Free How to Become a Witch by Amber K.

buttered corn on the cob. Find stories about Lugh’s adventures and tell them around the fire.
    Deities for the Season: In addition to Lugh, you may want to meet:
    Dying and Resurrected Gods: Baal, Adonis, Melqart, Osiris, Mithras, Dumuzi or Tammuz
    Deities of Many Skills: Mercury, Hermes, Minerva (Goddess of a Thousand Works), the Walawag Sisters
    Earth and Grain Goddesses: Gaia, Mahimata, Pachamama, Changing Woman, Ceres, Demeter, Taillte
    Mabon
    Mabon, the Fall Equinox, is the second harvest festival, about September 21. The gardens and orchards are giving up their ripening bounty. The days are growing noticeably shorter—the days and nights are of equal length, and there is an autumn crispness in the air.
    It is a time to share our abundance and be grateful—the “Pagan Thanksgiving.” We are moving toward completion of our goals, tying up loose ends. But we’ll make time to eat, drink, and be merry.
    The holiday is named for Mabon ap Modron, who appeared in The Mabinogion , a collection of Welsh myths. He is a divine son. According to legend, King Arthur needs Mabon’s hunting skills to track a great boar, but the young man is missing. After many trials, the king and his men rescue Mabon from his prison, and he aids them in their hunt and the fulfillment of their quest.
    What It Means to You: You are reaping the rewards of your efforts. It is time to “count your blessings” and show your gratitude to all your family, friends, and coworkers who have helped you on the year’s journey. This thankfulness could infuse your whole perspective on life if you can take joy in what you have received and experienced instead of focusing on your losses and disappointments.
    It’s also time to finish up this year’s projects. The Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, in the Tao Te Ching , said: “The wise are as careful in the completion as in the beginning of a task; thus, they do not fail.” Make your priority the careful completion of your work before Samhain.
    Remember that Mabon is best known as the son of the goddess Modron, or Dea Matrona. Consider the experience of being a son or daughter—what does that mean to you? If being the child of your parents or guardian was a good time in your life, take joy in that and show your appreciation. If growing up was difficult, then ponder how you can learn from that and do better for the next generation. For your sake, if not for those who raised you, work to forgive and release.
    Activities for Mabon: Cook special dishes for the thanksgiving feast. Decorate the hall with cornucopias and harvest colors. Talk about your year and your harvest. Tell stories about Mabon and other Celtic heroes.
    Deities for the Season: There’s not a lot of information about the god Mabon, but of course most deities are sons or daughters of divine parents.
    Gods Who Are Especially Known as Sons: Horus, Jesus
    Goddesses Who Are Especially Known as Daughters: Persephone, Athena, Ushas, Vishnumaya
    Samhain
    Samhain ( sow’-wen ) is the most solemn of the sabbats and almost always celebrated on October 31. It is the third harvest—the animal harvest, when domesticated animals not likely to make it through the winter were killed and their meat preserved for the winter. This was also a time for hunting, to cull the old and infirm from the wild herds.
    At Samhain, the veil between the worlds is thin, so that it becomes easier to communicate with the spirits of the dead. Therefore, it is a time for remembering our ancestors and those who have died in the last year. In some traditions, a “dumb (silent) supper” is held to honor the departed, or shrines are set up for loved ones who have passed on.
    It is the beginning of the dark time, when a Witch may turn inward for quiet contemplation and do divination for the coming year (see chapter 10). Being quiet can be difficult during the muggle holiday madness, but this period of near-hibernation can restore your spirit.
    What It Means to You: Think about your