Pagan Holidays - Autumn Equinox
The autumn equinox is the second time of year when day and night are of equal length, the first being the spring equinox. It occurs approximately every September 21st in the northern hemisphere.
The leaves are beginning to turn and the birds will migrate soon. For many of us a slower pace is setting in. While at Lughnasadh or Lammas we celebrate the first harvest while there is yet still work to do, now is the time of the completion of the harvest and gathering our food and sundry for what we will need through the winter.
Even though we may not live in an agrarian society, this urge to hoard for the cold season ahead is still with us. How many of us stock up a little extra at this time even with mega-stores in nearly every town of at least moderate size?
The leaves are beginning to turn and the birds will migrate soon. For many of us a slower pace is setting in. While at Lughnasadh or Lammas we celebrate the first harvest while there is yet still work to do, now is the time of the completion of the harvest and gathering our food and sundry for what we will need through the winter.
Even though we may not live in an agrarian society, this urge to hoard for the cold season ahead is still with us. How many of us stock up a little extra at this time even with mega-stores in nearly every town of at least moderate size?
The Importance of Balance
This time of year was traditionally the time of rest after labor. Parents hurriedly getting their children ready for the new school year do so knowing that after the rush is when the routinesets in.
Rituals at both equinoxes honor balance between light and dark. While spring was the time of going forth into the fullness of the summer, we know the sun is now fading in the sky. Balance is still honored but with more of a nod towards the coming darkness.
Rituals at both equinoxes honor balance between light and dark. While spring was the time of going forth into the fullness of the summer, we know the sun is now fading in the sky. Balance is still honored but with more of a nod towards the coming darkness.
"Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile." - William Cullen Bryant
Legends of Autumn
Mabon, another name for this holiday, was a Welsh god whose name means Divine Youth and is the son of Modron, the Divine Mother. Legend has it he was stolen from his mother when he was just three nights old.Still other legends tell of him being a champion of King Arthur after being rescued from his captivity possibly on an island or even in the underworld. The authenticity of Mabon as a god from mythology or a fictional character in the King Arthur tales is still questioned by scholars.
His abduction story seems to parallel that of Persephone stolen from her mother Demeter. Persephone too was swept away to the underworld.
In the spring, she comes home to her mother for half the year when Demeter in her happiness allows the growing season to happen. In the fall is when Persephone returns to the underworld when Demeter in her sorrow makes the earth barren again.
These stories encourage another main theme of this holiday - that of thanksgiving for all the bounty of the year. We understand it is time to enter the darkness but patiently await the return of the sun personified by the rebirth of the divine child at Yule which will eventually lead to the return of spring.
Ritual and Magic Themes
Celebrations and Traditional Offerings of the Season
Personal and group rituals include showing gratitude for the bounty of the year especially to those deities you feel guide you in your daily work and home life. Like many of the sabbats, magic isn't necessarily the purpose. Instead, our main focus is to connect with the wheel of the year cycle and our experience of the divine.This isn't a hard and fast rule however. The veil between the physical world and the otherworld is believed to be thin at the equinoxes when balance is so strongly demonstrated between light and dark. Magic to bring more balance into your own life would be powerful at this time.
If this year has not been as bountiful as you would like, a thanksgiving ritual would still be a powerful way for you to show your receptivity to the gifts of spirit. Employment and careerspells would be a positive way to bring the energy of this holiday in your life.
This holiday carries on the thanksgiving theme begun at Lammas. Mabon is especially a time for honoring the gods and goddesses of our group or personal Pagan practice that have provided for us throughout the year. Traditional offerings are the foods most prevalent in your area, fall flowers, and items made from our own hands representing our labor.
"There is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky, which through the summer is not heard or seen, as if it could not be, as if it had not been!" - Percy Bysshe Shelley
Important!
Foods for the Autumm Equinox Sabbat
Your favorite fall foods are perfect for Mabon cooking.
- Apples and related dishes such as pies, cake, candy and caramel apples.
- Pumpkin soup, bread, and pie.
- Squash dishes including baked and sauteed squash and zucchini bread.
- Pork is commonly served at this holiday.
Autumn Recipes
Find fabulous recipes for your fall ritual.
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