by Lin Barrett

Created on: September 20, 2009

Mabon is the second of three yearly harvest festivals. The first, Lammas or Loaf-mass, occurs around the first of August by the calendar, around the eighth if celebrated astrologically, and concerns the earliest harvest of grain. Mabon (there are many pronunciations; May-bon is perhaps commonest) occurs around the twentieth of September, in 2009 at 1:22 PM PDT on the twenty-second. Samhein is the last harvest festival, and occurs for many on the 31st of October. If celebrated astrologically it is about eight days later, roughly on the eighth of November.

Of the three, Mabon is the only one which is always agreed upon to be on the time of its astrological occurrence, although for convenience it may be celebrated on the weekend nearest that time. This is because, while all of the "wheel of the year" festivals can be located astrologically, only the solstices (Yule and Litha) and equinoxes (Ostara and Mabon) have not been assigned an arbitrary date. The dates assigned to Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas, and Samhein were once accurate, but over the years an astrological phenomenon known as "precession of the equinoxes" has pushed the calendar into error.

Mabon, then, is the moment in every year when the dark and the day are equal in length. In the days following Mabon, our ancestors would carefully have observed that the days were indeed shortening. Signs other than the astrological confirmed this for them: migration of birds and animals has begun, trees are beginning to lose their leaves, vine-borne fruits are at their peak, and if not harvested may begin to rot in the field; tree fruits are ready to be picked; corn (maize) is harvest-ready. Cattle have achieved the condition that will sustain them through winter, or necessitate their slaughter at Samhein.

Each of the harvest festivals has a particular ritual action appropriate to it. At Lammas, we bake; at Samhein, we eat meat. At Mabon, we have all of the later fruits of field and orchard to choose among for celebration.

One of the simplest ritual actions to perform at Mabon is to harvest vine fruits of any kind. Freeing tomatoes bought on the vine from the supermarket of their little green cap will do as well for the city-dweller as cutting down or uprooting a cornstalk or squash plant will for those possessed of a garden.

The colors appropriate are those of the soon-to-be harvested final fruits of summer: the sunny golds, deep reds, dark greens, robust yellows, and hearty oranges of the fields at this time of year

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