Onward To Autumn ~ Folklore
Ancient Celts celebrated the arrival of the Autumn Equinox with a festival honouring Mabon (pronounced MAY-bun, MAY-bone, MAH-boon or MAH-bawn).
Mabon was the Welsh god of fertility. His birth, like the Autumn Equinox itself, symbolized a time of significant change. The story of Mabon ap Modron, which means "Great Son of the Great Mother", has been passed down through oral tradition. Mythologists call him the Young Son, Divine Youth, or Son of Light. It is said that three nights after his birth, Mabon was abducted from his mother, Modron - the Great Earth goddess. To help find him, his rescuers consulted the five most ancient and wisest animals -- the blackbird, the stag, the eagle, the salmon, and the owl.
They were all asked the same question: "Tell me if thou knowest aught of Mabon, the son of Modron, who was taken when three nights old from between his mother and the wall?"
After much searching, Mabon was eventually found in the Otherworld beneath the Earth's surface, which is actually Modron's womb. It is a powerful and enchanted place, but also one filled with challenges. When Mabon was finally freed from the Otherworld, he was reborn as the Son of Light. However, each autumn, Mabon's light is said to be drawn back into his mother, the Earth. This is how the ancient Celts explained the onset of longer nights after the Autumn Equinox. Once trapped beneath the Earth, Mabon's light is said to gather strength and wisdom during the winter to finally re-emerge in the spring.
Autumn Symbols
Symbols to represent the Mabon Sabbat - or Autumn Equinox - include grapes, wine, vines, garland, gourds, pine cones, acorns, wheat, dried leaves, and horns of plenty.
Other folklore connected with the autumn season include:
A warm November is the sign of a bad winter.
A lot of thunder during fall signifies a cold winter.
When squirrels bury their nuts early, it will be a hard winter.
If fruit trees bloom in the fall, the weather will be severe the following winter.
If berries or nuts are plentiful, it will be a hard winter.
A cold winter is succeeded by a warm winter and vice versa.
If the first snow falls on unfrozen ground, expect a mild winter.
It will be a bad winter if trees keep their leaves until late in the fall.
Ancient Celts celebrated the arrival of the Autumn Equinox with a festival honouring Mabon (pronounced MAY-bun, MAY-bone, MAH-boon or MAH-bawn).
Mabon was the Welsh god of fertility. His birth, like the Autumn Equinox itself, symbolized a time of significant change. The story of Mabon ap Modron, which means "Great Son of the Great Mother", has been passed down through oral tradition. Mythologists call him the Young Son, Divine Youth, or Son of Light. It is said that three nights after his birth, Mabon was abducted from his mother, Modron - the Great Earth goddess. To help find him, his rescuers consulted the five most ancient and wisest animals -- the blackbird, the stag, the eagle, the salmon, and the owl.
They were all asked the same question: "Tell me if thou knowest aught of Mabon, the son of Modron, who was taken when three nights old from between his mother and the wall?"
After much searching, Mabon was eventually found in the Otherworld beneath the Earth's surface, which is actually Modron's womb. It is a powerful and enchanted place, but also one filled with challenges. When Mabon was finally freed from the Otherworld, he was reborn as the Son of Light. However, each autumn, Mabon's light is said to be drawn back into his mother, the Earth. This is how the ancient Celts explained the onset of longer nights after the Autumn Equinox. Once trapped beneath the Earth, Mabon's light is said to gather strength and wisdom during the winter to finally re-emerge in the spring.
Autumn Symbols
Symbols to represent the Mabon Sabbat - or Autumn Equinox - include grapes, wine, vines, garland, gourds, pine cones, acorns, wheat, dried leaves, and horns of plenty.
Other folklore connected with the autumn season include:
A warm November is the sign of a bad winter.
A lot of thunder during fall signifies a cold winter.
When squirrels bury their nuts early, it will be a hard winter.
If fruit trees bloom in the fall, the weather will be severe the following winter.
If berries or nuts are plentiful, it will be a hard winter.
A cold winter is succeeded by a warm winter and vice versa.
If the first snow falls on unfrozen ground, expect a mild winter.
It will be a bad winter if trees keep their leaves until late in the fall.
