Internet Book of Shadows, (Various Authors), [1999], at sacred-texts.com

A Mabon rite outline

(soon to be a major Mabon Ritual, at a terminal near you.)

General Mabon info to start with, set the mood &c...

What is Mabon?

Mabon, sometimes known as the Harvest/Thanksgiving ritual of the Autumn Equinox, is one of the Spokes of the Wheel of the Year. In the many Earth or Pagan Religions, a special kinship with the passing of the seasons is felt... this is usually due to the history of said traditions, most of which stem from agrarian cultures where the seasons marked the way of life. From planting to reaping to winter to summer... the seasons were of great importance to our ancestors, for their very existence depended upon good harvests, mild winters, enough rainfall, and the like.

So... having shown the importance of the seasons, we shall turn to Mabon itself. Autumn... harvest time... the reaping of what was sown and cared thru during the year. A time of thankfulness and rejoicing. So, of course, someone at some point in time must have said... "Now that the work is over... LET'S PARTY!!!"

This is the essence of Mabon. Rejoicing in a bountiful harvest, thanking the Gods for being so kind during the year, and, hopefully, helping in winning over the Gods' favor for the coming year.

About the Mabon rite itself:

Now, this will be a very Discordian ritual in that each participant will be (more or less) writing his/her own part. This outline is provided to sorta nudge (nudge, wink, wink, say no more, sir, say no more!) people into making their individual pieces able to fit into the whole thing... (I feel like the Green Ball outta "Heavy Metal", the movie, something which ties things together).
Back to the rite itself.

Basically, 6 personages will be represented: Callers or Watchers of the East, South, West and North, High Priest (HP) and High Priestess (HPS).

Of course, since this is a generic rite, the terms "Lord" and "Lady" will be used when referring to the Male and Female aspects of divinity/godhood/whatever... individuals may use which ever names they wish, for a Rose, by any other name, would still smell as sweet.

Outline:

Invocation... once everybody has arrived, a Circle shall be cast, more or less, and the 4 Watchers/Callers each get to do their thing invoking that which that direction symbolizes to come and attend the festivities. After which, either the HPS, HP or both would consecrate the circle... in our case... the circle will be around each person at their 'puter... with a sense of being connected to each other via the others' 'puters. So... what we'll do is... after the circle is cast, and the four Corners have done their things, then the HP will call upon the Lord to attend, and the HPS shall call upon the Lady, (or, if we want to be different, we can have the HP call the Lady, and the HPS call the Lord... it's not as traditional, but I know of some Ladies who are more likely to pay attention to a young, handsome HP than any HPS, if you get my meaning [wink]).
Once invoked... it's time for the thanksgiving part... we all got things we're thankful for... now's the chance.
After the thanks are over, a customary requesting of blessing for the coming year is asked.
That done with, it's time to dismiss the summoned ones... first, around the circle... each corner doing it's thing... the dismissal consists of a Hail to the being summoned, a flattery (as I call it), and then a structured dismissal (eg. "Air of the East... blah, blah, blah,... Go if thou must, but stay if thou wilt"). The HP and HPS dismiss the Lord and Lady last with similar words.
PARTY TIME!!!! Get out the Beer, munchies, what have you... celebrate... you've earned it.

Next: A Midsummer Celebration (Mike Nichols)