The Sabbats
Sabbats in History and Mythology /
Samhain (October 31st)
/ Yule
(December 21st) /
Imbolc (February 2nd)
/ Ostara
(March 21st) /
Beltane (April 30th)
/ Litha
(June 21st) /
Lughnasadh (August 1st)
/ Mabon
(September 21st)
Written and compiled by
George Knowles
Mabon
The Autumn Equinox
Mabon is upon us, sweet Autumn Equinox
A time of hope and balance, and of harvesting our crops
When day and night are equal, as on Ostara day
We share our food, our hope, our love, our God and Goddess'
way.
Anonymous???
Mabon the
Autumn Equinox is one of the
lesser Sabbats of the Witches calendar. In
the Northern Hemisphere it normally falls between the 21st-23rd September,
and this year 2008 it lands on the 22nd (in the Southern
Hemisphere the equivalent Sabbat is Ostara the Spring Equinox). At
Lammas (1st August), we celebrated the first
of three autumnal harvests, and now as days and nights become equal and
darkness overtakes light, we celebrate the conclusion of the second harvest.
Mabon can be pronounced in various ways:
May-bun, May-bone, Mah-boon or Mah-bawn), and is commonly known by a
variety of names: The Second
Harvest, Harvest of First Fruits, Wine Harvest, Feast of Avalon, Festival of
Dionysus, Michaelmas, Harvest Home and Cornucopia.
The druids of old celebrated the Autumn Equinox
as “Mea’n Fo’mhair” in which they honoured the Green Man as the
God of the Forest by offering libations to trees.
According to the Celtic tree calendar Mabon is represented by the Vine (2nd
Sept – 29th Sept), and the season (23rd Sept-22nd
Dec) by the White Popular (Aspen).
Green Man mask
While the waning sun still hovers in the sky and crops
continuing to be gathered, it’s a rush against time to reap in the crops
before the cold winter winds overtakes us.
After completing the corn harvest started at Lammas; the farmer turns his
attention to grapes from vines, apples from orchards, nuts, berries and other
essential fruits and vegetables. As
the days become shorter his efforts to complete the harvest are aided by the
light of the full moon. For this
reason the full moon closest to Mabon is known as the “Harvest Moon”.
Another name for this moon is the “Wine Moon”, for when
apples and grapes are harvested, the grapes are pressed into wine and apples
made into cider, both being favoured drinks of the season.
The grapevine in particular was considered sacred by early Pagans and
reached a height in popularity during the eighth century BCE.
The followers of Dionysus/Bacchus, the gods of wine and inspiration,
honoured the grape vine as a symbol of rebirth and transformation.
In addition to harvesting the crops, many other things need
to be accomplished for our continued survival.
Like seeds of renewal for the following years plantings need to be
separated and stored ready for re-use. Contained
within them is the mystery of Life in Death, the spirit of nature in the guise
of the “Corn King”. He was
sacrificed at Lammas and now sleeps awaiting his re-birth and return in the
spring. As summer draws to an end
and winter approaches, nature withdraws its bounty and begins its period of
rest. Leaves fall from trees,
flowers wither and die, and birds begin their migration to warmer climes.
Mabon is also the start of the hunting season, and time to check
livestock’s (herd animals and poultry) ready for the winter slaughter.
“The
reaping is over and the harvest is in,
Summer is finished, another cycle begins”
A harvest supper known as Harvest Home is traditional at
this time, when friends and family all gather together to rest and appreciate
the fruits of their labour. The
home is decorated with autumn coloured leaves, wheat sheaths, corn stalks and
cornucopias filled with seasonal fruits and nuts. The table is set and filled with such delights as hot stews,
roast meat, poultry, pork pies, hams, bread, potato cakes and vegetables,
followed by custards pies, cakes, fresh fruit and tarts.
Typical fruits of this time are apples, grapes, hazelnuts, pears and
peaches, all washed down with copious helpings of wine, ale and cider.
Mythologies
In the mythology of the sabbats, at Mabon the “Lord of
the Harvest” dies in a willing act of sacrifice.
He descends into the earth to the Underworld there to await his return by
rebirth of the Goddess. Nature
declines and draws back its bounty in readiness for the winter and it’s time
of rest. The Goddess looks at the
weakening sun and a fire burns in her womb as she feels the presence of the God,
and so prepares for her own journey into the Underworld in search for him again.
Mabon far from being a term from antiquity when the Autumn
Equinox was referred to simply as that “the Autumn Equinox”, it was not
until recent times that neo-pagans began referring to it as Mabon.
Ronald Hutton, a noted pagan scholar and historian, claims the term was
first used by the American author Aidan Kelly during the early 1970’s, when as
a co-founder of the “New
Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn” he was drafting copies
for his much later book “Crafting the Art of Magic” published in
1991. Kelly has admitted that he
coined the modern term Mabon (and other festival names) from literary sources,
in this case Welsh mythology, in his efforts to conceptualise modern pagan
rituals.
In Welsh mythology Mabon is the “divine son” of Modron,
the Great Goddess of the Earth and the Otherworld.
As the story goes Mabon disappears or is kidnapped three days after his
birth (and the light of the sun diminishes), and is held prisoner in the
Otherworld (Modron’s womb). Where
he is held nobody knows, not even Modron, who seeks the help of friends to find
him. Eventually aided by King
Arthur (from the Arthurian legends) and guided by 5 anciently revered animals
(the Raven, Stag, Owl, Eagle and Salmon) they find Mabon at Yule, and release
him from his prison as the new source of Light.
In this story of Mabon it is easy to see parallels matching
the mythology of the sabbats, but perhaps more fitting to natural events are the
Eleusinian mysteries associated with Demeter and Persephone from Greek
mythology. In brief, Demeter
is the Goddess of Corn, Grain and the Harvest.
One bright sunny day her daughter Persephone was out picking
flowers in a meadow, when the earth suddenly opened up and the God Hades dragged
her down into the Underworld, there to become his wife.
Hades
abducts Persephone - (Sculpture by
Schiaffino)
Demeter was naturally devastated and for the next nine days
looked everywhere for her, but to no avail.
In her distress Demeter consulted with the Sun god Apollo,
who revealed that her brother Zeus had pledged her daughter to Hades in a secret agreement. Furiously
Demeter left Olympus and wandered the Earth to search for her disguised as an
old woman. Unable to find her she
retired to her temple at Eleusis and cursed the earth so no crops would grow.
Zeus became concerned at the resulting
famine and sent her a message asking why she was doing this. She responded stating there would be no renewal of the
earth’s bounty until her daughter was returned.
Zeus sent Hermes into the Underworld to seek the release of
Persephone, but Hades was not willing to give up his wife
completely. He knew he
must obey Zeus however, so he enticed Persephone to eat a pomegranate
seed before she returned with Hermes, and by doing so she became eternally bound to Hades and the Underworld.
When Demeter learning of this trick she appealed to Zeus who declared
that Persephone would henceforth live two
thirds of the year with her mother, but the remaining third of the year
must be spent with her husband Hades.
So delighted was Demeter to have Persephone back, if only
for part of each year, she lifted the curse she had placed on the earth
and revealed the Mysteries of nature.
She created the Spring Equinox in celebration of her daughter’s return,
and the Autumn Equinox to reflect the great sorrow she felt when once again her
daughter would journey back into the Underworld and be with her husband Hades.
Frieze of Demeter and Persephone
Consecrating Triptolemus
After
revealing Mysteries of
nature, Demeter taught
the people of Eleusis the principles of agriculture, and these they observed
annually. Later these observances
were adopted by Athens as official festivals, but under the influence of the
Eleusinian priesthood. The most
important part of the festival was the initiation of new Priests and
Priestesses, which for centuries took place every year in the Telesterion Temple
at Eleusis. While the Mysteries
were reserved only for the priesthood, the
festival was eventually opened to all Greek citizens.
End.
Sources
Microsoft®
Encarta® 2006. © 1993-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Cunningham's Encyclopedia Of Magical Herbs - By Scott
Cunningham
A Witches Bible -
by Stewart and Janet Farrar
Plus to many websites to mention
Written and compiled on the 12th
September 2008 ©
George Knowles
Best
wishes and Blessed Be
