While the Wheel of the Year isn't as universal as it was once depicted to be, many Pagans still celebrate the eight Sabbats as part of their religious observances. And while many of the Sabbats have obvious names, either directly tying into their celestial timing or being named after a well recognized word or figure, Mabon is a bit of an outlier.
Though it is the autumn equinox, the time in the fall when there is equal day and night, the name Mabon is still quite popular and frequently used to refer to this celebration. And while some may be aware that the name Mabon refers to a Welsh deity, a lot of people might not realize that there is no evidence that Mabon was actually worshiped in a way that would lead to celebrations in his honor...and that referring to the autumn equinox as Mabon is a very modern thing.
Now, the debate about the age and roots of Wicca and modern Paganism is something that many people have debated, and remains a hot topic in the witchy world. I personally fall into the camp of it being a modern practice that is inspired by and rooted in more ancient practices. I do think the things I do have ties to very old practices, but I do not think there is any kind of unbroken lines of practice dating back to cave people times (or even the middle ages).
I also acknowledge that early practitioners of Wicca and modern Paganism created a lot of the modern rituals and practices we participate in, including things like the unified Wheel of the Year. Yes, many of these celebrations are very central to our ancestors lives in a general sense. They had harvest festivals and spring festivals and winter festivals. But many of them were simply referred to in those general terms. It was the spring fertility festival, and whatever local deities were favored in a particular village were probably the ones honored.
When creating modern traditions, there is a tendency to like to embrace patterns, and having eight festivals, timed around these great yearly seasonal times (and the times in between them) has a beautiful symmetry, and so it makes sense that when creating doctrine for their religious practice, people would aim to create a pleasing, regular set of ritual observances. Also, we like naming things, so keeping to the generic names isn't as appealing as Naming each of them.
Enter Aidan Kelly, one of the influential voices in early modern Pagan history. He was one of the big voices against the proclaimed historical lineage of Gardnerian Wicca (and it's proposed line of unbroken practice back into ages past), instead saying that Gardener created much of the religion he presented.
So how does he play into the naming of Mabon? Well, he had a fascination with calendars and religious observances, and compiled the information he collected into a book (which eventually was published), but as a practicing Pagan, he also began too compile a Pagan calendar, gathering up all the various Pagan holidays and days of interest.
In doing so, he noticed that there were Gaelic names for the four major Sabbats, but no set Pagan names for the solstices and equinoxes. He began to research and found connections to Ostara in the spring equinox, Yule in the winter solstice, and Litha in the summer solstice, but nothing so obvious for autumn.
Branching further out, he looked into the Greek calendar and found stories about Kore, which focused on her loss and recovery and explored the topic of death. In Hebrew myth, the story of Abraham and Isaac follows a similar theme and is read at Rosh Hashanah, the new moon closest to the autumn equinox.
Aiden took this to mean that this equinox was strongly associated with this idea of facing death and returning, and he looked for a similar story in the myths of northern Europe. He found it in the Welsh tale of Mabon, who is rescued from the underworld.
I think this convoluted tale about the origin of the name of the Mabon Sabbat is a great illustration of how modern Paganism is an interpretation of ancient practices. We see a pattern we would like to honor, and then we research ancient ways to find things that would match and fit. These become the practices we take forward, and soon they are just part of the path.
I do find it strange that even though this sabbat is named Mabon, very rarely do we actually work with Mabon as a deity, though the themes of death and rebirth are often very present, sometimes through the story of Persephone.
Anyways, now you know where the name came from, and perhaps this will inspire you to read a bit more on Mabon (the deity) during this time of year, or to research how other names came to be. History can have some very surprising twists, and it's not until you start looking into how things developed that you can see all the connections involved.
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