Mabon/Autum Equinox Solitary Ritual
Special Notes: Balance of light and dark. Time of rest after labor, completion of the harvest, thanksgiving. A good time for meditations on reincarnation in preparation for Ancestor Night or Halloween (Samhain).
Altar Supplies:
Incense and burner
Chalice of water and salt
Pentacle and dagger (or sword)
4 Element candles
Chalice of wine and wand
Autumn-colored ribbons tied on the dagger
Autumn leaves for decoration.
Three candles (white, red, black) set around the cauldron.
Ivy in the cauldron.
Working
Cast your circle
Light the three candles around the cauldron. Say:
I call upon the blessed Lady, queen of the harvest,
Giver of life and plenty since before time began.
Bestow upon me your joy and beauty, power and prosperity.
I do ask.
Salute the ivy-filled cauldron with your dagger or sword. Say:
I call upon the Lord of the harvest, sacred King,
giver of riches and protection since before time began
Bestow upon me your strength and laughter, power and prosperity,
I do ask.
Take the ribbon-tied dagger in your power hand, the wine chalice in the other. Say:
Always has life fulfilled its cycle and led to
Life anew in the eternal chain of the living.
In honor of the Old Gods, I mark the fullness
Of my life and the harvest of this year’s lessons.
Walk three times clockwise around the circle, beginning in the east. Chant:
The year-wheel turns, and bounty comes.
Move back to the altar and lay aside the dagger. Set the wine chalice briefly on the pentacle. As you make the following toast, raise the chalice high each time before taking a sip.
To the good seasons that have gone,
And to the good ones yet to come.
Blessed Be!
To the Goddess! May she bring peace
And fulfillment to all her children.
Blessed Be!
To the God! May he protect his followers
And bring me prosperity and happiness.
Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again!
Blessed Be.
Another Mabon/Autumn Equinox Solitary Ritual
Tools
A red apple
A bolline
Working
Place the apple and the bolline on the pentacle. Cast the circle. Face the altar with arms stretched out above your head, and say:
“I honor You, Autumn Queen, and Your consort, the God of the Harvest.
The Wheel has once more turned, and the change of season begins.
What will be is. What was will be.
The Equinox is upon us, and the time to reflect is at hand.
And I, but a moment in time,
Feel the change as we pass from one season to the next.
The second Harvest has been reaped, and the time of rest is deserved.”
“Leaves fall, the days grow cold.
The Goddess pulls her mantle of Earth around Her
As You, O Great Sun God, sail toward the West
To the lands of eternal enchantment,
Wrapped in the coolness of night.
Fruits ripen, seeds drop,
The hours of day and night are balanced.
Chill winds blow in from the North wailing laments.
In this seeming extinction of nature’s power,
O Blessed Goddess, I know that life continues.
For spring is impossible without the second harvest,
As surely as life is impossible without death.
Blessings upon You, O Fallen God,
As You journey into the lands of winter
And into the Goddess’ loving arms.”
With arms still outstretched lower your head and close your eyes. Contemplate what you have just spoken. When ready, open your eyes and lower your arms. Pick up the apple and place it in the center of the pentacle. Cut it crosswise with the Bolline, to reveal the natural pentagram at its core. Then lift half the apple, pentagram up, as if in offering, while saying:
“As the Wheel turns, the seasons pass,
And the years give way to the next,
Guide me most Wise Ones, lest I forget
Every beginning has an ending
And every ending is a new beginning.”
Take a bite of the apple. Put the rest aside to share later with the wildlife. Close your eyes and feel the seasons pass within the circle from summer to autumn. When ready, say:
“Between the worlds I stand in this sacred place.
All time is here and now.
As I leave this circle, the season shall have changed.
May I use the wintertime
To draw strength and power from within
As I quest for vision, understanding, and peace.”
Ring the bell thrice with your right hand, to toll the passing of the first three seasons of the year. Then ring it once with your left hand, to usher in the forth and last season of the year.
“In Life is Death, and in Death is Life.
The Sacred Dance goes on and on
From whence we came, we shall return,
And come again.
Seasons pass, and pass again,
The circle stays unbroken
Heed the words of Your child, here,
Through Your wisdom I have spoken.”
Meditation.Cakes and Ale.Close the circle.
Mabon Solitary Ritual
Tools
Incense
Candles (appropriate to the holiday)
Decorations
Preparation
- Decorate the altar with acorns, oak sprigs, pine and cypress cones, ears of corn, wheat stalks and other fruits and nuts. Also place there a small rustic basket filled with dried leaves of various colors and kinds.
- Arrange the altar, light the candles and censer.
Working
- Cast the Circle
- Recite the Blessing Chant.
- Invoke the Goddess and God.
- Stand before the altar, holding aloft the basket of leaves, and slowly scatter them so they cascade to the ground within the circle.
Leaves fall,
the days grow cold.
The Goddess pulls Her mantle of the Earth around Her as You,
O Great Sun God,
sail toward the West to the lands of
Eternal Enchantment.,
wrapped in the coolness of night.
Fruits ripen,
seeds drop,
the hours of day and night are balanced.
Chill winds blow in from the North wailing laments.
In this seeming extinction of nature’s power,
O Blessed Goddess,
I know that life continues.
For spring is impossible without the second harvest,
as surely as life is impossible without death.
Blessings upon You,
O Fallen God,
as You journey into the lands of winter
and into the Goddess’ loving arms.
Place the basket down and say
O Gracious Goddess of all fertility,
I have sown and reaped the fruits of my actions, good and bane.
Grant me the courage to plant seeds of joy and love in the coming year,
banishing misery and hate.
Teach me the secrets of wise existence upon this planet,
O Luminous One of the Night!
- Works of magick, if necessary, may follow.
- Celebrate the Simple Feast.
- The circle is released.
