Hi, hi, hi, Witches and Witchlets! Today we’re talking about nine different ways you can celebrate the Mabon Sabbatin 2022! Let us look forward to the next cycle with the turn of the Wheel of the Year.
- BUILD A MABON ALTAR
A powerful ritual to keep the mindset of the season front and center is building an altar dedicated to the Mabon Sabbat. How big or small the altar is doesn’t matter. And unless you subscribe to a particular sect that has rules to follow, there’s really no right or wrong way to do it.
First and foremost, you will need to physically clean and spiritually cleanse your altar space. Starting with a clean slate to welcome in the turn of the Wheel of the Year is a great habit to get into. I also recommend practicing some visualization to set a clear vision of what you want your altar to invite in for this cycle.
Here are some Mabon correspondences you can include when building your own altar:
- Black, brown, orange, red, or yellow altar cloth
- Amber, aventurine, cat’s eye, citrine, diamond, hematite, peridot, yellow topaz
- Acorns, corn dolls, cornucopia, garland, gourds, leaves, pumpkins
- Flowers: Chrysanthemums, marigolds, passionflower
- Herbs: Chamomile, rosehips, rosemary, rue, sage, yarrow
- Food: Ale, apples, breads, corn, fruit, grains, nuts, pomegranates, potatoes, wheat, wine
- Animals: Blackbirds, crows, dogs, fox, goats, owls, raccoons, ravens, squirrels, stags, wolves
- Deities: Ceres, Demeter, Epona, Morrighan, Persephone, Green Man, Hermes, Thor, Thoth
Remember that as it’s your altar, arrange it how you are called to. Make it personal to your taste and your path. It doesn’t have to be large or elaborate. You can even construct a jar altar where you place small representatives of Mabon in a container and place it central in your home. Follow your intuition and get creative!
- PERFORM A MABON MEDITATION
I always recommend performing a meditation centered around Sabbats as their theme lends to the natural cycle of our life. Mabon is no different. Balance plays a large part in this turn of the Wheel of the Year as it’s an equinox. This is when there is an equal amount of daylight and darkness.
Your meditation doesn’t have to be extraneous in length or overly complicated. In fact, the simpler the better. A great thing to focus on is how you will seek and find balance for your life as the colder coming months drives us inside. What you’ll be harvesting during this Sabbat and the lessons you’ve learned from previous cycles are also wonderful points to reflect on during your meditation.
- HOLD A MABON FEAST TO GIVE THANKS
For observing Pagans and other practitioners, Mabon is our Thanksgiving. Take the time to plan a fantastic feast featuring seasonal foods and invite your close friends and loved ones to participate – even if they don’t observe or know what Mabon is.
You could turn this into a potluck and have a gratitude activity planned – like going around the table and taking turns expressing what everyone is thankful for. On the other hand you may want to keep it lowkey and hold a personal celebration, tuning into yourself and taking stock of where you’re at. Feasting alone doesn’t have to feel empty or sad. Sometimes it’s cathartic.
However you approach it, gratitude should be at its center.
- HOST A WINE TASTING
Honoring deities tied to grapes and winemaking is easily done by hosting a wine tasting. However you regard the vineyard god – as Dionysus, Bacchus, Green Man, etc. – celebrating with a focus on wine is a fun and easy way to commemorate Mabon.
If you’re up to tackle a challenge, you may want to try your hand at winemaking. This could also be done as a group activity. And if DIYing isn’t your thing and you don’t want to play host, booking a winery tour is yet another way to enjoy grapes and their bounty.
However you choose to celebrate, leaving an offering as a way to say thank you is always in style.
- GO APPLE PICKING
Another fruit in season is the apple. Typically associated with the Mabon Sabbat, apples hold strong ties with magick and wisdom. If you’re luck enough to live near an orchard, plan an outing to pick apples, getting out in Mother Nature and appreciating all that she has to offer us. To further this celebration, plan to pick enough to bring home and preserve the apples to enjoy in the coming months.
- DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY
When we look to the past for ways that Mabon has been celebrated, the Iroquois people come together for what’s known as the Corn Dance. This is to give thanks for the ripening of crops in the fall. The Yoruba people in Nigeria commemorate the Yam Festival with dancing. These dances are for both the fertility of crops in the coming season and for their ancestors.
In the same vein, find joy in dancing to your favorite music, feel the energy it fills you with, and focus on being thankful for all that you have. Turn it into a dance party or go it alone. Either way, mindfully moving your body and being joyous in the Sabbat with thoughts of our loved ones – both here and lost – is a fabulous way to commemorate Mabon.
- PERFORM A BALANCING RITUAL
As Mabon celebrates the autumnal equinox and a time of balance, performing a ritual to align yourself and restore equilibrium can do wonders. This can look like anything you do that brings you back to the place where you feel most like yourself. A ritual bath, meditative walk, spending a night or two camping outdoors, spilling your heart out on the page, going on a social media fast, burning what you need to release in a bonfire, etc. Do what you’re called to in order to find your balance!
- ORGANIZE A FOOD DRIVE
It only makes sense that this is on our list as Mabon is our Thanksgiving. When we take the time to think about all of the ways we’re blessed, it’s hard for our minds not to wander to those less fortunate.
If you find yourself in a position to give, then do it! This can look like organizing your own food drive or collecting donations on the behalf of others and giving to an established trusted organization. If you’re called to volunteer, give your time instead or in addition to.
- READ SOME LEAVES
An ancient practice known as Phyllomancy is the art of divining with leaves. And as leaves are everywhere this time of year, going for a nature walk and collecting some to use for this divination method is a great way to connect esoterically during Mabon.
You can interpret shapes that you see in the leaf, listen to their rustling during your walk – especially great for those who have the gift of clairaudience – read leaf veins, (carefully) burn leaves and divine the ashes, incorporate color magick and apply it to the leaves you see, etc.
Let go and have fun with it! Trying your hand at a new divination technique is a wonderful way to connect your practice with living in the moment and paying mind to the current Sabbat!
IN CONCLUSION…
There you have it! Hopefully you’ve learned a new way or two to celebrate Mabon this year. If there’s any other way you partake, let me know in the comments. And as always, Bright Blessings and Happy Crafting!
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