September 20 - 23
Mabon (autumn equinox) is the completion of the harvest  that began at
Lammas and takes place usually around September 21st. (anywhere from the
20th to the 23rd)  Day and night are again equal  and balanced, but the
darkness is winning and the sun fades in the sky. On this day, which
will fall somewhere between the dates above, the Sun again passes the
equator, this time on its trek south.  The earth is fully harvested as
the God gives up his life to begin the renewal towards birth within the
Goddess. Nature draws back and begins to rest. We say farewell to the
God and prepare for His rebirth.  This is a time for resting and a time
of completion, thanksgiving, evaluation and meditation. Take stock in
what you've received and prepare for the dark days. This is a great time
for grounding and storytelling.

Herbs: Hazel, Corn, Acorns, Oak, Wheat Stalks, Cypress cones, Pine cones

Incense : Myrrh, Sage, Pine
Colour : Orange, Dark red, Yellow, Brown
Decorations: Acorns, Pomegranates, Pine Cones, Baskets of fallen  leaves

Foods:  Breads, Corn, Cornbread, Beans, Squash, Apples, Roots (carrots,
potatoes, onions), Cider

The feast that you have after gathering in the harvest is called by many
names:

Mabon (Celtic)
Fall Equinox
Festival of Dionysus (Greek)
Wine Harvest
Cornicopia
Feast of Avalon
Equinozio di Autunno (Strega)
Alban Elfed (Caledonii or Druidic - which celebrates the Lord of the
Mysteries).
Winter Finding (The Teutonic name for this period which begins on the
Equinox itself and runs until Winter Night, October 15th. Winter Night
is the Nordic New Year.)

Basically Mabon is the "Thanksgiving" of the Pagan peoples. We may not
work the fields all the live long day as our ancestors did, but most of
us work quite hard so we should celebrate what we've done to be thankful
for.

Who is Mabon?

Mabon, the Welsh God who symbolizes the male side of the Harvest.  He is
the son of the Great Mother Earth, Mabron.  He is the child who is born
at Yule and is actually the God of the Sun.  During the year he's been
sending the warm winds from the South and glowing with all his might to
help all our crops grow.  But, now it's Autumn and winter is not far
behind and the days are growing shorter due to Mabon being so very tired
from having to work so very hard for us all year long.  So on this
holiday we are giving him a "Going Away Party" and thanking him for all
this hard work because  he is returning home to  the Otherworld in
Modron's  magickal Otherworld which is a wonderful and enchanted faerie
place.  So Mabon's light has been drawn into the Earth, gathering enough
strength and wisdom to come again to help us in the coming year.  So now
he is resting gathering strength and wisdom in the Otherworld so that he
can come again at Yule to help us!

His Mother, Madron is also tired now and is the kindly Old Grandmother
Crone who watches over all of us with her wisdom.  Her daughter the
Mother Goddess is also here to celebrate the Harvest in which she has
helped us grow.

Mabon is also called the Persephone of the Celts!


FUN ACTIVITIES TO CELEBRATE MABON/FALL EQUINOX!

Symbols that you can gather to remember Mabon are:

Grapes
Gourds                          Dried Leaves
Wine                                           Pine
Cones                          Rattles
Vines
Acorns                            Indian Corn
Garland
Wheat                             Sun Wheels
Horns of Plenty (Cornicopia)

Mabon is the time to honor the Ancient Ones and the Spirit World.
Traditional Pagan activities at  this time include fermenting grapes to
make wine and the decorating of graves. Also traditional is to wander
wild places and forests, gathering seed pods and dried plants. Some of
these can be used to decorate the home or altar.

Make a Indian Corn bundle to hang on your front door

Make a rattle from an empty gourd and some seeds.

Make a dried leaf mobile

How about a pine cone pyramid?

Weave some wheat into fun shapes

Make a pretty fall bouquet of leaves, pine cones, corn and grapes to
leave on a grave as a gift to the ancestors