Mabon
- Sep 5, 2024
- 5 min read
Celebrating the 2nd Harvest & Welcoming the Fall Season
I absolutely love celebrating Mabon because it coincides with the Autumn Equinox, and the First Day of Fall...and it really symbolizes everything about the Harvest season that I adore. The colors, the foods, and the feelings of gratitude are just a few things that Mabon encompasses.
Mabon is the second of the three Harvest Festivals in the Wheel of the Year. It is a time of balance, where the length of the days and the length of the nights are about equal. It is the perfect time to be thankful for all of the blessings we have received so far this year, and look forward to the bounty that awaits us this fall season. Life is all about cycles...and as we transition from Summer to Fall, we move from a period of growth into a period of reaping what we’ve sewed, of preparedness, and eventually into a period of rest. What we can grow in our gardens, the changing of the leaves, the cooling of the evening temps, it’s all preparing us for the slow down of the upcoming Winter season...so for now, we celebrate the harvest. We take pleasure in the cool nights and crisp mornings, we sit with friends around firepits outside while sipping on warm cider, and we might even be able to get cozy in a sweater or under a blanket and enjoy stargazing at night. This is the season of soups and stews, of watching Football and spending time with our families. I love it!
Decorations: Mabon is all about Fall colors, so everything you’d regularly be putting up to symbolize the changing of the season, is appropriate for Mabon. Golds, yellows, oranges, rust colors...let the outside natural world be a guide in the color selection. Leaves that have changed colors, dried branches of berries, fallen pinecones and sunflowers all make great natural decorations. Add a bouquet of foraged flowers to your table or make a centerpiece with candles and greenery. You can start putting out those pumpkins, gourds and baskets of wheat stalks...tie bundles of corn stalks to the pillars outside of your house...the possibilities are endless!
Celebrations: Mabon is the perfect time to have a celebratory dinner with your loved ones. Cook up a meal that you love, trying to use fresh garden produce of the season. Sit at the table and tell each other why you are thankful for one another. After dinner, build a fire outside (fire is a great symbol of Mabon as it allows us to reflect on the Summer heat ending and the cooler Autumn nights that are coming). Write down habits or behaviors you want to get rid of, and then burn those papers in the fire as you set your intentions, releasing them to the Universe. Journal or speak out loud about personal goals you’d like to achieve going forward. Take time to acknowledge your achievements and what an amazing person you are! Truly celebrate your life and the lives of those you love.
Cleansing: Take time to cleanse your home. Do a ‘fall clean up” where you eliminate unnecessary clutter and donate clothing or home items you no longer use. Take a morning to sweep and mop your house while setting intentions to eliminate the old dust of summer. Wash your windows if they need it. Throw out any old food from the refrigerator and wipe down the shelves. If the weather will allow it, open your windows for an hour or two and let clean air blow through your house. This is a great time to do some smudging or smoke cleansing as well (contact me if you need a smudge bundle because I make them with plants growing on my property)...and as you cleanse, visualize any low vibrating negative energy exiting your home and new vibrant energy replacing it. Light some incense, a few candles, and really bask in the happy energy of the season.
Gardening & Harvesting: In many places, the summer created an explosion of produce and many people’s gardens are overflowing with fruits and vegetables. Not only is it a great time to enjoy this bounty fresh daily, but Mabon is a great time to do canning and making preserves to store food for winter. In addition to canning, you can save up produce by freezing and dehydrating or drying. My freezer and pantry shelves are filled with foods I have saved for winter use. Here in the Desert Southwest, this time of year is ideal for planting a Fall and Winter garden. Hopefully you've been planning and prepping for new plantings, but there's such a great growing season here, you still have time to get things in the ground, even at the end of September. Check out my website for information on what can be planted in Arizona during the Fall months!
Time in Nature: This is the perfect time of year to get out and enjoy nature. Here in Arizona, our northern woods are popping with mushrooms thanks to the summer rains, and many of them are edible (always triple check the safety of any mushroom you’ve found, referencing color photos AND consulting with other people who gather mushrooms...you can never be too safe!). You can also forage for medicinal herbs this time of year, and wild edible plants. Another perk to time in nature is collecting items that can be used to decorate, such as fallen leaves, dried flowers, acorns and pinecones. It’s so much fun...just be sure to take water and safety supplies with you, and always check the weather & alert someone as to where you’re going.
Create a Gratitude Altar: If you already have a designated ritual space, now is the time to give it a cleaning and change out the décor to reflect the season. Even a shelf is a great place to create a small altar. Decorate it with items and colors of the season, add candles, crystals, stones, and any items that symbolize balance for you. Spend a little time each day focusing on what you are thankful for and visualizing your life filled with abundance and happiness.
These are just some simple ways to enjoy Mabon. You can truly embrace the season, no matter what religion or spiritual path you follow because it’s all about gratitude and being thankful for our many blessings.
I wish you and your family a
happy Fall and
I hope you enjoy some of these celebration ideas!
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