9 Fall Equinox Dishes For Your Mabon Feast | Mabon Recipes Guide (2024)

FAQs

What do you eat on Mabon? ›

For Mabon, celebrate with foods that honor the hearth and harvest —breads and grains, autumn veggies like squash and onions, fruits, and wine.

Nutmeg, cloves, spice–these are the scents of Mabon. Sandalwood and myrrh, heather, pine and cedar also make good choices. Herbs commonly associated with this Sabbat are mace, cinnamon, cloves, cypress, juniper, oakmoss, marigold, ivy and sage.

Fall vegetables include squash, potatoes, and beans. Baked squash stuffed with nuts is a Mabon favorite. Soup made with many types of beans is a symbol of abundance: common numbers include 5, 9, 13, 15, and 19 beans with the maximum being 23. You can often find packages of mixed dried beans at the store.

The Fall equinox on September 23 marks the transition to shorter days across our hemisphere. Autumn also brings an abundance of tasty fall fruit, especially the peak of apple, grape, and pear season.

Autumn Equinox (Mabon) (Mah-bon or May-bon)

It represents the height of nature's abundance and usually falls between September 21 and 24. It is seen as the height of the harvest season and is a time to celebrate nature's bounty. Many also celebrate the balance in nature during Mabon.

Cold Plunge. Find your way to a body of cold water, or you can draw a cold bath. This ritual offers an opportunity to connect with the present moment and find stillness within. As you enter the cold water in a way that feels right to you, pay attention to your breathing.

Banbha, the Celtic goddess and Earth Mother

Amidst the fall equinox celebrations, the Irish deity Banbha reigns supreme. As an Earth Mother, she presides over the culmination of the bountiful harvest.

To celebrate this holiday, pagans might pick apples. Apples are a common symbol of the second harvest. They may use the apples in an apple harvest ritual that thanks the gods for the bountiful harvest.

The Cornucopia, or Horn of Plenty, is a traditional symbol for Mabon. Mabon is the Child of Light in Welsh mythology and the son of the Earth Mother Goddess, Modron. The cornucopia is a wonderful symbol for the wealth of harvest and is beautifuly balanced symbol which is both male and female.

What is the feast of Mabon? ›

Known as the pagan Thanksgiving, Mabon marks the Autumn Equinox, when day and night are equal, making it a time of balance, equality and harmony. In ancient times Mabon was a celebration of the second harvest (Lughnasadh was the first) when farmers gathered hearty foods like gourds, pumpkins, grapes and apples.

The apple represents the heart, good health, and happiness. In ancient Celtic paganism, the apple was associated with a sacred marriage and a journey to the land of death. Our pagan ancestors believed that apples could transport your soul from this body to your next one.

Taking roots and rhizomes like turmeric and ginger helps keep us warm and grounded. * Spices like nutmeg, allspice and cinnamon, the tasty trifecta of pumpkin spice fame, all support seasonal wellness.

Vegetables that can survive light frosts (in the 30 to 32˚F range) include beets, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, celery, collards, green onions, potatoes, Bibb and leaf lettuce, mustard, parsnips, radishes, spinach, and Swiss chard.

There are tons of creative Memorial Day foods like grilled pizza, lamb burgers, and bacon ranch pasta salad. Otherwise, stick to the classics with grilled steak, kebabs, ribs, and skillet cornbread. You'll be making these cookout favorites all summer long!

The name Mabon comes from the Welsh God, who was the son of the Earth Mother Goddess. However, there is evidence that the name was adopted in the 1970s, and the holiday was not originally a Celtic celebration. To celebrate this holiday, pagans might pick apples. Apples are a common symbol of the second harvest.

Ancient cultures, from the Druids to the Mayans, revered the equinox as a time of balance, offering thanks for the harvest while preparing for the approaching winter. From the lighting of bonfires to the gathering of autumnal fruits, these traditions resonate with a timeless connection to the Earth's cyclical rhythm.