Mabon blessings

Mabon - September 22, 2010

Also known as: Fall or Autumn Equinox, Wine Harvest, Feast of Avalon, Alban Elved (Druid), Alban Elfed (Caledonii), Winter Finding (Teutonic) 


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Mabon, (pronounced MAY-bun, MAY-bone, MAH-boon, or MAH-bawn) is the Autumn Equinox. The Autumn Equinox divides the day and night equally, and we all take a moment to pay our respects to the impending dark. We also give thanks to the waning sunlight, as we store our harvest of this year's crops. The Druids call this celebration, Mea'n Fo'mhair, and honor the The Green Man, the God of the Forest, by offering libations to trees. Offerings of ciders, wines, herbs and fertilizer are appropriate at this time. Wiccans celebrate the aging Goddess as she passes from Mother to Crone, and her consort the God as he prepares for death and re-birth.

Various other names for this Lesser Wiccan Sabbat are The Second Harvest Festival, Wine Harvest, Feast of Avalon, Equinozio di Autunno (Strega), Alben Elfed (Caledonii), or Cornucopia. The Teutonic name, Winter Finding, spans a period of time from the Sabbat to Oct. 15th, Winter's Night, which is the Norse New Year.

At this festival it is appropriate to wear all of your finery and dine and celebrate in a lavish setting. It is a Witch's Thanksgiving. 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.

It marks the middle of the harvest. Again equal day and equal night. Now it's time to reap what you have sown. Giving thanks for the harvest and the bounty you are enjoying. Coincidently the sign of Libra begins at this time. The scales symbolizing Libra are a direct link to the harvest, as this is the time where the farmers brought in their goods to be weighed and sold. Colours for this sabbat (there are so many, just look at the trees): Orange and red, with brown for the background.

Despite the bad publicity generated by Thomas Tryon's novel, Harvest Home is the pleasantest of holidays. Admittedly, it does involve the concept of sacrifice, but one that is symbolic only. The sacrifice is that of the spirit of vegetation, John Barleycorn. Occurring 1/4 of the year after Midsummer, Harvest Home represents mid-autumn, autumn's height. It is also the Autumnal Equinox, one of the quarter days of the year, a Lesser Sabbat and a Low Holiday in modern Witchcraft.



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Deities of Mabon: Wine Gods, Harvest Deities, Aging Deities
Goddesses-Modron, Morgan, Epona, Persephone, Pamona and the Muses.
Gods-Mabon, Thoth, Thor, Hermes, and The Green Man.

Symbols: Apples, Wine, Vines, Garlands, Gourd, Cornucopia, Burial Cairns

Colors of Mabon: Red, orange, russet, maroon, brown, and gold, fall colors. 

Altar Dressings
* candles should be brown or cinnamon.
* decorate circle with autumn flowers, acorns, gourds, corn sheaves and fall
leaves.

Mabon Magickal Herbs
Rue, yarrow, rosemary, marigold, sage, walnut leaves and husks, mistletoe, saffron, chamomile, almond leaves, passionflower, frankincense, rose hips, bittersweet, sunflower, wheat, oak leaves, dried apple or apple seeds.

Incense
Pine, sage, sweetgrass or myrhh. You can also mix marigold, passionflower, and fern, using frankincense or myrhh as a resin for Mabon incense

Mabon Activities
* Make grapevine wreaths using dried bitter- sweet herb for protection. Use ribbons of gold and yellow to bring in the energy of the Sun, and decorate with sprigs of dried yarrow or cinnamon sticks.

* Make a Magickal Horn of Plenty.

* Make Magickal Scented Pinecones.

* Make a protection charm of hazelnuts (filberts) strung on red thread.

* Call upon the elementals and honor them for their help with (N-earth) the home and finances, (E-air) school and knowledge, (S-fire) careers and accomplishments, (W-water) emotional balance and fruitful relationships.

* Make a witch's broom. Tie dried corn husks or herbs (broom, cedar, fennel, lavender, peppermint, rosemary) around a strong, relatively straight branch of your choice.



Websites to get you started: 
Mabon, the Autumn Equinox
Wiccan Traditions and Lore, Pagan and Witchcraft Holidays., Sabbats Mabon
Mabon
Mabon
Mabon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://www.tylwythteg.com/Mabon.html
Autumn Equinox - Mabon - September 23

More Mabon for you..

Here it is upon us yet again. The turning of the wheel towards the dark half of the year! As the wheel turns to this time of the year, it also turns to a time of great introspection! As we near the end of the pagan year at Samhain, Halloween, we should being remembering all that has occured over the year. To finish all of our harvesting and prepare our homes and ourselves for the coming winter. A time when we do more planning then actually doing.

So what are your plans for this Mabon?? Have anything fun planned in the upcoming weeks to celebrate!


Here are some sites with some resources:
A witchvox article

Mabon - The Autumn Equinox : With some crafts, recipes and more

Mabon

Mabon Incense

A blessed Mabon to you all!!!!

Blessed Ostara

A Blessed Ostara to one and all!!! 

May the growing light of the days and the warmth of the sun fill you with all the love and support you need. And may all your new undertakings take sprout and grow into fruition! 

Getting ready for Ostara

So in less then a month we enter spring!!  What are your plans?? Anyone already preparing their spring cleaning, both phycially, emotionally and spiritually! 

Here is a little information from another site to get you all started! Let's hear some more info from you all and your plans! 

Ostara by Herne

March 21 -- Ostara -- Spring or The Vernal Equinox
Also known as: Lady Day or Alban Eiler (Druidic)


As Spring reaches its midpoint, night and day stand in perfect balance, with light on the increase. The young Sun God now celebrates a hierogamy (sacred marriage) with the young Maiden Goddess, who conceives. In nine months, she will again become the Great Mother. It is a time of great fertility, new growth, and newborn animals.

The next full moon (a time of increased births) is called the Ostara and is sacred to Eostre the Saxon Lunar Goddess of fertility (from whence we get the word estrogen, whose two symbols were the egg and the rabbit.

The Christian religion adopted these emblems for Easter which is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox. The theme of the conception of the Goddess was adapted as the Feast of the Annunciation, occurring on the alternative fixed calendar date of March 25 Old Lady Day, the earlier date of the equinox. Lady Day may also refer to other goddesses (such as Venus and Aphrodite), many of whom have festivals celebrated at this time.

Traditional Foods:
Leafy green vegetables, Dairy foods, Nuts such as Pumpkin, Sunflower and Pine. Flower Dishes and Sprouts.

Herbs and Flowers:
Daffodil, Jonquils, Woodruff, Violet, Gorse, Olive, Peony, Iris, Narcissus and all spring flowers.

Incense:
Jasmine, Rose, Strawberry, Floral of any type.

Sacred Gemstone:
Jasper

Special Activities:
Planting seeds or starting a Magickal Herb Garden. Taking a long walk in nature with no intent other than reflecting on the Magick of nature and our Great Mother and her bounty.


Copyright © 1997-99 Akasha, Herne and The Celtic Connection wicca.com. All rights reserved.
Wiccan, Pagan and Witchcraft Holidays., March 21st, Ostara

Sorry

Sorry I have been away. I've been a tad bit busy with some readings, summer and harvest rituals, and heading out to the woods to do some wildcrafting. But I am back. :) Not that Fall is not going to be busy. It is for me the most spiritual time of the year.

As we approach Samhain and the thining of the veil, many can feel the stronger pull as well as feel their psychic abilities sharpen. But we'll discuss that more shortly. For now. I hope you all are enjoying the end of your summer. Mabon is around the corner.

What a great time of the year!!

Meditation

Meditation is a great way to get yourself more in tune with the natural world around you. It also allows you to ground yourself, as well as a way to relax oneself. By allowing yourself to relax and see within, you can open yourself up to things around you that you might normally miss. There are many different goals that one might have for meditation. Some of these being: achievement of a higher state of consciousness; to open oneself up to a more spiritual atmosphere; for greater focus, creativity or self-awareness; or simply a more relaxed and peaceful frame of mind. A single meditation may be used to achieve one goal, or may be used for multiple goals in the long run.


I practice my meditations daily. I call it practice because with every time I do it, I can feel myself getting more focused and better in tune with things. And isn't that what practice does, makes you better? I use my meditations for multiple reasons. Whether it is for hearing what the Gods have to tell me, to see what path I may be on or need to be on, to relax so that I may focus on all around me, or to allow myself to enter into a more spiritual and magickal plane (either for reading/scrying, performing ritual, or just to feel more in tune). Some days I may even do multiple meditations if I find myself in an area that calls for a special time to be aware, or feel a call to open myself up to "hear" what needs to be heard.



There are many ways to go about doing your own meditations. Some prefer to do theirs in a dark quiet room, others out in nature, and others like to have music or natural sounds in the background.


I have done my meditations at different points of the day, and with different methods. Some days I enjoy a nice quiet meditation with just the light of a candle to focus on. Other days, I enjoy being out in nature. Whether this is sitting on the beach listening to the waves crash on the shore or in the woods listening to the rustling leaves and the animals at play. And yet, there are still other times I enjoy turning on a CD that may have a talking meditation, music or nature sounds.


So as you can see, there are many ways to perform it. The method is not what is important, it is what you get out of it that is. It is the calmness, the answers, or the awareness that comes from this time to look within and see what is without.

Happy Meditations To You All

What is Tarot

So you're probably thinking, What is tarot? Here is a little information.

Tarot cards are used for numerous reasons from mediation purposes to problem solving purposes, but the act of reading tarot is also done as a method of divination. In doing so, a reader will use the 78 cards of the deck to see what information is being given. Each card in the deck displays different symbolism and meanings that answers are derived from. But also, the cards say different things for different people. So just because the Empress means this for your reading this time, it may show up in the next persons and mean something completely different. A typical deck will have 22 cards that are part of the major arcana and 4 suites of 14 cards for the minor arcana.

Reading style will vary by person. There are numerous different card set ups. My typical readings use 3-4 different styles. From a Celtic Cross (10 card spread), a 5 card spread, and a 3 card spread, or even flipping cards as a person is talking. Each card in each spread will hold a different meaning, but can deliver loads of information.

However some days, or just for some readings, the cards just don't feel like talking, or giving specifics. These days require a bit more work to get information, but what is given is usually the most important or what you needed to hear the most!

Any other questions... feel free to ask!