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Episode 27: Mabon
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Welcome back Witches! We're coming at you with another Sabbat episode this week! Who's ready to learn all about Mabon?? We've got the history, background, correspondences, and all the ways you can celebrate. This Sabbat will occur on Wednesday September 21st in the Northern Hemisphere and on March 21st in the Southern Hemisphere for 2022! So get in losers, and lets discuss Mabon!!
We would be forever thankful if you left our podcast a 5-Star review. If you really loved the show and want more Get in Loser content, check out our Supercast & Buy Me a Coffee links below. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @GetinWitches, on TikTok @weredoingwitchcraft or email us at weredoingwitchcraft@gmail.com. You can support our show through our
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Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio- The Witch
- Bhagat, Dhruti. The Origins and Practices of Mabon. (2019). Boston Public Library. https://www.bpl.org/blogs/post/the-origins-and-practices-of-mabon/
- Moon, Aurora. Mabon Sabbat Correspondences. (2021). Plentiful Earth. https://plentifulearth.com/mabon-sabbat-correspondences/
- Barbi. Celebrating Mabon with Herbs and Ancient Traditions. (2021). The Outdoor Apothecary. https://www.outdoorapothecary.com/celebrating-mabon/
- Mabon (n.d.). Mabon/Autumn Equinox. The Goddess and the Green Man. https://www.goddessandgreenman.co.uk/mabon/
- Wigington, Patti (2019). Ten Ways to Celebrate Mabon. https://www.learnreligions.com/ways-to-celebrate-mabon-2562310
- Youtube:Alwyn Oak
Scarlet Ravenswood
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Transcript
Introduction to Witchcraft Journey
00:00:00
Speaker
Do you feel drawn to learn more about witchcraft and the occult, but feel lost on where to start? Then welcome to Get In, Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft, a podcast all about what it means to be a witch and where to get started on your journey. Join us as we navigate through various witchy topics and share what we have learned about the
Exploring Mabon and Its Significance
00:00:15
Speaker
craft. So get in, witches, and let's learn about Maven or the Autumn Equinox.
00:00:40
Speaker
That little five-star review was so cute. It is cute. I love it so much. Me too. I wish I knew who they were. Me too. Anyway, a little disclaimer before we begin. I just want to say, first of all, props to Tiffany for waking up at freaking 5.30 in the morning. I don't do that.
00:01:03
Speaker
I don't think I'd ever, I would never want to do that. Even though I'm, I feel like I'm more of a morning, morning person. I'm not at all. Yeah. So, um, but then also too, I noticed earlier, right before you hopped on. So there have not been any jets flying at all today. Of course, right before you hopped on, hopefully there is no jet noise.
00:01:30
Speaker
Luckily I'll try and cut it out if there is, and we're talking and we know, but who else with it being like, what is it? It's six 30 right now. Well, six 20. Yeah. There's like people walking, you know, like, just like getting their exercise on. Nobody's mowing grass. So that's great. And both of my neighbors had their grass mode yesterday. So that should be my puppy is not a morning pup pup either.
00:01:56
Speaker
So she, I took her outside, she did her business and she went right back to bed. So she should be quiet for the whole time. We should have little to no interruptions. Mine is whatever my allergies decide to do because they're terrible this morning.
00:02:12
Speaker
It'll be choking on my coffee. Right. Yeah. Or that, you know, either way. Sometimes I can't be perfect. Okay. I got puffy eyes. I got Hagrid hair. Cause I went to bed with my hair wet last night. I got no sleep, but I'm here. You're here. That's dedication. Look, I do what I can.
Understanding Mabon: The Witches Thanksgiving
00:02:38
Speaker
Anyway, so let's talk about Mabon slash the Autumn Equinox, depending on what you practice and how you want to refer to it. I even, uh, in my research last night at 11 30, because I can't get my life together in adult. I read that it was also sometimes referred to as Mojo, depending on what area you're from. That is interesting. Yeah.
00:03:08
Speaker
It's also called the Witches Thanksgiving, which I think is precious.
00:03:11
Speaker
I think that's what it should always be called. Nomoratum equinox, it's the word you think. Nomor Mabon, sorry, we're changing the name to the witches Thanksgiving. So Mabon will occur on Wednesday, September 21st in the Northern hemisphere and then on March 21st in the Southern hemisphere. Mabon is a pagan holiday and one of the eight Wiccan Sabbats celebrated along the wheel of the year. And it celebrates the autumnal equinox.
00:03:40
Speaker
And if you listened to our Lamis episode, you'll know that Mabon is also the second harvest festival, the first being Lamis and the third being Samhain. And like I said earlier, it's also known as the Witches Thanksgiving, which is just absolutely precious. And it's the only thing I'm going to be calling it from now on, which I'm sure I will forget. But for now, it's precious.
00:04:06
Speaker
This is a time to celebrate and appreciate the earth's fruits and a time to share them to guarantee the gods and goddesses graces in the upcoming winter months. Many civilizations celebrated the harvest festival around the equinox. This particular sabbat is a time of giving thanks for the abundance of your crops and how well farmers were able to feed their animals because this tied to the food for their families.
00:04:30
Speaker
In the 1700s, the Bavarians celebrated a festival that started the last week of September, and this is known today as Oktoberfest. This festival is still obviously celebrated today. It focuses on feasting and celebrating, and many cultures see this time as a way to give thanks after the first harvest, which we already mentioned was llamas. Farmers at this time know how well their summer crops fared and how well fed their animals have become.
00:04:58
Speaker
and even the original American Thanksgiving was celebrated on October 3rd and was tied to the harvesting of the crops. We also understand based on what has been uncovered through the stone circles throughout England, like Stonehenge, that the equinoxes were important to our ancient ancestors and although nothing was written down to explicitly discuss the why and the how, we know that all of this work put into the placement of the stones isn't an accident. So a lot of what we talk about today comes from folklore and
00:05:28
Speaker
oral tradition and not based on a lot that was written down. So where does the term Mabon come from? Mabon gets its name from a supposed Welsh God named Mabon who I was reading is this, they have them listed as the son of Modron, which I think is interesting that some people refer to Mabon as Modron.
00:05:50
Speaker
So, um, pretty interesting. However, there really isn't any proof at all in anything that states that Mabon was a Welsh God that was celebrated. And the name itself comes from the 1970s by Aiden Kelly. And it was, it's used widely in Wiccan and pagan reconstructionist pantheons for this time of year.
00:06:12
Speaker
So the lore surrounding Mabon is that he is the child of light and the son of the Earth Mother Goddess. So Aiden Kelly came up with a name for this holiday based on Arthurian lore and Mabon was supposedly part of King Arthur's Warband, but again, there's nothing in
00:06:31
Speaker
at all that's been documented that this is the case. But since the term mabon was created for this holiday, if you don't follow Wicca or any sort of pagan reconstructionist pantheons, you can refer to this habit as the autumnal equinox, if you would prefer. That is something that I find funny too, like
00:06:47
Speaker
Arthurian lore is so wishy-washy. It depends on who tells it, what actually happens. It's so back and forth. There's no proof to any of it, but it's like, no, these things are a thing. Arthurian lore cracks me up, but I also love it. Same. I love it, and I love reading about it, watching movies about it. I was going to say also that movie Arthur with, what's his name? Charlie Hunnam.
00:07:16
Speaker
Yeah, that man. That's that's just that's my Arthur from now on. I can see it.
00:07:27
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. So historically in Greece, Mabon commemorates the goddess Persephone's passage into the underworld to be reunited with Hades. And this is like while we're witnessing the decay of nature's spirit and the approach of winter as a result of her absence. It was also a time where they gave offerings to Dionysus through grapes or wine for an abundant grape harvest.
00:07:51
Speaker
During this time of year this is the point of perfect balance along the wheel of the year because night and day are at equal length and in perfect equilibrium and this is something that we'll see come up time and again when discussing the autumn equinox. The sun's power continues to wane and from this moment on the days grow shorter and cooler and the nights grow longer.
00:08:11
Speaker
The sap of the trees returns back to its roots and there is a changing of leaves from grain to reds, oranges, and golds. And this is also the time of the year when we take a moment to honor the changing seasons and to celebrate the second harvest.
00:08:26
Speaker
Maven is a time to reap the bounty of summer, to plant new seeds for the spring, to contemplate new ideas, and to make medicine with the plants that are harvested. It's also a time that we fuel our bodies with hardier foods for the winter, like potatoes and carrots, like those heavier root vegetables. During this time of year, you should be celebrating and reflecting over the stability and flow of our lives when the day and night are perfectly balanced and the harvest seasons are wrapping up and coming to an end.
00:08:56
Speaker
And it's also known as the fruit harvest and the great feast of Thanksgiving. The goddess is radiant as harvest queen and the God finally dies with his gift of pure love with the cutting of the last grain. This is something that we actually talked about in the Lamas episode as well. Like Lamas being the first harvest was the grain harvest. This is the fruit harvest. And I believe Samhain is like your seeds and nut harvest.
00:09:22
Speaker
I like that it just kind of like flows and but it is like our ancestors really did celebrate based on the seasons and the changing of the seasons and the you know phases of the moon. That's just how they had to live their life because that's how they were able to tell you know this is you know winters coming we have to prepare for those kinds of things so or it's spring now it's time to like plant because things are growing. So it's really I love
00:09:51
Speaker
Like being able to celebrate some of this stuff, like put you in touch with that. And I love that. Yeah. And while may bond is a time of celebration, it's also a time of rest and recovering from the labor of the harvest. So as you know, you mentioned earlier, Tiffany, about how it's the time to reap the bounty of summer.
00:10:10
Speaker
It's also time to reap what you've sown within your own self, to look at what your hopes and your aspirations of in bulk and in Ostarra and to reflect on how they have manifested. It is also a time to complete projects and to let go of what is no longer needed so that winter can offer reflection and peace.
00:10:30
Speaker
So Mabon celebrations and really all pagan Sabbats reflect differently across various cultures because they are celebrated cross-culturally.
Cultural Practices for Celebrating Mabon
00:10:39
Speaker
Some examples could be like across the British Isles and Ireland. The last retreat of the harvest spirit, which was represented symbolically by the cutting of the final sheave, has been marked by ceremonial rites.
00:10:53
Speaker
So the sheaf was often braided into a likeness of a woman and then wrapped in a gown that was decorated with spring-themed ribbons and then hung from a pole, which was seen as a phallic fertility symbol. In Scotland, the final sheaf of the harvest is referred to as the maiden, and this sheaf is to be cut by the eldest female present at the ceremony. In the Highlands, it's known as the maiden or the hag, and it's associated with a Celtic goddess with two faces representing life and death.
00:11:22
Speaker
And I thought it was really cool, but at the same time, I also couldn't find out which goddess it was referring to, like which two-faced goddess, because you hear a lot about like triple goddesses all the time. This was the first time I had heard about like a double goddess, you know? Right, because I've heard of it like for a man, like a two-faced man goddess or goddess god. I haven't, yeah, that's really interesting. I'm really intrigued by that.
00:11:49
Speaker
Yeah, it was really late. Otherwise, I probably would have fell down that rabbit hole trying to figure it out. But I already knew I was not going to get enough sleep.
00:11:59
Speaker
The Romans honored Pomona during this time of year and they would celebrate with wine. And I was also reading that during this time too, they would have this festival and it was super popular called Vendemia, I believe is how you say it. And it was a wine harvest festival where Bacchus was also celebrated. So they had like a kind of a God and goddess that they would celebrate during this time. Yeah. That was interesting. I love that.
00:12:26
Speaker
And then as I mentioned before as well, the Greeks would honor Persephone during this time and also make offerings to Dionysus. Yeah. And I was trying to read more about this. I came across this ritual. It was called the Eleusinian mysteries.
00:12:43
Speaker
And so I'm assuming the ritual is called like illucinian ritual, but it's like a mystery now. And essentially it was an initiation ritual that would happen during this time. And it was a mystery because we don't know much about it as the rights were kept secret. But what we do know is that there was that focus on Demeter and Persephone, specifically on Persephone going from the realm of the living into the dead, like how we are going into the dark 10th of the year.
00:13:10
Speaker
But what I did read was that both Sophocles and Cicero participated in this ritual. Interesting. Yeah. Like a whole secret society or something. I don't know, but I love it. Yeah. Did you try to like
00:13:25
Speaker
dig into it to see if you could find anything or there just wasn't anything. Yeah. Yeah. That's interesting. Then I got sidetracked by some new ones. It happens to the best of us. So the Greeks, the Bavarians, Native Americans, the Chinese, and Druids each had customs for commemorating a plentiful harvest and practiced rites specific to their culture around Mabon.
00:13:51
Speaker
Norse pagans celebrated with bonfires, dancing, and the slaughtering of cattle to be cooked over the bonfire, and I read that bonfires actually derived from bonfires that were attributed to the bones of the cattle within the fire, which I thought was kind of cool. Villagers would put out their hearth fires within their homes,
00:14:10
Speaker
so that when they lit the bonfire, the only light in the village came from this one single community fire. And then they would all take a piece of a stick or whatever to light their hearth fires again, so that all the fires within the homes of the community came from this common bonfire as a way to bond with other people within the village, which I thought was really cool.
00:14:33
Speaker
I love that idea so much. Right. I was like, precious Norse pagans. Some cultures would create a broomstick that then represented like the male and female duality, which I thought was interesting as well. I learned a lot about this holiday last night and the small amount of time I had to search it.
00:14:56
Speaker
The harvest lord is often represented by a straw figure who basically sacrifices their body by burning the figure and gives back to the land. And oftentimes they would use the ashes to put back into the earth. And this is, again, I feel like maybe a common theme because it is something that we've talked about in other episodes. Was it maybe in Lamas that we did talk about that where they would spread the ashes into the fields where they planted the crops, like where they had just harvested and it's supposed to bring them luck?
00:15:26
Speaker
I believe you have talked about it in multiple, that's a very common thing. And I love that it continues on.
00:15:36
Speaker
It's like that. And then I feel like we always talk about with these Sabbath episodes, they're always like, this is a time to release. And I'm like, every Sabbath is a time to release everything that you don't want in your life. So other cultures would create a crop queen or a kern baby from the final sheath of the harvest. And while like bundling it, they would shout, we have the kern, which I thought was hilarious.
00:16:04
Speaker
And I don't know, is Kern corn? Just like, we have the Kern. We have the Kern. I thought that was so funny. I was cracking up by myself last night. Then there was also a feast that I read about called the maiden feast. So basically everyone would gather and there would be a toast during this feast saying, here's to the one who assisted us in the harvest. And then the final sheaf would be hung in the farmhouse for good luck over the winter.
00:16:33
Speaker
or they would plow it back into the ground for the following year. Correspondences for Mabon, I have a ton of them, so sorry if this takes forever you guys. So concepts and symbolism for Mabon would be equity, balance, accountability, honesty, friendships, abundance,
00:16:52
Speaker
appreciation or gratitude, happiness, prosperity, optimism, protection, and wealth.
Symbols and Themes of Mabon
00:17:00
Speaker
And a major traditional symbol of Mabon is the cornucopia or the horn of plenty. It symbolizes the wealth of the harvest and is equal parts a male and female symbol. And it ties back in the fact that this time of year is in perfect equilibrium. Also in another
00:17:17
Speaker
major symbol of this sabbat is the apple. It's the symbol of the fruit harvest itself. It's a symbol for life and immortality, healing, renewal, regeneration, and wholeness is associated with beauty, long life, and restored youth. And I know I've seen this a lot already on the internet and on Tik TOK, I've seen videos about it as well, but cutting into an apple with ways reveals a
00:17:41
Speaker
pentagram containing seeds and is a symbol for paganism itself. The five pointed star represents earth, air, water, and spirit, as well as the directions of east, south, west, north, and within.
00:17:55
Speaker
And then with the apples too, something that I read was that they are an offering to the dead. So this is like, you know, we're seeing Persephone going into the underworld at this time. I read that it was like part of the thing with the apples in some cultures is because she's going into the underworld with the dead. So giving the offering of the apple is like an offering for the souls. That makes sense.
00:18:21
Speaker
I thought it was pretty cool. That is really cool. I've never looked at it that way and I love that. So next we have the moon. The September moon is referred to as the wine moon, which is a period for grape harvesting. Decor would be autumn leaves, acorns, apples, and fall flowers, which I've never, this is the first time I've seen decor in correspondences, but it was listed in two separate sites. And I was like, I mean, it makes sense because it's all fall
00:18:50
Speaker
themed things but I've never seen like decor correspondences like specifically so I included it. Your colors are going to be orange, red, yellow, gold, brown, green, purple, and violet and it's basically all those basic fall colors that we all love and include in our decorations this time of year. Spell work would be home protection,
00:19:14
Speaker
balance, releasing negativity, bad habits, prosperity, and shadow work. There's a lot for foods and I absolutely love it because a lot of like ways to celebrate this holiday are to have a giant feast.
00:19:29
Speaker
so your foods are going to be breads and grains that you harvested back on lamass, your root vegetables like potatoes and carrots, beans, squash, corn, eggplant, pumpkins and other gourds, melons, apples, pears, pomegranates, elderberries, blackberries, and other late autumnal fruits and berries, and then beef, goose, lamb, and then nuts and seeds which
00:19:55
Speaker
These are going to be like the early harvest nuts and seeds or like think like seeds from your pumpkins kind of thing. Your drinks are going to be cider, wine, mead, ale, and beer. Plants and herbs are barley, hops, wheat, tobacco, sage, mums, marigolds, yarrow, honeysuckle, rose hips, burdock, dandelion, milkweed,
00:20:17
Speaker
butterfly weed, angelica, licorice, and any of the root heavy herbals because this is one of their strongest medicinally. Your trees are going to be oak and pine. Your crystals are clear quartz, obsidian, amethyst, carnelian, yellow agate, and yellow topaz.
00:20:35
Speaker
Animals are dogs and owls. And then deities, you have Bacchus, Ceres, Demeter, Dionysus, Epona, the Green Man, Mabon, the Morrigan, the Muses, Persephone, Thor, and Thoth. Your incense is cinnamon, clove, apple, sage, myrrh, frankincense, black pepper, patchouli, pine, and sweetgrass. So some ways that you can celebrate.
00:21:04
Speaker
would be something like super easy is just learning the history behind how Mabon was celebrated culturally and historically, and then bringing those celebrations of your own culture into your own Mabon celebration. You can make a gratitude list. Like I said earlier, this is considered the witch's Thanksgiving. So think about all the things that you're thankful for in your life. Say thank you to loved ones and to the universe. And it's also seen as a good time to restore balance within your life.
00:21:34
Speaker
You can do this by performing a ritual to restore balance and harmony into your life, or you can even meditate on it and give thanks for the abundance in your life right now. You can hold a bonfire and maybe even dance around it like our ancestors did.
00:21:49
Speaker
And then also maybe set up your altar to reflect Maybond. So you can dress your altar with some of the things that we've talked about already in the podcast, like apples, pears, damsels, slows, rose hips, elderberries, blackberries, Hawthorne berries, cinnamon, grapes, or any other foods that are harvested during this type of year. You can also add things like candles and the color of fall. You can add clear quartz or obsidian to represent like a perfect balance of the day, which I thought was really cute. I forget.
00:22:19
Speaker
This came from somebody on YouTube and they had the cutest little altar set up and they were talking about how they always include a clear quartz and an obsidian for Maven because it shows like the perfect balance of light and dark. That is such a great idea. Yeah, I was like, how precious.
00:22:37
Speaker
And again, goes back to that equilibrium and that balance that we talked about, that's all about this, this holiday and what it is. So yeah, perfect. You can even make an outdoor shrine or alter to think nature spirits for the bounty that they provide. And a way you could do this is by leaving like one flower, one fruit, and one vegetable that is prominent during this time of year as a gift.
00:22:58
Speaker
And then something else is that you can spend time outdoors honoring the trees. So the Druids used to offer the trees cider, wines, herbs, and fertilizer as a way to say thank you for what they've already given us and then the protection that they will offer during the darkest time of the year, which I thought was really cool. That is really cool. Yeah. I wonder what their fertilizer was though.
00:23:22
Speaker
Right. I know I, it didn't say it just said fertilizer. It was poo. Hopefully, hopefully cow poo. Hopefully cow poo and not human poo. But could you imagine if like, they're like, okay, I'm just going to go take like a Bush poo. Thank you tree. Please take the nutrients from my poo and grow more. Protect us over the winter.
00:23:52
Speaker
Oh, it was really good. But also like, we're not making fun of the druids. We're just, we're having a laugh. I'm curious. What poo was used. Yeah. What poo. Another amazing way. And I feel like we've talked about this on all of our SAB episodes that we've had so far, but
00:24:13
Speaker
Hey, I'd like to eat. Yeah. And there is no excuse, no bad excuse to have a feast with your family and friends. So one of the best things you could do is have a feast, use local fruit and vegetables, make an apple pie or an apple cake. Don't forget the wine though, even just drinking a glass of wine is a great way to celebrate. Or you can even just use it as an offering. If you don't drink or you don't feel like partaking in wine or drink an apple cider.
00:24:40
Speaker
a non-alcoholic apple cider. There you go. Perfect. You can even use that as an offering as well. So another way that you can celebrate is going for a walk, collecting or foraging for your altar and observing the changing seasons. And then maybe just spend some time grounding with the energies of nature
00:25:00
Speaker
and the energies around you for this time of year. Getting, you know, your energies right and just coming back down and just mellowing out and getting in touch with nature. You can create a mini broomstick, which I talked about earlier. I didn't include it and I should have. I don't remember which culture it was specifically that this is part of their celebrations, but basically
00:25:25
Speaker
they would go out and maybe take some of the wheat stocks from the last harvest with a stick and create a broom or like using little things around the land. So you could go on a walk outside and collect you know a larger stick for your handle and then several smaller sticks for the bristles. Or you can use something like a cinnamon stick as your larger stick substitute and things like pine needles or rosemary for the smaller bristles.
00:26:00
Speaker
Really awesome. Yeah. And well, and then like the way that it was explained was, you know, cinnamon is like abundance and wealth and prosperity. And then Rosemary is protection for the coming, uh, dark time, which I thought was really cute. Plus that would smell amazing. It really would. And a great way to celebrate, even if you're, this is, I think a great way, if you're in the broom closet, I mean, any of these, I think can be done.
00:26:17
Speaker
I might even make that like with the rosemary and the cinnamon.
00:26:26
Speaker
If you're in the broom closet, just make it your own, but a really awesome mundane way to celebrate is to just clear out your home and complete any tasks that are unfinished. So declutter, donate, and recycle things that no longer serve you. You can also take this time to plant tree seeds and shrubs. This is a perfect time of year to do that. And you could also even hold a food drive or donate food to a food pantry.
Modern Mabon Celebrations and Reflections
00:26:51
Speaker
This is something that can and should be done all year, but this time of year specifically is a perfect time to really reflect and give back. So by donating and giving back to your local community is a great way to honor your ancestors and celebrate Mabon or the Autumn Equinox or however you want to describe it.
00:27:12
Speaker
And that's what I was going to say. When you finished, I was going to say, you know, this is exactly what our ancestors did. The farmers would share the bounty with the rest of the village. They would share, you know, the meat from the cattle that they fed all like season long with the rest of the village so that people could actually survive the winter. So it is like a way to kind of get back to your ancestral roots, which I think is really cool.
00:27:40
Speaker
That's it's perfect is what it, I mean, that is just perfect. And I think, you know, around this time of year, just anyway, we're always trying to be thankful and trying to be grateful. Even if you are even just people who don't practice witchcraft or paganism or
00:27:57
Speaker
Whatever I feel like that's a common theme just in our worldview anyway. And the fact that it ties so much into ancestral practices is crazy. Amazing. Yep. And then lastly, one of the easiest things you can do and super fun thing that you can do, especially if you have access to apple orchards is go out the picking and then take your apples home and make something delicious with it. Yeah. I have a hilarious story about apple picking.
00:28:26
Speaker
My brother, my hilarious younger brother came out here when we first moved here and we have, you know, Eckerts down the street, which for those that don't live here, Eckerts is this, it's kind of commercialized like farm, but it's really cute. And you can go out there and, you know, depending on the season, you can go and pick, you know, apples or blackberries or whatever. They even like have a whole Christmas tree farm. Like it's crazy. They, they literally have everything and it's fantastic.
00:28:54
Speaker
But my brother came out and he had never been to a farm or to like apple picking because we grew up in a desert, you know, like we didn't have those. So he was like, let's go pick apples. So we get there and we get on the little, it's like a little truck, like pulling a trailer and everybody gets on the trailer and they take you out to the apple orchards and they just give you bags and they're like, have fun. And then they like, you know, you have like a certain amount of time in each different type of apple. My brother.
00:29:20
Speaker
Like was having so much fucking fun. He picked so many apples that we were all eating apples for like two weeks and still didn't eat them all. We were making apple pie, apple bread, like apple sauce, apple everything. We were cooking apples into our breakfast hatch type of thing and still did not get through all the apples.
00:29:41
Speaker
Oh, that's really cute. He, he was like, I didn't know how many apples this was. And like, when he got up to the front, cause you know, you pick the apples and then you have to pay for them. So he got to the front and he was like, oh my God, it was so expensive. And I'm like, look how many apples he literally picked the whole orchard. Go apple picking. It's a lot of fun.
00:30:02
Speaker
And something else I wanted to add as somebody who is a studying herbalist, herbalists tend to place more value on the attributes of plants when mabon falls on a full moon because the plant's therapeutic properties are thought to be at their highest, which is precious. So harvesting flowers, leaves, and seeds are optimal on a full moon.
00:30:24
Speaker
on May 1. This is also considered a great time to make fire cider and this helps sustain and support our immune system during the winter months and I will definitely share my own fire cider recipe but this is something I also do and it's amazing and fire cider you know you can use it to just
00:30:44
Speaker
you take a shot and help boost your immune system. If you start to feel like you might be getting a cold start taking fire cider every day and it'll help like kick that the cold out of your system. You can use it in cooking like your stocks for soups and stews or just like wool tossed vegetables and like a couple tablespoons of fire cider and it's so delicious.
00:31:06
Speaker
So I'll share my own recipe on our septuoles this week, and hopefully some of you guys will make some and enjoy it. It is also recommended to add therapeutic plants into your cooking during this time because they help us to stay warm and to stay grounded. So some examples of these plants would be things like turmeric, ginger roots, and other rhizomes, as well as spices like nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon. And if mabon falls on a new moon,
00:31:35
Speaker
It's considered a special occasion where medicinal benefits of roots and leaf harvesting are considered higher as well. I love that. I'm excited to make fire cider. I love fire cider and it stays good for so long in your fridge too. So it's a great immune booster. It's a great way to like kick colds. And in historically fire cider was used to keep you warm too. Cause at its base, it's apple cider vinegar, but you're also using things like
00:32:04
Speaker
horseradish, ginger, onions, like jalapenos or habaneros, like really spicy peppers. So things that like if you took a shot of this, it's gonna like make you feel warm on the inside. Oh, nice. I love feeling warm on the inside. Me too.
00:32:22
Speaker
So that's it for our Mabon episode. And, you know, you guys celebrate differently than how we celebrate or for, we didn't talk about something that is really important to you for the celebration of Mabon or the Autonomous Equinox. Let us know, send us an email, tag us in your social media posts, whatever you would like to do. We love hearing from you.
Episode Wrap-up and Listener Engagement
00:32:52
Speaker
That's it for this episode of Get In Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft. You can find our source material for this episode linked in the show notes. If you love this episode, we would be forever thankful if you leave us a five-star review on wherever you listen to your podcasts. If you really love the show and want more Get In Loser content, check out our Supercast link provided in the show notes or search the Supercast website for Get In Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft.
00:33:15
Speaker
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