Mabon / Autumn
Equinox
There were three men came out of the West,
Their fortunes for to try,
And these three men made a solemn vow,
John Barleycorn must die...
Despite the bad publicity generated by Thomas Tryon's novel,
Harvest Home (Mabon / Autumn Equinox) is the pleasantest of
holidays. Admittedly, it does involve the concept of sacrifice,
but one that is symbolic only. The sacrifice is that of the
spirit of vegetation, John Barleycorn. Occurring 1/4 of the
year after Midsummer, Harvest Home represents mid-autumn,
autumn's height. It is also the Autumnal Equinox, one of the
quarter days of the year, a Lesser Sabbat and a Low Holiday
in modern Witchcraft.
Technically, an equinox is
an astronomical point and, due to the fact that the earth
wobbles on its axis slightly (rather like a top that's slowing
down), the date may vary by a few days depending on the year.
The autumnal equinox occurs when the sun crosses the equator
on it's apparent journey southward, and we experience a day
and a night that are of equal duration. Up until Harvest Home,
the hours of daylight have been greater than the hours from
dusk to dawn. But from now on, the reverse holds true. Astrologers
know this as the date on which the sun enters the sign of
Libra, the Balance (an appropriate symbol of a balanced day
and night). This year (1988) it will occur at 2:29 pm CDT
on September 22nd.
However, since most European
peasants were not accomplished at calculating the exact date
of the equinox, they celebrated the event on a fixed calendar
date, September 25th, a holiday the medieval Church Christianized
under the name of 'Michaelmas', the feast of the Archangel
Michael. (One wonders if, at some point, the R.C. Church contemplated
assigning the four quarter days of the year to the four Archangels,
just as they assigned the four cross-quarter days to the four
gospel-writers. Further evidence for this may be seen in the
fact that there was a brief flirtation with calling the Vernal
Equinox 'Gabrielmas', ostensibly to commemorate the angel
Gabriel's announcement to Mary on Lady Day.) Again, it must
be remembered that the Celts reckoned their days from sundown
to sundown, so the September 25th festivities actually begin
on the previous sundown (our September 24th).
Although our Pagan ancestors
probably celebrated Harvest Home on September 25th, modern
Witches and Pagans, with their desk-top computers for making
finer calculations, seem to prefer the actual equinox point,
beginning the celebration on its eve (this year, sunset on
September 21st).
Mythically, this is the day
of the year when the god of light is defeated by his twin
and alter-ego, the god of darkness. It is the time of the
year when night conquers day. And as I have recently shown
in my seasonal reconstruction of the Welsh myth of Blodeuwedd,
the Autumnal Equinox is the only day of the whole year when
Llew (light) is vulnerable and it is possible to defeat him.
Llew now stands on the balance (Libra/autumnal equinox), with
one foot on the cauldron (Cancer/summer solstice) and his
other foot on the goat (Capricorn/winter solstice). Thus he
is betrayed by Blodeuwedd, the Virgin (Virgo) and transformed
into an Eagle (Scorpio).
Two things are now likely
to occur mythically, in rapid succession. Having defeated
Llew, Goronwy (darkness) now takes over Llew's functions,
both as lover to Blodeuwedd, the Goddess, and as King of our
own world. Although Goronwy, the Horned King, now sits on
Llew's throne and begins his rule immediately, his formal
coronation will not be for another six weeks, occurring at
Samhain (Halloween) or the beginning of Winter, when he becomes
the Winter Lord, the Dark King, Lord of Misrule. Goronwy's
other function has more immediate results, however. He mates
with the virgin goddess, and Blodeuwedd conceives, and will
give birth -- nine months later (at the Summer Solstice) --
to Goronwy's son, who is really another incarnation of himself,
the Dark Child.
Llew's sacrificial death
at Harvest Home also identifies him with John Barleycorn,
spirit of the fields. Thus, Llew represents not only the sun's
power, but also the sun's life trapped and crystallized in
the corn. Often this corn spirit was believed to reside most
especially in the last sheaf or shock harvested, which was
dressed in fine clothes, or woven into a wicker-like man-shaped
form. This effigy was then cut and carried from the field,
and usually burned, amidst much rejoicing. So one may see
Blodeuwedd and Goronwy in a new guise, not as conspirators
who murder their king, but as kindly farmers who harvest the
crop which they had planted and so lovingly cared for. And
yet, anyone who knows the old ballad of John Barleycorn knows
that we have not heard the last of him.
They let him stand till midsummer's day,
Till he looked both pale and wan,
And little Sir John's grown a long, long beard
And so become a man...
Incidentally, this annual
mock sacrifice of a large wicker-work figure (representing
the vegetation spirit) may have been the origin of the misconception
that Druids made human sacrifices. This charge was first made
by Julius Caesar (who may not have had the most unbiased of
motives), and has been re-stated many times since. However,
as has often been pointed out, the only historians besides
Caesar who make this accusation are those who have read Caesar.
And in fact, upon reading Caesar's 'Gallic Wars' closely,
one discovers that Caesar never claims to have actually witnessed
such a sacrifice. Nor does he claim to have talked to anyone
else who did. In fact, there is not one single eyewitness
account of a human sacrifice performed by Druids in all of
history!
Nor is there any archeological
evidence to support the charge. If, for example, human sacrifices
had been performed at the same ritual sites year after year,
there would be physical traces. Yet there is not a scrap.
Nor is there any native tradition or history which lends support.
In fact, insular tradition seems to point in the opposite
direction. The Druid's reverence for life was so strict that
they refused to lift a sword to defend themselves when massacred
by Roman soldiers on the Isle of Mona. Irish brehon laws forbade
a Druid to touch a weapon, and any soul rash enough to unsheathe
a sword in the presence of a Druid would be executed for such
an outrage!
Jesse Weston, in her brilliant
study of the Four Hallows of British myth, 'From Ritual to
Romance', points out that British folk tradition is, however,
full of MOCK sacrifices. In the case of the wicker-man, such
figures were referred to in very personified terms, dressed
in clothes, addressed by name, etc. In such a religious ritual
drama, everybody played along.
They've hired men with
scythes so sharp,
To cut him off at the knee,
They've rolled him and tied him by the waist
Serving him most barbarously...
In the medieval miracle-play
tradition of the 'Rise Up, Jock' variety (performed by troupes
of mummers at all the village fairs), a young harlequin-like
king always underwent a mock sacrificial death. But invariably,
the traditional cast of characters included a mysterious 'Doctor'
who had learned many secrets while 'travelling in foreign
lands'. The Doctor reaches into his bag of tricks, plies some
magical cure, and presto! the young king rises up hale and
whole again, to the cheers of the crowd. As Weston so sensibly
points out, if the young king were ACTUALLY killed, he couldn't
very well rise up again, which is the whole point of the ritual
drama! It is an enactment of the death and resurrection of
the vegetation spirit. And what better time to perform it
than at the end of the harvest season?
In the rhythm of the year,
Harvest Home marks a time of rest after hard work. The crops
are gathered in, and winter is still a month and a half away!
Although the nights are getting cooler, the days are still
warm, and there is something magical in the sunlight, for
it seems silvery and indirect. As we pursue our gentle hobbies
of making corn dollies (those tiny vegetation spirits) and
wheat weaving, our attention is suddenly arrested by the sound
of baying from the skies (the 'Hounds of Annwn' passing?),
as lines of geese cut silhouettes across a harvest moon. And
we move closer to the hearth, the longer evening hours giving
us time to catch up on our reading, munching on popcorn balls
and caramel apples and sipping home-brewed mead or ale. What
a wonderful time Harvest Home is! And how lucky we are to
live in a part of the country where the season's changes are
so dramatic and majestic!
And little Sir John in the nut-brown
bowl--
And he's brandy in the glass,
And little Sir John in the nut-brown bowl
Proved the strongest man at last.
Authors Details:
Mabon / Autumn Equinox - Mike Nichols - Unknown Web Site |
More Articles On The Wiccan Sabbats
(The Eight
Wiccan Sabbats)
(Winter Solstice - Yule)
(Imbolc)
(Ostara)
(Beltane)
(Summer
Solstice)
(Lammas)
(Mabon)
(Halloween
/ Samhain) |
