Pagan Village News

Mabon is the Fall Equinox, named after the Celtic God of the same name. Day and night are in balance, as they were at Ostara, but now we descend into darkness. The Mother provides us with the last harvest of the year. She will be fully the Crone by the next sabbat (Samhain). Since Mabon is a time of feasting and celebrating the harvest, in the days preceding Mabon it would be a good time to talk to your children about what Mabon means, and discuss some activities to do in the next few days that could make use of some of the symbols of Mabon.. Here are some symbols of Mabon to incorporate in your plans: Colors: Red, Deep Gold, Orange, Brown, Maroon, Violet, Russet, Yellow, Indigo Animals: Dogs, Wolves, Stags, Birds of Prey (especially the Blackbird, Owl and Eagle), Salmon and Goat Mythical Creatures: Gnomes, Sphinx, Minotaurs, and Cyclops Stones: Yellow Topaz, Carnelian, Sapphire, Yellow Agate, Lapis Lazuli and Amethyst. Plants: Vines, Garlands, Gourds, Pine Cones, Acorns, Wheat, Dried Leaves, Corn, Pomegranates, Ivy, Hazel, Hops, Cedar and Tobacco Deities: All wine Deities (especially Dionysus and Bacchus), the Mother aspect of the Triple Goddess, Persephone, Thor, Modron, Morgan, Snake Woman, Epona, Pamona, Muses, Mabon, Thoth, Hermes, Hotei, Harvest Deities, and Aging Deities Foods: Grapes, Acorns, Wheat Bread, Goat, Indian Corn, Horn of Plenty, Cornbread, Corn, Root Crops (Onions, Carrots, Potatoes, etc.) Nuts, Dried Fruits, Apples, Beans and Squash Drinks: Wine, Ale and Cider This is a good time to think about what we as families have harvested this year. Have we learned new skills, or made new friends? Have we given up bad habits, or learned to be kinder and more thoughtful of others? Have we eliminated unnecessary spending, learning to live more simply? Perhaps your family has spent the year learning more about the environment or getting involved with ways you can locally or nationally try to effect change., such as the Adopt a Highway program. Discuss with your children what it means to be a caretaker of the earth Take some time and discuss with your children the images they may have seen on television of hurricane Katrina and the aftermath. Discuss with your children how these images make them feel. Encourage your children to discuss any fears they may have, or sadness they feel at seeing so much destruction and suffering. It is important now for your children to feel safe and loved. This may be a good time to get them involved in something positive, like going through clothes and toys in the home to find good, useable items that your children would like to donate to relief efforts. This will make them feel involved in the healing process for the survivors, and turn their thoughts away from the terrible images on television. Now is also the time to decide how much of the coverage you want your children to continue seeing, without giving the impression that it is a case of out of sight, out of mind. While you certainly don’t want your children to think that you do not care about the the situation, you may want to explain that it is not good to focus entirely on the disaster. A steady diet of negative images is too much for anyone to deal with, and your children should understand that while you care, we must seek a daily balance in our lives to remain happy and productive. Try some of these Mabon activities in the days and weeks before the sabbat, for you and your children. · Have your children draw a horn of plenty overflowing with foods, and what they feel they have harvested this year. · Your children can help decorate for the feast by collecting leaves to use at the table arranged in a bowl. Try to have several colors of leaves for a nice mix of color. · Collect pine cones with your children, and have them tie harvest colored yarn at the top, and hang them from the ceiling, away from the dining table, around the edges of the room. · You can have your children help you collect pine cones, colorful dried leaves, wheat, acorns, and fallen pine branches, to arrange in a basket to set next to your door. · Buy some Indian corn, and hang the dried ears of corn on the front door, or doorposts. · Take your children for a nature walk and gather dried plants for use as altar decorations. · If you are really ambitious, try making bread, muffins, or scones with your children. HONEY WHOLE WHEAT BREAD 9 cups whole wheat flour 4 tsp. salt 2 pkg. active dry yeast 1 1/2 cups milk 1 1/2 cups water 6 Tbsp. butter 1/2 cup honey Sift together 3 cups flour, salt and yeast. Combine milk, water, butter, and honey in a saucepan and heat over low heat until liquids are warm (butter need not be melted completely). Gradually add to dry ingredients and beat 2 minutes. Add remaining flour a cup full at a time until a soft dough forms. Turn onto lightly floured surface and allow to rest 10 minutes. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place in large greased bowl and turn to grease all sides of dough. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Punch dough down and turn out onto lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half and shape each half into a loaf. Place into greased loaf pans. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Bake at 375° for 35-40 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on racks. Here’s an apple muffin recipe that would be a warm welcome on Mabon morning. APPLE MUFFINS 1 1/4 cup flour 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1 egg 1 tsp baking soda 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1 1/2 tsp vanilla 1/8 tsp salt 3/4 tsp grated lemon peel 1 cup sugar 2 cups grated apple (about 2 apples) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin cups or put in muffin papers. Sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a medium bowl. Combine sugar, oil, egg, lemon juice, vanilla, and lemon peel in a large bowl, whisk to blend. Mix in dry ingredients, then stir in the apples. Spoon 1/3 cup batter into each muffin cup. Bake until toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Turn muffins out onto a rack and cool slightly. Serve warm. For a late afternoon treat, try making Irish Scones. IRISH HERB SCONES 1/2 lb. mealy potatoes 4 Tbsp. flour 1/4 tsp. salt 4 Tbsp. oil 2 Tbsp. chopped parsley 1/2 tsp. dried dill 1/4 tsp. savory 1/4 tsp. marjoram 1/4 tsp. powdered sage oil for frying Boil or bake the potatoes, then pass through a food mill. Mix the flour, salt, oil & herbs with the potatoes. On a floured board, roll this dough to thickness of 1/4". Cut into triangles 3 or 4" wide. Fry in very hot oil on both sides until a light golden brown. Since Mabon is a celebration of harvest, plan a harvest meal with your family. Some suggestions for a menu are corn dishes, soup with carrots, onions, potatoes, as well as squash and beef dishes. Apple dishes, such apple pie, baked apples, apple cobbler, or cinnamon applesauce make good Mabon desserts. At dinner, have each person mention something about a family member that they are grateful for, such as a kindness shown or a special memory. Now, as so many are suffering, it is good to bring our families close this harvest, and remember our blessings. Below are some recipes for your Mabon feast. CORNBREAD CASSEROLE Mix up some cornbread, either from a box, or the recipe below. Add a can of creamed corn and bake until golden, at the temperature recommended in your cornbread recipe. SOUTHERN CORNBREAD (this is not sweet.) 2 1/2 c stone ground cornmeal 1 1/2 c flour 4 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 2 c milk 6 Tablesppons melted, unsalted butter 2 large beaten eggs Grease a 9x13" baking pan and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Stir dry ingredients in a bowl and form a well in the center. Pour the milk, butter, and eggs into the well, and stir just until smooth. Pour into the baking dish. bake for 25-30 minutes. A toothpick should come out clean from the center. BEEF & BARLEY VEGETABLE SOUP 3 lbs. soup meat 2 Tbsp. fat 2 quarts water 1 1/2 Tbsp. salt 1/4 Tbsp. pepper 2 Tbsp. minced parsley 1/2 cup barley 1 cup carrots, cubed 1/4 cup onion, chopped 1/2 cup celery, chopped 2 cups canned tomatoes, drained 1 cup fresh peas Brown meat with bones in hot fat. Place meat, soup bone, water, seasonings, and parsley in a soup kettle. Cover tightly and simmer 1 hour. Add barley and simmer another hour. Cool and skim off excess fat. Remove soup bone. Add carrots, onion, celery, and tomatoes. Simmer 45 minutes. Add fresh peas and continue cooking 15 minutes. If leftover soup becomes too thick, dilute with beef broth. Can be doubled or tripled and freezes well. CINNAMON APPLESAUCE Pour a large jar of applesauce into a saucepan and add enough cinnamon red hot candies to turn the applesauce pink, as you stir it over medium heat. Once the candy is melted, lower heat, cover, and simmer for another five minutes. May be served war, or chilled.

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