🍂Mabon Lore🍂

Mabon, which can be pronounced as MAY-bun, MAY-bone, MAH-boon, or MAH-bawn, marks the Autumn Equinox and goes by various names, including The Second Harvest Festival, Wine Harvest, Feast of Avalon, Equinozio di Autunno (Strega), Alben Elfed - Celtic (Caledonii), or Cornucopia. The Teutonic name for this time is Winter Finding, extending from the Sabbat to Winter's Night on October 15th, which is considered the Norse New Year.

Mabon is a celebration of the renewal of life. It is often observed by harvesting grapes from the vine and apples from orchards. The Feast of Avalon involves paying respects to the departed, with Avalon denoting the Celtic Land of the Dead, signifying the Land of Apples. A touching Celtic tradition involves placing an apple on the gravestone of a deceased person, symbolizing a wish for the living to reunite with their loved ones. Winter Finding is celebrated from the Autumn Equinox to Winter's Night on October 15th.

For the Celts, Mabon is also the commemoration of the Welsh God Mabon {Mah-bawn}, the son of Modred, who was abducted from his mother and rescued by King Arthur. His name, "the Great Son," designates him as a minor sun God, although he is more renowned as the embodiment of darkness and is acknowledged as the King of Death or the Underworld.

The Autumn Equinox divides day and night equally, offering a moment to acknowledge the impending darkness and express gratitude for the diminishing sunlight while storing this year's harvest. Druids refer to this celebration as Mea'n Fo'mhair, honoring the Green Man, the God of the Forest, through offerings to trees. Ciders, wines, herbs, and fertilizer are fitting offerings at this time. Wiccans also celebrate the aging Goddess as she transitions from Mother to Crone and the God as he readies for death and rebirth.

Mabon is recognized as a time of the Mysteries when Aging Deities and the Spirit World are venerated. It represents balance and provides an opportunity to pause, relax, and savor the fruits of our personal labors, whether in our gardens, jobs, families, or daily lives. It is a time to reflect on your life, assess your path, accomplishments, and aspirations.

During this festival, it is customary to dress elegantly, dine extravagantly, and come together as a family in preparation for the year's end at Samhain. It's a moment to wrap up loose ends and prepare for a period of rest, relaxation, and introspection.

🍂Mabon Correspondences🍂

Symbolism:
Second Harvest, the Mysteries, Equality, and Balance.

Symbols:
Wine, gourds, pine cones, acorns, grains, corn, apples, pomegranates, vines like ivy, dried seeds, and horns of plenty. Candles in shades of brown, green, orange, and yellow.

Deities:
Goddesses - Cerridwen, Modron, Morgan, Epona, Persephone, Pomona, and the Muses. Gods - Lugh, Mabon, Thoth, Thor, Hermes, and The Green Man.

Traditional Foods:
Breads, nuts, apples, pomegranates, and vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and onions.

Herbs and Flowers:
Acorn, benzoin, ferns, grains, honeysuckle, marigold, milkweed, myrrh, passionflower, rose, sage, Solomon's seal, tobacco, thistle, and various vegetables.

Sacred Gemstones:
Sapphire, lapis lazuli, and yellow agates.

Special Activities:
Winemaking, collecting dried herbs, plants, seeds, and seed pods, forest walks, offering gifts in harvested fields, pouring libations for trees, and adorning burial sites with leaves, acorns, and pine cones to honor those who have passed on.

🍁Preparation and Ritual Information:🍁

In addition to your usual altar tools and props, upon the altar should be, if you are able, if not the Sacred Mists Altar will be set for everyone:

🍎 A deep red (or russet) altar cloth
🍁One russet, one orange candle, and one white candle as your significator. I will be using our beeswax spell candles in orange, red, and ivory.
https://sacredmists.com/candle....s/mini-spell-candles
🍂 A Wicker Basket
🍎 A Red Apple
🍁Assorted Fruits and Vegetables of the Second Harvest (Apples, Grapes, Berries, Squash, Corn, etc)
🍂 A Bell
🍎 Cauldron
🍁 Matches or Lighter
🍂 A Fallen Tree Branch, which will ideally be wand-length in size and width.
🍎A Boline
🍁 A Sprig or Two of Ivy, of approximately 2 feet in length each or more if possible. You may have numerous sprigs to make this length.
🍂 Mabon Incense - you can burn the Sacred Mists Mabon Stick Incense or craft your own with the recipe below.
https://sacredmists.com/incens....e/sacred-mists-incen

Sweep area, moving in a deosil (clockwise) manner. If you outline your Circle, do so with a red cord, low vibration stones, or various Harvest items such as wheat, corn, beans, etc. Set up your altar and place the deep red altar cloth over it. At center top, place the wicker basket, filled with the assorted fruit and vegetables. Place the apple and the boline on your Pentacle or a plate. Place the tree branch to the right of the basket. Place your orange candle to the left of your pentacle or plate and your russet candle to the right. Place your white candle in front of your pentacle or plate. Place the rest of your tools and altar adornments according to your personal preference. Take a shower or bath for purity. Sit quietly and meditate to ground and center. When you are ready, begin by playing some soothing music associated with the Sabbat and our Mabon ritual. At the starting time of the ritual (whichever you wish to attend - 12pm or 6 pm PT - or both!), light your candles beginning with your white candle, then the russet and lastly the orange. Let them burn through the ritual and let them burn after until they all burn out completely. Choose an appropriate sized candle in light of your time availability to have candles lit.

Please be on time for the rituals, as we will be starting promptly.

🍁Mabon Incense Recipe🍁
2 Parts Frankincense
1 Part Sandalwood
1 Part Cypress
1 Part Juniper
1 Part Pine
1/2 Part Oakmoss (or few drops of Oakmoss Bouquet oil)
1 Pinch Pulverized oak leaf

Cut up into small pieces and mix all ingredients together before burning upon lit charcoal in a fire proof container.