MABON BLESSINGS
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September 22, 2021 12:21pm PDT
(Autumnal Equinox)
Witches’ Thanksgiving
Pop the cork and toast the season!
In the spirit of gratitude, I offer my personal toast to the harvest:
Hail Dionysus, Lord of the Vine
I honour your essence by drinking your wine
**Though mostly known today as the god of wine, Dionysus is the one of the original horned vegetation gods. Associated with vine, ivy, trees, fruits, vegetation, bulls, rams, and goats, Dionysus is slain, eaten, and born anew. He is the “once and future king” ensuring the continuation of life.
Within the context of the Girdle of the Goddess, Dionysus flows with the energies at the end of Pisces moving into Aries, exactly opposite his wife – the Goddess Ariadne – at the end of Virgo moving into Libra.
THE WHEEL OF THE YEAR
The equinox is a time to reflect on the dual nature of the God. Representing life and death, the God is both a Sun and Earth deity; embodying the Holly King and Horned God respectively. At the Autumnal Equinox, the solar energies that peaked at Midsummer are grounded in the earthly sacrifice of Lughnasadh, and together they act as a catalyst for death…and the setting of the God at Mabon.
The God at Mabon
At Lughnasadh, in his earthly aspect as the Green Man, the God sacrificed his Self for the good of the group. Now, with the Sun moving into Libra (the sign of balance and harmony), the God co-operates with Night instead of fighting in battle. After a month travelling through Virgo (the sign of service, integration, and natural cycles), the Sun God understands and respects the cycle of death and rebirth. He unites with his earthy aspect in its descent to the Underworld, where he will become the Lord of Death at Samhain.
The Goddess at Mabon
As for the Goddess, She has transitioned through group-focused Aquarius and transcended to see the big picture in Pisces. While the God was integrating his dual nature, the Goddess was experiencing Her own expansiveness and the full cycles within.
With the Earth moving into Aries, the Goddess represents the spark of life that is eternal. Even when the body dies and descends, the spirit continues to become new life. The Goddess at Mabon guides and protects through the dark and shadowy season to come.
Mabon celebrates The Greater Mysteries with the descent to the Underworld, and the necessity of death as the foundation of rebirth. We explored the Eleusinian Mysteries at Ostara, which you may like to review in my post VENUS and THE ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES
GIRDLE OF THE GODDESS
In the language of Theodomy, the 12 signs of the zodiac are further divided into 36 primordial energies of the divine feminine, called the Girdle of the Goddess.
At the time of Mabon, the sun is in the 19th primordial energy activating Harmonia, the Goddess of harmony, balance, love, and eternity.
See my Harmonia post for more information.
Equinox
Equinox literally means “equal night”, meaning the hours of daylight are equal with the hours of dark.
Astronomically, the equinoxes mark the point where the sun crosses the celestial equator, rising from south to north in the spring, and setting from north to south in the fall.
Metaphorically and mythically, the equinoxes mark the point where polarities meet face to face. Where light is forced to look its shadow in the eye and choose what comes next.
There are two equinoxes in the year (as there are two solstices) but, while they both mark a meeting point between light and dark, their energies are very different. The meetings themselves actually represent a balance – one being energetic and aggressive (Ostara in the Spring) where the other is peaceful and passive (Mabon in the Fall).
At Ostara (Sun in Aries), Day confronts Night with a fighting spirit which culminates in a victory and heralds the birth of new life. At Mabon (Sun in Libra), on the other hand, Day and Night great each other in mutual respect for the opposing roles they play in the continuous cycling of the Wheel of the Year. Day accepts its own passing and the dying light graciously, infusing the Autumnal Equinox with harmony, balance, and co-operation.
Gratitude
Mabon has been called The Witches’ Thanksgiving. It is a time when we reap what was sown over the year, acknowledging both the challenges and blessings that resulted. It is also a time to be rid of that which no longer serves us – separate the wheat from the chaff. Let go of anything that interferes with the coming quiet and rest, or anything that will impede growth in the next cycle.
Gather, thresh, and winnow your harvest. Reflect on the challenges and toast the blessings.
Though the God is in peaceful Libra, the Goddess is in life-affirming Aries reminding us …
We are here
We are alive and
We will survive!
Blessed Be!