Madron aka Mabon/the Autumn Equinox is nearly here! This year it's on Friday 23rd September (or Thursday 22nd Sept depending on your time zone; see below). For the past few years, I've written posts with inspiration and celebration ideas. Last year I did a round-up of my previous Madron posts. During 2022 I've been doing posts sharing some links and ideas for the sabbats, rather than doing in-depth ones, so this year's Madron post is similar. (I previously did a post called Happy Madron! in 2016, so the title for this one is different to the other 2022 posts.)
I normally post on Sunday or Monday but didn't manage to get this finished yesterday, so I'm posting on a Tuesday. :)
Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere it's almost time for Oestara aka Ostara/the Spring Equinox. You may like my Oestara Round-up post: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/03/oestara-round-up.html
Madron is the 2nd harvest festival on the Wheel of the Year, coming after Lammas (around 1st August) and before Samhain (which takes place on 31st October and was the precursor for Hallowe'en). It's also the Autumn Equinox which is often thought of as the "official" start of autumn.
The Autumn Equinox is when day and night are equal (or roughly equal), the opposite to the Spring Equinox (also known as Oestara/Ostara) in March. (In the Southern Hemisphere it's reversed, so their Spring Equinox is in September and their Autumn Equinox is in March.) It also marks the astronomical start of autumn (the metrological start was on 1st September).
In the UK the scientific time of the Autumn Equinox will be 2.04am BST on Friday, which is 1.04am/GMT/UT and 9.04pm EDT (US time on Thursday). You can work out your local time compared to universal here: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/universal-time
I first came across this festival as Madron but it's more commonly known as Mabon, although there is controversy over that name! I wrote a bit about names in my 2019 Madron Inspiration post, which you can see here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/09/madron-inspiration.html
Themes of this sabbat include balance, grain, gratitude, releasing/letting go and of course, harvest.
Here is my 2021 round-up of previous Madron posts, which also features some ideas for autumn baking: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/09/madron-round-up-autumn-baking.html
And here are some posts from other sites:
Info about Mabon: http://themotherhouseofthegoddess.com/2019/09/21/modron-mabon-and-the-autumn-equinox-by-caireann-frasca/
Autumn Equinox journalling prompts (podcast/video and written post): https://writingwitch.com/2022/09/19/autumn-equinox-journaling-prompts/
More journal questions and a Mabon ritual from The Seasonal Soul: https://www.theseasonalsoul.com/mabon-journal-prompts/
10 Powerful Rituals for Autumn Equinox: https://www.outdoorapothecary.com/rituals-for-autumn-equinox/
The Ultimate Guide to the Autumn Equinox (podcast from The Witch of Lupine Hollow): https://witchoflupinehollow.com/2022/08/31/s4-e1-the-ultimate-guide-to-the-autumn-equinox/
I usually bake some kind of gingerbread or ginger cake for Madron. This year I'm doing something slightly different though- I'm going to make these pumpkin spice bars: https://simplytaralynn.com/2022/09/05/delicious-pumpkin-spice-bars-with-maple-frosting/
They have a maple frosting which I might make, or I might do a cream cheese frosting instead. My favourite is one from the recipe for the frosted white chocolate Easter cake that I've made several times. It goes well with ginger things.
The pumpkin spice bars recipe also has some ideas for substitutions depending on your dietary requirements.
I also considered these gingerbread cookie bars (they have cream cheese frosting): https://simplytaralynn.com/2020/12/15/gingerbread-cookie-bars-with-cream-cheese-frosting-gluten-free-and-dairy-free/
Both would be good for Madron and this time of year in general. The gingerbread cookie bars linked above are gluten free and dairy free, so good if you have dietary restrictions. (Although you can adapt them if you are able to/choose to, which I would if I made them). They would also be nice treats for Yule and Christmas.*
I did make some gingerbread cookie bars in 2020, using this recipe from Handle the Heat: https://handletheheat.com/gingerbread-cookie-bars-with-cream-cheese-frosting/
They were quite nice.
I have baked bread for sabbats a few times (both Lammas and Madron) but this year I might just get a bread mix like I did for Madron 2021, lol. I last baked bread from scratch for Madron in 2020, when I made some maple oatmeal bread. The recipe is from Don't Waste the Crumbs: https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/yummy-recipe-maple-oatmeal-bread/
If you'd like to bake something for Madron, here a few more recipes that look good:
Mabon apple and carrot harvest cake: https://ofswordsandmagiccom.wordpress.com/2021/09/21/mabon-apple-carrot-harvest-cake-recipe/
Pumpkin bars with brown sugar frosting from Handle the Heat (I've mentioned these before but haven't got round to making them yet!): https://handletheheat.com/pumpkin-bars-with-brown-sugar-frosting/
Pumpkin spice muffins: https://princesspinkygirl.com/easy-pumpkin-spice-muffins/
And for more baking inspiration, check out my Baking for Madron + Extra Ideas! post from 2019: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/09/baking-for-madron-extra-ideas.html
Last year's Madron Round-up has an autumn baking section too (scroll down the page).
*You can find more gluten free ways to celebrate autumn in this post from Tenae (The Witch of Lupine Hollow): https://witchoflupinehollow.com/2018/09/27/7-gluten-free-ways-to-celebrate-autumn/
I'll probably have some ginger beer on the day. I'm also planning to go to my local nature reserve on a hill at sunset and take pics, which is something I like to do for sabbats during the warmer months!
Hope you liked the post and that it gave you some ideas and inspiration for Madron! :) I will do another post soon about my celebrations.
How do you like to celebrate? Happy Madron/Mabon/Autumn Equinox! (Or Happy Oestara/Ostara/Spring Equinox!) :)
Photo: Hove Park. Moonsparkle 2022.
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