any other sabbat ritual, offerings opportunities for magick, but these rituals should be largely focused on celebration and honoring the cycles of the earth and the Divine.

This year, with the Harvest Moon falling at Mabon, you may want to flavor your ritual with both energies.  Below are some very simple quarter calls that I wrote a handful of years ago for a similar alignment which were used for ritual.  They may inspire and help you in your own rituals.

Rowan’s Mabon/Harvest Moon Quarter Calls

North:

We call to you, power of the North
Spirits and Elementals of the Earth.
Under the power and light of the Harvest Moon
And on this sacred night of Mabon
We ask that you come, join us, and be with us in this Circle.
Lend us your powers of prosperity and abundance.
Hail and Welcome!

East:

We call to you, power of the East
Spirits and Elementals of the Air.
Under the power and light of the Harvest Moon
And on this sacred night of Mabon
We ask that you come, join us, and be with us in this Circle.
Lend us your powers of knowledge and wisdom.
Hail and Welcome!

South:

We call to you, power of the South
Spirits and Elementals of the Fire.
Under the power and light of the Harvest Moon
And on this sacred night of Mabon
We ask that you come, join us, and be with us in this Circle.
Lend us your powers of passion and regeneration.
Hail and Welcome!

West:

We call to you, power of the West
Spirits and Elementals of the Water.
Under the power and light of the Harvest Moon
And on this sacred night of Mabon
We ask that you come, join us, and be with us in this Circle.
Lend us your powers of intuition and love.
Hail and Welcome!

When releasing, release the quarters as you normally do.

Have a happy and blessed Mabon!