1 00:00:04,210 --> 00:00:06,820 Speaker 1: Hey, and welcome to The Short Stuff. I'm Josh. There's Chuck. 2 00:00:06,860 --> 00:00:10,219 Speaker 1: There's Jerry here, too, sitting in for Dave. And we're 3 00:00:10,260 --> 00:00:15,000 Speaker 1: here to celebrate the pagan Thanksgiving that you never knew 4 00:00:15,060 --> 00:00:15,540 Speaker 1: you needed. 5 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't remember if we mentioned this, because we 6 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:22,840 Speaker 2: covered some stuff on Wiccans and other sort of pagan 7 00:00:22,860 --> 00:00:27,030 Speaker 2: religions years ago, I feel like. But the pagan Thanksgiving 8 00:00:27,050 --> 00:00:33,510 Speaker 2: is Mabon, M-A-B-O-N. And it is one of many kind 9 00:00:33,530 --> 00:00:37,370 Speaker 2: of fall harvest celebrations that have happened throughout history that 10 00:00:37,430 --> 00:00:39,650 Speaker 2: celebrate the autumnal equinox. 11 00:00:40,090 --> 00:00:41,900 Speaker 1: Wow. Way to go. Say it again. 12 00:00:42,340 --> 00:00:43,850 Speaker 2: The autumnal equinox. 13 00:00:44,030 --> 00:00:44,580 Speaker 1: Very nice. 14 00:00:45,260 --> 00:00:45,519 Speaker 2: Yeah. 15 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:49,740 Speaker 1: But it's actually kind of new. Mabon is. Because ironically, 16 00:00:50,020 --> 00:00:54,920 Speaker 1: the original pagans, like the Celts, for example, did not 17 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:59,450 Speaker 1: celebrate the autumnal equinox. which is evidenced by, um, if 18 00:00:59,470 --> 00:01:03,230 Speaker 1: you go to Stonehenge on the autumnal equinox, nothing happens, 19 00:01:03,350 --> 00:01:06,750 Speaker 1: nothing special. It's just like any other day. Um, but 20 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: like you said, cultures around the world have, and today, neo-pagans, Druids, Wiccans, 21 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:18,440 Speaker 1: et cetera, um, definitely celebrated as one of eight Sabbaths, Sabbaths, Sabbaths, 22 00:01:18,740 --> 00:01:22,710 Speaker 1: I think, right? Like Sabbaths. Um, And there are eight 23 00:01:22,750 --> 00:01:24,550 Speaker 1: of them on the wheel of the year. And in fact, 24 00:01:25,390 --> 00:01:29,190 Speaker 1: Mabon is one of three harvest festivals that occur from 25 00:01:29,670 --> 00:01:32,130 Speaker 1: August through October. Yeah. 26 00:01:32,270 --> 00:01:34,370 Speaker 2: I mean, you probably heard us talk about Yule before 27 00:01:34,410 --> 00:01:38,080 Speaker 2: in one of our Christmas episodes, probably. That is a Sabbat. 28 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:43,180 Speaker 2: And we've also talked about Samhain, for sure, spelled Samhain. 29 00:01:43,860 --> 00:01:44,080 Speaker 1: Yeah. 30 00:01:44,420 --> 00:01:47,000 Speaker 2: Because that's the one associated with Halloween. So those are 31 00:01:47,100 --> 00:01:51,090 Speaker 2: definitely much more well-known. But Mabon... We got to talk 32 00:01:51,110 --> 00:01:52,830 Speaker 2: about Mabon a little bit. All right. 33 00:01:52,870 --> 00:01:56,120 Speaker 1: Well, first, let's talk about the first harvest festival, Lunasa. 34 00:01:57,260 --> 00:01:59,980 Speaker 1: That takes place in early August, where I guess I 35 00:02:00,020 --> 00:02:03,100 Speaker 1: don't know what you're picking then. Mabon is like the 36 00:02:03,180 --> 00:02:07,370 Speaker 1: money harvest festival. Late September, that's when everything's ready to 37 00:02:07,410 --> 00:02:10,630 Speaker 1: be picked, basically. And then Samhain is the third, the 38 00:02:10,730 --> 00:02:14,570 Speaker 1: one in October. And the autumnal equinox, and this is 39 00:02:14,630 --> 00:02:21,540 Speaker 1: a big part of Mabon in particular, is The reason 40 00:02:21,580 --> 00:02:25,080 Speaker 1: why there's a focus on balance is because the day 41 00:02:25,220 --> 00:02:29,790 Speaker 1: and night are basically evenly split between 12 hours apiece 42 00:02:30,790 --> 00:02:34,630 Speaker 1: on the autumnal equinox and the vernal equinox, the spring equinox. 43 00:02:35,010 --> 00:02:36,730 Speaker 1: So that's a big theme in Mabon. 44 00:02:37,510 --> 00:02:39,750 Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure. And one of the things that if 45 00:02:39,770 --> 00:02:42,200 Speaker 2: you practice any kind of paganism and you want to 46 00:02:42,220 --> 00:02:45,540 Speaker 2: celebrate Mabon, you want to maybe meditate on that balance 47 00:02:45,580 --> 00:02:47,140 Speaker 2: in your own life might be a thing to do. 48 00:02:47,460 --> 00:02:47,840 Speaker 1: For sure. 49 00:02:48,830 --> 00:02:52,049 Speaker 2: Another thing you mentioned earlier is that it's a newer thing. 50 00:02:52,730 --> 00:02:57,600 Speaker 2: This term is only about 55 years old. The Mabon 51 00:02:57,639 --> 00:03:00,600 Speaker 2: actually comes from a Welsh god, son of the Earth 52 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:04,320 Speaker 2: Mother Goddess. And there was a Welsh text, an old 53 00:03:04,419 --> 00:03:08,350 Speaker 2: Welsh text called the Mabinagion. 54 00:03:09,770 --> 00:03:10,910 Speaker 1: Your guess is as good as mine. 55 00:03:11,290 --> 00:03:14,670 Speaker 2: Yeah, that looks about right. that has, it tells about like, 56 00:03:14,910 --> 00:03:16,649 Speaker 2: you know, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round 57 00:03:16,690 --> 00:03:18,730 Speaker 2: Table and stuff like that. And one of the heroes 58 00:03:19,350 --> 00:03:25,030 Speaker 2: of those stories is a god named Mabon, son of mother, 59 00:03:25,810 --> 00:03:27,830 Speaker 2: who was held hostage as a baby. 60 00:03:28,850 --> 00:03:32,350 Speaker 1: Yeah. And as we'll see, the reason that Mabon was 61 00:03:32,470 --> 00:03:36,180 Speaker 1: chosen to mark the autumnal equinox, despite the fact that 62 00:03:36,660 --> 00:03:40,810 Speaker 1: the ancient Druids and Celts like did not there was 63 00:03:40,890 --> 00:03:44,070 Speaker 1: no recognition of Mabon or association with them. That's a 64 00:03:44,130 --> 00:03:47,010 Speaker 1: modern thing, like we said, is that the guy who 65 00:03:47,850 --> 00:03:51,910 Speaker 1: kind of helped write or put together the wheel of 66 00:03:51,970 --> 00:03:54,740 Speaker 1: the year for modern paganisms, Aidan Kelly, back in the 67 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:58,180 Speaker 1: 60s and 70s, he did his research and he found 68 00:03:58,240 --> 00:04:02,460 Speaker 1: out that in Greek lore and mythology, the goddess Demeter 69 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:09,440 Speaker 1: is celebrated as on the autumnal equinox. And Demeter shares 70 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 1: in common with Mabon that this idea that she was 71 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:19,110 Speaker 1: young and was rescued from the underworld, just like Mabon was. 72 00:04:19,190 --> 00:04:21,470 Speaker 1: So he's like, I think this is enough of an 73 00:04:21,510 --> 00:04:23,869 Speaker 1: association to call this Mabon. 74 00:04:24,350 --> 00:04:26,670 Speaker 2: Yeah, it was kind of funny. Apparently he was looking 75 00:04:26,790 --> 00:04:32,060 Speaker 2: for something Gaelic or Germanic. name-wise, on the pagan calendar, 76 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:34,690 Speaker 2: based on the solstices, and he couldn't find anything. So 77 00:04:34,700 --> 00:04:36,670 Speaker 2: he was like, eh, maybe a stretch, but I'm just 78 00:04:36,690 --> 00:04:37,450 Speaker 2: going to go with this one. 79 00:04:38,170 --> 00:04:41,450 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's not to say that, so Mabon seems to 80 00:04:41,490 --> 00:04:44,170 Speaker 1: be the only one that they put into the wheel 81 00:04:44,210 --> 00:04:46,850 Speaker 1: of the year. There are some really ancient Celtic festivals, 82 00:04:47,190 --> 00:04:52,089 Speaker 1: including Samhain and Lunasa, and one called Beltane, and one 83 00:04:52,130 --> 00:04:57,099 Speaker 1: called Imolc, which is spelled I-M-B-O-L-C. And I'm just so 84 00:04:57,240 --> 00:04:59,600 Speaker 1: pleased as punch that I pronounced it correctly. 85 00:04:59,940 --> 00:05:00,360 Speaker 2: Nice work. 86 00:05:00,660 --> 00:05:02,760 Speaker 1: But Mabon, they said, we're going to add this in 87 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:04,620 Speaker 1: because we feel like it's a big deal. And again, 88 00:05:04,660 --> 00:05:10,620 Speaker 1: there's other cultures that celebrate this, like the Maltese, the Mayans. 89 00:05:11,260 --> 00:05:15,070 Speaker 1: And then, Chuck, get this. The Pyramid of Kukulkan at 90 00:05:15,310 --> 00:05:18,570 Speaker 1: Chichen Itza in Mexico. Did you look a picture of 91 00:05:18,610 --> 00:05:18,910 Speaker 1: this up? 92 00:05:19,270 --> 00:05:20,109 Speaker 2: Yeah. Amazing. 93 00:05:20,450 --> 00:05:26,000 Speaker 1: It is amazing. So the shadows fall on the pyramids. Um, 94 00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:29,520 Speaker 1: the steps of the pyramid, technically it's a ziggurat and 95 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:33,180 Speaker 1: it looks like a serpent coming down the steps on 96 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:37,900 Speaker 1: the side on the autumnal equinox. It's nuts. Cause it 97 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:40,750 Speaker 1: definitely looks like that. Yeah. It's cool. 98 00:05:40,820 --> 00:05:43,790 Speaker 2: It reminded me of when I lived in Los Angeles, 99 00:05:43,820 --> 00:05:45,590 Speaker 2: when Emily and I moved in together, we lived in 100 00:05:45,630 --> 00:05:48,330 Speaker 2: the neighborhood of Eagle Rock and Eagle Rock is so 101 00:05:48,370 --> 00:05:52,090 Speaker 2: named because there's a big rock by the highway that has, uh, 102 00:05:53,170 --> 00:05:55,810 Speaker 2: It's not like hand carved. It's just a piece kind 103 00:05:55,830 --> 00:05:58,510 Speaker 2: of nature carved out. And when the sun hits that 104 00:05:58,589 --> 00:06:00,270 Speaker 2: at a certain time of the day, it looks like 105 00:06:00,310 --> 00:06:01,190 Speaker 2: an eagle flying. 106 00:06:01,630 --> 00:06:06,600 Speaker 1: Oh, neat. Yeah. I'm sure it wasn't named after the band. What? 107 00:06:06,779 --> 00:06:07,059 Speaker 2: Eagles? 108 00:06:07,460 --> 00:06:07,640 Speaker 1: Mm-hmm. 109 00:06:08,140 --> 00:06:08,660 Speaker 2: No, probably not. 110 00:06:08,680 --> 00:06:09,839 Speaker 1: Because they do not rock. 111 00:06:10,500 --> 00:06:11,240 Speaker 2: Should we take a break? 112 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:12,380 Speaker 1: Mm-hmm. All right. 113 00:06:12,400 --> 00:06:12,960 Speaker 2: We'll be right back. 114 00:06:17,170 --> 00:06:39,670 Speaker 1: All right. Okay, Chuck, I feel like it's high time 115 00:06:39,710 --> 00:06:41,950 Speaker 1: that we explain to people what they can do to 116 00:06:42,010 --> 00:06:45,250 Speaker 1: celebrate Mabon, even if you're not a pagan or a 117 00:06:45,290 --> 00:06:50,690 Speaker 1: Wicca or a witch or have never owned a crystal. 118 00:06:51,230 --> 00:06:56,170 Speaker 1: It doesn't matter. You can still observe Mabon. I should 119 00:06:56,210 --> 00:06:59,830 Speaker 1: say also we based this short stuff on an article 120 00:06:59,870 --> 00:07:02,950 Speaker 1: from How Stuff Works written by our own Dave Rooves. Dave. 121 00:07:02,990 --> 00:07:05,710 Speaker 1: Dave Rooves is one of the most religiously tolerant people 122 00:07:05,750 --> 00:07:06,630 Speaker 1: you will ever meet. 123 00:07:06,650 --> 00:07:07,289 Speaker 2: Yeah. 124 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:10,660 Speaker 1: And he definitely applied that to this. And I feel 125 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:13,140 Speaker 1: like we also we need to shout out Dave's podcast, 126 00:07:13,220 --> 00:07:17,300 Speaker 1: Biblical Time Machine, which is also very tolerant, too. 127 00:07:17,940 --> 00:07:21,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, Dave's great. So is the podcast. I mentioned earlier 128 00:07:21,430 --> 00:07:24,630 Speaker 2: in Act One that one thing you can do is 129 00:07:24,710 --> 00:07:28,350 Speaker 2: reflect on the past year and talk about like balance. Also, obviously, 130 00:07:28,450 --> 00:07:31,110 Speaker 2: things that you're thankful for, because, again, this is around 131 00:07:31,150 --> 00:07:35,130 Speaker 2: Thanksgiving and something you can do in your house. if 132 00:07:35,170 --> 00:07:38,090 Speaker 2: you want, is to have a cornucopia, like a little 133 00:07:38,130 --> 00:07:43,210 Speaker 2: horn of plenty. That has roots in ancient Greece. But 134 00:07:43,730 --> 00:07:46,810 Speaker 2: if you have a centerpiece of a cornucopia in your 135 00:07:46,830 --> 00:07:50,820 Speaker 2: home to celebrate fall or the autumnal equinox or Mabon, 136 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:53,300 Speaker 2: there are certainly worse ways to go about it than that. 137 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:54,440 Speaker 2: So it's a lovely thing to do. 138 00:07:55,060 --> 00:08:00,480 Speaker 1: And it is. It is like an iconic fall look, essentially. 139 00:08:00,580 --> 00:08:00,660 Speaker 2: Yeah. 140 00:08:01,130 --> 00:08:04,360 Speaker 1: And it's just yet another thing that people do today 141 00:08:04,390 --> 00:08:07,620 Speaker 1: and don't realize that it's an ancient pagan custom. You know, 142 00:08:07,980 --> 00:08:11,200 Speaker 1: I love that kind of stuff. Another thing you can 143 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:14,300 Speaker 1: do is reflect. There's a lot of time for reflecting 144 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:16,820 Speaker 1: over the course of a 12 hour day. 145 00:08:17,380 --> 00:08:17,640 Speaker 2: Sure. 146 00:08:18,260 --> 00:08:22,560 Speaker 1: And so because the energy is in balance between night 147 00:08:22,690 --> 00:08:26,670 Speaker 1: and day on Mabon, you it's the same on the 148 00:08:26,950 --> 00:08:31,550 Speaker 1: vernal equinox to Ostara, but with Ostara it's, you're thinking 149 00:08:31,610 --> 00:08:36,480 Speaker 1: about like renewal and growth and awakening basically from the 150 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:40,300 Speaker 1: winter slumber in autumn, you're kind of going the opposite way. 151 00:08:40,380 --> 00:08:43,760 Speaker 1: You're talking about releasing stuff, you know, like is that 152 00:08:43,820 --> 00:08:47,920 Speaker 1: toupee really working for you? Um, that kind of stuff, 153 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:51,280 Speaker 1: like you've harvested the year already and now you're, um, 154 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:55,199 Speaker 1: You're basically getting ready to go to sleep for months. 155 00:08:55,820 --> 00:08:58,570 Speaker 2: Yeah. If I size up a shirt, will that hide 156 00:08:58,620 --> 00:09:00,550 Speaker 2: my beer belly a little more? 157 00:09:00,809 --> 00:09:01,890 Speaker 1: Yeah, it definitely will. 158 00:09:02,870 --> 00:09:04,250 Speaker 2: Sometimes that's not the way to go, though. 159 00:09:04,690 --> 00:09:08,069 Speaker 1: Oh, no, definitely not. Especially if it's a tight shirt. Yeah. 160 00:09:08,590 --> 00:09:11,760 Speaker 1: Did you ever see, I think you should leave. 161 00:09:11,780 --> 00:09:13,739 Speaker 2: The TV show? 162 00:09:13,980 --> 00:09:14,100 Speaker 1: Yeah. 163 00:09:14,650 --> 00:09:15,510 Speaker 2: Oh, yeah. 164 00:09:15,550 --> 00:09:18,400 Speaker 1: Remember that one skit where he's got like the handle 165 00:09:18,620 --> 00:09:20,900 Speaker 1: on his shirt to pull it away from his gut 166 00:09:21,220 --> 00:09:21,920 Speaker 1: more efficiently? 167 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:24,219 Speaker 2: Yeah, I thought you were going to talk about the 168 00:09:24,260 --> 00:09:27,660 Speaker 2: episode where he was obsessed with that particular shirt brand. 169 00:09:27,679 --> 00:09:29,350 Speaker 1: I don't remember that one. 170 00:09:29,370 --> 00:09:32,950 Speaker 2: That he kept buying. Yeah. He has lots of funny 171 00:09:32,990 --> 00:09:35,490 Speaker 2: clothing things because also in the movie he did with 172 00:09:35,730 --> 00:09:37,929 Speaker 2: Paul Rudd, Friendship? 173 00:09:38,190 --> 00:09:39,490 Speaker 1: Was that what it was called? I think so, yeah. 174 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:42,780 Speaker 2: It was a very funny clothing company. He made up 175 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:43,890 Speaker 2: for that. What was the name of it? 176 00:09:43,970 --> 00:09:44,640 Speaker 1: I don't remember. 177 00:09:44,660 --> 00:09:50,470 Speaker 2: Oh, it was called. God, he's so funny to me. 178 00:09:51,070 --> 00:09:52,010 Speaker 2: Ocean View Dining. 179 00:09:53,990 --> 00:09:56,490 Speaker 1: That rings a bell, but I don't remember the whole joke. 180 00:09:56,870 --> 00:09:59,069 Speaker 2: Yeah, he just loved it. It was just a Tim 181 00:09:59,110 --> 00:09:59,709 Speaker 2: Robinson thing. 182 00:09:59,770 --> 00:09:59,870 Speaker 1: Yeah. 183 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:03,920 Speaker 2: Just loved Ocean View Dining clothes and talked about them 184 00:10:03,980 --> 00:10:04,280 Speaker 2: a lot. 185 00:10:05,340 --> 00:10:06,860 Speaker 1: Are you a Detroiter fan too? 186 00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:08,900 Speaker 2: No, that's still the one I haven't seen. It's on 187 00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:09,240 Speaker 2: the list though. 188 00:10:09,260 --> 00:10:10,000 Speaker 1: Oh, you're going to love it. 189 00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:11,070 Speaker 2: Yeah. 190 00:10:11,230 --> 00:10:12,400 Speaker 1: You will absolutely love it. 191 00:10:12,830 --> 00:10:15,410 Speaker 2: God, he's so great. If you're weird enough to not 192 00:10:15,450 --> 00:10:18,089 Speaker 2: last long on Saturday Night Live, then you're probably headed 193 00:10:18,110 --> 00:10:18,809 Speaker 2: in the right direction. 194 00:10:18,890 --> 00:10:21,270 Speaker 1: For sure. For sure. So, yeah, that's another thing you 195 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:25,500 Speaker 1: can do in Mabon is have a Tim Robinson marathon. 196 00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:29,240 Speaker 1: You could definitely do a lot worse than that. Yeah. 197 00:10:29,420 --> 00:10:31,400 Speaker 2: Or you could just bring some fall color in there. 198 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:34,340 Speaker 2: And if you don't have the cornucopia, just, you know, 199 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:36,650 Speaker 2: maybe bring in a few things that are in harvest. 200 00:10:37,210 --> 00:10:39,689 Speaker 2: Maybe some dried flowers. Maybe take a walk. 201 00:10:40,410 --> 00:10:41,090 Speaker 1: That's a big one. 202 00:10:41,450 --> 00:10:42,329 Speaker 2: Go to a corn maze. 203 00:10:42,850 --> 00:10:45,530 Speaker 1: Yeah. Why not? Support your local economy. 204 00:10:45,950 --> 00:10:46,150 Speaker 2: Yeah. 205 00:10:47,230 --> 00:10:49,079 Speaker 1: Although there is big corn maze now. 206 00:10:49,690 --> 00:10:51,370 Speaker 2: Right. You don't want to go there. 207 00:10:52,470 --> 00:10:54,359 Speaker 1: Yeah, there's a lot of stuff you can do. And essentially, 208 00:10:54,390 --> 00:11:00,140 Speaker 1: it's just feel good about fall is the key for non-pagans. 209 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:02,600 Speaker 1: If you're a pagan, you got a lot more to do. Sorry. 210 00:11:03,020 --> 00:11:03,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, agreed. 211 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:09,420 Speaker 1: So the Autumnal Equinox is Tuesday, September 22nd this year. 212 00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:13,460 Speaker 1: Hopefully we're releasing this before then. Although it'd be classic 213 00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:15,540 Speaker 1: stuff you should know to release it the day after. 214 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:16,140 Speaker 2: Totally. 215 00:11:16,470 --> 00:11:19,140 Speaker 1: Either way. Just get out there in the nice fall weather. 216 00:11:19,179 --> 00:11:20,880 Speaker 1: That's the point here. Agreed. 217 00:11:21,020 --> 00:11:23,500 Speaker 2: I cannot wait. It is still so hot. So bring 218 00:11:23,540 --> 00:11:23,820 Speaker 2: it on. 219 00:11:24,260 --> 00:11:26,460 Speaker 1: Bring it on. Short Stuff is out. 220 00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:32,990 Speaker 2: Stuff You Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. For 221 00:11:33,010 --> 00:11:37,130 Speaker 2: more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 222 00:11:37,290 --> 00:11:39,110 Speaker 2: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.