Celebrated on or about the Autumn Equinox, September 22nd, Mabon is a time of balance of the light and dark, and turning to the dark. Many pagans see Mabon, the second harvest celebration (after the first harvest Lammas), and the Fall Equinox as a time to express gratitude and honor a moment of balance.

Colors of the Season

Traditional colors of the season are gold, orange, red, bronze, and rust. The colors of changing leaves and harvested fruits.

Plants of the Season

Grapes, rose hips, elderberries, blackberries, hawthorn berries, leaves, pinecones, corn, pomegranate, squash, root vegetables, rosemary, sage, mugwort, and yarrow, sunflowers, thistles, marigolds.

The apple is the symbol of the second harvest, representing life, immortality, healing, renewal, and wholeness. It is associated with beauty, long life, and restored youth. Cut an apple width way and it reveals a pentagram containing seeds.

Traditions and Symbols

The Cornucopia, or Horn of Plenty, is a traditional symbol for Mabon, representing the wealth of harvest and the balance of both male (phallic) and female (hollow and receptive).

Harvest tools (scythe, baskets), acorns, pinecones, seeds, fall leaves.

You may decide to add items that represent your own personal harvest both figuratively and literally.

Deities associated with Mabon are Green Man, Demeter, Persephone, Morrigan, Pomona, Inanna.

Animals associated are owl, stag, blackbird, salmon.

Suggestions of ways to celebrate.

Celebrate with a feast for friends and family using your own and locally grown fruits and vegetables.

Go for a walk to collect leaves, seeds, cones and fall blooming wildflowers

Complete unfinished projects and clear your home of unwanted items to prepare for the indoor winter months.

Fall is a wonderful time to plant trees, seeds, and shrubs. Plant bulbs with an aspiration or idea for Spring that you will remember when they begin to sprout after their winter underground. 

Mabon Ritual of Gratitude

Start by creating an altar. As you are setting up your altar anoint the items and yourself with the Mabon oil. Think about the ways you create balance within yourself and in the physical world.

When you are ready anoint and light your candle giving thanks to the Earth, Goddesses, Gods, and Ancestors who stand behind you in all that you do and all that you are. Thank them sincerely like you would a friend that has given you help. Ask for nothing in return. You can leave an offering on your altar to show that you are aware of the assistance that you are receiving.

Light your incense, breathe deeply and focus on the burning Candle. What are you grateful for? You might want to have paper and pen to write down what comes to mind. During challenging times gratitude magic can bring powerful change. Health, partner, family members, the friend that checks in on you every week, signing up for an online class, making it through the day, gratitude comes in many forms. The practice is centering, calming and a reminder of what is important. Spend as much time as it takes and speak aloud what you appreciate about each. You can place your writing on your altar or burn and release. You may decide to write a note of thanks to the people in your life who make your life better. When you are ready to end set the intention to hold these feelings of gratefulness and that you will be able to feel them again whenever you need.

 Do not forget to blow out your candle and incense.

Have a Blessed Mabon!

 Passing the threshold into a new month gives us the opportunity connect with ourselves and the divine, much like the ancient Romans practiced long ago. The Kalends marks the first day of each month in the Roman calendar. These special days were steeped in rituals and traditions that connected daily life to the divine.

Honoring the Roman Lares

The Lares belong to a class of tutelary deities worshipped by pagan Romans.

They were originally gods of cultivated fields, and Romans would worship them at the intersections where their allotment joined others. Eventually, they became known as Lares familiaris, household spirits who brought prosperity and abundance to the family. Some scholars believe they were the spirits of departed loved ones. Roman families would build shrines dedicated to the Lares, usually around the hearth, as this was considered the center of the family home. 

The family's relationship with their household Lares would affect the well-being of the family, their crops, and their fortune. Offerings would be given on special occasions, one of them being Kalends, the first of the month. Towards the 5th century, kalends rituals would phase out of pagan Roman routines, all except the most famous Kalends celebration, the New Year celebration on the First of January.

The Kalends Ceremony

Ancient Roman families would participate in a ritual on the Kalends  of every month, led by the head of the household, or the Paterfamilias. The ceremony would be performed at sunrise or at sunset if circumstances made the earlier ceremony impossible. The participants would not be permitted to eat until the ritual was over (if being performed at sunrise). The family would dress in white linens, and offerings would be made to the Lares at the household shrine. The purpose of this ritual was to purify and bring prosperity to the family, as well as correct any wrongdoing committed in the last month. 

A candle on the shrine would be lit, and some incense would be burned to purify the space. The head of the household would lead prayers to chosen Gods, usually related to the upcoming month, or patron deities of the family. After prayers were finished, an offering would be made to the Gods, usually a cake or bread with wine. Following this, the same would be repeated for the Lares of he household. A garland would be placed on the shrine in dedication to the Lares.

Celebrating the First of the Month

If you are looking to bring routine into your spiritual practice, or want to connect more with your household spirits, you may take inspiration from the Roman Kalends. A monthly ritual will help you build a spiritual practice around a busy life. Down the road, you may welcome other deities into your first-of-the-month ritual, or experiment with different offerings and workings. First, you will want a dedicated space for your practice. Find the “hearth” of your home: it can be a literal fireplace or a symbolic one. An area of your home you interact with daily is better than one tucked away out of sight. Find an image or an icon to represent your household spirits. You can furnish the shrine with whatever inspires you. A candle and vessel for lighting incense will be important when performing rituals. The first of each month is a good time to reflect on the month passed, and welcome stepping into a new one. Set your intentions, celebrate what is to come, and commune with the spirits that surround you.  What are some rituals you perform every month?

Tarot Cards and Oracle Cards
We get a lot of questions at the shop about how to choose a tarot or oracle deck. The simple answer is there is no right or wrong way to choose a deck. We encourage our customers to pick a deck based on the images that speak to them. The deck you love to look at will be the deck that you love to read.

Tarot Deck or Oracle Deck
One type of deck is not better than the other; they are simply different. Tarot cards are a form of divination that have ancient origins while Oracle Decks are a modern form of divination.

Tarot Decks
Tarot cards are said to be first designed in 15th-century Italy. The oldest complete tarot deck is the Sola Busca printed in 1491, 50 years after the Visconti-Sforza tarot was created for the Duke of Milan’s family around 1440. Many historians speculate their origins are even older.

If you choose a deck titled “tarot” you are picking a deck that has a historically specific structure, common meanings, and usually 78 cards.

Major Arcana has 22 cards relating to major events, life lessons and archetypal themes.

Minor Arcana has 56 cards Page, Knight, Queen, and King (known as the Court Cards) and Ace through 10 (known as the Pip Cards).

The Tarot is divided into four different suits named Cups (Chalice), Pentacles (Coins), Wands and Swords.

Modern card decks are the descendants of tarot cards. Court Cards are King, Queen, and Jack, Hearts are cups, Pentacles are spades, Wands are clubs and Swords are diamonds.

Tarot cards are associated with specific traditional spreads, a method that the reader uses to physically place the cards on the table and the order they use to read the meanings of the cards. There are many different spreads such as the 10-card Celtic Cross, the 7-card horseshoe, 5-card, 3-card etc.

Tarot cards are associated with specific meanings for each card and are similar in all tarot decks with variations that can be unique to the author and artist who created the deck. We tell our customers if you learn to read the Rider-Waite deck then you will be able to read any other tarot deck.

Tarot Cards are a good choice if you like details and want to learn a historical form of divination.

Oracle Cards
Oracle cards became popular in the 1900s with the creation of the Lenormand Oracle Cards in Europe. Oracle cards returned to popularity in the 1970s with the “new age” spiritual movement.

When you choose a deck titled Oracle you are picking a deck that has an “interpretive” structure where the author of the deck creates themes and meanings and is open to your interpretation.

Oracle cards may have any number of cards in a deck, typically most decks have between 36 to 64 cards.

Oracle cards do not usually have suits, may have the meaning of the card printed onto the card, and have a guidebook to offer the author’s interpretation of that deck of cards. Interpretations may vary with each deck.

Oracle cards can be used in a variety of ways such as pulling a card a day, week, or month for personal guidance, to receive personal affirmations, or as a divination system for readings for yourself and others.

Oracle cards are usually easier to learn and are a good choice for beginners who want a quick and simple way to give themselves a reading that does not require the practice and mastery of Tarot cards.

Follow your intuition when choosing a deck, try both because you can never have too many decks of cards, and have fun with your divination.
Blessed Be!

Ushering in the joys of the harvest season is Lammas or Lughnasadh, the first of the Harvest Festivals, marking the first grain reaping. In Ireland, it was considered bad luck to harvest grains before Lughnasadh. Doing so meant that the previous year’s harvest ran out too early and there is a risk that this year’s crop may do the same. Lughnasadh or Lammas is the mid-point celebration between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox and falls on August 1st this year. Some pagans like to extend the celebrations up to a week. Although they share largely the same traditions and significations, the two festivals developed separately, but now are often used interchangeably in some neo-pagan practices.

Lughnasadh’s Celtic Origins

Lughnasadh is specifically an ancient Irish Celtic festival, although Scotland and Wales have similar versions as well. The name means “Commemoration of Lugh”, the Celtic Sun God. Although the festival is named after Lugh, it also celebrates his foster mother, Tailtiu, who introduced agriculture to Ireland. The Lughnasadh festival features the ritual cutting of the first grain harvest. These grains would be used to make the first loaves of bread to be enjoyed with the feast. The Sun is venerated on Lughnasadh: in addition to allowing crops to flourish, the Sun gives humans our vitality, and as such Lughnasadh celebrations include many athletic competitions to showcase the power of the Sun over our spirit.

Christian Roots of Lammas

Lammas literally translates to “loaf mass”. It is the Christianized version of the pagan harvest festivals celebrated around this time, and the holiday incorporated many of the same aspects. On this day, the first loaf made from the first grain harvest would be taken to the local church to be blessed by a priest. Now, Lammas has been reclaimed by many neo-pagan practices like Wicca. 

Keeping with the same theme of the grain harvest, modern pagans bake cakes and bread to be eaten with any feasts in celebration of Lammas. They decorate their altars with symbols of the season, such as scythes, apples, and corn. If performing magical rituals, ingredients might include mint, blackberries, blackberry leaf, and of course, any grain.

Celebrating as Modern Pagans

This festival is about reaping the fruits of seeds we planted in Spring, literally and metaphorically. What projects are you reaping for yourself at the moment? What would you like to come to a close, or possibly start anew? Lammas is the perfect time to reflect on the past year and to begin the process of finishing, closing, and renewing as the witch’s year comes to an end. We can also start preparations for the dark half of the year, whatever that may look like for you. Take stock of your magical tools and ingredients, and store up your spiritual and physical harvest to get you through the barren months. Our Lammas Sabbat Box has the perfect collection of tools to aid you in this process, including an herbal tea blend, ritual oil, and ideas for seasonal rituals and spellcrafting. 

That being said, let’s not forget to celebrate in the last moments of Sunlight. Host a feast with delicious seasonal foods, make offerings to a Sun god of your choice, and decorate your altar and home with the colors and symbols of the season. Our store provides all the tools and supplies you may need for your Lammas celebrations. Join us in celebrating the first harvest festival of the year.

The July Sabbat box is dedicated to Lughnasadh/ Lammas, usually celebrated on August 1 to honor the first harvest of the season. This is the halfway point between Summer Solstice and Autumn Equinox.

Lughnasadh is the Gaelic name for this celebration and means 'Lugh's Gathering'. Lughnasadh sources from a combination of the Irish god Lugh, wise warrior hero/God of light/sun, and 'nasad' which means 'gathering or assembly'. Lammas is the Anglo-Saxon name for the festival and is a contraction of the phrase 'loaf mass' celebrating the first harvest of grains.

Before the Wheel turns to the darker months, we can take time to appreciate the warmth and sunlight and how they support this season of growth. By celebrating Lammas as a harvest holiday, we honor our ancestors and the hard work they had to do to survive and secure our lineage. 

Colors of the Season

Green for growth, fertility, health, and abundance.

Every shade of sun and harvest, from yellow to gold to deep orange for solar energies, happiness, and communication. 

Plants of the Season

Flowers, fruits, grains, and vegetables represent the fulfillment and potential of the harvest.

All Grains wheat, barley, oats, and rye, all representing both fulfillment and potential.

Meadowsweet, Queen-Of-The-Meadow, Bridewort, and Bride of the Meadow. Sacred herb of the Druids, often worn as a garland for Lammas celebrations and a traditional herb for wedding circlets and bouquets at this time of year.

Mint, another revered herb of the Druids, magical properties are both protective and healing at this time in the year. Also represents abundance and prosperity. 

Traditions and Symbols

Lugh Celtic Sun King and God of Light. Feasting, market fairs, games, and bonfire celebrations were held in honor of his mother Tailtiu with Circle dancing and community gatherings.

Grain Mother, Harvest Mother, Harvest Queen. Demeter, as Corn Mother, represents the ripe corn of the harvest, and Her daughter Kore/Persephone represents the grain - the seed which drops into the earth, is hidden through the winter and reappears in the spring as new growth. 

Suggestions of ways to celebrate.

Going outside to enjoy some sun and green magic. Breathe in the scents of the season with mindfulness of the beginning of the harvest season.

Gather flowers and food from your garden. If you do not have a garden visit one or your local farmer’s market.

Collect seeds for next year.

A traditional Lammas activity is baking bread which can be a fun activity for the entire family. An alternative is to buy a whole loaf from a local bakery. (See Recipe for a simple Irish Soda Bread)

Create an altar with the items in your Sabbat Box.

Use the Lammas oil and anoint each item and then yourself with a dab on your wrists and the middle of your forehead. As you prepare the altar, think about the bounty that fills your life. What are you getting ready to harvest? What have your intentions grown into? How are you preparing to shift into the darkness of the coming months? Do you need to let go of something that just did not make it? Every plant does not survive. Letting go allows you to be fully present in the now and ready to take the next turn of the wheel.

Place a piece of bread and a cup of tea on your altar as an offering. Eat a piece of the bread yourself (add honey and butter if you wish) and wash it down with your tea. Offer your thanks for the abundance of the coming harvest. You may want to handwrite a blessing for continued prosperity and abundance.

When you are ready go outside and give your offering of bread and tea to the woods, garden, balcony, potted plant, or even a safe street corner. Share with the land the harvest it has given to you, thanking the light for the bounty, and welcoming the cooler, shorter days knowing you have abundance in your life. Bury or burn your handwritten blessing. Offer thanks to the gods and goddesses associated with the sabbat or those you work with through your practice.

Have a Happy Lammas! Blessed Be. 

Blessed Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ tsp. baking soda

1 ½ cups buttermilk

Combine flour and baking soda thinking of the harvest, sun, and land as your stir them together.

Gently stir the buttermilk into the mixture until you have a soft and lumpy ball of dough.

Form the dough into about a 6 in circle rounded at the top and about 2” thick in the middle.

Place the loaf on a slightly greased and floured baking sheet.

Take a knife and mark an X into the top of the loaf thinking of the protective forces that sustain the earth and yourself.

 Say a short prayer for blessing using your own words.

Midsummer Magic: Traditions Across Different Cultures

We are fast approaching the Summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the year's longest day. Humans have recognized this important day across cultures since our ancient inception. Celebrated under names such as Midsommar, Litha, and Alban Hefin, the Summer solstice unites us in embracing the warmth of the earth and the beauty of sunlight.

Symbolism

Midsummer marks a time of flourishing crops and flowers, a fast-approaching harvest season, and the start of the waning Sun. For some, it is a celebration of the Oak King, who rules over the summer months, before giving over to the Holly King on the Winter solstice. For pagans worldwide, the summer solstice is an important point in the cycle of life, death, and rebirth symbolized by the wheel of the year. Many cultures make a point to watch the sunrise and sunset on the solstice, as with Simmer Dim in Scotland. 

Folk magic and divination are said to be more potent on the Summer solstice, hence many witches plan rituals and spellwork around this time. In Northern and Central Europe, it is believed that sleeping with a bundle of herbs and flowers under your pillow would bring prophetic dreams of love, abundance, and joy. Powerful herbs for solstice spellwork would include St. John’s Wort, vervain, mugwort, and tansy. 

In China, Midsummer is reserved for honoring the feminine ‘yin’ energy and the earth. On this day, women exchange colorful fans and perfumes as gifts. Prayers and offerings are made to ensure a good harvest, and ancestral worship is common on the Summer solstice as well. 

Bonfires & Ancient Monuments

Fire is universally important to Midsummer celebrations. Like those lit on Beltane, the bonfires purify towns and homes and bring abundance and good luck to those participating in Midsummer festivities. In Austria, people light large bonfires just after nightfall all over the mountaintops, making it look like the Alps have been consumed by fire; this tradition dates back to the Middle Ages. Norway, Finland, and Sweden include maypole dancing and fire jumping in their celebrations. For these northern countries, the Summer solstice marks the official end of winter. 

Many neolithic structures across the Northern Hemisphere are tied to the Summer solstice. Stonehenge, for example, is a famous stone circle in England, and at sunrise on the solstice, white-robed Druids perform a ritual when the sun is perfectly aligned with the ‘hele stone’. Similarly, in Central America, a festival is held at the Mayan ruins of Tikal, where temples were built specially to showcase the light of the solstice. Although we don’t know exactly why, the great pyramids of Egypt were built to align perfectly with the Midsummer sunset, and many travel from across the world each year to witness this phenomenon. 

Celebrate At HomeGiven that so many cultures around the world observe the Summer solstice, you feel compelled to start your own traditions and rituals. Midsummer is a great opportunity to harvest magical herbs and flowers while their powers are potent; use them to decorate your home or altar, or prepare them for spellwork. Bringing fire into your practice will emulate the power of the solstice sun and boost any magic performed on this day. If you need more inspiration for Summer solstice rituals, you can find it inside one of our Midsummer Sabbat boxes, complete with a ritual candle, tea, oil, and incense, all handpicked for Midsummer spellwork. You can find our Sabbat boxes and other supplies in our Asheville shop or online store. Join us in celebrating the warmth and abundance of Midsummer this June.