by Blathnaid (a/k/a Erin Scott)
Mabon is a Sabbat of celebration for the abundance of the harvest; a time meant for us to give thanks through song, dance and feasts. This is a time of balance, when day and night are equal once again; a time of meditation and introspection; a time to slow down the pace of our lives and to relax and recognize our own personal harvests during the year that is fast declining; a time to appreciate the connection we have with those around us, as well as those who have gone before us. It references the sense of community that this harvest festival fosters, for it’s through our kinship with those close to us that we endure through the long, dark, cold nights of Winter. The Autumnal Equinox is a time when we prepare our personal harvests, gathering those experiences transpired over the past year(s), bringing them within, making them a part of who we are – allowing them to die, regenerate into wisdom, and be reborn within.
Mythically, this festival celebrates the story of Modron, the Great Goddess of the Earth, and the birth of her Son, Mabon. Mabon is a Welsh name meaning “great son”, and refers to the Son of the Great Mother, The Divine Son of Light. According to the mythology, Mabon disappears (or is kidnapped, depending on tradition) three days after his birth – thus, the light goes into hiding and is veiled in mystery in the womb of the Earth, here personified as his mother, the Great Protector and Guardian of the Otherworld. The Otherworld is a place of challenge and a place of nurture, a place where one is renewed and regenerated, a place of new life.
Mabon can there be reborn, the Source of Light and Joy, the champion of his Mother. Just as the Light is being drawn into the earth accumulating strength and wisdom, to become a new seed, Mabon has returned to his mother’s womb. For as the Winter begins, the earth incubates the tender seeds. Throughout the Winter, the seeds are kept within Her womb so that they may be reborn and bring forth new life.
Beyond Mabon, Michaelmas and Harvest Home, this Sabbat has also been known as the Festival of Dionysus, the Wine Harvest, Harvest of First Fruits, Cornucopia, the Feast of Avalon, Equinozio di Autunno (Strega), and Alban Elfed (Caledonii or Druidic – which celebrates the Lord of the Mysteries). The Teutonic name for this season is Winter Finding, which begins on the Equinox itself and continues until Winter Night, October 15th, which is the Norse New Year. Yet another name is Fogharadh – which is a Gaelic word meaning “hospitality and abundance”.
Additional deities associated with Mabon include Dionysus and Bacchus, the Gods of Wine; Demeter, the Goddess of Grain; Persephone, Queen of the Underworld and daughter of Demeter; Thor, Lord of Thunder in Norse mythology; Morgan; Epona; Pamona; the Muses; Thoth, Hermes; and Hotei.
Mabon marks the completion of the grain harvest begun during Lughnasadh. It is a time of great joy and sorrow – a time of great change. We are at this time between the worlds … we mourn that which is passing, joyful for bountiful harvest and the awareness that the Mother will hold the seed of Light in Her womb. This is a time of realization that the Wheel of the Year has turned once more and will continue to turn. For time is circular not linear, there is no end but only new beginnings, the continuance of life eternal.
During Mabon, we are reminded of the necessity of fallow periods. These periods allow us to regenerate and incorporate that which we have progressed through. For in life, events happen, choices are made, and actions generated – we cannot go back and change that which has passed, but we can reap the harvest of wisdom these have brought us. We do not know that which we have not experienced, and it is this time we give thanks for that which has been our lives, for that we perceive as wonderful and that we perceive not to be, for they all are part of the sum of who we are.
It is through the passage of this lifetime we gain wisdom through experience. This wisdom then guides us into our tomorrows … fueling our desire to learn, live and learn once more. We journey from Death into Life, from Life into Death, knowing that once again the Wheel of Life will turn and we shall begin yet again. From each life, we reap the harvest of experience that becomes etched into our Souls, like the roads on a map – guiding us closer and closer to that understanding that which cannot be understood without understanding.
Article by Blathnaid (a/k/a Erin Scott)
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