A Bit About Mabon

Is it really Mabon again? Egads, the year flies by, doesn't it? After another summer of intense heat, which is really not to my liking, we are again at that point on the Wheel of the Year where I come alive once more. Autumn is most definitely my season, which is not surprising really as I am a deeply introverted person who spends a great deal of time inside her own head. So it makes perfect sense that I would thrive in that portion of the Earth Wheel where things are becoming quiet and resting within themselves for the dark of winter. Samhain is my favorite sabbat of the year, but Mabon can sort of be viewed as the "gateway" to Samhain, and that's good enough for me.

Mabon, a lesser sabbat, is also known as the Second Harvest Festival (after Lammas). It represents the balance between the darkness and the light; of perfect equality. The foods of Mabon are corn, potatoes, nuts, apples and onions. Bread is, of course, a must. The traditional herbs of this sabbat are thistle, tobacco, myrrh, marigold (to symbolize the last of the bright light) and sage, which should be burned at any rituals. Not surprisingly, the symbols of this sabbat are what we see on every farm stand we pass in our daily travels: gourds, pumpkins, apples, pine cones, and corn stalks. The pomegranate is an important food and decoration for feasts and altars alike, symbolizing fertility, abundance and equanimity.

This is a sabbat of the solitary and the mysterious. Not sure what to do to celebrate? Try making some homemade wine, or take a walk alone in the woods while gathering dried seeds, leaves, branches and berries. You can use these to adorn your house and your altar. Alternately, you can take some of what you have gathered and visit the graves of loved ones now passed and decorate their headstones with the pinecones, leaves and berries, honoring those who have gone before you as a prelude to Samhain. Bake a loaf of bread- even a quick bread of fruit and nuts is nice- and break a slice into pieces, scattering it outdoors (preferably in the woods or on a harvested field, if possible) as an offering to the Goddess who has now matured into the Crone, as well as to give one last thanks for this past season of abundance. In doing this, you'll also be feeding some hungry wildlife on these first few cooler days and nights.

Whatever you choose to do to celebrate this little sabbat, take a moment to reflect on your life and the passing of another season, another year. Dive into the quiet of your mind for a spell, and revel in the last of the light while welcoming the gentle darkness that is quickly coming.

Photo Courtesy of Linder Rox on flickr.

Beltane Lore

Opposite Samhain on the Wheel of the Year, Beltane is the sabbat we celebrate to usher in the beginning of summer, the warmth of the sun and to bless both our crops and Mother Earth. And just as the veil between our world and the spirit world is at its thinnest at Samhain, the veil between our world and the world of the Fae is at its most thin at Beltane.

When one thinks of Beltane, the first thing that comes to mind is the Maypole. If you're lucky enough to participate in a Maypole ceremony you'll not only bring yourself an afternoon of joy, but a year of good luck as well. While the pole itself is an ancient ritual, the brightly colored ribbons and flowers tied around the pole are a slightly more recent addition, bringing a feminine aspect to the celebration of the God and his virility.

Lighting fires is a Beltane custom, as the original festival was in honor of Bel, a solar deity, and this practice was both a way to honor the return of the sun needed for a successful growing season and a means of purification as well. Make yourself even a small Beltane fire and either jump over it or pass yourself or any items you wish to cleanse through its smoke and you will ensure yourself a year of prosperity, purification and protection.

In an attempt to Christianize this sabbat, the early church renamed it Roodmas, or the Feast of the Cross which celebrated the finding of the cross by Saint Helena on which Jesus was crucified, and which was far more palatable to them than the obviously phallic connotations of the Pole.

On Beltane morning, get up early and wash your face in the cool May Day dew for youthful beauty and health. Then find yourself a small clear pool of fresh spring water, a clean puddle, a creek or even the edge of a lake and do a quiet divination within its mirrored surface. End the day by making love with your partner, preferably outdoors, as you ring in the season of Mother Earth's fertility.

Blessed be.

Photo courtesy of Zayabibu on flickr.