Mabon Ritual

The article originally appeared in Fall 2019 issue of Witchology Magazine.

Now that the Witches’ Calendar is coming to a close, it is the time that we shed what no longer serves us. Let go of what is not in your highest good, with as much intention as if you were swinging on the monkey bars - moving with drive and momentum to something better. Like leaves falling from deciduous trees, we shed the unwanted thoughts that clutter in our mind and heart to be pure as the driven snow that is coming next season.

We are doing double-time in some ways on Mabon. On one hand we are releasing what no longer serves us, such as negativity and doubts, and on the other end, we are reaping the abundance of the land, for after all, it is the Witches’ Thanksgiving.

The Magickal ingredient in this recipe is the juniper berries.  Juniper is associated with the God Jupiter and His fecundity, the Man Who Brings the Cornucopia, the Horn of Plenty. He’s our jolly Santa Claus, dressed up like a Roman Pagan. Jupiter is expansive and generous. In balance reminiscent of the Equinox this Autumn, Juniper berries are a known astringent, long associated with ritual cleansing and purifying of the soul. One hand giveth and the other taketh away, and so the Wheel of the Year Turns.

Mabon is the time to forgive yourself and others for any wrongdoings, and ask for forgiveness as well, which will cleanse your consciousness and karma. To err is human and to forgive is Divine. As you prepare this dish, visualize all the negative things that hold you back or hold you down. Be brave, even if you are uncomfortable. Look shame straight on. Let the emotions build as the mixture simmers. Use the heat, steam, sound, color, and bubble action to fuel your focus.

 Name each doubt or fear as you place each pear in the pan and say. “I release you.”

 As you baste, visualize anointing yourself with pure love, forgiveness, free, originally innocence and chant to yourself many times:

 You were born of love. You are made of love.

Hold your hands over the dish. Imagine white starshine growing larger with each heartbeat. Visualize the white light streaming down your arms, into your hands and throughout your fingers. Bind this spell, by sending the white light to surround your entire being to encase you and protect you. Say:

This spell I make true

Through Love and Light

Harming None and Helping All

Is how it shall be

By the power of

Three Times Three Times Three

 Repeat the chants as needed while you “eat your doubts” and feel the warmth of the wine fill you with Love and Light. Experiment with different wines and pear varietals for different affects. Just like how we each walk a unique magickal path, because we are a singular vision of Divine Light, the images that accompany this recipe, show the diversity that is available to you. The following recipe is from The Wicca Cookbook.

 Mulled Pears with Juniper Recipe

4 Firm Bartlett or Anjou Pears

2/3 cup (160 Milliliters) red wine (I prefer a Petite Shiraz because it colors the pears nicely)

2/3 cup (160 Milliliters) Fresh Pineapple Juice

½ cup (76 grams) firmly packed dark brown sugar

4-8 juniper berries

Peel, core, and quarter the pears. In a saucepan, mix the red wine, pineapple juice, brown sugar, and juniper berries. Let the mixture simmer for 3 minutes. Add the pears. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Stir and baste occasionally. Serve in small decorative bowls or red wine glasses. 

Neale Donald Walsch — “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”

Photograph by Jen Zen Again Catering