Honoring the Autumn Equinox with Gratitude, Balance, and Reflection
As the light and dark come into perfect balance, the Wheel turns once more to Mabon—the Autumn Equinox. A sacred time of thanksgiving and release, Mabon invites us to honor the harvest of the year: the fruits of our labor, the lessons of the season, and the turning inward of spirit.
Mabon is both a celebration and a soft surrender. It is the second harvest and the witch’s Thanksgiving—a time to gather, reflect, and prepare for the darkening days ahead.
🍁 What is Mabon?
Mabon typically falls between September 20–23 in the Northern Hemisphere. It is a day when day and night are equal, a liminal threshold between the golden days of summer and the introspective descent into autumn.
Named for a Welsh god associated with youth, mystery, and transformation, Mabon is also deeply rooted in the Earth’s rhythms—when crops are gathered and the land begins to rest. This is a season of balance, gratitude, completion, and sacred transition.
🌾 Themes of Mabon
- Gratitude – Honoring the blessings of the year, both seen and unseen.
- Balance – Embracing the harmony between light and shadow, giving and receiving.
- Release – Letting go of what no longer serves, just as trees begin to shed.
- Reflection – Turning inward to assess the soul’s journey as the veil begins to thin.
🍎 Symbols & Correspondences
Colors: Burgundy, Gold, Brown, Rust, Dark Green
Elements: Earth and Air
Herbs & Plants: Sage, Apple, Cinnamon, Rosemary, Oak Leaves, Pinecones
Crystals: Smoky Quartz, Carnelian, Amethyst, Obsidian
Foods: Apples, Squash, Corn, Wine, Bread, Root Vegetables
Animals: Stag, Owl, Crow, Fox, Squirrel
Deities Often Honored: Persephone, Demeter, Mabon ap Modron, The Morrigan, Dionysus, Inanna, and other deities of harvest, death-rebirth cycles, and balance
🍷 Ways to Celebrate Mabon
This season offers a chance to connect deeply with your own inner harvest. Here are a few meaningful ways to honor Mabon:
1. Create a Harvest Altar
Decorate with autumn leaves, apples, acorns, pomegranates, and symbols of gratitude. Include something to represent both light and shadow.
2. Practice Gratitude Magick
Write down what you’ve harvested this year—emotionally, spiritually, creatively. Give thanks in a journal, or burn the list as an offering of gratitude.
3. Cook or Share a Feast
Prepare a meal with seasonal produce and share it with loved ones or offer it to your ancestors. Pour a libation to the Earth and her bounty.
4. Do a Release Ritual
Just as the trees begin to let go, so can we. Write down what you’re ready to release, and bury, burn, or float it away.
5. Honor the Balance
Light a candle for light and one for dark. Sit in silence and feel the equilibrium. Ask: Where do I need to restore balance in my life?
6. Walk in Nature
Notice the changing colors, the cooling air, the sounds of autumn settling in. Gather natural items to use in future spells or simply to connect with the season.
🍂 Reflecting at the Threshold
Mabon is a time to pause and look both forward and back. It invites us to witness what is ripe, what is falling away, and what is quietly preparing to be reborn. As the Earth readies for rest, so too can we begin to slow down and listen inward.
Ask yourself:
- What am I most grateful for at this moment?
- What have I outgrown or harvested fully?
- Where in my life am I being called to restore harmony or release?
May this season gift you peace, clarity, and the courage to let go. Blessed Mabon. 🍎
