The Fall of the Great Equinox


Remembrance of the One to Come


"But your holy place shall be untouched throughout the centuries: though with fire and sword it be burnt down & shattered, yet an invisible house there standeth, and shall stand until the fall of the Great Equinox; when Hrumachis shall arise and the double-wanded one assume my throne and place. Another prophet shall arise, and bring fresh fever from the skies; another woman shall awake the lust & worship of the Snake; another soul of God and beast shall mingle in the globed priest; another sacrifice shall stain the tomb; another king shall reign; and blessing no longer be poured To the Hawk-headed mystical Lord!" AL III:34

Hrumachis is the Dawning Sun; he therefore symbolizes any new course of events. The "double-wanded one" is "Thmaist of dual form as Thmais and Thmait", from whom the Greeks derived their Themis, goddess of Justice.

Thmaist is the Hegemon, who bears a mitre-headed sceptre, like that of Joshua in the Royal Arch Degree of Freemasonry. He is the third officer in rank in the Neophyte Ritual of the G.'. D.'., following Horus as Horus follows Osiris. He can then assume the "throne and place" of the Ruler of the Temple when the "Equinox of Horus" comes to an end.

Dance of the Son of the Great Mother

The Fall Equinox, or when the sun enters Libra.

In British folklore this time of year is associated with Herne the Hunter, who leads a wild phantom chase through the forest, heralding confusion and change.

Some traditions of Wicca name this sabbat after the Welsh god Mabon, son of Modron (‘Son, son of Mother’), also known as Maponus in Britain and Gaul. The story of his imprisonment and release is told in the tale Kulwch and Olwen (found in The Mabinogion) which is summarized as follows:

Olwen’s father gives Kulwch thirty-nine impossible tasks (anoethu) which he must complete before he will let him marry his daughter. One of these is to find Mabon, son of Modron (because only he can lead the hound Drudwyn ap Greid who can only lead the hunt for a certain boar etc.), who has been missing since he was three hours old. Kulwch sends four of Arthur’s Companions to look for him: Eodoel ap Aer, Gwrhyr Gwastas Ieithoedd (who knows the languages of bird and beast), Cai (=Sir Kay), and Bedwyr (=Sir Bedevere). Gwrhyr starts to question the oldest beast that he knows: the Ouzel (Blackbird) of Cilgwri. The ouzel replies that he had pecked an anvil down to the wood, yet in all that time had not seen or heard of Mabon. He then sends them to see an older beast, the Stag of Rhedynfr, who sends them on to the Owl of Cawlwyd, then the Eagle of Gwern Abwy. Only when they talk to the Salmon of Llyn Llyw do they hear a rumour of Mabon. The salmon takes Gwrhyr and Cai on his back to a castle named Caer Loyw (in Gloucester) where they hear a terrible lamentation. Gwrhyr asks who is there, and gets the answer: "It is I, Mabon, son of Modron". They go and fetch Arthur’s men who storm the castle while Cai breaks down a wall and carries Mabon out on his back. That task completed, they go off in search of a boar, Twrch Trwyth.

Mabon and Modron seem to be prototypes of the aspects of Young Son and Mother Goddess. Their true names are unknown, and most of their story is lost. Historically Mabon seemed to be a version of Young Huntsman and Divine Youth who, with the coming of the Romans, became associated with Apollo (as Maponus/Apollo) and acquired his attributes of God of the Sun, Music, and Hunting.

The tale of Mabon ap Modron, the Welsh God, (the "great son of the great mother"), also known as the Son of Light, the Young Son, or Divine Youth, is celebrated. The Equinox is also the birth of Mabon, from his mother Modron, the Guardian of the Outerworld, the Healer, the Protector, the Earth. Mabon was taken after he is a mere three nights old (some variations of the legend say he is taken after three years). Through the wisdom of the living animals — the Stag, Blackbird, Owl, Eagle and Salmon — Mabon is freed from his mysterious captivity. All the while Mabon had rested within his mother's womb; a place of nurturing and challenge. With strength and lessons gained within the magickal Outerworld (Modron's womb), Mabon is soon reborn as his mother's Champion, the Son of Light, wielding the strength and wisdom acquired during his captivity.