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Mabon 2024 | Meeting Dionysus and the Maenads

autumn leaves in morning light

On Sunday, September 22nd, the evening of the Autumnal Equinox, the Divine Warrior Witches gathered at Crescent Moon Gifts in Tacoma, WA for our Mabon ritual and feast.

a statue of Dionysus within a flower crown
Our Dionysus Altar for Mabon

Following our 2024 theme of Deity, this sabbat we welcomed God of Festivities and Intoxication himself, Dionysus!


Warriors opened their hearts, minds, and spirits as we courageously shared our sacred space for the evening with this mighty, mischievous, and delirious deity!


THE CLASS:

The educational portion of our events is currently split into three categories: So Below, As Above, and Deity. Here is just some of the information presented…





So Below | Mabon

Presented by High Priestess Heather

A woman speaking behind an altar
High Priestess Heather presenting So Below

Consider how the seasons have begun to change. Leaves are no longer as lush and green. The air is not as thick and warm. Evenings now bring with them a chill.

With the arrival of the Autumnal Equinox, we've reached a time of balance between light and dark, when the day and the night share our time equally.

We can feel the heat of summer departing as the familiar cold of winter makes itself known. We gather the last of our harvests in preparation for the dark months ahead, and we celebrate our bounty while giving thanks for our blessings.




A woman speaking behind an altar
High Priestess Cawnawyn Presenting As Above

As Above | Libra Season

Presented by High Priestess Cawnawyn 


SEP 22: Libra Season Begins

OCT 2: Libra Solar Eclipse

OCT 8: Jupiter Retrograde in Gemini

OCT 17: Full Moon in Aries

OCT 22: Scorpio Season Begins







Watch the recording for the As Above Astrology Message:



Deity | Dionysus

Presented by High Priestess Serenity


A woman presenting behind an altar
High Priestess Serenity presenting the story of Dionysus

High Priestess Serenity wove a captivating tale as she presented the deity of the evening through excerpts and retellings of ancient Greek tragedy, The Bacchae. 


Touching on her personal connections with Dionysus, Serenity disclosed:

"Having been an actor since I was a child, I always knew that Dionysus and I were intended to have a relationship... but to be honest, I was scared... I was down to escape into a story and a performance, but the kind of reckless abandon Dionysus demands does involve a certain state of intoxication and level of commitment that was beyond what I was capable of allowing myself to indulge in."


Oh how things change as one grows and claims their power! Researching for this ritual, it was clear Serenity had become absolutely smitten with Dionysus, and the god's mischievous energies were certainly afoot as we prepared for this event.

A greek vase of Dionysus
A vase of Dionysus and the maenads

Starting with a tale of how Dionysus was born three times (once as Persephone's son, once from the womb of Semele a human woman, and finally from the thigh of his father Zeus), Serenity then discussed the tale of King Pantheus and the maenads. We discussed the full brutality of the tale, and followed up with a discussion on perception. Were these maenads truly mad, or merely free? 



"So, if you were a woman, in ancient Greece, living a rather trapped and unfulfilling life when all of a sudden a dashing man shows up, who can turn grapes into wine and drips delicious glistening honey from his lips, while waving a wand, dressed in ivy and animal furs who claims to be a god and promises liberation and fun times in the woods, maybe you’d consider running from away from home and joining the Cult of Dionysus as well... 

A famous painting of Maenads
John Collier, Maenads, 1886

And, though legend has it these women were crazy, flesh-eating, blood-drinking savages, can’t it also be imagined that perhaps these women simply learned to sustain themselves and were intelligent and talented enough to be able to hunt?"


Three women dressed in ancient greek costumes
High Priestesses Cawnawyn, Serenity, and Heather as the Maenads

THE RITUAL:

For ritual, warriors indulged in discovering what it means to surrender into a festive, perhaps even feral, state of mind.


An Immersive Mediation

To begin, we gathered for an immersive meditation spoken by Serenity and composed and produced by Cawnawyn Mor.


Seated, eyes closed, warriors were swept away on a beautiful and liberating journey through the woods, where eventually, we stumbled upon the Cult of Dionysus. The meditation then cued the warriors to drink from their goblets and stand to join the maenads in their hunt and dance. Together we moved as a group through choreographed movements signifying the hunt, kill, and feast described in The Bacchae. At the point of the kill, warriors screamed and then used their teeth to rip into sticks of dried meat and fruit, feasting on their prey before slowly winding down with a hypnotic dance.

Greek Ceramic of Dionysus and Maenad

Energy exploded throughout the room and once the frenzy began to settle we gathered to feast and join together for the second working of the evening...


A Mabon Feast - Boasts, Toasts, and Oaths

What is Mabon without a feast? For this sabbat, we like to turned cakes and ale into a full blown potluck. And seriously, not only is our community full of powerful energy workers, it is also full of amazing cooks. Magic and love was alive in every dish. A bountiful harvest indeed!

A fancy dinner setting for a small group of people
Our Mabon Feast Table Setting

While feasting, we each shared boasts (personal wins), toasts (celebrations of and/or blessings for others), as well as personal oaths for how we intend to bring more festivity into our lives moving forward.


We laughed, cried, and blessed one another in truly a beautiful coming together of community.


We are so eternally grateful for our warriors, and the support we are all able to provide for one another.








Everyone looked so beautiful, we had to take a family photo. 

A group of people posed in various greek costumes
Our Mabon Ritual Gathering! Thank you so much for coming! Blessed be!


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