The Sacred Month of October

October is my favorite month of the year, as it frequently begins with the first crisp bite of Autumn apples and reverently ends with Samhain, the Wiccan New Year – otherwise known as Halloween.

The Samhain season celebrates the thinning of the veil between the worlds of humans and spirits. As a result, Samhain is often referred to as “The Night of the Witches.” It is such an important Sabbat to Wiccans and most Neo-Pagans that I will be presenting a separate post devoted solely to it. This post is an overview of the month, as well as a bit of a Samhain primer.

To the Celts, October was linked to the elder tree, or ruis. In the old Celtic calendar, October was the last month in the year, which is why Samhain is still known as New Year’s to Wiccans and Neo-Pagans.

Thus, the elder tree is symbolic with beginnings and endings entwined, or death and rebirth as played out on the Wheel of Year. For Wiccans, the elder is sacred to the Goddess in her Crone aspect, which begins to take prominence at this time of year.

As noted U.K. witch Marie Bruce points out in The Witches Almanac 2010, elderberry wine is an appropriate drink for ritual and to offer as libation at the waning and dark of the moon – the Dark Goddess’ time of prominence. Even the Wiccan Rede underscores this sacred relationship:

Elder be ye Lady’s tree,
Burn it not or cursed ye’ll be!

Magickally speaking, October is the month for releasing negative emotions and habits, communing with the Dark Goddess and accepting Her wisdom, and communicating with loved ones who have passed over – though this definitely does NOT mean summoning spirits and “psychic” games. Wiccans and Neo-Pagans have a great deal of respect for the dead, and genuinely honor them during Samhain.

Oct. 7, 1:45 p.m. – New Moon

New Moons signify rebirth, beginnings, a clean slate, the start of a new cycle. This new moon highlights Sagittarian qualities (idealistic, optimistic, good-humored, opportunistic, intelligent), and Ninth House themes (including personal growth, spirituality, travel, higher education).

This is a time of optimism and dreams; the moon seeks knowledge. New Moons are times of new beginnings, and this New Moon offers the potential of a brand new understanding of what gives our life meaning.

To move in the direction of Sagittarius truth always requires a leap of faith and confidence in what we know. In pursuing this path, there's the danger of becoming insular and overzealous, of refusing to listen at all to other points of view. The utter conviction that serves Sagittarius so well in many situations can sometimes cause problems if we assume our own truth is universal.

Navigating the Sagittarius experience requires that we keep feeding our brains with other ideas and perspectives, to keep ourselves flexible and lively. But for the sake of innovation, it's equally important to know when to escape to our own imaginations and retrieve what we find there. This expansion of our sense of what is possible and what is correct is what the Sagittarian New Moon inspires.

Oct. 22, 8:37 p.m. – Full Moon

Blood Moon, Harvest Moon

To the Cherokee, October is the Harvest Moon, as this is when people gather and preserve most of their food. To the Choctaw, this is the Blackberry Moon. In warmer regions, late-cropping berries open now and are often dried or preserved for winter use. The Dakota Sioux call this the Moon When Quilting and Beading Is Done. These creative pursuits take many hours, so people favor them when less outdoor work can be done but enough daylight still remains to see fine details.

October closes the harvest season as the last grains and other crops come in. Food storage occupies people's attention. Although modern supermarkets are an option, many benefits come from growing and preserving at least some of your own foor. Likewise, magickal artifacts crafted by the user tend to hold more power than purchased ones. This is also a good time to craft sacred and magickal decorations to prepare for winter celebrations.

Rituals often feature the harvest – honoring the fruits of our labors, giving thanks for what we receive and requesting a bountiful yield. Magickally, gather friends for craft workshops to make items for ceremonial use.

~ Elizabeth Barrette in Llewellyn's 2010 Witches' Datebook
Oct. 31, Samhain (Halloween) – Waning Moon

Samhain, pronounced “Sow-een or Sow-in” is the most magical and important night of the year for Neo-Pagans, Wiccans and Celts throughout the world. Exactly opposite Beltane on the Wheel of the Year, Samhain is Beltane’s dark twin and the Witches New Year.

The name Samhain is derived from Old Irish and means roughly "summer's end." A harvest festival with ancient roots in Celtic polytheism, it was linked to festivals held around the same time in other Celtic cultures, and continued to be celebrated in late medieval times.

It has elements of a festival of the dead. The Gaels believed that the border between this world and the otherworld became thin on Samhain; because some animals and plants were dying, it thus allowed the dead to reach back through the veil that separated them from the living. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. People and their livestock would often walk between two bonfires as a cleansing ritual, and the bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames.

Samhain rituals begin at sundown on Oct.31, the hours when the veil between the worlds of humans and spirits is at its thinnest and the dead return to visit their kin. The modern world recognizes this as the secular holiday Halloween.

The veil begins to thin about Oct. 15, with the veil is at its very thinnest upon the eve of Oct. 31. The holiday season goes to about through Nov. 10 or so. During this time, divination is at its highest point. Use a divination crystal pendulum, or other fun magickal tools, to divine answers for yourself or loved ones anytime during the Samhain Season, and during your Hallows Eve ritual.

Samhain is a time of great joy and union with a higher world

At this time the spirits of the dead and those who have not yet been born join those of us living in the material world. Ancient Celts provided food and entertainment for these spirits, inviting them to walk among them in this festival in their honor.

Thus, Samhain is the celebration of death. It is the time to connect with our ancestors who have passed on and invite them once again, into our lives. A time to embrace our heritage reminding ourselves of the connection we have with those who have gone before us into the great beyond. To celebrate their lives and the memories we hold dear. We have not forgotten you.

As we invite our ancestors to pass thru the veil into our world this Samhain Eve, you don’t want them to get hungry along the way! Apples and pomegranates serve as a gracious food offering and will aid in your spirits’ safe travel as they pass through the veil between the worldly realms.

Samhain is celebrated on a material as well as a spiritual level

Materially, it represents a time of gathering resources for the long winter months that are coming. For those who had a bad season through the fall, Samhain is a time to prepare for the perils that winter may bring.

Spiritually, Samhain is a time for reflection and meditation on death, and the honor of your ancestors who have passed to another plane. It is an opportunity to be at one with your past, present and future. The Great Feast of the Dead is celebrated on Samhain Eve to offer tribute to those who lived before you, and those who will come after you.

Samhain predates the Roman feast of the Dead, Lemuria, and All Hallow's Eve – the eve of the Christian holiday to honor the saints, All Saint's Day. All of these festivals, though called by different names, are celebration of the awe, communication with, and respect of the dead.

Samhain is often named the "Last Harvest" or "Summer's End." The Earth nods a sad farewell to the God, and Wiccans and many Neo-Pagans often re-enact his death and emergence of the Dark Goddess during the Samhain Rite.

The God and earth fall into slumber, as the nights lengthen, and winter begins. Wiccans believe the God will once again be reborn of the Goddess, and the cycle will continue. This is the time of reflection, the time to honor the Ancients who have gone on before us, and so the time of “Seeing" (divination). As we contemplate the Wheel of the Year, we come to recognize our own part in the eternal cycle of Life.

The Goddess, who has three aspects (Triple Goddess) as Maiden, Mother, and Crone or Grandmother, is honored now in Her Crone aspect, the Wisewoman, our guide in the declining years of our lives. She who demands that we take time each year for introspection and self-evaluation, She who demands we make better of ourselves in the coming year.

The Horned God, too, who was depicted as a robust man with antlers and honored in His aspect of God of the forests, fields, flocks and herds, is now honored by Wiccans and Neo-Pagans as the Lord of Death and Rebirth.

Here are some Celtic Samhain Traditions that use apples!

Apple Resolutions: It's traditional before Sahmain to take an apple, carve it in half, pour your illness or bad habits into it, (or you can write all your bad habits, or what you want to change on parchment paper and insert it inside the apple), put it back together (use wooden toothpicks), and then bury it in the ground. This is obviously a direct ancestor of our modern day New Year’s Resolution tradition.

Bobbing for Apples: Bobbing for apples is a common Halloween activity that has evolved from the idea of capturing the spirit of the dormant Goddess, who will grieve for her consort, the God, until Yule. To capture fruit sacred to her (the apple) was to ensure her continued presence and good will, even though she was believed virtually "incommunicado" for the next six weeks.

Here is an example of an ancestor invocation:

Ancestors Invocation
By Jennifer Ellison

We hear your whispered voices
speaking words of wisdom
into our unconscious minds.
Your whispers awaken our dreams,
our hearts,
our desires.
You who are our ancestors
who once walked upon the earth
and were part of our shared life eternal,
we praise you with all that is sacred in our lives.
You who planted the seed of knowledge,
you who sought inner peace,
you who claimed your love for the Gods and Goddesses of old,
we give you honor and praise your name.
Grandmother,
without you I would not be here.
Grandfather,
without you I would not be here.
People that have come before and gone ahead,
without you I would not be here.
I give you honor and praise your name.
We ask you for guidance,
for you have the power of knowledge.
You have been born in us,
part of our being.
We draw upon your strength so that we may move ever forward.
Your footsteps,
we follow as all children will.
You are our family and with all the love in my being,
I give you honor and call your names.
Ancestors,
I praise you with the earth in my palm.
I praise you with the fire in my heart.
I praise you with my breath as I give offerings to your greatness.
I praise you with the blood and water of life within my body.
I call forth for you with honor for all eternity.

~~~~~~~

Samhain Spell to Remember Ancestors

Items needed:
One black candle
Oil for anointing your candle
Finely chopped fresh rosemary
A bowl of water
An offering for your ancestors (bread, honey, etc)

Begin by casting the Sacred Circle.

Anoint your black candle with your chosen oil. Roll the candle in the chopped rosemary (for honoring ancestors), so that it sticks to the candle. Set it upright in the holder, where it will burn. Try not to move it too much, or the rosemary may fall off.

Light the candle, concentrating on the ancestor that you wish to remember. Bring the bowl of water close in front of you and the candle. Position the bowl so that you can see the candle's flame flickering in the water. Gaze into the bowl, letting the reflection of the candle flame take you deep into a meditative state.

Say:

"Candle burning, burning bright,
My eyes now see with new insight
I speak to you, who passed before
I walk willingly up to the door
Come to me so I may give
Remembrance to you so you may live."

Continue gazing into the water, letting your mind flow from one thought to the next as it will. You may see shapes, objects, people, or other things in the water. Let the images come, and store them away in your mind. When you feel ready, thank your ancestors for coming to you. Leave them the offering you have prepared for them.

Close the circle. Leave the offering overnight. You may dispose of it the next day by burying it. You should let the candle burn all the way down, however if this is not possible, then you may light it several days in a row for the same purpose, finishing up your workings by Nov. 1. If you have any candle left by this date, then bury the remains with the offering you left.

~~~~

Note: Many Wiccans and Neo-Pagans write out the names of each loved one on the other side of the veil on slips of paper. They read the names aloud reverently, then burn them in a Samhain cauldron to release their love and honor into the smoke that rises into the Sacred cosmos.

Don't forget to take advantage of the unique opportunities of this magickal month -- embrace your family with all of the usual festive activities, but also by taking solitary walks to commune with the Goddess and reflect on the year past, and the one that is about to begin.

Check your local area for apple and fall festivals, and Oktoberfest activities. Be sure to leave plenty of time in busy schedules to traverse the region on foot, and even in vehicles to marvel at the wonder that is fall foliage.

Cap the month off with hot cider, and carving Jack-O-Lanterns!

— Danu’s Daughter

Mabon

With the holy day of Mabon falling late in the month, the early, eager energies of September are too often ignored.

Instead, the focus is often on filling the cellar – in actual fact, and metaphorically – in preparation for the coming cold. It is important to remember that the first three weeks of September’s light provide us with a unique opportunity for personal reflection. It is a time for most children to return to school, for birds to begin their migration, for leaves to begin a spectacular plumage change all of their own, and for sun lovers to squeeze the last sizzling, golden rays into their outdoor activities.

Why not take time to reflect and give thanks, before the hectic months of change overtake you?

Mabon, (pronounced MAY-bun, MAY-bone, MAH-boon, or MAH-bawn) falls on September 21, at the time of the Autumnal Equinox. It is a sacred Sabbat celebrated by Wiccans and other Neo-Pagans who honor the turning of the Wheel of the Year.

It is the time when the harvest is winding down. The fields are nearly empty, because the crops have been plucked and stored for the coming winter. Mabon is the mid-harvest festival, and it is when we take a few moments to honor the changing seasons, and celebrate the second harvest. For many Neo-Pagan and Wiccan traditions it is a time to give thanks for the things we have, whether it is abundant crops, or all other life’s blessings.

Depending on your individual spiritual path, there are many different ways to celebrate Mabon, but typically the focus is on the Second Harvest aspect, or the balance between light and dark. This, after all, is the time when there is an equal amount of day and night. While we celebrate the gifts of the earth, we also accept that the soil is dying. We have food to eat, but the crops are brown and going dormant. Warmth is moving behind us, while the cold lies ahead.

The leaves begin to turn from green to brilliant reds and yellows, animals start to migrate, and the harvest is underway. The Autumn Equinox divides the day and night equally, and we all take a moment to pay our respects to the impending dark. We also give thanks to the waning sunlight, as we store our harvest of this year's crops.

The Druids call this celebration, Mea'n Fo'mhair, and honor the The Green Man, the God of the Forest, by offering libations to trees. Offerings of ciders, wines, herbs and fertilizer are also appropriate at this time. Wiccans celebrate the aging Goddess as she passes from Mother to Crone, and her consort, the God, as he prepares for death and re-birth.

Here is my personal prayer that I have written to honor the beloved Green Man, whom is a central figure and focus of my own spiritual path:

Robin of the Greenwood Glen,
Lord of the Forest thou hast always been.

My lips a song to praise,
My cup a toast to raise.

Hail and Hearty the Oak King is,
Now and forever I am truly his.

So mote it be!

Mabon is considered a time of the Mysteries. It is a time to honor Aging Deities and the Spirit World. Considered a time of mystical balance, it is when we stop and relax and enjoy the fruits of our personal harvests, whether they be from toiling in our gardens, working at our jobs, raising our families, or just coping with the hussle-bussle of everyday life.

Various other names for this Lesser Wiccan Sabbat are: The Second Harvest Festival, Wine Harvest, Feast of Avalon, Equinozio di Autunno (Strega), Alben Elfed (Caledonii), or Cornucopia. The Teutonic name, Winter Finding, spans a period of time from the Sabbat to October 15th, Winter's Night, which is the Norse New Year.

At this festival it is appropriate to wear all of your finery and dine and celebrate in a lavish setting. It is the drawing to and of family as we prepare for the winding down of the year at Samhain (Halloween). It is a time to finish old business as we ready for a period of rest, relaxation, and spiritual reflection.

The Science of the Equinox

Two days a year, the Northern and Southern hemispheres receive the same amount of sunlight. Not only that, each receives the same amount of light as they do dark – this is because the earth is tilted at a right angle to the sun, and the sun is directly over the equator. In Latin, the word equinox translates to "equal night." The autumn equinox takes place on or near September 21, while its spring counterpart falls around March 21. If you're in the Northern hemisphere, the days will begin getting shorter after the autumn equinox and the nights will grow longer – in the Southern hemisphere, the reverse is true.

Global Traditions

The idea of a harvest festival is nothing new. In fact, people have celebrated it for millennia, all around the world. In ancient Greece, Oschophoria was a festival held in the fall to celebrate the harvesting of grapes for wine. In the 1700's, the Bavarians came up with Oktoberfest, which actually begins in the last week of September, and it was a time of great feasting and merriment, still in existence today. China's Mid-Autumn festival is celebrated on the night of the Harvest or Barley Moon, and is a festival of honoring family unity.

Giving Thanks

Although the traditional American holiday of Thanksgiving falls in November, many cultures see the second harvest time of the fall equinox as a time of giving thanks. After all, it's when you figure out how well your crops did, how fat your animals have gotten, and whether or not your family will be able to eat during the coming winter. However, by the end of November, there's not a whole lot left to harvest. Originally, the American Thanksgiving holiday was celebrated on October 3, which makes a lot more sense agriculturally.

Thanksgiving was originally celebrated on October 3. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued his "Thanksgiving Proclamation", which changed the date to the last Thursday in November. In 1939, Franklin Delano Roosevelent adjusted it yet again, making it the second-to-last Thursday, in the hopes of boosting post-Depression holiday sales. Unfortunately, all this did was confuse people. Two years later, Congress finalized it, saying that the fourth Thursday of November would be Thanksgiving, each year.

Symbols of the Season

The harvest is a time of thanks, and as has been said, also a time of balance – after all, there are equal hours of daylight and darkness. While we celebrate the gifts of the earth, we also accept that the soil is dying. We have food to eat, but the crops are brown and going dormant. Warmth is behind us, cold lies ahead.

Some symbols of Mabon include:


— Mid-autumn vegetables, like squashes and gourds
— Apples and anything made from them, such as cider or pies
— Seeds and seed pods
— Baskets, symbolizing the gathering of crops
— Sickles and scythes
— Grapes, vines, wine

Any of these items can be used to decorate home or an altar at Mabon.

Feasting and Friends

Early agricultural societies understood the importance of hospitality, as it was crucial to develop a relationship with neighbors, because they might be the ones to help if your family ran out of food. Many people, particularly in rural villages, celebrated the harvest with great deals of feasting, drinking, and eating. After all, the grain had been made into bread, beer and wine had been made, and the cattle had been brought down from the summer pastures for the coming winter. Celebrate Mabon with a feast – the bigger, the better.

Magick and Mythology

Nearly all of the myths and legends popular at this time of the year focus on the themes of life, death, and rebirth. Not much of a surprise, when you consider that this is the time when the earth begins to “die” before winter sets in.

Demeter and Her Daughter

Perhaps the best known of all the harvest mythologies is the story of Demeter and Persephone. Demeter was a goddess of grain and of the harvest in ancient Greece. Her daughter, Persephone, caught the eye of Hades, god of the underworld. When Hades abducted Persephone and took her back to the underworld, Demeter's grief caused the crops on earth to die and go dormant. By the time she finally recovered her daughter, Persephone had eaten six pomegranate seeds, and so was doomed to spend six months of the year in the underworld. These six months are the time when the earth dies, beginning at the time of the autumnal equinox.

Inanna Takes on the Underworld

The Sumerian goddess Inanna is the incarnation of fertility and abundance. Inanna descended into the underworld where her sister, Ereshkigal, ruled. Erishkigal decreed that Inanna could only enter her world in the traditional ways, by stripping herself of her clothing and earthly possessions. By the time Inanna arrived, Erishkigal had unleashed a series of plagues upon her sister, killing Inanna. While Inanna was visiting the underworld, the earth ceased to grow and produce. A “vizier” or sorcerer, restored Inanna to life, and sent her back to earth. As she journeyed home, the earth was restored to its former glory.

Modern Celebrations

For contemporary Druids, this is the celebration of Alban Elfed, which is a time of balance between the light and the dark. Many Asatru groups honor the fall equinox as Winter Nights, a festival sacred to the Goddess Freyr.

For most Wiccans and NeoPagans, this is a time of community and kinship. It's not uncommon to find a Pagan Pride Day celebration tied in with Mabon. Often, PPD organizers include a food drive as part of the festivities, to celebrate the bounty of the harvest and to share with the less fortunate.

Those who celebrate Mabon give thanks for their many blessing, and they take time to reflect on the balance within their lives, honoring both the darkness and the light.

Mabon Correspondences at a Glance

Symbolism: Second Harvest, the Mysteries, Equality and Balance.
Symbols: Wine, gourds, pine cones, acorns, grains, corn, apples, pomegranates, vines like ivy, dried seeds, and horns of plenty.
Herbs: Acorn, benzoin, ferns, grains, honeysuckle, marigold, milkweed, myrrh, passionflower, rose, sage, solomon's seal, tobacco, thistle, and vegetables.
Foods: Breads, nuts, apples, pomegranates, and vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, and onions.
Incense: Autumn Blend-benzoin, myrrh, and sage.
Colors: Red, orange, russet, maroon, brown, and gold.
Stones: Sapphire, lapis lazuli, and yellow agates.
Activities: Making wine, gathering dried herbs, plants, seeds and seed pods, walking in the woods, scattering offerings in harvested fields, offering libations to trees, adorning burial sites with leaves, acorns, and pine cones to honor those who have passed over.
Spellworkings: Protection, prosperity, security, and self-confidence. Also those of harmony and balance.
Goddesses: Modron, Morgan, Epona, Persephone, Hekate, Pamona and the Muses.
Gods: Thoth, Thor, Hermes, and The Green Man.

A Mabon Ritual

As previously detailed, Demeter and Persephone are strongly connected to the time of the Autumn Equinox. When Hades abducted Persephone, it set in motion a chain of events that eventually led to the earth falling into darkness each winter. This is the time of the Dark Mother, the Crone aspect of the Triple Goddess. The goddess is bearing this time not a basket of flowers, but a sickle and scythe. She is prepared to reap what has been sown.

The earth dies a little each day, and we must embrace this slow descent into dark before we can truly appreciate the light that will return in a few months.

Difficulty: Average
Time Required: Varied

Here's How:

01. This ritual welcomes the Dark Mother, and celebrates that aspect of the Goddess which we may not always find comforting or appealing, but which we must always be willing to acknowledge. Decorate your altar with symbols of Demeter and her daughter – flowers in red and yellow for Demeter, purple or black for Persephone, stalks of wheat, Indian corn, sickles, baskets. Have a candle on hand to represent each of them – harvest colors for Demeter, black for Persephone. You'll also need a chalice of wine, or grape juice if you prefer, and a pomegranate.

02. If you normally cast a Sacred Circle, or call the Quarters, do so now. Turn to the altar, and light the Persephone candle.

Say:

The land is beginning to die, and the soil grows cold.
The fertile womb of the earth has gone barren.
As Persephone descended into the Underworld,
So the earth continues its descent into night.

As Demeter mourns the loss of her daughter,
So we mourn the days drawing shorter.
The winter will soon be here.

Light the Demeter (Goddess) candle, and say:

In her anger and sorrow, Demeter roamed the earth,
And the crops died, and life withered and the soil went dormant.
In grief, she traveled looking for her lost child,
Leaving darkness behind in her wake.

We feel the mother's pain, and our hearts break for her,
As she searches for the child she gave birth to.
We welcome the darkness, in her honor.

03. Break open the pomegranate (it's a good idea to have a bowl to catch the drippings), and take out six seeds. Place them on the altar.

Say:

Six months of light, and six months of dark.
The earth goes to sleep, and later wakes again.
O dark mother, we honor you this night,
And dance in your shadows.
We embrace that which is the darkness,
And celebrate the life of the Crone.

04. Take a sip of the wine (grape juice), and savor the taste upon your lips. If you are doing this rite with a group, pass it to each person in the circle.

As each person drinks, they should say:

Blessings to the Dark Goddess on this night, and every other.

05. As the wine (grape juice) is replaced upon the altar, hold your arms out in the Goddess position, and take a moment to reflect on the darker aspects of the human experience.

Think of all the goddesses who evoke the night, and call out their names:

Demeter, Inanna, Kali, Tiamet, Hekate, Nemesis, Morrighan.
Bringers of destruction and darkness,
I embrace you tonight.

Without rage, we cannot feel love,
Without pain, we cannot feel happiness,
Without the night, there is no day,
Without death, there is no life.

Great goddesses of the night, I thank you.


06. Take a few moments to meditate on the darker aspects of your own soul. Is there a pain you've been longing to get rid of? Is there anger and frustration that you've been unable to move past? Is there someone who's hurt you, but you haven't told them how you feel? Now is the time to take this energy and turn it to your own purposes. Take any pain inside you, and reverse it so that it becomes a positive experience. If you're not suffering from anything hurtful, count your blessings, and reflect on a time in your life when you weren't so fortunate.

07. When you are ready, end the ritual in your established fashion.

[You may wish to tie this rite into a celebration of the Harvest or Barley Moon.]

Harvest or Barley Moon

September brings us the Harvest or Barley Moon, which falls on Sept. 23, sometimes also referred to as the Wine Moon or the Singing Moon. This is the time of year when the last of the crops are being gathered from the fields and stored for the winter. There's a chill in the air, and the earth is slowly beginning its move towards dormancy as the sun pulls away from us.

Moon Correspondences

Colors: Browns and greens, earth tones.
Gemstones: Citrine, chrysolite, peridot, bloodstone.
Trees: Bay, larch, hawthorn.
Goddesses: Demeter, Brighid, Freyja, Vesta.
Herbs: Wheat, valerian, witch hazel, skullcap.
Element: Earth.

This is a month of hearth and home. Spend some time preparing your environment for the upcoming chilly months. If you don't already have one, why not set up a hearth or kitchen altar for those times when you're cooking, baking and canning. Use this time to clear out clutter – both physical and emotional – before you have to spend the long winter days inside.

Examples of Mabon Prayers

Hail! Hail! Hail!
The grapes have been gathered!
The wine has been pressed!
The casks have been opened!

Dionysus and Bacchus,
watch over our celebration,
and bless us with merrymaking!

Hail! Hail! Hail!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Equal hours of light and darkness
we celebrate the balance of Mabon,
and ask the gods to bless us.

For all that is bad, there is good.
For that which is despair, there is hope.
For the moments of pain, there are moments of love.

For all that falls, there is the chance to rise again.
May we find balance in our lives,
as we find it in our hearts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The harvest is ending, the earth is dying.
The cattle have come in from their fields.
The earth's bounty has been laid before us.
We give thanks to the gods for this abundance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Examples of Prayers to the Dark Goddess

Day turns to night,
and life turns to death,
and the Dark Mother teaches us to dance.

Hekate, Demeter, Kali, Nemesis, Morrighan, Tiamet –
Bringers of destruction,
You who embody the Crone.

I honor you as the earth goes dark,
and as the world slowly dies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This incantation calls upon the Dark Goddess Morrighan, who is a Celtic deity of battle and sovereignty. As a goddess who determined kingship and land holdings, she can be called upon for assistance in protecting you, your pets, your property and the boundaries of your land. If you’ve been burglarzied lately, or are having trouble with trespassers or vandals, this prayer comes in particularly handy.

You may wish to make this as martial, loud and vigorous as possible, with lots of banging drums, clapping, and even a sword or two thrown in as you march around the boundaries of your property. (Perhaps this also works because your neighbors will be convinced that you are dangerous, and a little crazy, no?)

Hail Morrighan! Hail Morrighan!
Protect this land from those who would trespass upon it!
Hail Morrighan! Hail Morrighan!
Guard this land and all those who dwell within it!
Hail Morrighan! Hail Morrighan!
Watch over this land and all contained upon it!

Hail Morrighan! Hail Morrighan!
Goddess of battle, great goddess of the land,
She who is the Washer at the Ford, Mistress of Ravens,
And Keeper of the Shield,
We call upon you for protection.

Trespassers beware! The great Morrighan stands guard,
And she shall unleash her displeasure upon you.
Let it be known that this land falls under her protection,
And to do harm to any within it
Is to invite her wrath.

Hail Morrighan! Hail Morrighan!
We honor and thank you this day!
Hail Morrighan! Hail Morrighan!

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Note: The following ritual was written by the fabulous Marie Bruce, How To Create A Magical Home, who has been called the Official Witch of the U.K.
As this is the time of Persephone, the following ritual calls upon her for assistance in our protection magic. Persephone is Queen of the Underworld, and she rules over the Dark Season. Her fruit, as already mentioned, is the pomegranate.

Purpose of the Ritual: To call on Persephone for protection.
What you need: Two pomegranates, a knife, your pentacle.

01. Take the pomegranates to your altar and light the candles, calling on the powers of Persephone.
02. Cut each fruit in half, putting the four pieces on your pentacle to charge with power.
03. The Number Nine is sacred to the Goddess, so repeat the following chant nine times.

Repeat:

Sweet Peresphone, enchantress, queen,
Protect me from harm, seen and unseen.
Protect me from theft, fire and flood;
Protect me from those who mean no good,
Keep me safe in your season of dusk;
Grant me the wisdom to know who to trust,
Protect me at work, protect me at home;
Keep safe my abode of earth, wood and stone.
I bury your fruit in the depths of earth’s womb;
Weave now my safety at the magical loom.
So mote it be!
04. Extinguish the candles, and bury the four pomegranate halves at the four corners of your property.

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May your Mabon be blessed and merry, and your hearts and spirits be filled with the abundance of this Second Harvest. Let us look ahead to the darkening of the year with excitement, honoring the God for the warmth of his passing life, and the Goddess for her cold beauty and dark strength that will empower the Wheel to Turn until the Earth is once again reborn.

— Danu’s Daughter