WEBVTT - Short Stuff: Mabon

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, and welcome to The Short Stuff. I'm Josh. There's Chuck.

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<v Speaker 1>There's Jerry here, too, sitting in for Dave. And we're

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<v Speaker 1>here to celebrate the pagan Thanksgiving that you never knew

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<v Speaker 1>you needed.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I don't remember if we mentioned this, because we

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<v Speaker 2>covered some stuff on Wiccans and other sort of pagan

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<v Speaker 2>religions years ago, I feel like. But the pagan Thanksgiving

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<v Speaker 2>is Mabon, M-A-B-O-N. And it is one of many kind

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<v Speaker 2>of fall harvest celebrations that have happened throughout history that

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<v Speaker 2>celebrate the autumnal equinox.

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<v Speaker 1>Wow. Way to go. Say it again.

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<v Speaker 2>The autumnal equinox.

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<v Speaker 1>Very nice.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>But it's actually kind of new. Mabon is. Because ironically,

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<v Speaker 1>the original pagans, like the Celts, for example, did not

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<v Speaker 1>celebrate the autumnal equinox. which is evidenced by, um, if

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<v Speaker 1>you go to Stonehenge on the autumnal equinox, nothing happens,

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<v Speaker 1>nothing special. It's just like any other day. Um, but

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<v Speaker 1>like you said, cultures around the world have, and today, neo-pagans, Druids, Wiccans,

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<v Speaker 1>et cetera, um, definitely celebrated as one of eight Sabbaths, Sabbaths, Sabbaths,

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<v Speaker 1>I think, right? Like Sabbaths. Um, And there are eight

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<v Speaker 1>of them on the wheel of the year. And in fact,

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<v Speaker 1>Mabon is one of three harvest festivals that occur from

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<v Speaker 1>August through October. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, you probably heard us talk about Yule before

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<v Speaker 2>in one of our Christmas episodes, probably. That is a Sabbat.

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<v Speaker 2>And we've also talked about Samhain, for sure, spelled Samhain.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>Because that's the one associated with Halloween. So those are

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<v Speaker 2>definitely much more well-known. But Mabon... We got to talk

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<v Speaker 2>about Mabon a little bit. All right.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, first, let's talk about the first harvest festival, Lunasa.

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<v Speaker 1>That takes place in early August, where I guess I

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<v Speaker 1>don't know what you're picking then. Mabon is like the

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<v Speaker 1>money harvest festival. Late September, that's when everything's ready to

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<v Speaker 1>be picked, basically. And then Samhain is the third, the

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<v Speaker 1>one in October. And the autumnal equinox, and this is

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<v Speaker 1>a big part of Mabon in particular, is The reason

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<v Speaker 1>why there's a focus on balance is because the day

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<v Speaker 1>and night are basically evenly split between 12 hours apiece

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<v Speaker 1>on the autumnal equinox and the vernal equinox, the spring equinox.

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<v Speaker 1>So that's a big theme in Mabon.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, for sure. And one of the things that if

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<v Speaker 2>you practice any kind of paganism and you want to

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<v Speaker 2>celebrate Mabon, you want to maybe meditate on that balance

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<v Speaker 2>in your own life might be a thing to do.

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<v Speaker 1>For sure.

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<v Speaker 2>Another thing you mentioned earlier is that it's a newer thing.

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<v Speaker 2>This term is only about 55 years old. The Mabon

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<v Speaker 2>actually comes from a Welsh god, son of the Earth

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<v Speaker 2>Mother Goddess. And there was a Welsh text, an old

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<v Speaker 2>Welsh text called the Mabinagion.

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<v Speaker 1>Your guess is as good as mine.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, that looks about right. that has, it tells about like,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round

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<v Speaker 2>Table and stuff like that. And one of the heroes

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<v Speaker 2>of those stories is a god named Mabon, son of mother,

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<v Speaker 2>who was held hostage as a baby.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. And as we'll see, the reason that Mabon was

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<v Speaker 1>chosen to mark the autumnal equinox, despite the fact that

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<v Speaker 1>the ancient Druids and Celts like did not there was

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<v Speaker 1>no recognition of Mabon or association with them. That's a

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<v Speaker 1>modern thing, like we said, is that the guy who

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<v Speaker 1>kind of helped write or put together the wheel of

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<v Speaker 1>the year for modern paganisms, Aidan Kelly, back in the

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<v Speaker 1>60s and 70s, he did his research and he found

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<v Speaker 1>out that in Greek lore and mythology, the goddess Demeter

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<v Speaker 1>is celebrated as on the autumnal equinox. And Demeter shares

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<v Speaker 1>in common with Mabon that this idea that she was

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<v Speaker 1>young and was rescued from the underworld, just like Mabon was.

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<v Speaker 1>So he's like, I think this is enough of an

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<v Speaker 1>association to call this Mabon.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it was kind of funny. Apparently he was looking

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<v Speaker 2>for something Gaelic or Germanic. name-wise, on the pagan calendar,

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<v Speaker 2>based on the solstices, and he couldn't find anything. So

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<v Speaker 2>he was like, eh, maybe a stretch, but I'm just

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<v Speaker 2>going to go with this one.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, that's not to say that, so Mabon seems to

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<v Speaker 1>be the only one that they put into the wheel

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<v Speaker 1>of the year. There are some really ancient Celtic festivals,

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<v Speaker 1>including Samhain and Lunasa, and one called Beltane, and one

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<v Speaker 1>called Imolc, which is spelled I-M-B-O-L-C. And I'm just so

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<v Speaker 1>pleased as punch that I pronounced it correctly.

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<v Speaker 2>Nice work.

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<v Speaker 1>But Mabon, they said, we're going to add this in

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<v Speaker 1>because we feel like it's a big deal. And again,

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<v Speaker 1>there's other cultures that celebrate this, like the Maltese, the Mayans.

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<v Speaker 1>And then, Chuck, get this. The Pyramid of Kukulkan at

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<v Speaker 1>Chichen Itza in Mexico. Did you look a picture of

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<v Speaker 1>this up?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. Amazing.

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<v Speaker 1>It is amazing. So the shadows fall on the pyramids. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>the steps of the pyramid, technically it's a ziggurat and

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<v Speaker 1>it looks like a serpent coming down the steps on

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<v Speaker 1>the side on the autumnal equinox. It's nuts. Cause it

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<v Speaker 1>definitely looks like that. Yeah. It's cool.

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<v Speaker 2>It reminded me of when I lived in Los Angeles,

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<v Speaker 2>when Emily and I moved in together, we lived in

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<v Speaker 2>the neighborhood of Eagle Rock and Eagle Rock is so

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<v Speaker 2>named because there's a big rock by the highway that has, uh,

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<v Speaker 2>It's not like hand carved. It's just a piece kind

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<v Speaker 2>of nature carved out. And when the sun hits that

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<v Speaker 2>at a certain time of the day, it looks like

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<v Speaker 2>an eagle flying.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh, neat. Yeah. I'm sure it wasn't named after the band. What?

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<v Speaker 2>Eagles?

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<v Speaker 1>Mm-hmm.

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<v Speaker 2>No, probably not.

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<v Speaker 1>Because they do not rock.

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<v Speaker 2>Should we take a break?

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<v Speaker 1>Mm-hmm. All right.

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<v Speaker 2>We'll be right back.

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<v Speaker 1>All right. Okay, Chuck, I feel like it's high time

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<v Speaker 1>that we explain to people what they can do to

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<v Speaker 1>celebrate Mabon, even if you're not a pagan or a

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<v Speaker 1>Wicca or a witch or have never owned a crystal.

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<v Speaker 1>It doesn't matter. You can still observe Mabon. I should

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<v Speaker 1>say also we based this short stuff on an article

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<v Speaker 1>from How Stuff Works written by our own Dave Rooves. Dave.

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<v Speaker 1>Dave Rooves is one of the most religiously tolerant people

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<v Speaker 1>you will ever meet.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>And he definitely applied that to this. And I feel

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<v Speaker 1>like we also we need to shout out Dave's podcast,

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<v Speaker 1>Biblical Time Machine, which is also very tolerant, too.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, Dave's great. So is the podcast. I mentioned earlier

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<v Speaker 2>in Act One that one thing you can do is

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<v Speaker 2>reflect on the past year and talk about like balance. Also, obviously,

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<v Speaker 2>things that you're thankful for, because, again, this is around

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<v Speaker 2>Thanksgiving and something you can do in your house. if

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<v Speaker 2>you want, is to have a cornucopia, like a little

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<v Speaker 2>horn of plenty. That has roots in ancient Greece. But

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<v Speaker 2>if you have a centerpiece of a cornucopia in your

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<v Speaker 2>home to celebrate fall or the autumnal equinox or Mabon,

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<v Speaker 2>there are certainly worse ways to go about it than that.

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<v Speaker 2>So it's a lovely thing to do.

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<v Speaker 1>And it is. It is like an iconic fall look, essentially.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>And it's just yet another thing that people do today

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<v Speaker 1>and don't realize that it's an ancient pagan custom. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>I love that kind of stuff. Another thing you can

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<v Speaker 1>do is reflect. There's a lot of time for reflecting

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<v Speaker 1>over the course of a 12 hour day.

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<v Speaker 2>Sure.

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<v Speaker 1>And so because the energy is in balance between night

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<v Speaker 1>and day on Mabon, you it's the same on the

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<v Speaker 1>vernal equinox to Ostara, but with Ostara it's, you're thinking

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<v Speaker 1>about like renewal and growth and awakening basically from the

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<v Speaker 1>winter slumber in autumn, you're kind of going the opposite way.

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<v Speaker 1>You're talking about releasing stuff, you know, like is that

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<v Speaker 1>toupee really working for you? Um, that kind of stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>like you've harvested the year already and now you're, um,

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<v Speaker 1>You're basically getting ready to go to sleep for months.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. If I size up a shirt, will that hide

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<v Speaker 2>my beer belly a little more?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it definitely will.

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<v Speaker 2>Sometimes that's not the way to go, though.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh, no, definitely not. Especially if it's a tight shirt. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>Did you ever see, I think you should leave.

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<v Speaker 2>The TV show?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh, yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>Remember that one skit where he's got like the handle

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<v Speaker 1>on his shirt to pull it away from his gut

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<v Speaker 1>more efficiently?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I thought you were going to talk about the

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<v Speaker 2>episode where he was obsessed with that particular shirt brand.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't remember that one.

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<v Speaker 2>That he kept buying. Yeah. He has lots of funny

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<v Speaker 2>clothing things because also in the movie he did with

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<v Speaker 2>Paul Rudd, Friendship?

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<v Speaker 1>Was that what it was called? I think so, yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>It was a very funny clothing company. He made up

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<v Speaker 2>for that. What was the name of it?

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<v Speaker 1>I don't remember.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh, it was called. God, he's so funny to me.

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<v Speaker 2>Ocean View Dining.

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<v Speaker 1>That rings a bell, but I don't remember the whole joke.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, he just loved it. It was just a Tim

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<v Speaker 2>Robinson thing.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>Just loved Ocean View Dining clothes and talked about them

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<v Speaker 2>a lot.

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<v Speaker 1>Are you a Detroiter fan too?

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<v Speaker 2>No, that's still the one I haven't seen. It's on

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<v Speaker 2>the list though.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh, you're going to love it.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>You will absolutely love it.

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<v Speaker 2>God, he's so great. If you're weird enough to not

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<v Speaker 2>last long on Saturday Night Live, then you're probably headed

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<v Speaker 2>in the right direction.

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<v Speaker 1>For sure. For sure. So, yeah, that's another thing you

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<v Speaker 1>can do in Mabon is have a Tim Robinson marathon.

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<v Speaker 1>You could definitely do a lot worse than that. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>Or you could just bring some fall color in there.

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<v Speaker 2>And if you don't have the cornucopia, just, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>maybe bring in a few things that are in harvest.

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<v Speaker 2>Maybe some dried flowers. Maybe take a walk.

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<v Speaker 1>That's a big one.

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<v Speaker 2>Go to a corn maze.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. Why not? Support your local economy.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>Although there is big corn maze now.

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<v Speaker 2>Right. You don't want to go there.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, there's a lot of stuff you can do. And essentially,

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<v Speaker 1>it's just feel good about fall is the key for non-pagans.

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<v Speaker 1>If you're a pagan, you got a lot more to do. Sorry.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, agreed.

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<v Speaker 1>So the Autumnal Equinox is Tuesday, September 22nd this year.

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<v Speaker 1>Hopefully we're releasing this before then. Although it'd be classic

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<v Speaker 1>stuff you should know to release it the day after.

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<v Speaker 2>Totally.

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<v Speaker 1>Either way. Just get out there in the nice fall weather.

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<v Speaker 1>That's the point here. Agreed.

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<v Speaker 2>I cannot wait. It is still so hot. So bring

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<v Speaker 2>it on.

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<v Speaker 1>Bring it on. Short Stuff is out.

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