I have posted in the past on the Autumnal Equinox but Ceridwyn, our guest Tarot blogger, has more information on it. Mabon is the Autumnal Equinox from a Pagan point of view. She writes:
The Autumnal Equinox occurs on September 22nd this year. This is the time that Pagans celebrate the passing of Summer into Autumn – The Harvest. Harvest Festivals and Celebrations are nothing new. The harvest has been celebrated over millennia in all countries and cultures.
Originally, the American Thanksgiving holiday was celebrated on October 3, which makes a lot more sense agriculturally. It was later moved by Franklin Roosevelt in a bid to help post-Depression holiday sales. The Harvest is a time to give thanks to gifts that Mother Earth gives freely to us. It is also a time of balance, when day and night are equal, which is what “equinox” means. Mabon also signifies that this is the time of year that the soil dies and needs to regenerate.
In Greek Mythology this change in weather is told in the story of Demeter & Persephone. Demeter and Persephone were seldom far from each other, but occasionally Persephone would wander out of her mother's sight while picking flowers. One day as Hades, lord of the Underworld, watched the lovely maiden collecting blossoms, Eros, the mischievous god of love, shot an arrow from his bow straight into Hades' heart. Hades immediately fell in love with Persephone and determined that she must marry him and become queen of the Underworld. Demeter, having heard her daughter's cry, rushed to find her, but Persephone had disappeared. Overcome by grief, Demeter searched for her daughter. Finally she asked Apollo, the sun-god, who could have taken Persephone away from her. Apollo replied that Persephone now ruled over the kingdom of the dead with Hades, who had taken her for his bride. For an entire year Demeter refused to allow the earth to bloom. She did not bless the crops or look with favor on the harvest. Every growing thing withered and died; the once green earth turned brown and barren. All over the world people starved. Finally, Zeus took pity on the mother and daughter. Since Persephone had eaten only one seed, and had done so unwillingly, he decreed that she would not have to stay in the Underworld for the entire year. Instead, she would stay there for only half of each year, and then in the other half of the year she would be allowed to return to her mother. The Greeks believed that this was the reason for Fall and Winter. When Persephone and Demeter are together the earth blooms and grows, when Persephone is with Hades the earth withers and dies. No matter what the story is the Autumn Harvest is a time to give thanks and celebrate the bounty that Mother Earth gives to us.
A book to give you an overview of Mabon is Autumn Equinox: The Enchantment of Mabon
If you would like more information on Mabon and what you can do (next year) for your Mabon Celebration please feel free to email Ceridwyn. She lives in Las Vegas, NV with her husband, 2 daughters, 2 cats, 2 dogs and 5 fish. Ceridwyn is a Certified Tarot Reader through the American Tarot Association. She can be contacted for readings via her Facebook page: Ceridwyn’s Online Readings. She can also be reached via email at: [email protected]
