Mabon is the mid-harvest festival, and it is when we take a few moments to honor the changing seasons, and celebrate the second harvest. On or around September 22, for many Pagan and Wiccan traditions it is a time of giving thanks for the things we have, whether it is abundant crops or other blessings.

Here is a recipe for a Fall incense blend for your Mabon rituals.

Here is a moon phase calculator to add to your website or just to use for your own reference. You can check the moon phases any time you are connected to the internet by visiting this link: http://www.calculatorcat.com/moon_phases/phasenow.php After that page has loaded, you can add a bookmark it using your web browser's menu. The current moon module is also available as a Google Personalized Homepage gadget. Just use this button:

Come mid-August the Corn Moon carries on the themes of harvest and grain that we saw a few weeks back. This month's correspondences include the element of fire, as well as sunny bright colors like yellow and red. Gemstones for your workings during the Corn Moon carry on the fiery aspects -- tiger's eye, garnet and rubies, to name a few. Get out in your garden and pick some rosemary, rue, or basil for herb magic this month.

As an added bonus this month, those of you in eastern South America and the eastern hemisphere will get to see a partial lunar eclipse that same night. In some Pagan traditions, this represents the near alignment of the moon, sun, and earth, and is a great day to do any kind of magical workings. Plan ahead, and take advantage of this uncommon opportunity to do something special! And yes -- you can still work magic during a lunar eclipse even if you can't see it in your part of the world.

Here's a few Full Moon incense recipes for your magical workings!

Within the three days prior to the actual full moon, gather the ingredients required, along with a mortar and pestle to blend them in.

1/2 ounce of sandalwood powder

5 grams (a marble sized nugget) of amber resin.

3 drops of Vanilla Extract.

Preferably outside, under the actual full moon, or indoors near a window where the moon is visible: Fill the mortar with the sandalwood powder, and crush the amber into it with the pestle or tool of your choice. Use CLOCKWISE or DEOSIL blending motions. Focus on the energy of the full moon, or if you are making the incense for a specific spell, focus on the goal of that spell alone. You can incorporate your favorite words of power or chant while doing this.

When the powder is smooth and consistent, add the vanilla, one drop at a time while saying your chosen words of power.

Blend in the drops in the same way you blended in the amber resin. Place the mixture in a clear glass jar with an airtight lid. Keep it away from heat, sunlight, and moisture. Charge it under the light of the full moon on the three days prior to it becoming actually full. The full moon light penetration is the reason for not storing this in an opaque jar. It is ready for use immediately, but can be charged more if desired.

By celebrating Lammas as a harvest holiday, we honor our ancestors and the hard work they must have had to do in order to survive. This is a good time to give thanks for the abundance we have in our lives, and to be grateful for the food on our tables. Lammas is a time of transformation, of rebirth and new beginnings.

In the Celtic culture, this first day of August is called Lammas/Lughnasadh and celebrates both endings and beginnings. On this day, take some cornmeal, a staple grain that provides sustenance and nourishment for many cultures, and then go to some open, outdoors and life affirming space such as an orchard, a farm, a field of flowers or any place of moving water. Declaring your own intention to bring healthy, happy and prosperous energies into your own personal harvest this year, sprinkle the cornmeal on the ground of the outside area you have chosen as you make this your gift of gratitude to Nature for all the abundance you enjoy.

By the time Lammas rolls around, it’s usually pretty hot. In some parts of the world, gardens are beginning to dry out, and the earth has gone from soft and pliable to dry and cracked. If you haven’t harvested your herbs yet for drying, now is a good time to start doing so -- in other words, pick them before they die on their own. Any fresh herb can be dried simply by picking it and tying it up in small bundles in a well-ventilated area. Once they are completely dry store them in airtight jars in a dark place.

To make your own magical Lammas incense, first determine what form you’d like to make. You can make incense with sticks and in cones, but the easiest kind uses loose ingredients, which are then burned on top of a charcoal disc or tossed into a fire. This recipe is for loose incense, but you can adapt it for stick or cone recipes.

Lammas Rebirth Incense

As you mix and blend your incense, focus on the intent of your work. In this particular recipe, we’re creating an incense to use during a Lammas rite -- it’s a time to celebrate the beginning of the harvest. We’re thankful for the foods we’ve grown, and for the bounty of the earth, and the knowledge that we’ll have enough to eat through the coming winter months.

You’ll need:

1 part basil

1/2 part cinnamon bark

1 part coriander

2 parts goldenrod

1 part heather

1/2 part rosemary

2 parts Sweet Annie (you can use dried apple blossoms if you don’t have Sweet Annie)

1 part yarrow