Mabon

This year Mabon, the Autumnal Equinox, occurs on Friday the 23^rd, but like many Pagans I celebrate Mabon on a convenient day between the 20^th-23^rd.  I will be doing most of my celebrations this evening by meditating, and doing divination.

Mabon is a celebration of the harvest and marks the changing of the seasons as the official start of Autumn.  Here in Seattle we’re enjoying our last days of warmth and sunshine before the inevitable beginning of the rainy season.  Soon having warm, dry toes will be but memory.  Even though it’s still warm out, the shift towards Autumn is quite obvious if you look for the signs – trees are beginning to lose their leaves, the mornings are chill, and (most tellingly) it’s dark when I leave for work.

For some Autumn is a time of sadness as children trudge back to school and we say farewell to the easy summer weather – not for me.  I love Autumn.  When I feel that cool, crisp wind coming down from the North I feel excited and invigorated.  I love watching the sun rise in a clouded sky.  I love hearing leaves crunch under my feet.  I love the smell of mulling apples.  I even love the first Autumn rains.  But the most important things about the change from summer to fall, for me at least, is that it’s the time when my magick comes alive.  As a shadow worker most of what I do stays pretty dormant over the summer and it’s not until we shift from the light half of the year to the dark that I feel compelled to do magick.  I can feel the shift in the air.  I can feel dark magicks waking up and tapping on my windows.  I love it!

So yes, I celebrate the harvest on Mabon, but that’s not all.  For me Mabon is a celebration of re-awakening and growing power.  It’s the time when I get to go out and dance in friendly energies at midnight – my reward for waiting patiently and being good since the Spring.  I’ll spend tonight meditating on my plans for the next few months and doing divination to guide me along my path.  I don't do any major rituals or spells on Mabon - those wait for Samhain.  Instead I like to spend this holiday quietly, just enjoying the energy and letting my hair down.  The time for my major works is coming all too soon, so I like to enjoy the last of my lazy days.

On Friday I’m taking the Spirits of Seattle ghost tour, so look for a report on that next Monday.