Thursday, September 22, 2011

Witch's Thanksgiving


MABON


Mabon is the 2nd Harvest Festival....a time when nature declines, and draws back into bounty, getting ready for Winter and its time of rest. It is also known as Alban Elfed, Harvest Home, Winter Finding, Autumnal Equinox, Time of Changing Winds. These are days of divine balance waiting, hanging and being centered and posed before the energy shifts and wanes.
Mabon is a Celtic/Welsh god often referred to as the Son of Light (hhmmm, I believe in Christianity sounds like the equivalent of a man named Jesus). Mabon is the son of the Mother Goddess Modron and is also considered to be the male counterpart of Persephone. Mabon is a deity for truth and justice, music and youth......was separated from his mother when he was young. Persephone was dearly loved by her mother, Demeter, and when she was taken by her destined, Hades, Demeter lost it. Demeter caused the land to dye and diminish, taking her sorrow and grief out on the earth and all who lived. Mother Earth draws back into herself at this turn of the Wheel.
This is the time of reaping of what had been sown in the fields as well as in our lives. Mother Earth lays over the land a patchwork quilt of rich and subtle colors. Bronzes, oranges,, dark dark greens fading ,. Mother is getting ready for the long rest and opens her arms to draw in her children. All are getting ready for the winter. This is a time for us to ponder what has grown and what has diminished in our lives.
This is one of my favorite seasons (along with Yule). I love decorating with pumpkins, scarecrows, witches, and faerys. Browns and oranges and golds and greens decorate shelves, tables and shrine. The nights are nippy and the days are cool...but they are filled with the anticipation of the coming winter.
This is the Witches Thanksgiving....have family over for turkey, corn, cornbread, sweet potatoes.....speaking of corn, it is the mainstay of the season; corn chowder, roasted corn, corn meal, and so on.
This is the time I do my reflections, and I seem to gather energy to do my fall cleaning....maybe because of the cooler temperatures. This is also the time when I am more attuned to the faerys and otherworldly beings....I was born in October, so maybe that is why I feel more vibrant, alive and in tune than at any other season.
Whatever you call this time of the wheel, it is a time for drawing in and for cozying up to each other, for gathering not only sustenance but friends and family as well.

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