Mabon - More than a Sabbat  
 

Imagine my surprise when asked to prepare this article.  Up until the request, I associated the name "Mabon" only with the autumn equinox Sabbat.  But Mabon is also a Celtic god, though not one of the ones usually discussed.  So with great delight, I undertook the task to research and share with you all that I could find (in less then a week).  Alas, however, there is not much.

The sun god Mabon is also known as the Welsh and Gaulish god Maponos.  His name means "great son."  His mother was Modron and his father was Urien, a deity of the underworld.  The Book of Taliesen refers to him as the "chief of the glittering west."  Some myths pair Mabon with a brother who represented darkness just as Mabon represented light.  And the Black Book of Caermarthen XIX purports to state the location of the grave of Mabon.

As with many Celtic deities, Mabon is thought to have been an actual person.  While still in infancy, three nights after his birth, he was taken from his mother to be held captive for eons within the walls of Gloucester.  The story of his kidnapping, imprisonment and eventual rescue is recalled in the tale of "Kulwch and Olwen" from the Mabinogion.  Upon his release and while a ruler of Wales, he is said to have ridden with Arthur in the Battle of Badon.

The myths surrounding Mabon also state that he was to have been a hunter of great renown, revered not only by the Celts but also by Roman soldiers who patrolled Hadrian’s wall.  Even today, traces of this god can still be found.  The village of Lochenmaben and the standing stone Clochmabenstane in Dumfriesshire county were named after him.

Is the Mabon Sabbat named for this particular god?  No one knows for certain.  However it would be appropriate.  Mabon is a time for recognition of the eventual sacrifice of the god - to die and be reborn.  It is a time for final hunting in preparation for the dark months ahead.  In some traditions, it is a time of initiations.  Mabon, the god, represents the light of youth, the strength and skills of adulthood, and finally the suffering and sacrifice of the imprisoned, dying and forgotten.

Bibliography
Squire, C., Celtic Myths and Legends
McCoy, E., Celtic Myth and Magick
Website prepared by Peter Rempel (http://www.gatewest.net/`dem/low/mabon/html)
 

© 2000 Mother