Mabon
The witch's thanksgiving. The second harvest. The celebration of the vine. The time of balance. The return of the Lord of Shadows. The time of thanks. The time of remembrance.
As witches, Mabon is the time of year when we gather to give thanks for what we have been blessed with during the harvest. It is a time when we prepare for long winter ahead and for the final harvest at Samhain. One of the many ways we celebrate and give thanks to our Gods is through the feast. Mabon begins my favorite time in the Wheel of the Year as it is time for all my favorite harvest/fall foods. And what is a fall feast without cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes!
Cranberry-Orange Sauce
2 cups fresh/frozen cranberries
1 Tbs grated orange zest
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar or sugar substitute (add more if you'd like a sweeter sauce)
Place all cranberries, zest, cinnamon and water into a medium sized saucepan over medium heat; stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until berries have popped and sauce has thickened (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat and add sugar/sugar substitute. Serve at room temperature.
Sauce can be made up to one week before Mabon and refrigerated (NOT FROZEN!) in a covered container.
Cider Roasted Sweet Potatoes
3lbs of Sweet Potatoes, sliced into wedges
2 Tbs Olive Oil
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup apple cider
Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Toss together potato slices, oil, cinnamon, salt/pepper in a large bowl. Transfer to a baking dish and drizzle with cider. Roast until browned and cooked through (30 min).
Once you're done cooking and the table is set, say some form of prayer/thanks (see below for my personal favorite) for the harvest and remember those who may have to go without. I always make it a point to go through my closets, especially my winter items, and give them away to local charities as well as making my donation to
Island Harvest (a Long Island version of
City Harvest). You can also donate your time to a local soup kitchen and help feed those less fortunate than ourselves. I always try to get my students to remember that people are hungry
all the time, not just during the holidays and making charitable contributions throughout the year is important.
Equal hours of light and darkness
we celebrate the balance of Mabon,
and ask the gods to bless us.
For all that is bad, there is good.
For that which is despair, there is hope.
For the moments of pain, there are moments of love.
For all that falls, there is the chance to rise again.
May we find balance in our lives
as we find it in our hearts.
What are your favorite Mabon recipes? What do you plan on cooking this year? Share your recipes with the Linky tool below or in the comments section!
