Mabon/Midfal/Autumn Equinox/Alban Elfed
This post/article was written prior to the camp out.
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We celebrated Mabon at our camp out September 11-13, 2020. (Mabon is typically celebrated on the Fall Equinox September 21-23rd ) This is my first Mabon with the group (and quite possibly the first celebrated as a group), and I am very excited to write the ritual we will be holding at the camp out.
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The ritual I’ve chosen to write this year will center around the cultural practices of the Scottish Highlanders, Feast day of St. Michael. Never fear, we will not actually be celebrating the saintly figure as he is known today. St. Michael, as he was known to the Highlanders was the patron saint of the sea, costal districts, boats, sailors, horses and horsemen. He would lead souls to the afterlife. While Michael is often associated with the Celtic god Lugh, I feel that his nature as a psychopomp would parallel Lugh’s foster father a bit better, Manannan Mac Lir, the Celtic Sea god.
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Manannan Mac Lir is sometimes considered to be older than the Tuathe De Danann (The tribe of Celtic Gods). He is also the god that presides over Mag Mell or Tír na nÓg or the lands of the afterlife. He is also said to have given immortality to the gods through having them feast on pigs he provided, and who ever ate them would never die.
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In the old times, in the weeks prior to St. Michael’s day (September 29th) carrots were brought in and some were baked into a bannock (bread) called the “struan”. St. Michael’s eve neighbors stole each other’s horses for the festivities the next day. The horse would be returned, no questions asked, after the festivities of the day.
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On the day, an early Mass was held and the “struan” would be blessed and distributed and then celebrants went to the local cemetery to honor their ancestors. I have no doubt that bits of straun and carrots were left by graves of loved ones. The people walked a circuit of the cemetery and church yard, and then carrots were exchanged if you happened to receive a forked carrot this was believed to be good luck and a symbol of abundance. The carrots were later stored in sandy pits near the people’s houses, which we know is a preservation technique. Perhaps these very same carrots were consumed at Winter Solstice.
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After the Mass and the trading of “struan” and carrots, the horses would be raced and other athletic games took place. The revelry continued into the evening and different types of dances took place. The sword dance, is one that we still see today.
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What you can expect to see at the Mabon rite at the camp out will be themes of our harvests, physical and metaphysical. It is time to reap what we’ve sown, sweet or bitter. This is a time of introspection, abundance, a time to celebrate before summer is gone and we descend into winter. This is also a time to take stock of what is working in our lives and what isn’t working. A time to discard things that we don’t need anymore, in order to achieve balance for the up coming season.
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I look forward to playing kubb and cornhole with all of you again!
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Resources used:
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The Folklore of the Scottish Highlands by Anne Ross
