It's Autumn Equinox
Hello everybody :)
It’s time that time again... time for another round of “Pagan Celebrations in a nutshell”.
Today, I briefly want to tell you about Autumn Equinox, commonly also known as Mabon.
(You know the drill... Let me still repeat it, just in case: This is not meant to promote or to bash any religion in any form. I strongly dislike people who preach and try to convert others to whatever set of beliefs, and I am convinced that whoever claims to posses the ‘only truth’ is wrong anyway. Neither is there only one truth, nor do I think that a human being can posses anything close to that at all. So whenever I talk about my personal belief, I just want to educate and to inform, not to criticise or convert.)
The holiday of Autumn Equinox is also known as Harvest Home, Mabon, the Feast of the Ingathering, Meán Fómhair or Alban Elfed. The generally used name Mabon is relatively ‘new’ and was coined by Aidan Kelly (an influential figure in Wicca) around 1970 as a reference to Mabon ap Modron, a character from Welsh mythology. The exact history of that celebration is a bit hazy, but it seems to date back before written records.
Mabon is - to some degree - a ‘variable’ sabbat, meaning it takes place on a different day each year, depending on the Autumn equinox (an equinox occurs only twice a year - in Spring and Autumn - when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the centre of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator). In the northern hemisphere this equinox occurs anywhere from September 21 to 24.
As I mentioned in my last ‘sabbat entry’, Mabon is the second of the three harvest festivals, preceded by Lughnasadh and followed by Samhain. Just like the days get shorter and shorter, the mood of those harvest festivals gets gradually darker. While Lughnasadh is a joyful celebration of life, Mabon is more a about recognition, preparation and (silent) gratefulness. It’s the time of rest after labour, after the completion of the harvest. Once again, the hours of day and night are in balance, with the darkness increasing. All preparations for the dark of the year and the year's ending are about to be finished. Therefore, Mabon is often referred to as the ‘Pagan Thanksgiving’.
As usual, I’m closing this little entry with a video that excellently captures the mood and the very essence of Mabon:
Finally, I'd like to wish you all a Blessed Autumn Equinox, and hope you can enjoy the warm autumn sun!
It’s time that time again... time for another round of “Pagan Celebrations in a nutshell”.
Today, I briefly want to tell you about Autumn Equinox, commonly also known as Mabon.
(You know the drill... Let me still repeat it, just in case: This is not meant to promote or to bash any religion in any form. I strongly dislike people who preach and try to convert others to whatever set of beliefs, and I am convinced that whoever claims to posses the ‘only truth’ is wrong anyway. Neither is there only one truth, nor do I think that a human being can posses anything close to that at all. So whenever I talk about my personal belief, I just want to educate and to inform, not to criticise or convert.)
The holiday of Autumn Equinox is also known as Harvest Home, Mabon, the Feast of the Ingathering, Meán Fómhair or Alban Elfed. The generally used name Mabon is relatively ‘new’ and was coined by Aidan Kelly (an influential figure in Wicca) around 1970 as a reference to Mabon ap Modron, a character from Welsh mythology. The exact history of that celebration is a bit hazy, but it seems to date back before written records.
Mabon is - to some degree - a ‘variable’ sabbat, meaning it takes place on a different day each year, depending on the Autumn equinox (an equinox occurs only twice a year - in Spring and Autumn - when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the centre of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator). In the northern hemisphere this equinox occurs anywhere from September 21 to 24.
As I mentioned in my last ‘sabbat entry’, Mabon is the second of the three harvest festivals, preceded by Lughnasadh and followed by Samhain. Just like the days get shorter and shorter, the mood of those harvest festivals gets gradually darker. While Lughnasadh is a joyful celebration of life, Mabon is more a about recognition, preparation and (silent) gratefulness. It’s the time of rest after labour, after the completion of the harvest. Once again, the hours of day and night are in balance, with the darkness increasing. All preparations for the dark of the year and the year's ending are about to be finished. Therefore, Mabon is often referred to as the ‘Pagan Thanksgiving’.
As usual, I’m closing this little entry with a video that excellently captures the mood and the very essence of Mabon:
Click to viewFinally, I'd like to wish you all a Blessed Autumn Equinox, and hope you can enjoy the warm autumn sun!