Mabon - The Autumn Equinox
Today marks the Autumn Equinox, also known to some as Mabon. At the equinox, the earth is neither tilted toward nor away from the sun, and so we have (almost) equal hours of light and dark. This is a liminal time, at the crossing point between the light and dark halves of the year, and it encourages us to think about balance.
Let’s be honest, it certainly doesn’t feel like there’s much balance in the world right now. So much is frightening and uncertain. It seems that everywhere I look, there are people screaming hate. People whose lives are filled with wealth and privilege using those to wage war on those far less fortunate than themselves. How do we find balance in amongst all of this horror?
I don’t have any answers - I can’t tell you how much I wish I did - but surely it has to start in compassion and kindness. In lifting others up and being willing to share the abundance the world has to offer. I will be making a pledge to myself to fight hatred with kindness, to be a voice of compassion whenever I can. Even when it’s hard. Even when I’m exhausted. Right now, the world feels huge and I feel very, very small and insignificant. But every act creates ripples, and perhaps those ripples of kindness will be enough.
A blue over-rail plant pot with heather flowering in pink
The season also encourages me to look at the balance in my own life. I have made improvements over the light half of the year in how I handle my work-life balance, but there’s still work to be done, especially in relation to my physical health. By the time I have spent the day at my desk, writing, editing, and running the BFS (something that often creeps into my evenings too) and I’ve done school runs and taxied children to various after school activities and done some housework (always less than I want to get done), there’s not very much time left for taking care of myself. So some of my time over autumn and winter will be spent looking at ways to improve that.
A blue over-railing pot with strawberries hanging over the side, in various stages of ripeness.
Mabon is a time of abundance, the second of three harvest festivals in the pagan wheel of the year. At this time of year, we are gathering in root crops - carrots, potatoes, parsnips, turnip - as well as marrow, squash, pumpkins, and fruits such as apples, pears and berries. It’s a time for celebration and bounty, as well as preparation for the cold months ahead, with many of these fresh fruits and vegetables being frozen, dried, canned, turned into chutneys and jams and other preserves. A good harvest now means a well-stocked larder for the months ahead.
It’s easy to feel removed from these rhythms when we can just pop down to the supermarket and grab a bag of lettuce leaves whenever we want them, or fruit brought in from much warmer climes. I know I’m guilty of eating out of season and not really thinking about it. But then, I do find myself drawn to certain foods depending on the time of year. Heading into autumn, I’m making soups and stews, casseroles and bakes. Food to warm you, both physically and metaphorically.
A yellow climbing rose peeking through between two tree trunks
Metaphorically, the harvest we look to at this time of year is the work we’ve been doing. We can take stock on how our plans are progressing and make adjustments as necessary.
I like to take a moment at Mabon to give thanks for the abundances in my life - friends, loved ones, opportunities, the warm, safe home that I share with my family. What are you thankful for? What harvest are you reaping now? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
The cover photo of this post is Welcome to Autumn by Mark Gunn via Flickr, used under the Creative Commons licence Deed - Attribution 2.0 Generic - Creative Commons
