Mabon is the second of three harvest festivals on the wheel of the year. It lands between Lammas and Samhain and celebrates the Autumnal equinox on September 22. Mabon’s energy is all about preparedness. Winter is coming, and we need to ensure we have enough of the necessities on hand to get us through the colder months.
Mabon is the harvest of the fruits of the garden. These are the items that will supplement the grains harvested at Lammas. This includes the tomatoes, peppers and zucchini that you’ve grown over the summer, as well as the things you have foraged as the days grow shorter and cooler.
This year I didn’t have a garden, but instead spent a good deal of my time foraging. I did have the opportunity to gather chokecherries grown at my cousins’ house. Those I am turning into wine and syrup. Through their generosity I also have access to mint, red raspberry leaves, valerian root and other herbs. I have spent several days in the mountains near my home where I gathered rosehips, juniper berries, sagebrush, and more.
You don’t have to travel to the wilderness to find treasures to see you through the winter. I have gathered seeds from parkways when I walk my dog in the evening. I’ve also foraged clover, dandelions, asters, and bindweed from my yard. If you do a little research you can find a wealth of plants that have magical properties. Now is the time to collect acorns, moss, sticks and pine cones for crafts and for decorating your altar.
Now, while fruits and vegetables are at their peak, is the time to start preserving them for the winter. My grandmother had a large garden and spent weeks canning what she grew. I remember the steaming and hissing pressure cooker kept busy with jars of tomatoes, green beans, pickles, carrots, beets and more. But you don’t have to have a full canning operation to take part in the preparation energy of Mabon.
You can start small, freezing a few berries you picked from your bushes, or drying out the dandelion and clover leaves you harvested. You don’t even have to put up items you grew or foraged. Store bought apples make just as good applesauce as those you picked yourself. The point isn’t to go full homesteader, but to work with what you have. Also, keep in mind what you will use. I currently have a bunch of spices that I picked up when they were on sale, that I have yet to find a use for. Having a fully stocked spice cabinet looks nice, but I feel a little guilty about not using them.
This is the time of year I like to make tinctures, infused honeys, teas and oils for the coming colder months. My husband is a rideshare driver and my son is in middle school, so we are often exposed to various bugs and colds. We will be getting our flu shots and covid boosters, of course, but having a little bit of magic to supplement the science is helpful.
Now is the time to look over your apothecary and altar and see what needs fixing, or even throwing away. Anything that you’ve had for more than three years–oils, herbs, tinctures and the like–should be used up, made into something new, or disposed of. If you have herbs that need using up, make them into incense blends, or incense cones. Use them as offerings or to make anointing oils from them. Clear off your altar of dead flowers, give it a good dusting and cleansing so that you aren’t bringing stagnant energies into your harvest time.
Beyond your magical needs, look into preparing your mundane needs for the winter. Go through your pantry. Do you have enough to make a couple of comfort meals on the days when you need them? Can you make a pot of soup to freeze for a day when you don’t feel like cooking? Do you have cold medicine and pain killers for the upcoming colder months when you are more likely to catch a cold? Do you have teas and tinctures on hand to boost your immune system to help you avoid getting sick in the first place? Have you gotten your flu shot?
Is your home ready for winter? Take stock of what you have on hand. Do you have enough blankets, socks and warm clothes? Has the air filter on your furnace been changed? Do your windows close all the way or are there gaps that would benefit from a draft blocker? Mabon is a good time to look around your home and figure out what would make it comfy, and then do whatever it takes to get it into winter condition. If we take the time to do the prep work now, we won’t be left chilly come December.
Mabon is also a time for reflection. The earth is slowing down and asking us to do the same. Being able to look inward, to check in with our feelings and our mental health, is important. We can be so caught up on what we need externally that we forget to honor our inner space.
Ask yourself: am I mentally prepared for the colder months? You might want to take some time to journal and consult your preferred divination method to see where you are emotionally. I like to ask questions like, “Where am I neglecting my emotional needs?” or “What tools do I need to incorporate in my toolbox to navigate the coming months?”
Take some time to consult your dreams. Keep a dream journal and set up a sleep routine that will foster restful sleep. With the coming of cooler weather, you might find that you want to spend more time in bed, and so you should make it as restful as possible. I like to use teas and tinctures to aid my sleep. If you’d like me to share a sleep tincture recipe in a future video, leave a comment.
Finally, think about how you want the rest of the year to play out. What do you want it to look like, feel like, sound and smell like? What can you do to make that happen? The year is slowly coming to an end, but we still have months to go before the glitz and sparkle of Yule. We might as well take advantage of the energies of Mabon to see us through till then.