Mabon (Autumn Equinox)

The Gardnerian autumn equinox rite is the last of the lesser sabbats in the year's cycle, marking the completed harvest and the balance of day and night before the dark half. The name Mabon, after the Welsh mythological figure Mabon ap Modron, was assigned to the festival by Aidan Kelly in the early 1970s and is used mainly in American Wicca; others simply call it the autumn equinox or harvest home. English harvest-home suppers and the decorating of churches for harvest festival, a Victorian innovation, supplied much of its folk colouring. Rites commonly include offerings of fruit and grain, thanksgiving, and reflection on what the year has yielded before the descent into winter.

Purpose

The autumn equinox gives thanks for the completed harvest and marks the return to balance as the nights lengthen.

Timing

Season / time

The sabbat of Mabon

At the autumnal equinox, around 22–23 September in the northern hemisphere. Wiccan festivals are commonly reckoned from sunset on the eve.

Materials

• candles
• salt and water
• incense
• cakes and wine (or ale)
• fruit, grain and late-harvest produce

Tools

• athame (black-handled knife)
• white-handled knife
• wand
• pentacle
• censer
• cauldron

Fire safety with candles, censer and any bonfire or cauldron fire.