Mabon
(Ovsen)
September 20-23. The Autumn Equinox.
From this day on, in the world of nature, the waning of the Water Element begins. The combination of Air and Water gives motion to the current of time, but from the moment the Air starts to wane, it becomes as if slower, and the decrease of the activity of the Water Element seems to stop it altogether. The myth of the birth and becoming of a young god shows that his journey in search of power and experience takes him away from this world.
During Mabon, the one seeking power and knowledge departs by water to Avalon, the Apple Island, the world of mages, witches, sorcerers, and the world of Old Gods. He departs to the world of those who are now active in other worlds. But they, the ancients, are still the keepers of the old knowledge, the knowledge that no one remembers anymore. But the power of the future god must be real, and he must rely on the knowledge of the distant past, the knowledge of all worlds, all gods, and all systems that once worked on their power. That is why the God of the young Fire departs into the darkness where the true knowledge is hidden.
People, while remaining in the physical world, were reaching for him with their minds, saying farewell to the sun, watching the birds fly away, looking at the waning nature; they vaguely felt the stopping of time, the state of abandonment, the feeling of the power leaving them.
The Light becomes even with the Dark, but the Light is leaving and the Dark remains. Its dominion scares the living because other children of Mother come out of the world of darkness, their time is approaching. They come to fill the place of the young god who left in search of lost knowledge because nature does not tolerate emptiness.
This period for a person is the time of trials of endurance. Without support, without relying on external forces, now he can only count on what he has accumulated, what he has accomplished so far. Now, until the elements begin to return, it will be the period of trials where the forces far from friendly to a person, will act as examiners. They, who came in the place of the young god of Fire, from the world that took him in to give the power of the Ancients, possess this power themselves but it is the only thing they possess. These ancient children of Mother had existed even before the birth of a human was even a thing, and they were the sole masters of the inhabited world. The presence of a human is unpleasant to them, and that’s just mildly speaking. But the will of Mother is the law for everyone. Therefore, the trials to be endured by those who live are never merciful.
The onset of cold, “dying” nature, flying away birds,- everything that is alive is as if running away from the places where with each day the gates leading to the world of Death and Dark become more open. The current that comes from there, akin to a cold, piercing wind, rips away the covers not only of nature but also of a person, he becomes what he is. And what is he, this person without strength and support? Without the usual sense of protection by his god? As the bond with him becomes quieter and thinner, this thread links the minds of a human and God through the constant flow of power.
Mother Earth, the Great Goddess, mourns her departed son by raining. She lets him go so that someone else would come back, but how great is the grief of a mother who knows she will never see her child again.
After Water falls asleep, the world seems to stop, time stops and so a person, like a young god, submerges into the perception of the world of Death. Due to deep and unspoken fear, people begin to hover together, seeking protection not only from the powerful of this world but also from the forces that are invisible but still close,- from their ancestors who had long gone to the other worlds.
Only those who could not act otherwise followed the footsteps of their god, walked with their eyes open into the world of Darkness and Obscurity, following the lingonberries growing in abundance in the swamp mosses, as if by the drops of blood they were able to find his way. They are the ones who have chosen to devote themselves to the power of the invisible, the power of magic, for during this period the stages of magical initiation for the volhvs and druids began. Not for everyone, of course. The Line of the Dark mages left people behind while following the Young God in order to undergo their learning and initiation stages. The Line of the Light ones remained with people to help them through the dark and difficult times to overcome the trials of not having a connection of their own, and teach people to be steadfast and faithful, to live and grow with their mind even when no one from the Higher Ups is helping you. It was on the day of the Autumnal Equinox that the power of the gods determined which path should be followed.
The ancients believed that if people, without feeling connected to their God, were able to preserve all that he had given them in the short period of his reign, if, upon returning, he found his children still powerful, the children who had not forsaken him, then it would mean that both the people and God had overcome their stages of growth and they are truly equal, the gods and people. A person had to mature and learn together with his God, learn to be faithful and honest, not to betray his force no matter what.
The Eleusinian Mysteries
In the Ancient Hellas during the Autumnal Equinox, the most famous Eleusinian Mysteries were held and lasted 9 days. The essence of these Mysteries was the same,- to connect with their god, to follow his path, to receive initiation in the kingdom of Hades, to undergo the ritual of dying. And almost “theatrical” actions of mass reconstruction of the legends about Demeter and Persephone had no relation to the true sacred action: for people, it was one thing, for mages another.
In Rus, the day of the Autumn equinox was called Ovsen. Ovsen (Avsen, Usen; Tausen, Kiten – in Belarusian) – the God of labor, patron of horses, bridges, and plowing, and the Slavic god of harvest. When Kupalo was leaving into the Darkness, Ovsen had to stay in his place. He had to teach people everything that made up the tradition of the Old Gods, help people to live without the departed young god, and also learn to wait for him without betraying or giving up. In the old times, it was believed that Ovsen must build a bridge across the Currant River, “open the way” so that Kupalo could return from the Nav World.
This myth remained in the memory of the people in the form of a fairy tale about Usilu the Good. As a reminder that the betrayal of your power always turns against the traitor himself. For serving another god out of fear or cowardice, the traitor and his children will have to face many troubles.
A fairy tale about the tsar Usila the Good
In the old times, once upon a time, there were our Ancestors who lived in the forests and steppes. At that time wheat was not sown but exchanged for meat, leather, lard, and sheep wool. And they lived simply but happily, nothing was complicated, whatever was needed, they cut it into chunks, and that was enough. And the Ancestors were upright, honest, good, and never bragged in front of each other. They led the cattle along the grasslands and cared for the lambs and foals. And everyone knew the horse like a man knows a bridle, and every man knew the cattle as a scholar knows a book, and if a cow got sick, he knew how to heal, and if a man got sick, he knew how to cure.
And they told each other only the truth, no one lied, everyone obeyed the elders, respected the grandfathers, worshiped the women, guarded the children, protected the wives, and helped the weak. And every passer-by was given something to eat and drink, a place by the fire, and a bed. And when they saw a thief, they rode after him on their horse and drove him away from their flocks. And our Ancestors had a king, Usila the Good. And the king, just like all his men, slept in the cart, covered himself with a horse blanket, and put a saddle under his head. And in the night he would get up, check the watch, and sorrow would come to those who fell asleep in the grass!
Our Ancestors woke up at dawn, prayed to the radiant East, and said, “Be glorious, the Bright Dawn, be glorious in the sky! You get up early, come to us like a good wife, bring us your milk, and spill it in the steppe. Be happy, the Dawn of the Shepherds! Accept a bow for your father and mother, and a bow for your grandparents and your brother who died early, and for our sister who died! Let them burn in the sky with blue stars and shine to us from Svarog’s Iriy.”
That was the way our Ancestors prayed, glorified the goods, and the gods provided for them and gave them whatever they needed to live. But the gods did not give anything in excess because a man gets tortured by it, from excess a wife becomes spoiled, sons fool around, they stop working, daughters get involved with strangers, and from excess a man is left alone with himself, becomes unnecessary.
At that time people were kind, helped their neighbors, and did not charge for the work. In those times the youth honored the old and cared for the little ones. They lived in simplicity, cared for the purity of Kupala, and did not know evil, or envy each other. God came to them in simple clothes, spoke to them, and gave advice, and the people, in their simplicity, thought that it was an old Man who came to them and treated him with respect. And then suddenly they saw the old man walking on the ground, and then along the sky, along the Milky Way, the one that Dawn spilled from her pitcher.
Once the children were playing in the grass, and one of the girls was digging up the soil and sticking grass into it. The White Old Man came up and praised her, ‘Child, this is the way one should sow!’ And gave her all sorts of grains, and told her to plant and water them frequently. The girl took them and did the way the Old Man told her, and a week later, the sprouts appeared. The girl watered them the entire summer, and cucumbers, melons, and watermelons ripened. Everyone was surprised, ate, praised her, and gathered new seeds. And the people began to plow the earth, and they planted grains, and from that time they learned how to make bread. They began to sow peas, lentils, beans, and legumes. And then they started growing steppe onions and garlic in their gardens. And people had more to eat besides milk, butter, and curd.
And the tsar Usila the Good was the one to cut the plow out of oak, he harnessed the oxen, plowed the earth, and sowed wheat. And when the harvest was ripe, he praised the gods, and set up the First sheaf for Dazhbog, poured a scoop of honey, and spat it upon the earth, for the Earthgod, he brought an offering the way it was accustomed. Our Grandfathers and great-grandfathers began to plow the earth, sow bread, and glorify the gods because they no longer needed anything and did not exchange sheep or cows for flour.
Once a foreign merchant came up to them and started showing them gold and silver, offering it to them in exchange for leather, fat, beef, and sheep meat. And the tsaritsa Godynia, Usila’s wife, garnered silver and gold, began to decorate herself with it, started curling her hair, wearing rings and bracelets, and covered her body with brocade and velvets. And all the wives followed her example. And after the wives, the young girls began to dress up, and after them were the lads who started decorating their swords with gold, and their bridles with silver. And they began to envy each other, who had a better bridle or saddle and started praising themselves and laughing at others. The old simplicity had disappeared, and a new life began a more boring one. Usila-tsar himself became bored, and his wife encouraged him to go to war to take even more silver from another tsar. And because of the thoughts of what was in excess, the people’s lives became meager and difficult, they had to prepare for war, make more weapons, build more forges, forge more swords, strong knives, sharp spikes, and go to war in the middle of summer.
When the nearby tsar found out about it, he began to prepare for a fight, began to teach people to saddle horses, ride them in the open field, and hold the defense. And when Usila-tsar led his army that was armed with swords, and pitchforks, the nearby tsar brought his men, and the great battle began. A lot of people died in it. There was a lot of food for the ravens. This Evil got spread along the steppes so that the far neighbors also started fighting with each other, and throughout all the land where the Great Fathers lived, every tsar rebelled against the other. And there was only loss from it,- the cattle had been eaten, the crops were destroyed, even the pots had been broken, and there was nothing to eat from.
The Great Fathers began to complain about Godynia-Tsaritsa that if it was not for her, then Usila would not have started the war with his neighbors. And Godynia yelled at the Great-Fathers that if they had been brave, they would have killed all the kings long ago and taken their valuables for themselves. And there was even greater darkness, fields were desolated, cattle started dying, and neighbors kept on fighting.
And a fierce enemy came and attacked them, the foreign merchant was the one who brought him. The enemy beat the Ancestors, and Godynya was tied by her neck to a cart, beaten with whips, and enslaved together with other people. The Ancestors lost everything they had and buried their tsar Uzilah the Good in the ground because his enemies had killed him.
And for a long time, there were years of slavery until Rus came together and repelled the enemy. Remember those Great-grandmothers and Great-Grandfathers who were unwise, and because of that, they lost their land and freedom. Praise the gods and ask them only for peace and bread, and what is in excess then it is not necessary!
The “without water” state is a condition without a future
The moment of transition into the “without water” state despite all its gravity, can become the most useful period of your life. Mother’s Dark children are cruel but fair teachers. They will show you for what you really are, and correctly and precisely they will point out the defects in your mind and body,- not the consequences of the problem, but its cause. If you do as the ancient wise men have done – go towards your flaws rather than turning away from them – your problems can be solved and solved very quickly. The “without water” state is a condition without a future. You need to perceive yourself and the present moment as your last one. There is no hope. Only what is there. I am as I am.
Excerpt from the book “Health through the Power of the Elements” by Ksenia Menshikova.
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Other pagan holidays of the Weel of the Year:
1 Imbolc 2 Ostara 3 Beltane 4 Litha (Kupala) 5 Lughnasadh (Lammas) 6 Mabon 7 Samhain 8 Yule
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