Mabon v Autumnal Equinox

“That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” - William Shakespeare.

Recently contemporary Pagans celebrated the festival day of Mabon or the Autumnal Equinox. It’s an understatement to say that the festival was controversial. Everything from its name to its celebration as a festival day. 

Let’s start with the name “Mabon.” In 1974, an American named Aidan Kelly was pondering the Wheel of the Year when he noticed that the Autumnal Equinox didn’t have a unique name. He decided it should be called Mabon, after the Welsh god. He shot off a letter to the classic Pagan magazine The Green Egg, and the name stuck.

It’s important to note that there is no historical Celtic Autumnal equinox holiday by the name Mabon. 

This leads to the next controversy. The celebration by contemporary Pagans, especially Wiccans, of the Autumnal equinox. We know that the medieval Gaels (Scots and Irish) celebrated Beltane (1 May), Lughnasadh (1 August), Samhain (1 November), and Imbolc (1 February). But we have no evidence of a pre-Christian Autumnal Celtic equinox festival, especially in pre-Christian Wales.

So does this mean that the festival of Mabon is illegitimate? Not at all.

First, it doesn’t matter that there might not have been an Autumnal equinox festival in pre-Christian Wales. This is only a problem if we limit our traditions to pre-Christian British culture. Since ancient times, the start of Fall has been celebrated by different pre-Christian cultures. For example, in Europe, the ancient Greeks used the Autumnal equinox to mark when the goddess Persephone returned to her husband, Hades.

Second, it doesn’t matter that the myths about the god Mabon aren’t historically associated with Autumn. All festivals are artificial. Let’s look at a major Christian festival for comparison.

Christmas is considered by most Christians to be a high holy day. However, there’s nothing historic about it. None of the Christmas narratives happened. The virgin birth, the star of Bethlehem, three magi, the census causing them to travel, the murder of the innocents by Herod, angels singing to shepherds, and so forth are all legends with no connection to reality. On top of this, the early Christians didn’t even celebrate Christmas. This didn’t start until the 3rd century CE.

So, if contemporary Pagans want to celebrate the Autumnal equinox, we can. And if we want to call it Mabon because some random guy in the 1970s decided to call it that, we can do that too.