Mabon 2018 Sabbat Box Theme Release • Moon Magick II

• 2018 MABON - FALL EQUINOX SABBAT BOX THEME • MOON MAGICK •

The weather cools, a chill settling in the air. The leaves begin to turn to fiery colors: Yellow. Red. Orange.  The spectrum creates a rainbow over the landscape as they fall to the ground, filling the air with an earthy scent. The autumn equinox is near.

The equinox itself is a scientifically observable event when the tilt of the earth is so that the sun passes over the earth’s equator.  Because of this, the sun rises exactly east and sets exactly west rather than at a slight tilt towards the poles and we experience a near-equal day and night. This event occurs twice a year: Once at spring and once in the fall. In 2018, the Autumn Equinox will take place on September 22nd at 4:02 PM EDT. 

For pagans and witches, the fall equinox is also known as Mabon, one of three harvest festivals on the Wheel of the Year. We owe the name "Mabon" itself to Aidan Kelly in the 1970s, a reference to characters, or perhaps gods, from Welsh lore. That being said, though the name is relatively new, the concept of a celebration occurring around the fall equinox is not. Oschophoria was a festival in ancient Greece that honored the grape harvest and wine. Eighteenth century Bavarians celebrated Oktoberfest in the last week of September, a festival that continues today. Even the US holiday Thanksgiving originally occurred on October 3rd, just a week and a half after the equinox. It wasn’t until 1863 that it was moved to November and 1941 before it settled on the date it is today. As such, the modern Autumn Equinox as a pagan festival is one of thanksgiving and gratitude.

Much of this thanksgiving tradition with Mabon is owed to its timing around the fall harvest. Customs of the holiday include this, creating themes of completion and goal achievement. This is a great time to reflect upon the past to see if you have reaped what you’ve sown from seeds planted in the spring. What goals did you want to achieve at the beginning of the year? Have they come to fruition?  What do you need to do to find completion? This might even mean cutting your losses to move forward, much as a farmer might do with a dud crop.

Mabon altar for a Fall Equinox ritual

In addition to thanksgiving and harvest, the autumn equinox is a time of balance.  The word equinox itself comes from the Latin word aequinoctium- aequus meaning equal and nox, of course, meaning night. During both the spring and fall equinox, day and night are nearly-equal. Enforcing this equilibrium is the fact that the sun enters Libra, a sign of balanced scales, on the morning of the autumn equinox. Celebrating balance means appreciating the light and dark within your life. What does the light bring you? Think of the sun, the day, the progress you make during that timeframe and what you draw to you. And what does the dark do for you?  Think of letting go, of cleansing, of the night and, especially, of the moon. After all, we’re entering her jurisdiction as we travel to the darker half of the year.

Mabon has always had a close association with the moon. The full moon near the fall equinox, the Harvest Moon, is probably the most well-known. This particular full moon derives its name from the farmers working late into the night, the crops illuminated by its brilliant light. The Harvest Moon is sometimes called the Wine Moon as well because it rises in a beautiful orange-red splendor, akin to the fiery colors of the autumn leaves below. Moreover, for those that believe in the goddess, Mabon is when she officially enters her “waning” phase – another emphasis on the connection of this equinox with the moon.

But this isn’t all. As stated earlier, the equinox isn’t exactly a perfect balance of night and day – it is only nearly equal. That perfect equality, called equilux rather than equinox, occurs a few days before the actual equinox itself. We owe this offset on the day the sun passes over the equator’s plane to atmospheric diffusion and, of course, our beloved moon. Earth’s satellite causes the planet’s orbit to vary from a perfect ellipse. It’s also why we have the tilt, and thus the equinoxes, in the first place. Thus the moon has a profound effect on this sabbat in particular!

Because of the fall equinox’s especially close connection to the moon, Sabbat Box would like to announce its Mabon box theme: Moon Magick II. Our first Moon Magick themed Sabbat Box was presented on Ostara of last year.  It seems only appropriate to present the second of this theme on the mirror holiday to the first.  Moon Magick deals with the darkness and the ways we attempt to illuminate it, much like a candle in the night. It is spiritual, cleansing, divinatory and divine. It’s also natural, emphasizing harvested herbs akin to the harvest of the fall.

This box will assist subscribers on working with not just the Harvest Moon in its full status but every phase during this time – and throughout the year! The items you’ll discover will be educational, interactive and fully integrated with the moon herself, and will include more exclusive items just for our members. We can’t wait for our subscribers to open up this magickal box and begin harnessing the full power of the many phases of the moon this equinox!

About the author: Marietta Williams

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