Mabon (Autumn Equinox) - 21-24th September

Sun shining through the trees in a forest during Autumn.

Mabon is the time of year when the leaves will begin to change and the days will begin to get cooler. Often overlooked by many pagans/wiccans, this mid-harvest festival is where we honor the changing of the seasons from Summer to the beginning of Autumn and give gratitude for the abundance of Mother Earth - both literally and spiritually.

Mabon is a celebration of balance - the days and the nights are now in equilibrium once again. It's time to give thanks for all that the Summer has brought us and the warmer days that have passed. This is the second harvest Sabbat; (Lughnasadh being the first and Samhain being the third) the harvest is coming to an end soon. It's the time to harvest hearty foods like gourds, pumpkins, grapes and apples and the last of our herb gardens.

During the Autumn Equinox, this is a time when the hours of light and dark are equal. The earth reminds us to flow with the energy, to seek balance, as we let go of the summer and gently flow towards the cooler seasons. The earth is changing and as we look around, our animal companions are doing the same, as they gather seeds and prepare for the darker days to come.

Just as the leaves are beginning to fall from the trees, we are reminded to release anything that may be weighing us down.

Activities/Ways to celebrate:

Go walking in Nature

Get wrapped up and go to your favorite place for a walk. Take a flask with your hot drink of choice inside. Take deep breaths of the fresh, crisp air and allow yourself to be at peace with the dark and cooler days coming - look for signs of Autumn. Collect as much of nature's wild abundance for your Alter as you can; leaves, twigs, mossy rocks and stones - while respecting the need to leave enough for everyone else.

Make a Gratitude Tree

After going for an Autumnal walk use the twigs and and fallen leaves you have gathered and put them somewhere warm to dry out, once they are dry arrange your sticks in a jar/vase and you can use the different leaves to write down all the different things you are grateful for and tie the leaves onto the twigs to make your tree! They make a lovely focal point for the kitchen table or for your sacred space and they are a reminder of everything you have to be thankful for.

Creating a Gratitude Tree is a great activity you can do with your children and to add a little Magick into your Mabon sabbat celebration.

Have a clear out

Clear your house or room of any unwanted clutter and prepare your alter too. Clear out any unused items and also clear your mind, get rid of any negative situations or negative energies that you may be carrying with you. Cleanse your house at this time.

Plant Bulbs

This is an excellent time to plant tree seeds and shrubs. They have all of winter in the darkness to establish and germinate. Plant bulbs which will hide in the earth until early Spring beckons and Imbolc returns. Make each one a hope, idea or aspiration for Spring and wait until their little green shoots show above ground - to remind you of your intentions.

Meditation - Fire gazing/flame meditation.

The Mabon Sabbat is celebrated around the time of the Autumn Equinox, where the hours of light and dark are equal. This is a time to go within and to seek balance within ourselves.

Begin by placing your Enchanted Wicks candle on your altar or at your sacred space or an area within your home where you feel calm. Spend some time watching the flame of the candle. Or alternatively watch the flames of a fire dance back and forth. Stare into the flame and visualise your life coming into a state of balance.

For some people this type of meditation is quite easy, as they find it easier to let go of thoughts when they are concentrating on a physical “thing” rather than on a mantra.

Food and drink:

Home-made grain breads made from rye, wheat, oats and corn

Potatoes, boiled, mashed, roasted etc.

Home-grown or local vegetables, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, corn, carrots, onions, and courgette

Nuts and nut roast

Apples, apple juice, spiced apple cakes, apple cider

Grapes and wine

Pomegranates

Crystals for this sabbat:

Amber - Amber is worn for good luck and protection from evil. The orange and gold colors of Amber are known to stabalise stronger and higher energies in the body and can influence them by offering balance and protection. People use Amber to eliminate negative energies, eliminate fears, acquire patience and wisdom. It is a great antidote for the nervous or anxious individual, delivering a great sense of calm while enlivening the energy.

Yellow Agate - Yellow Agate is a stone that strengthens courage, confidence, and happiness in your life. It is believed to improve mental clarity. It attracts prosperity and success, while also encouraging creativity and optimism.

Sapphire - Sapphire is an enhancer of insight and an activation stone of mental and psychic abilities. It quickens the mind and allows for one to speak with the voice of their inner wisdom from deep within.

Quartz - Quartz are known as the "master healer" crystals and will amplify energy and thought, as well as the effect of other crystals and brings the body into balance.

Citrine - Citrine promotes motivation, activates creativity and encourages self-expression. Enhances concentration and revitalises the mind. It releases negative traits, depression, fears and phobias. Emotionally balancing.

(I like to carry the relevant crystals around with me, meditate with them or place them at my alter).

Alter Ideas:

Light green, brown, orange and red candles or wax melts this autumn coloured wax represents the earth and the changes all around during this season.

Decorate your alter with acorns, pine, autumn leaves, corn, twigs.

Create an autumnal wreath with the items you have collected and place it at your alter.

Simmer Pot: Apple, Cinnamon, Sage, Pine, Rosemary, Citrus

I hope you enjoy Mabon however you spend it! :)

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Any information displayed on our website is not regarded to be authoritative or certified as the best practice and is only considered to be useful supplementary advice to other certified codes of practice. All information on our website is updated regularly.

Sources: Wicca - Harmony Nice The Crystal Council