Mabon Blessings!

Today is the Autumn Equinox, the day when the Sun enters the Cardinal Air Sign Libra, which marks the beginning of Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. 

In Wiccan/Pagan circles this is the Festival Day known as Mabon, honoring the second harvest of the year.  It is a day of giving thanks for the rich bounty which will sustain us through the dark winter months, very similar in theme to the USA’s Thanksgiving Day in November.

In Wicca there are three harvest festivals, the first is celebrated on August 2, known as Lammas or Lughnasadh, Mabon on the Autumn Equinox,  and the third, Samhain on October 31, Halloween. 

There are eight Wiccan Festival Days through the year, known as Sabbats.  Astrologically these correspond to the first day of the four seasons when the Sun enters one of the four Cardinal Signs: Aries, beginning Spring; Cancer beginning Summer; Libra beginning Autumn; and Capricorn, beginning Winter.  The other four Festival Days correspond roughly to the days when the Sun is at the mid-point (15 degrees) of the Fixed Signs; Imbolc, February 2 in the sign Aquarius, Beltane, May 1 in the sign Taurus, Lammas, August 2 in the sign Leo, and Samhain, October 31 in the sign Scorpio.

Traditional celebrations for Mabon include wine, gourds, pine cones, acorns, grains, corn, apples, pomegranates, vines such as ivy, dried seeds, and horns of plenty. 

“At this festival it is appropriate to wear all of your finery and dine and celebrate in a lavish setting. It is the drawing to and of family as we prepare for the winding down of the year at Samhain. It is a time to finish old business as we ready for a period of rest, relaxation, and reflection.”  [1]

When I first discovered Wicca in the mid 1990s I was looking for a book which would explain the use Astrology in Ritual Magick.  I didn’t find one, but I did find the book  Circle Of The Cosmic Muse: A Wiccan Book Of Shadows by Maria K. Simms, and I was immediately delighted with this beautiful religion of celebration and cooperation with the forces of nature. The author is a Wiccan High Priestess and a professional Astrologer, and explains that, though their Coven celebrates the Sabbats on the traditional festival dates, she performs her personal rituals for them on the astrological “power days” when the Sun is at 0 degrees of the Cardinal Signs and 15 degrees of the Fixed Signs.  Already familiar with Astrology from childhood on, this book provided me with a beautiful way to celebrate these astrological power days in my own personal life.

So, I wish to all a wonderful Mabon!  May you have many blessings to give thanks for this year and in every year to come.

Micki

[1] Mabon image and quote are from Joelle’s Sacred Grove

Autumn Leaves picture is from Crystal Links