Mabon: taking stock, rebalancing
Autumn Equinox asks us to reconsider how we invest our resources.
And the Wheel has turned.
We are entering the dark part of the year. Nature is slowing down, exhaling, and shaking off the remnants of summer’s lushness. The world lowers its voice to whispers and the nights swell, taking up more space each day. The air is crisp and clear. In the growing darkness, the chthonic powers stretch and yawn, awoken to perform their seasonal duties.
Some people strongly dislike this time of the year. It can be very cold, grey, and miserable. Others, like myself, rub their hands with joy for this time is the one of “less”: less noise, less mental clutter, less burgeoning energy around. The state of less gives clarity and creates space to focus on nurturing the seeds that we hope will sprout in spring. We switch from external to internal. I know quite a few creative people who believe that autumn and winter are the most fertile grounds for their work. As if the air is not just clear, it’s thin: we can touch the other world, drawing inspiration and wisdom from it.
Before the industrial revolutions birthed the modern world, this time of the year was when our farming ancestors gathered and sorted their harvests to then carefully store them for the coming winter. In all ways, it was a time to assemble all the available resources in order to increase the chances of surviving the darker, colder part of the year.
But it went beyond preserving food to avoid famine. European customs of this time of the year included cleaning houses and barns, carving runes, making ritual brooms, forging amulets, and turning to the ancestors. It was done to keep other resources safe, like for example, health and harmonious relationships.
Even though many of us today live in a different reality, far from the fields and livestock, the ideas of Autumn Equinox can – and I believe, should – be applied to our modern lives. Wheel of the Year is my beloved “tool” that makes my life more rounded and balanced by keeping my whole being attuned to the natural cycles.
Autumn Equinox for the modern-day human
Autumn Equinox, known as Mabon on the Celtic Wheel of the Year, is the second harvest festival that follows August’s Lughnasadh. Equinoxes are the days of equilibrium when opposites are balanced by each other: the night lasts as long as the day does. In autumn we celebrate it somewhere between the 21st and 23rd of September, when the Sun reaches the exact mid-point between Summer and Winter Solstices. This year, the equinox falls on Saturday, the 23rd of September, today.
That basic, encyclopedia-style understanding already hints to us that the themes of this festival are balance and harvest.
Harvest
Traditionally at this time, people would spend days feasting, drinking, and bragging to each other about the abundance of their harvests so that the generous hands of nature (and Gods) wouldn’t stop giving in the next cycle.
Laying out a table full of local seasonal goodness is a beautiful continuation of the custom which I personally love. Yet, what I believe is more important is to lay out the fruits of your actions, decisions, and thoughts so you can see them all: bright, ripe, and fragrant.
Think about the period from the last Mabon till today. What you can pat yourself on the back for? Maybe you had the courage to change your life in a tangible way. Maybe you improved your relationship with yourself or another person. Maybe you finally picked up that hobby just for the sake of the joy it brings you. Maybe you acted on your intention to adopt a healthy habit. Maybe you earned more money or spent less. Maybe you literally survived and that’s something to celebrate.
Don’t let your thoughts lead you down the paths of regret, no “I should’ve”, “I could’ve”, or “I thought I would”. Today, you take a temporal juncture of your life as it is and look at what is here, not what we think should be here.
Write it all down, making a list. Let the paper be your table and your words be the fruits of your love and your labour – claim your efforts and results, and brag about them to yourself.
I’m sure you’ll be proud of yourself because inevitably, as long as we live, we all do something. No one is the same as they were a year ago. Celebrate all your victories.
Journaling inquiry:
What am I harvesting?
Taking stock
A new friend has recently shared with me this metaphor for Mabon and I want to expand it here for you.
Imagine you are going to spend the autumn and winter in a little forest hut. You can bring with you all that you think you will need to survive the dark part of the year: food, candles, books, board games, warm clothes, blankets, and even some people. You will not have an opportunity to bring more in or take things (or people) out during the colder months, so you need to decide now, and wisely. What will you take with you?
When you think about it this way, do you want to invite into your hut that friend with whom you talk only about weather and common acquaintances? Are you interested in spending months regretting the past? Are you willing to give part of the limited hut’s space to the things you brought “just in case” or reached for automatically? Like that course or that book that you haven’t touched in months but you still think you need to finish.
Mabon invites us to separate the wheat from the chaff. Take inventory of your life and consider all the things you give your time to. Time is the currency of our human experience which makes it the most precious albeit limited resource we have. Keep close to yourself only the people, projects, thoughts and possessions that help you stay resourceful while heading for the direction you chose for yourself.
Journaling inquiry:
What will I leave behind because it depletes my resources?
Planning for spring
Expanding on the forest hut metaphor, what do you want to spend your time doing in the dark part of the year? At this point in your life, what are the things you want to invest your time in? Which relationships, ideas, or activities? Do not spread yourself thin, focus on a few things that you wish to nurture over the winter so they can take a new shape in spring.
When we remove the excess and let go of unmet expectations and outdated ideas, we can gain clarity on what is it that matters to us at this time. Not what mattered in the summer or last year. Today. A vision for the dark part of the year, a deliberate choice about what we invest our (rather limited) time in.
Journaling inquiry:
What seeds do I want to nurture for the spring? Where will I invest my energy?
I’m blessed to spend this turn of the Wheel with a kin of beautiful souls, up North in Karelia. Banya, campfire, pine trees, and starry skies are a great setting for the Mabon celebration. A year ago I only dreamt of this. Today, it’s real.
Enjoy your harvest, go outside, notice how nature is changing :)
And take care!
Nika
P.S. Last year’s article about Autumn Equinox - a very simple, honest essay - might be a good addition to this newsletter. It’s a quick read too 😉
Ну как же красиво и проникновенно...🙏🏻❤ 🌾🌻🍎 Горжусь и восхищаюсь!