Today is the day! The first day of fall! I spent the day antiquing and having some quality time with my hard working boyfriend. I have a celebration plan, but by the time I got back from the day I was too tired. So I will probably do that tomorrow! (Picture is my own)
What is Mabon/Autumn Equinox?
I know there are many posts about this, however I think I have a *unique* outlook so I wanted to share.
Mabon is one of the eight Sabbats that many Wiccans and witches celebrate throughout the year as part of the Wheel of the Year. “Mabon” was a name coined by Aiden Kelly in the 70s. It originated from a welsh tale, and was chosen because of how the symbolism in the tale related to the Wiccan god/goddess archetype. Mabon is generally a Wiccan holiday, however this time of year has been celebrated for centuries for various reasons throughout history, many of which are similar in themes. If you wish to celebrate this time as Mabon, there are many resources out there for you!
I’m not Wiccan, and personally don’t identify with the name Mabon. I like to celebrate this time as strictly the Autumn Equinox, a beautiful part of nature.
Major Themes
There are two major themes for me at this time.
Harvest Sacrifices
This is, depending on where you live, a time of harvest. If you have a garden, maybe you’re harvesting the majority of your crop. If you live in a large farming area you’re seeing all that harvest in the farmers markets. I look at this as the sacrifice of the earth – the death of all the plants, for our survival. Now I know, many of us don’t live in a time where we rely on our own hard work and land to get us through the winter, but people in the past did. And the symbolism is there.
So it’s really important to practice gratitude at this time! You can be greatful for earth’s sacrifices, and if you follow any gods/goddesses there is probably a sacrificial tale relating to them. I’m a Christian witch, so for me I like to think of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins. For someone else it may be the sacrifice of another god or goddess /es.
More personally we can look at and be thankful for our own harvest – what we’ve manifested in our personal life, and if you follow a god/goddess, you can thank them for helping provide that for you (if that floats your boat).
Balance
The other main theme for me is balance. Like the spring equinox, this is basically a balanced time of the year. The night and day are almost equal in length, and warm and cold sort of meet as they trade off. So it’s a beautiful time of year as the amazing colors of the earth start to show up. And even though we know we’re going into the dark of winter, we get to look at all the beauty earth has to offer for a while.
This is a great time to look into yourself, and think about what you need to balance in your life. It’s kind of a time to trade off between focusing on balance outside you, and the balance inside you!
What to Remember
So what I wanted to impress was sort of, if you want to celebrate this time as “Mabon” do! But remember that you don’t HAVE to just because that’s sort of the witchy thing to do. So many ancient civilizations have celebrated this time for reasons that were important to them. It doesn’t even all have to be pagan/witchy celebrations, some were honoring their gods for the harvest, some were throwing parties because this was a really stressful time of year and they needed to de-stress. Mabon is not one specific ancient festival or festivity that is being resurrected, it’s kind of just the realization that this is a really cool time of year. So figure out what the Autumn Equinox means to you, who you want to, if anybody, honor, and how you want to spend it! Your celebrations will mean so much more if you have cultivated them yourself (that includes doing what everyone else does, IF you’re doing it because you’ve decided that’s what you want to do and not because everyone else does it). Over time they will mean more and more to you as you learn about yourself and your craft!
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