Mabon Divinations

Mabon Divinations

A time for new beginnings, Mabon is a great time to look to the future. When we look to the future we may be looking to know of successes, obstacles, troubles, or gifts. Different sabbats hold strengths over different types of divinations. Weather predictions and love divinations have roots in Mabon festivities and have more strength at this sabbat. 

Weather predictions were important for the entire village. Before refrigerators and freezers, the scarcity of winter months was a real threat to life. Would the cold weather start late, giving more time before slaughter was needed? Would the cold, barren winter last long, meaning a lengthy storage period? Storing too much too soon meant rot and waste. Not storing before winter came in full or not storing enough meant possible starvation. Weather predictions helped guide winter food preparations and storage. 

Love forecasts, of course, have importance on a personal level. Relationship divinations of all kinds have been around for millenia. Though often seen to be an aspect of Spring, Autumn is the perfect time to look forward in love. With chilly winter months approaching, knowing if you’ll have someone to cozy up to is always a plus! Why wait until Spring to discover if that special someone is pining for you too? Use the powers of Mabon to see if you are a match and spark those fires earlier. 

So how did our ancestors divine the future at Mabon? Different techniques were used for different predictions. And you can adapt them to make your own predictions this Mabon. 

Weather Predictions 

You likely aren’t wondering when to slaughter and cure meat for storage, or how much fruit you’ll need to turn in preserves. But weather divinations can still be helpful. Here are some ways to predict what winter will or won’t bring this Mabon. 

Goose Fat 

Goose is a traditional mabon feast component – and also a way of diving what the coming winter would be like. A goose cooked on Mabon with very little fat meant a mild winter was approaching. A goose cooked that had a lot of fat indicated a cold winter was coming. Fat provides warmth and calories, predicting a need for both in the coming months. If you can find a local butcher with fresh goose, you too can cook a Mabon feast to predict the coming winter weather. 

Rain, Rain, Go Away 

Sometimes the weather itself is an indication of the weather that will come. Rain on Mabon indicates a dry winter is in the future. Dry winters mean less illness, less rot, but can also mean mild temps that make the crops come early, before nighttime frosts are finished. Every weather pattern calls for some kind of preparation. If you are wishing for a snowy winter this year, hope that the rain stays away on Mabon. 

Love Divinations 

Looking for love or hoping someone you have your eye on returns your affections? Mabon is a great time to get divine guidance for the future of your love life. Whether you are inundated with suitors or only have eyes for one special someone, there is a way to predict how they feel about you before you make the first move. 

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

In movies and tv, a Black Eyed Susan is usually used to portray this common divination. It started with an aster that blooms in Fall, however, and it is more closely tied to Mabon than to spring sabbats. Skip the common daisy for this one. You will need to find an aster daisy for this divination. Choose a single aster daisy bloom and begin to pluck the petals one by one. DO this slowly. As you pluck, alternate saying “s/he loves me, s/he loves me not” until you reach the last petal. If the last petal is plucked while saying “s/he loves me” it is a sign that your affections aren’t in vain! The feelings are mutual and you should feel confident in making your desires known. 

Crab Apples

If you have multiple prospects and you want to know if the one you favor is the right one, gather crab apples on Mabon. Bring them somewhere out of the home but enclosed, such as a barn loft (the barn loft was where they were traditionally left) . Use the apples to spell out the initials of the prospect you most desire. If the initials remain in tact after a fortnight, the love of that person is true.

Coin in a Pie

Pies are a common sight at harvest festivals. A perfect (and delicious!) way to celebrate the flavors of the season. For feasts with many single young women present, a large coin was baked into a pie. If a young unmarried woman found it in her serving, it meant her marriage within the year. For modern divinations, gender doesn’t have to be a factor. If you are having a gathering with more than a few single friends, you can bake a marker of some kind (a large coin, a clay pumpkin, a metal leaf – whatever you like) into your pie for the Mabon feast. If one of the single guests finds it in their slice, romance is in their future! 

These are all relatively simple divinations for making predictions of coming events. You may think divination requires something a little more in-depth, but the signs of the future are always around us. You just need to know where to look and how to interpret what you see. If you have always had an interest in divination but weren’t sure where to start, why not use the celebration of Mabon to look to the future. Now is the perfect time to begin attuning yourself to what the spirits, God, Goddess, and the universe are trying to tell you about the future. You might not need to know what the weather will be to prepare for winter since you can just drive to the grocery store, but you can still practice your predictions this Mabon.

This article is from the Mabon issue of Wicca Magazine. Our most recent issue can be found by visiting www.WiccaMagazine.com/subscribe