Celebrating the Autumn Equinox, Mabon, in Australia
Mabon is the Autumn Equinox and is the second of the third harvest festivals. Day and night are in balance with equal hours of sunlight and darkness. From here, the sunlight hours will continue to shorten as we move towards the Winter Solstice. In the southern hemisphere it usually falls on the 20 or 21st of March.
We see the lessening of the sun and nature begins to slow down in preparation for winter. The Sun King is slowly dying. In his final burst of strength, he prepares for his death and begins his journey to the underworld to be reborn at midwinter. The Goddess feels his presence even as his energy wanes. Her pregnancy begins to show, and both contemplate the changes occurring around them. She slows her pace too, moving toward a more restful state. Leaves on deciduous trees begin to turn from green to golden and red and will soon start falling to the ground along with fruits and flowers as the plant life prepares for the cooler weather ahead.
Mabon, or Mabon ap Modron, is a Welsh god and his name means “the divine son of the divine mother”. In Welsh lore, as an infant he is stolen from his mother and imprisoned before finally being freed. He is a hunter and has a way with dogs and rides with a great hound running next to him. In the 1970’s, Neopagan writer and scholar Aidan Kelly was looking for a similar Celtic myth to Persephone and he came across the story of Mabon, a divine son who is imprisoned and “reborn” at his release. At the time, he was compiling a calendar of pagan events and decided that the Autumn Equinox needed a name and so he gave it one – Mabon. He presented this calendar to Oberon Zell Ravenheart and the rest, as they say, is history. Older texts written prior to this refer to this time of year as simply the Autumn Equinox and for Druids it is Alban Elfed.
In Australia, the weather is still hot during the day, but it will soon begin to cool down with the nights already being cooler. It is the mating season for ringtail possums, echidnas, bilbies, flying foxes and dingoes. Birds begin their migrations to warmer weather. In the far north, the last of the monsoonal rains is falling and the land begins to dry out. Ibis and brolga are sitting on their eggs. In the Snowy Mountains and cooler climates to the south, apple harvesting has begun, and wine makers begin the first harvest of grapes for the season. The last of the baby wombats are born at Mabon with their breeding season running from November to March.
As an equinox, Mabon reminds us of the importance of balance and finding what will work for us. Much like the Sun King, we can begin to ponder the changes occurring around us. What have we reaped so far this year? We can give thanks at this time for our bounty and look toward what we can do to improve our harvest for the year ahead. What has worked and what hasn’t so far? This is also a good time to look at stagnant projects. What needs to be completed before the time of rest and re-birth? As the light begins to decline the energy is perfect for letting go of items we no longer require and clearing space in our homes before we spend more time indoors during winter. As this is a sabbat of giving thanks for our harvest, we can share what we no longer need by donating used clothing or canned food to a local charity.
This is the second harvest festival with foods including corn, grains, apples, pomegranates, pears, pumpkins and squash all abundant at this time. Apple pies, pumpkin soup, wine, beer and cornbread are all foods of this season. Mabon is the peak of the harvest festival and for folk living off the land this is a busy time of year. Excess surplus of fruits and vegetables are pickled and preserved for the coming winter. Meats would be smoked, honey bottled, and root cellars would be filling up with the harvest to prepare for the leaner times ahead.
Sharing a feast with family and friends at this time of year is a beautiful tradition. Be thankful for all that has come to you. You’ve worked hard to get to this point and from here we move towards the darkness. Like the wombat, we can move into the darkness with surety and determination.
Go deep, dear heart. Surrender into the season of transformation. Allow yourself to let go of what you no longer require. Bring your life into balance and prepare to take some much-needed rest. You’ve earnt it.
Words and images by Courtney Stark
References
Cameron, C. &. (2015). A Wiccan’s Walk in Oz: Perspectives From The Southern Hemisphere. Wamuran: Celticai Publishing.
Cunningham, S. (1988). Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner. St. Paul, Minnesota: Llewellyn Publications.
Cunningham, S. (2009). Cunningham’s Book of Shadows: The Path of an American Traditionalist. Woodbury: Llewellyn Publications.
Ezzy, D. (2003). Practising the Witch’s Craft: real magic under a southern sky. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin .
Hughes, K. (2020, 9 21). Go Deeper. Retrieved from http://www.godeeper.info/blog/who-is-mabon
Kelly, A. (2017, 5 2). Patheos. Retrieved from https://www.patheos.com/blogs/aidankelly/2017/05/naming-ostara-litha-mabon/
