Yearly dates of the Autumn Equinox

Lore:

The God has died and the Goddess, growing old and becoming the Crone, mourns His loss. The Earth has received His body and given up the last of the harvest - He has sacrificed Himself, giving His energy to the Earth, so that we may enjoy the fruits of the harvest. Leaves are falling from the trees and the Earth is preparing for the long, cold winter without the light of the Sun.

 

Keywords:

Second harvest, delicacy, mystery, crossroads, full storerooms, fading, preserving, selecting, turning inwards, dreaming, mists, migration of birds, giving thanks, planning farewells, gathering, reflecting, "know thyself".

Botanicals:

Apples, wheat, blackberries, nuts, hazel, corn, oak, wheat, maple syrup.

Colours:

Orange, dark red, yellow, brown.

Mabon falls at the Autumnal Equinox, when nights and days are of equal length, but light bends increasing towards darkness, and winter is on its way. It is a time of balance, and a time of looking forward to and preparation for the winter. Now the "chase of Lugh" ends with the felling of the last shaft of grain.

At this time food is prepared for storage, jams and pickles are made, and fruits are candied and preserved. Long-keeping plant foods are a traditional food for Mabon. It is also a time to walk among the gum trees, smelling the resin and the eucalyptus oils in the air, and gathering oils, barks, plants and herbs to be dried for culinary, medicinal and magickal purposes.

Altar decoration:

Acorns, pomegranates, pine cones, cypress cones, baskets of fallen leaves, water, bark, root vegetables.

Samhain        Imbolc        Beltane        Lammas

Yule       Ostara        Litha