Mabon, what's cooken?

[buttercup]

So what kinda ceremony are you all planning for Mabon?  Are you cooking anything special for the feast? Do the food represent something, and what?  Are you going to burn your corn dolly that you made at Imbolg?  What kinda drink will you be having?  What type of wine will you use or will you use juice and why?  Will you do any spell work or no, and why either way?  What Gods and Goddesses will you call or spirits, or energies?  Do you even celebrate the holiday?  And what is your personal take on why one would celebrate this holiday?:pop:

[HumanaeVitae]

So what kinda ceremony are you all planning for Mabon?:

 
Sorry, but I don't know what holidays you are talking about, what are the other words your saying as well?

[Valdi]

Do you even celebrate the holiday?  And what is your personal take on why one would celebrate this holiday?:pop:

I'd like to, but I'm new to Paganism as a whole.

I dunno really how to do it, but I'd like to.

If I were to do it, I'd honour the land spirits or the Heathen gods.

[Jenett]

So what kinda ceremony are you all planning for Mabon?  Are you cooking anything special for the feast? Do the food represent something, and what?  Are you going to burn your corn dolly that you made at Imbolg?  What kinda drink will you be having?  What type of wine will you use or will you use juice and why?  Will you do any spell work or no, and why either way?  What Gods and Goddesses will you call or spirits, or energies?  Do you even celebrate the holiday?  And what is your personal take on why one would celebrate this holiday?:pop:

 
There have been several other recent threads about Mabon on the board - you might want to check them out using the search function, since people may or may not want to repeat what they said.

To answer your specific question:

- I am very low-key this year, for a variety of reasons (spent all day yesterday at a work-related conference, got home later than I normally would), and I'm leaving at noon today for a weekend trip.

The trip's going to involve seeing a bunch of awesome people, some really good food, and some other wonderful things - so it's very much a celebration of harvest and community for me. Just not a lot of formal ritual.

Last night, I took time to do a Tarot reading, and all week, I've been mulling over what I've learned this year (tons: I got a new job, moved across the country, and am finally settling into the new place in several different ways.)  I may do more formal ritual work early next week, but some residual medical issues mean I can't do all the stuff I'd like on the same day sometimes.

In answer to your other questions:
- I have a very strong preference for food and drink in ritual that's transformed by living beings (yeast breads, alcohol that was created through yeast, but also things like yogurt lassi), so for that ritual, I'd want to bake bread and use some kind of wine or maybe mead (I have a bottle of locally made elderberry mead sitting on my counter right now.)

- I invite the deities I honor and serve in most of my personal work. (For group work, when I get that going again, our tradition's practice is to mostly work with two different pairs of deities, depending on the ritual, with occasional excursions to work with other deities if it seems particularly appropriate.)

- I mostly lean toward the idea that Sabbats are focused on things other than spellwork: I'll do it if the need and timing fits, but mostly I focus on other things (what it means to be at this point in the Wheel, what I should set the groundwork for as we move forward toward the next point, etc.)

For me, fall equinox is about the harvest, about looking at what's worked for me, and preparing for what I want to leave behind in the old year as we move to Samhain. Lots of reflection, not so much action.

[Jenett]

Sorry, but I don't know what holidays you are talking about, what are the other words your saying as well?

 
HumanaeVitae -

Mabon is a common name for one of the 8 Sabbats, a series of holy days/celebrations common to Wicca, Wiccan-based paths, and some Druid groups (though how any of those paths actually celebrates them can vary quite a lot.)

If you're not familiar with the many and varied religions of modern Paganism, it can definitely be a little confusing to learn about what's going on! The forum as a whole collaborated on a great guide on Paganism and Teens that also has a lot of good basic information for people of any age.

And I've got a website that might also be helpful to you - it's designed for people interested in learning more about Paganism (because they're interested in practicing/following one of the many possible religions that fall under the Pagan umbrella), and then focuses more on religious witchcraft, a group of religious paths and practices that includes Wicca, but also a variety of others. (Since that's what I do myself, it's what I both want to write about most, and am most competent to discuss, though I enjoy reading and talking about a lot of other paths, as well.)

Particular pages there you might find useful given your question here include:
- http://gleewood.org/seeking/basics/ (introductions to common terms, concepts, etc.)

- http://gleewood.org/seeking/practices/what-is-ritual/ - what ritual is and why we do it from a religious witchcraft perspective

- http://gleewood.org/seeking/practices/how-do-we-do-ritual/ talks about the steps of Wiccan-based ritual in a general format

- http://gleewood.org/seeking/practices/sabbats/ talks about the Sabbats and different cycles people use to connect them.

(A couple of the links on that last one are broken: I haven't had a chance to remove them yet, as the site they link to is offline.)

If you have other questions, you might think about starting a separate thread for them, just to make it easier for people to help you out. (I love this kind of conversation, but I'm about to go away for the weekend, and expect to be online a lot less than usual.)

[Micheál]

Do you even celebrate the holiday?  And what is your personal take on why one would celebrate this holiday?:pop:

Just got back home from a nice little magickal weekend. Had a coven Equinox Sabbat Friday night, and an OTO meet yesterday. For both occasions we usually bring food items , and a bottle of wine, so there's plenty of feasting and merriness. We performed our own coven rite, which included adoring an Emmer Wheat, which was one of the first crops domesticated in the fertile crescent, and grown alongside the Nile, and by our ancestors at Newgrange(cruithneacht) It also marked OTO Ireland's 3rd Birthday, and we performed a rite called Fraction du Pain out of Br. Rodney Orpheus's new book, The Grimoire of Aleister Crowley. It's a translation of a 19th century Gnostic Eucharistic rite adapted for Thelemic use.

Mabon is a fairly modern term, and one of the Sabbats with probably the least historic relevance. For me, it's the time between Lughnasadh and Samhain, September in Irish being Meán Fómhair(Mid-Autumn), and October Deireadh Fómhair(End of Autumn). It marks the waning sun, and waxing winter. I love it, because it's my favourite time a year, close to my birthday which was last Friday. I've always historically known of the Michaelmas celebration(Lá Fhéile Míchíl) that happens towards the end of September, which oddly enough happens to be the saint&angel I was named after.