Mabon 2009 
By TJ

Items required:
Horned Helmet
Green Cloak
Sword
Black Veil
Holly Crown
Veils for Maiden, Mother and Crone
Mabon Cord for Crone
Veiled Mirror
Carved candles / candle holders
Pot of soil
Bowl of seeds
Basket of leaves and stems.

Roles:
HP / HPS / Quarters / Maiden / Mother / Crone / Sun Lord

Pre-Ritual meditation:

Everyone is to take a candle and light it from a central flame. They are then comfortably seated.

HP: Now everyone I would like you to all get comfortable.

The second harvest is upon us , as we once looked up towards the sun, we must now look deep within ourselves.

Stare into your candle feel its warmth wash over you like the last rays of the sun. I want you to meditate on all that you have achieved this cycle of the wheel. It is a time for rejoicing the great accomplishments of our lives and of reaping the benefits of all that we have accomplished. However we must also let this cycle  come to an end - for without death there can be no life. It is time for the Harvest Lord, Golden One of the Sun, to sacrifice himself, to be reborn as the Lord Of Death and Ressurection, so that the harvest will come again. It is to him and Our Lady of the Moon, in all her phases – be they bright or dark,  that we give thanks. 

Ritual space is decorated for the season. In the centre kneels the Maiden, Mother and Crone. They are veiled and staring into the Sun Mirror, which is half covered in black cloth. Sun Lord is behind curtain at edge of circle.

Main Ritual

Circle cast and Quarters invoked BEFORE the rest of the participants enter the circle. Only HPS, Maiden, Mother and Crone and Sun Lord are present in the circle at the start. This is done whilst everyone else is meditating.

When the circle is cast, HPS rings a bell. This is the signal for everyone to form a procession to the temple space.

Each person carries a lit candle which is carved with an image of grain. They are led by the HP. As they enter the circle they walk around the circumference chanting. 

Hoof and Horn, Hoof and Horn
All that dies shall be reborn
Corn and Grain, Corn and Grain
All that falls shall rise again”

There are candle holders placed around the perimeter of one half of the circle. As the chant begins to slow, each person places their candle in a holder. When all have placed their candles, still walking slowly around the circle (led by HP) the chant becomes quieter and softer until it fades...

HPS: It is Mabon. Once again it is a time of equals, of the Day and of the Night. A time when nature's scales balance the beginnings and the endings. That liminal moment that marks the boundary between the worlds... 

HP: 	We call to thee O Maiden
	Virgin queen of the untouched field
	Keeper of mysteries unsolved and newly set paths
	Let us rejoice in thee and know the fullness of youth

HPS: 	We called to thee O blessed Mother
	Bringer of fruitfullness
	Clothed are thee in the wonder of the earth and golden grain
	Let us rejoice in thee and know thy love

HP: 	We call to thee O Crone of Darkness
	Guardian of the unbroken cycle
	Queen of the shadow of the moon
	Keeper of wisdom
	Let us rejoice in thee and know what it is to be thy students

HP: 	Maiden come

All: 	Maiden come!

HPS: 	Mother come 

All: 	Mother come!

HP: 	Crone Come 

All: 	Crone come!

HP & HPS: We invoke thee

Maiden and Mother stand but Crone stays in the same position unmoving

Maiden pulls back veil 

Maiden: 	I am she who graces the wild woods
		I am the threshold unknown
		The mystery of fertility untested
		I am the gateway to the beginning
		And I stand guard at the time of endings
 
( To HP and HPS)

Maiden: 	Tell me where is my lord?
		The young stag who danced with me in springtime
		With budding horns and strength untried and untested?

HP 		My lady he has passed from Youth and is now full grown but his 				power wanes with the setting sun.

Mother: 	I am the fertile fields of gold heavy with grain
              	Mother of all I nuture my children with earth's bounty
              	I am love and healing
               	I am the fruits of union
               
(To HP and HPS)

Mother:	Tell me where is my lord
		My lover and consort who lay with me in the fields
		Impregnating the land?

HPS: 		My lady he has grown old and his power wanes with the stting sun.

Maiden and Mother: Bring him to us

HPS: 		We call to thee O Horned One
        		Lord of beast and sun
          		Ancient God of forest deep
          		Shining one of highest peak
           		Slayer and slain
           		Of first sown seed 
            	And last cut grain
             	Fallen one
             	Blazing one
               	We invoke thee.

Sun Lord enters circle. At first he stands erect and proud but as he approaches he must lean heavily on his sword for support. He stands on one knee before the maiden and mother.

Maiden circles Sun lord  in shock then snatches away horned helmet

Maiden: 	I claim this for the young stag whose budding power goes unrealised.

Mother approaches lord and caresses his cheek then gently removes his sword.

Mother: 	I claim this sword for the lord of the land who in his love for me shall make the land fertile once more.

Maiden and Mother then disrobe Sun Lord who falls to his knees in anguish. They then place items next to altar both stand near altar and Crone lifts her head. She slowly stands and begins to circle.

Crone: 	I am the darkness behind and beneath the shadows.
		I am the absence of air that awaits the bottom of each breath.
		I am the ending before life begins anew
		The decay that fertilises the living
		I am the bottomless pit, 
		the never ending struggle to reclaim that which is denied.

		I am the key that unlocks every door
		I am the glory of discovery 
		For I am that which is hidden, secluded and forbidden.

		Come to me at the dark moon and see that which cannot be seen.
		Think of me when you feel pleasure
		And I will intensify it, 
		Until the time when I may have the greatest pleasure of meeting you 				at the crossroads. 
		For all paths lead to me.

Crone turns to Sun Lord

Crone: 	You appear before me as weak as a newborn babe not yet parted from its mothers breast. Tell me do you wish to reclaim your youth? Your strength? Your power?

Sun Lord: 	I do

Crone: 	Then let me bind you to death's sweet embrace

Crone removes cord at hip and ties Sun Lord's hands together in front of him
Kneeling in front of The Sun Lord, the crone picks up the half covered mirror and shows it to the Sun Lord who stares into its depths with awe. ( Mirror is uncovered).

Crone: 	Only in death will ye truly know the meaning of life

Crone covers mirror and at the same time the Maiden and Mother veil the sacrifice and crown him with holly. (Sun  Lord is now dead)

Maiden, Mother, Crone: 	Ashes to ashes dust to dust
Maiden  			All things grow ( covers face)
Mother: 			all things fade ( covers face)
Crone: 			all things die

Maiden: The Lord of the Sun has descended into the underworld and we will mourn him greatly. With each passing moment, leaves will fall and the earth will become barren.

HPS takes up a basket of leafy stems, just starting to turn to autumn colours. She gives each person a stem. She takes one herself and returns the basket to the altar.

She strips the leaves onto the body of the Sun Lord and speaks with inspired utterance. Each participant then does the same.

Mother:  Lifes glory needs death's silence. As the seeds fall into the bare earth,
through the deathly veil we know life finds a way.

HP takes bowl of earth and places it upon the body of the Sun Lord.

HPS takes bowl of seeds and passes it to each particpant. Each participant takes a handful. HPS returns the bowl to the altar and then sprinkles her seeds into the soil with inspired utterance. Each participant does the same.

Crone: The Sun Lord is transformed like the blackened seed,  to become the Lord of Death and Ressurection. One day, his journey shall be yours, and you will be mine. Before this day ends, look to the boundaries of your own worlds.

All turn to face outwards. Led by the HP, they begin to circle slowly. On the third pass, as they reach the candles on one side of the circle,  they blow one candle out. They chant as they circle.

All: Spring, summer, autumn, winter... all things pass, all things fade, all things die.

As they circle, the Maiden, Mother and Crone remove the LODAR from the centre of the circle. All that is left is the veil, the leaves and the pot of soil. They drape their veils across the mirror and all four of them go to the altar. They take up the wine and cakes and hold them in a tableau for the HP and HPS.

When all candles have been extinguished. HP and HPS perform Cakes and Ale.

Maiden, Mother, Crone and LODAR farewell the quarters.

Close circle

Feast