Yesterday evening an e-mail titled "Something to learn?" arrived in my inbox. It was from my wife and included the following text: What is Mabon?Since I already learned and posted something for the day, and since I knew that today would be particularly busy, I saved the e-mail.
Today my wife sent me a follow-up to that e-mail titled "Here is what the post was that lead me to give you Mabon to learn". It was a post from one of her Facebook friends: Happy and Blessed Mabon, all!
I learned that Mabon (pronounced MAY-bun) is related to Beltane, the subject of Post No. 119, and Midsummer, the subject of Post No. 206. That is, all three appear on the Wheel of the Year, which is a Wiccan and Neopagan term for the annual cycle of the Earth's seasons. It consists of eight festivals, spaced at approximately even intervals throughout the year.
Mabon is the holiday that celebrates the fall equinox, the time when day (light) is equal to night (dark), and the balance that is created between them. It is a ritual of thanksgiving for the fruits of the earth and a recognition of the need to share them during the winter months. It's a time for personal reflection, to think about the meaning of balance and the idea of harvest in life. It's also a time when people can consider how they are reaping what they have sowed in the months and years before. Mabon is a time to appreciate the turning of the year towards the dark. Fall equinox is a celebration of the local harvest and of the harvests in the home.
In the northern hemisphere the fall equinox occurs anywhere from September 21 to 24. In 2010, the fall equinox occurred yesterday.
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