Other
names for this holiday include: Autumn
Equinox, Harvest Home, The Second Harvest Festival,
Wine Harvest, Feast of Avalon, Equinozio di Autunno (Strega),
Alben Elfed (Caledonii), Cornucopia.
Symbolism of Mabon: Second Harvest,
the Mysteries, Equality and Balance.
Symbols of Mabon: wine, gourds, pine
cones, acorns, grains, corn, apples, pomegranates,
vines such as ivy, dried seeds, and horns of plenty.
Herbs of Mabon: Acorn, benzoin,
ferns, grains, honeysuckle, marigold, milkweed,
myrrh, passionflower, rose, sage, Solomon’s
seal, tobacco, thistle, and vegetables.
Foods of Mabon: Breads, nuts,
apples, pomegranates, and vegetables such as
potatoes, carrots, and onions.
Incense of Mabon: Autumn Blend-benzoin,
myrrh, and sage.
Colours of Mabon: Red, orange,
russet, maroon, brown, and gold.
Stones of Mabon: Sapphire, lapis
lazuli, and yellow agates.
Activities of Mabon: Making wine,
gathering dried herbs, plants, seeds and seed pods,
walking in the woods, scattering offerings in
harvested fields, offering libations to trees,
adorning burial sites with leaves, acorns, and pine
cones to honour those who have passed over.
Spell-workings of Mabon: Protection,
prosperity, security, and self-confidence. Also those
of harmony and balance.
Goddesses of Mabon: Modron, Morgan,
Epona, Persephone, Pamona and the Muses.
Gods
of Mabon: Mabon, Thoth, Thor, Hermes, and
The Green Man.
HISTORY
OF MABON
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. Recently, some Pagan groups
have begun calling the holiday by the Welsh name
'Mabon', although there seems little historical
justification for doing so.
The autumnal equinox occurs when the sun crosses the
equator on it's apparent journey southward, and we
experience a day and a night that are of equal
duration. Up until Harvest Home, the hours of
daylight have been greater than the hours from dusk
to dawn. But from now on, the reverse holds true.
However, since most European peasants were not
accomplished at calculating the exact date of the
equinox, they celebrated the event on a fixed
calendar date, September 25th, a holiday the medieval
Church Christianized under the name of 'Michaelmas',
the feast of the Archangel Michael.
Again, it must be remembered that the Celts reckoned
their days from sundown to sundown, so the September
25th festivities actually begin on the previous
sundown (our September 24th). Although our Pagan
ancestors probably celebrated Harvest Home on
September 25th, modern Witches and Pagans, with their
desk-top computers for making finer calculations,
seem to prefer the actual equinox point, beginning
the celebration on its eve.
Mythically, this is the day of the year when the god
of light is defeated by his twin and alter-ego, the
god of darkness. It is the time of the year when
night conquers day. Autumnal Equinox is the only day
of the whole year when Llew (light) is vulnerable and
it is possible to defeat him. Llew now stands on the
balance (Libra/autumnal equinox), with one foot on
the cauldron (Cancer/summer solstice) and his other
foot on the goat (Capricorn/winter solstice). Thus he
is betrayed by Blodeuwedd, the Virgin (Virgo) and
transformed into an Eagle (Scorpio).
Two things are now likely to occur mythically, in
rapid succession. Having defeated Llew, Goronwy (darkness)
now takes over Llew's functions, both as lover to
Blodeuwedd, the Goddess, and as King of our own world.
Although Goronwy, the Horned King, now sits on Llew's
throne and begins his rule immediately, his formal
coronation will not be for another six weeks,
occurring at Samhain (Halloween) or the beginning of
Winter, when he becomes the Winter Lord, the Dark
King, Lord of Misrule. Goronwy's other function has
more immediate results, however. He mates with the
virgin goddess, and Blodeuwedd conceives, and will
give birth -- nine months later (at the Summer
Solstice) -- to Goronwy's son, who is really another
incarnation of himself, the Dark Child.
Llew's sacrificial death at Harvest Home also
identifies him with John Barleycorn, spirit of the
fields. Thus, Llew represents not only the sun's
power, but also the sun's life trapped and
crystallized in the corn. Often this corn spirit was
believed to reside most especially in the last sheaf
or shock harvested, which was dressed in fine
clothes, or woven into a wicker-like man-shaped form.
This effigy was then cut and carried from the field,
and usually burned, amidst much rejoicing. So one may
see Blodeuwedd and Goronwy in a new guise, not as
conspirators who murder their king, but as kindly
farmers who harvest the crop which they had planted
and so lovingly cared for.
The annual mock sacrifice of a large wicker-work
figure (representing the vegetation spirit) may have
been the origin of the misconception that Druids made
human sacrifices. This charge was first made by
Julius Caesar (who may not have had the most unbiased
of motives), and has been re-stated many times since.
However, as has often been pointed out, the only
historians besides Caesar who make this accusation
are those who have read Caesar. And in fact, upon
reading Caesar's 'Gallic Wars' closely, one discovers
that Caesar never claims to have actually witnessed
such a sacrifice. Nor does he claim to have talked to
anyone else who did. In fact, there is not one single
eyewitness account of a human sacrifice performed by
Druids in all of history!
Nor is there any archeological evidence to support
the charge. If, for example, human sacrifices had
been performed at the same ritual sites year after
year, there would be physical traces. Yet there is
not a scrap. Nor is there any native tradition or
history which lends support. In fact, insular
tradition seems to point in the opposite direction.
The Druid's reverence for life was so strict that
they refused to lift a sword to defend themselves
when massacred by Roman soldiers on the Isle of Mona.
Irish brehon laws forbade a Druid to touch a weapon,
and any soul rash enough to unsheathe a sword in the
presence of a Druid would be executed for such an
outrage!
In the rhythm of the year, Harvest Home marks a time
of rest after hard work. The crops are gathered in,
and winter is still a month and a half away! Although
the nights are getting cooler, the days are still
warm, and there is something magical in the sunlight,
for it seems silvery and indirect. As we pursue our
gentle hobbies of making corn dollies (those tiny
vegetation spirits) and wheat weaving, our attention
is suddenly arrested by the sound of baying from the
skies (the 'Hounds of Annwn' passing?), as lines of
geese cut silhouettes across a harvest moon. And we
move closer to the hearth, the longer evening hours
giving us time to catch up on our reading, munching
on popcorn balls and caramel apples and sipping home-brewed
mead or ale. What a wonderful time Harvest Home is!
