In both traditional and contemporary paganism, it is extremely common for witches to celebrate seasonal holidays throughout the year. Specifically, there are eight main holidays that when referred to as a group are called the Wheel of the Year. These holidays are the summer and winter solstice, the spring and fall equinox, and the four equidistant points between them. The celebrations are primarily focused on the amount of daylight on the specified day and how it pertains to wildlife and farming.
This year, during the Fall Equinox on September 22 ( it changes each year ), the Harvest Celebration, or Mabon will mark the end of the growing season, the final harvest, and the balance of day and night. This marks the start of the longer nights and shorter days.
As the Harvest Festival, Mabon is a time to be thankful for the things in your life. It is a time to enjoy the fruits of your labors and rest a moment before beginning your plans for the future. It is common practice, when making long lasting spells that work towards a goal to make Mabon the planned completion date for the spell. It is an excellent time to collect on the hard work you\’ve put in until this point.
Maybon is a time to feast, have good company, let go of little grievances, and look back fondly on the good moments of the warmer months. It is a time to bury the hatchet.
The other aspect of Maybon is to ask for the favor of whatever spirits or beings you believe aid you. It\’s a time to ask that what you have harvested, both physically and metaphorically, will be enough to get you through the cold months to come; the death of all things. During this time, we ask that we be sustained through to the rebirth of spring.
To be clear, Mabon is not the time to start workings for the next year. That time will come. Mabon is a time to rest and rejoice. It is a reprieve from the work and the worry and the stress of the rest of the year. Eat, drink, be merry, and forget your troubles, if only for a day. Mabon is a festival during which we are all family.
After Mabon, the nights get longer, the reserves begin to dwindle, and the world begins to wither. Make your Mabon count, because when the celebration is over, the world becomes pale for a very long time.