Sunday, September 22, 2013

Autumn Equinox

It is the time of the autumn equinox, and the harvest is winding down. The fields are nearly empty, because the crops have been plucked and stored for the coming winter. Mabon is the mid-harvest festival, and it is when we take a few moments to honor the changing seasons, and celebrate the second harvest. On or around September 21, for many Pagan and Wiccan traditions it is a time of giving thanks for the things we have, whether it is abundant crops or other blessings. You may want to take a moment to read up on:


Depending on your individual spiritual path, there are many different ways you can celebrate Mabon, but typically the focus is on either the second harvest aspect, or the balance between light and dark. This, after all, is the time when there is an equal amount of day and night. While we celebrate the gifts of the earth, we also accept that the soil is dying. We have food to eat, but the crops are brown and going dormant. Warmth is behind us, cold lies ahead. Here are a few rituals you may want to think about trying -- and remember, any of them can be adapted for either a solitary practitioner or a small group, with just a little planning ahead.

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Mabon Magical Herbs

Rue, yarrow, rosemary, marigold, sage, walnut leaves and husks, mistletoe, saffron, chamomile, almond leaves, passionflower, frankincense, rose hips, bittersweet, sunflower, wheat, oak leaves, dried apple or apple seeds.

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Incense

Pine, sage, sweet grass or myrrh you can also mix
marigold, passionflower, and fern, using
frankincense or myrrh as a resin for Mabon incense

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Mabon Magical Stones

During Mabon, stones ruled by the Sun will help
bring the Sun's energy to you.clear quartz,
amber, peridot, diamond, gold, citrine, yellow
topaz, cat's-eye, aventurine.

Mabon is a good time to cast spells of balance
and harmony. It's also a time of change.
Protection, wealth and prosperity spells are
appropriate as well.

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Holiday Fare

Mabon is the Witch's Thanksgiving, a time to
appreciate and give thanks to the Goddess for
her bounty and to share in the joys of the
harvest. Fall fruits, squash, gourds, pumpkins,
grains, nut breads, vegetables.

A magickal Mabon beverage: hot apple cider.
Apple rules the heart, cider alone is a self-
love potion. By spicing it with cinnamon, ruled
by Jupiter and the Sun, we are in essence,
ingesting the sunlight.

Sample menu #1: Mabon Wine Moon Cider, Roast
Chicken Rubbed with Sage, Basil, and Thyme,
Acorn Squash made with Sweet Butter, Cinnamon
and Honey, and Apple Bread.

Sample menu #2: Wine from the god and beans and
squashes from the goddess. A hearty multi-bean
soup with smoked meats (optional), including
such as cut-up mild sausage like mild Italian
or Polish.

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Mabon Wine Moon Cider

4 cups apple cider 1/2 tsp. whole cloves
4 cups grape juice additional cinnamon sticks
2 cinnamon sticks for cups, 6 inches long
1 tsp allspice

In a 4-quart saucepan, heat cider and grape
juice. Add cinnamon, allspice and cloves.
Bring just to boiling. Lower heat and simmer
for 5 minutes.

Serve with ladle from a cauldron. Makes 8 cups.

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Mabon Activities

* Make grapevine wreaths using dried bitter-
  sweet herb for protection. Use ribbons of
  gold and yellow to bring in the energy of the
  Sun, and decorate with sprigs of dried yarrow
  or cinnamon sticks.

* Make a Magical Horn of Plenty.

* Make Magickal Scented Pinecones.

* Make a protection charm of hazelnuts
  (filberts) strung on red thread.

* Collect milkweed pods to decorate at Yuletide
  and attract the faeries.

* Call upon the elementals and honor them for
  their help with (N-earth) the home and
  finances, (E-air) school and knowledge,
  (S-fire) careers and accomplishments,
  (W-water) emotional balance and fruitful
  relationships.

* Make a witch's broom. Tie dried corn husks or
  herbs (broom, cedar, fennel, lavender,
  peppermint, rosemary) around a strong,
  relatively straight branch of your choice.

* Make magic Apple Dolls: Apples are sacred
  symbols of the witch. Our holy land, Avalon,
  means Apple-land or Island of Apples. Slice
  an apple through the midsection and its seeds
  reveal the sacred shape of the pentacle.
  You will need two large apples, one for Mabon
  and one for Modron, 2 pencils and 2 dowels
  about 12 inches long, a paring knife, a glass
  or bowl of water to wash your fingers, a plate,
  and a towel to wipe your hands. Peel and core
  the apples. Carve a face in the apples. Place
  apples on a dowel and stand them in a jar
  to dry (start now). Then charge in a magick
  circle. After 2 or 3 weeks, they should look
  like shrunken heads. Make them into dolls. Use
  wheat, dried herbs or doll's hair for hair.
  Dress them in tiny robes and bring them into
  the circle, asking god/dess to charge them with
  their light.
 
  Hang these Mabon and Madron heads on a Witch's
  cord or a Mabon wreath.

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From "Celebrate the Earth" by Laurie Cabot, Green Witchcraft by Ann Moura, Llewellyn's Witches'
Calendar 1998, and The Witches' God by Janet and Stewart Farrar.




-The Crafty Witch

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