Autumn Days

Mabon has arrived. On the first day of autumn this year the morning light shone milky, soft, yet persistent. The wind felt crisp as dry leaves, which twirled to the ground on their own personal whirlwind. My boys and I burned the corn dollies and red candles made at Llamas and adorned the mantle with symbols of Mabon. Outside, steel grey clouds billowed across the sky spelling out the inevitable truth: the Wheel has Turned. I sighed. The Glory Days of Yang are over. No need to shout, or strut, or do, just be. The quiet is coming. Oh, She’s not here yet, but She’s coming and with Her comes the question: Who am I?

The energy of Mabon brings us face to face with the necessity of establishing healthy boundaries and choosing which of our varied and unique talents we most want to use. Mabon is a time of reckoning. We take stock of what we set out to achieve in the year. Our inventory shows us our accomplishments and what we have left undone. This is the moment for grace and humbleness as we face our humanity and limitations. Hopefully, we will choose to be gentle when we see what we put on our plate, but couldn’t get to, and we will be honest about what we really want, not how we want to look to others. My best friend calls this the “drop kick and punt” moment. It is the moment when we decide Enough is Enough.

Mabon is the Witches’ Thanksgiving and marks the second and most grand harvest. We reap what we sowed. Some things turned out well, and others, not so much. It is what it is. Good or bad, it just is. As nature offers her harvest and abundance, we are asked to gather our gifts together for one last swam song before winter’s hibernation. This is the Queen’s Hour: opulence and revelry. We must give what we can and let the rest go.
Standing between the vivacious youth and old, this phase of nature establishes a space for the value of experience. My favorite colors are the varied hues of Fall. Pumpkin, burnt sienna, pomegranate, plum, gold, honey, rust orange, brick red, coffee brown, mellow magenta, mauves are essentially colors that have seen, felt and been experience. These colors have been various hues of greens and yellows and now carry an inner strength because of their time in the earth and under the sun. They are full of vitality and must be consumed. Now - decay is around the corner but for this moment, in Mabon, we celebrate in everything we have worked hard to become and the hopes of what we may grow into.

Mabon brings an opportunity to be honest and seek that balance between doing and being. The time of rest is coming and we will be sitting in the silence of the colder, darker time of the year. It is best to settle in. The air carries the dank smell of earth; fallen leaves make compost for a richer soil to support spring flowers and trees. The energy goes inward to the core for much needed rejuvenation. Any action taken is made with the intention of restoration.

Sit with the best you can do and be happy with who you are.