Fall is many of us’ favourite seasons. We wait for the turning of colours, the temperatures lowering, the rain coming in, the smell of the earth swirling in the wind mixed with hot beverages and comforting perfumes of cinnamon and cloves. So, why not celebrate Mabon, too?
The Wheel Of The Year Stops On Mabon
The Wheel of the Year is a holiday calendar quite precious to us Witches who practice Nature celebrations. Many of us know Samhain due to many movies and Yuletide going through a revival with the Frozen franchise and Krampus.
But if we go in order and remain with the big eight celebrations it starts with the Winter Solstice called Yuletide, then Imbolc, followed by the Spring Equinox called Ostara.
We have one on May’s Eve named Beltane and the Summer Solstice made popular with the folk horror movie of Midsummer or Litha. This celebration is followed by Lughnasadh then comes the Autumn Equinox, Mabon and concludes with Samhain.
However, the Wheel of the Year itself is a combination of celebrations coming from the Anglo-Saxons and the Insular Celtic peoples. The Anglo-Saxons celebrated the equinoxes and the solstices while the Insular Celtic peoples had festivals for the dates in between.
The Descendants Of The Mabon Celebration
Because many Pagans and Witches of today are either descendants of the Anglo-Saxons or gather their inspirations from them, combining the two seemed perfect.
Harmony with Nature runs deep in Pagans and Witches of today. We are open to its beauty and listen to what it whispers. Pagans and Witches have knowledge going as far back as when stories were only in spoken form.
In fact, many Pagans and Witches already read the stars and were capable of charting the sky at night a great time before Catholicism and Christianism took roots in Europe. It was stolen and torn from them, but history remembers.
What Is The History Of Mabon?
The Fall Equinox also has the name Harvest Home but also carries the name of Feast of the Ingathering as well has Irish names like Meán Fómhair, An Clabhsúr. Mabon even has a name in Neo-Druidry, Alban Elfed.
At its core the celebration is for thanking the Earth for the fruits and vegetables it kindly gave. The Autumn Equinox celebration is the very first version of Thanksgiving in the Eastern side of the globe. It is very important to understand that the action of thanking the Earth for nature, wildlife and its foods come from the Anglo-Saxons and Celts.
* Noting here that Native Americans also had their own celebrations. This article focuses on the Mabon celebration.
In 1970 Aidan A. Kelly secured the name Mabon for the Fall Equinox celebration of a Neo-Pagan Thanksgiving. The name of the celebration comes from Mabon ap Modron and was the main Welsh inspiration as it’s directly coming from the country’s mythology.
Why Do We Call It Mabon?
In the Witch community as well as Pagans, Neo-Pagans, Druids and many other communities, there are eight holidays. There could be more according to one’s beliefs, calendar or culture. But Mabon is one of the main celebrations.
In the northern hemisphere the autumnal equinox falls on September 23rd. But if one lives in the southern hemisphere, Mabon falls on March 20th. When Ostara comes around, it is the mid-harvest celebration that takes place. That is why the festival also has the name of Second Harvest.
In Germany, more precisely in Bavaria, a festival takes place in the last week of September and the ritual started in the 1700s. The festival is known around the world and many other countries adopted their own version of that festival. The celebration is called Oktoberfest.
To this day, Bavaria celebrates Oktoberfest and many other countries join in. But this is one among many examples of other cultures celebrating the arrival of Fall.
The Other Seasons Of The Year Brings Back Fall
There are other cultures that also see Lammas as a Second Thanksgiving. It is a celebration that falls in between and often another reason to celebrate to say thank you to Nature and its abundance. Lammas is the Spring festival.
Farmers can feel and predict their crops and how it will grow. They can sense what the Summer will bring for their fields and landmarks. People working in harmony with nature can even tell how well wild animals were fed during the Winter. All of this preparation, from Spring, determines the next Winter.
While people always gave many thanks to the Earth and Nature, the very first American Thanksgiving actually fell on the same day as Canada.
Thanksgiving used to be October 3rd, in line with the time dedicated to the autumnal harvest. Because Thanksgiving is for the celebration of what Summer and Fall give, November isn’t a month associated with abundance.
A Little History About Mabon
In Welsh mythology, Earth is the Mother Goddess and her son’s name was Mabon. Mabon is also a God in his own rights. Despite some evidence that the name itself is an adoption coming from the 1970s and that perhaps the holiday itself was not originally a Celtic celebration, the belief remains the same.
Apple picking is one of the many activities Pagans would participate in to celebrate Mabon. In fact, apples are one of the main symbols of the autumnal harvest. Apples are so important that they are used in rituals as a sign of gratitude to their god and/or goddess for the abundance they kindly gave.
Some Witches or practitioners also use the Fall harvest to restore balance and create harmony in their lives. The celebration falls on a day where equal light and darkness takes place. It is the perfect example of balance and harmony.
Many Witches enjoy going through their altars and make it reflect the season or holiday approaching. Many go through their altar to include autumnal items such as apples, cinnamon, grapes, gourds, leaves and branches. But most of all, no celebration can call itself a celebration without a feast reflecting its reason to be.
Happy Mabon To All!
Happy Mabon and may the love of Mother Nature shine upon you with all of its loving magick.
Gothic Bite Magazine 
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