Mabon, can be pronounced MAY-bun, MAY-bone, MAH-boon, or MAH-bawn, otherwise known as Autumnal Equinox and is also known as The Second Harvest Festival, Harvest Home, (some like to use Harvest Home for Lammas), Wine Harvest, Feast of Avalon, Equinozio di Autunno (Strega), Alben Elfed (Caledonii), or Cornucopia. The Teutonic name is Winter Finding, which spans a period of time from Autumn Equinox to the Sabbatto Oct. 15th,
Winter's Night which is the Norse New Year.
The turning of the wheel now brings us to Mabon, the second of the three harvest Sabbats. Mabon is also the Autumn Equinox, that time of the year when night and day are of equal length, from which point the dark begins to dominate the light.
The Druids call this celebration, Mea'n Fo'mhair, and honor the Green Man, the God of the Forest, by offering libations to trees. Offerings of ciders, wines, herbs and fertilizer are appropriate at this time. Wiccans also celebrate the aging Goddess as she passes from Mother to Crone, and her consort the God as he prepares for death and re-birth.
The month of September also marks the "Wine Moon," the lunar cycle when grapes are harvested from the arbors, pressed and put away to become wine...a favorite drink of Pagans everywhere. Wine and grapevines were considered sacred by early Pagans as well. Reaching its height of popularity in the eighth century BCE, the following of Dionysus, a God of Resurrection, honored wine and the grapes as symbols of rebirth and transformation. Generally, wine is associated with the God, and the Goddess with bread created from the crops.
The full moon closest to the Autumn Equinox is known as the "Harvest Moon," since farmers would also harvest their crops during the night with the light of the full moon to aid them. With the waning sun still observed in the sky and crops continuing to be gathered for the coming bleakness of winter, the farmer's life was harried and rough. The struggle to reap the crops and store everything for the oncoming months of cold dominated his daily life. In those days, people lived by the harvest, which was quite literally life itself. Folks were also deeply concerned with the slaughtering of herd animals and gathering of other provisions.
Symbolism Second Harvest, the Mysteries, Equality and Balance.
Symbols: Wine, gourds, pine cones, acorns, grains, corn, apples, pomegranates, vines such as ivy, dried seeds, and horns of plenty. Brown, green, orange and yellow candles
Deities Goddesses:Modron, Morgan, Epona, Persephone, Pamona and the Muses.
Gods: Mabon, Thoth, Thor, Hermes, and The Green Man.
Traditional Foods: Breads, nuts, apples, pomegranates, and vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, and onions.
Herbs and Flowers: Acorn, benzoin, ferns, grains, honeysuckle, marigold, milkweed, myrrh, passionflower, rose, sage, solomon's seal, tobacco, thistle, and vegetables.
Incense: Autumn Blend-benzoin, myrrh, and sage.
Sacred Gems: Sapphire, lapis lazuli, and yellow agates.
Special Activities Making wine, gathering dried herbs, plants, seeds and seed pods, walking in the woods, scattering offerings in harvested fields, offering libations to trees, adorning burial sites with leaves, acorns, and pine cones to honor those who have passed over.
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