Nightfall of the autumn equinox
The scales of time balanced
Equality for both night and day
The land has surrendered its green
Stalks and vines revealing tan and gold
The turning wheel ushers in the breeze
Reminding everyone of the coming cold
Second of the three harvests
The fruits crisp from the first frost
Changing leaves dancing as they fall
The earth becomes a collective canvas
And still the wheel keeps turning
Thankfully we reap what we’ve sown
Celebrate and honor the Goddess
Libations for the sustenance
Prayers for the abundance
Reflections of what diminishes
Reverent appreciation and understanding
Nature yields temporarily
Taking solace deep within the ground
Gathering strength and wisdom
Waiting patiently for spring
Mabon
The Autumn Equinox (September 21st or 22nd) is Mabon, the second of three celebrations of the harvest. This celebration is for the fruit, the time for gathering in, the fruits from the trees before the coming of winter. The harvest of the grain, Lammas (August 1st) has passed , and will be followed later by Samhain, the harvest of the nuts and berries. What is significant about Mabon is that it falls on the equinox, a day when the light and the dark are in balance.
Mabon originates from Welsh and it means “Great Son.” The Welsh like almost every other old society had numerous harvest rituals which over time morphed into modern ones, namely Thanksgiving in America. Nearly all of the celebrations popular at this time of the year focus on the themes of life, death, and rebirth. With winter soon approaching and all plant life fading, people took the time to give thanks for the food that they could store away to get them through the cold months ahead.
The best known harvest tale is the story of Demeter and Persephone. Demeter was the goddess of grain and of the harvest in ancient Greece. Her beautiful daughter, Persephone, was abducted by Hades, the god of the underworld. The story tells of how Demeter’s grief caused the crops on earth to die and go dormant. After six long months, she finally recovered her daughter, but while in the underworld Persephone had eaten six pomegranate seeds, and so was doomed to spend six months of the year in the underworld forever afterwards. These six months are the time when the earth dies, beginning at the time of the autumn equinox.
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