If you fuck all things fall — " leaf peeping " thefall leaf , picking apples , decking out your front stoop with gourd and Zea mays stalks — then you might want to add another vacation to the calendar . Mabon , also known as " pagan Thanksgiving , " is a harvest festivity that falls around theautumnal equinoxin late September .
Since the sunup of agriculture , many cultures around the worldly concern have initiate and celebrated the harvest home season with ancient rite of feasting and thanksgiving for the teemingness of the world .
Incontemporary heathenism , multitude who may key as Neopagans , Wiccans , Druid , hedonists , witches , animist , nature worshippers or plain sure-enough Pagans have revived and reinterpret ancient harvest traditions . say on to determine more about the history of Mabon and how you’re able to celebrate it .
What Is Mabon?
Mabon is one of eight " sabbat , " contemporary Pagan festivals that commemorate the changing of the seasons on the Pagan calendar recognise as theWheel of the Year . The well - known sabbats are Yule , which commemorates the winter solstice andSamhain , the later harvest time festival associated withHalloween .
Although lesser - known , the descent equinox fete Mabon is " a really powerful time , " saysSelena Fox , senior minister of religion and high priestess ofCircle Sanctuary , a nature spirituality centre in Wisconsin . " I think most people would acknowledge a lot of the ancient fall equinox customs but did n’t realize where they had their origins . "
What Is the Autumnal Equinox?
If you live in the Northern Hemisphere , the autumnal equinoctial point is the date in late September when the number of daylight hours and darkness are almost exactly equal ( 12 hours each ) . If you live in the Southern Hemisphere , that same September date is your spring equinoctial point , also known as the vernal equinox .
forward-looking astronomers are not the only ones who have carefully calculate and tracked the drop and spring equinox , as well as the summertime and wintertime solstice when the daylight hour are long and shortest .
" All around the world , there are ancient monuments and sacred sites that were built to attune to the equinoctial point point and the solstice point , " Fox sound out .
Examplesinclude the Pyramid ofKukulkanat the ancient Mayan site ofChichen Itzain Mexico . Every year on the declension and spring equinoctial point , the interplay of light and shadow makes it look like a with child serpent is descending the temple ’s Harlan F. Stone step .
Mabon: A New Name for Old Ways
Fox first organized the Welcome Fall Festival at Circle Sanctuary in 1974 , not long after Paganism was reborn as a contemporary spiritual motion . " The Christian Bible ' Mabon ' as a term for the declivity equinox is only about 55 class old , " say Fox .
Early Origins of the Name ‘Mabon’
The festival name " Mabon " come the the son , a Welsh god , of the Earth Mother Goddess . There ’s a chivalric Welsh schoolbook called theMabinogionthat includes some of the earliest story of Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table .
The hero of one of the stories is a handsome untried god named Mabon ap Modron ( " Son of the female parent " ) who was held hostage in the underworld as a baby .
Contemporary Paganism and the 8 Sabbats
When modern-day Paganism was emerging in the sixties and 1970s , an academician and poet named Aiden Kelly was taste to create a lexicon for this unexampled / sure-enough religion . As Kellywrote on Patheos , he went looking for Gaelic or Germanic names for a Pagan calendar base on the solstice , equinoxes and other dates that would become the eight sabbats .
When he could n’t find a worthy Gaelic or Germanic name for the dusk equinox , Kelly chose Mabon , because the Welsh god ’s story has some elements in common with Hellenic goddess Demeter , whose ancient cult has association to the dusk equinoctial point .
" It was not an arbitrary choice , " Kelly wrote . " There seems to be a complex of myth associating the declination equinox with the rescue of a young person from death , datable back to about 1500 B.C.E. "
He referred to the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac which is understand atRosh Hashanah , a Jewish vacation that also bump in late September .
Mabon Today
Whether you call it Mabon , fall equinox or Pagan Thanksgiving , Fox say the name of the vacation is n’t as important as the traditions and meaning behind it .
" I appreciate the fact that some long - remain firm harvest traditions are carry on to be prevent alive by individuals and family and communities , by whatever name , " Fox says .
3 Ways to Celebrate Mabon
On the Pagan calendar , Mabon is the 2nd harvesting fete ( there are three in all ) . The first crop , Lughnasadh , takes shoes in early August . Mabon celebrate the bounty of late September , and Samhain marks the last harvest of tardy October .
As farmer and gardeners in the Northern Hemisphere recognize , late September is the acme of the harvest time of year when everything in the field is advanced and ready to pick : edible corn , mash , tomatoes , peppers , potatoes , apples , pears and grape .
1. Recognizing the Harvest With the Cornucopia
One of Fox ’s favorite Mabon traditions is to fill a cornucopia with the bounty of the time of year . " The Horn of Plenty , which is such an iconic dusk medallion , has its roots among the ancient Greeks , " Fox aver .
The cornucopia could be the centerpiece for apotluck Mabon outing , where your client land a homemade dish feature the fruits of the fall . If you require to make it more of a Pagan Thanksgiving , ask everyone to contemplate on the past class and apportion something they ’re thankful for .
2. Reflect on Balance
you’re able to also set away prison term to meditate on the idea of " balance , " Fox say , since the tumble equinox is when the light and dark are in balance .
" Whether you ’re Pagan or not , " he continues , " this clip of yr can be a really good opportunity to take a look at what kind of balance to bring to our personal lives . Are we working too much ? Are we procrastinating too much and not accomplish enough ? There ’s an chance at Mabon to evaluate and readjust . "
3. Embrace an Autumnal Nature
Probably the simplest way to lionise is by bringing the color of evenfall into the home with a Mabon altar . Place a field goal of fresh red and yellow apples . Fashion a fall wreath out of autumn parting and dried flowers .
Or better yet , tell Fox , go out into nature itself .
Take an early even manner of walking in the brisk fall breeze . Get lose in a clavus maze . Or on a clear nighttime , soak in the gleam of the Harvest Moon , the last full Sun Myung Moon before the drop equinox . " Before electricity , it was really helpful to have that extra illuminance when you were bring in in the harvest . "
