For me personally, Mabon is one of my favorite Sabbats - mainly as my daughter was born on Mabon morning. Plus, who doesn't love autumn? The last presence of summer hot days and cool nights. Trees now dress in reds, oranges and yellows, the last harvests are being done, crisp and sweet apples are now available, and kumara (sweet potato for some) are abundant.
At autumn equinox, the harvest has been brought in. In Te Ao Maori, this is Ngahuru, the beginning of a time of rest. Matariki (the constellation) make its final voyages across the skies before it rests to be born again in sometime between 21-24 June. The date for Matariki's rising is not fixed, as according to Professor Rangi Matamua in his advisory committee paper "the most well-known and best recorded approaches to the timing of the Maaori New Year, is to celebrate Matariki during the lunar month of Pipiri, when the moon is in the Tangaroa period. Tangaroa is not a single phase of the moon but rather a period of the lunar calendar that can be 2, 3 or even 4 days long depending on the regional lunar calendar system that is being followed. The Tangaroa lunar period is situated in the last quarter of the lunar cycle, when the moon is waning. In this period the moon goes from a quarter to completely dark (New Moon)'.
Mabon is considered a time of the Mysteries. It is a time to honor Aging Deities and the Spirit World. Considered a time of balance, it is when we stop and relax and enjoy the fruits of our personal harvests, whether they be from toiling in our gardens, working at our jobs, raising our families, or just coping with the hussle-bussle of everyday life.
Equinox is a time of balance, when night and day, dark and light are equal; and when the two hemispheres of the globe are in balance. Are you feeling in balance, or have events, external or internal, that have disrupted your sense of equilibrium?
Simple rituals for Mabon (from Juliet Batten)
Here are some steps for a ritual to do quietly on your own, or with others. Begin with lighting a candle and taking time to be still.
1. Take two pieces of paper and draw a large circle on each. In the first circle draw the portion taken up with outer DOING and then the portion given to an inner sense of BEING. Use colours and add words if you wish.
2. Contemplate or share with others how this feels. (If you are on your own, write some notes.) Is this how you want your life to be?
3. If not, take the second piece of paper and draw the balance you want to bring into your life.
4. Meditate on what living the balance would be like, and then write down 1-3 actions that would support the shift to creating the balance you want.
5. Share with others, if you are in a group. Take notes if you are on your own.
Put your new drawing where you can see it and after a few days check how your actions are helping to bring more balance into your life.
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