Blessed Autumn Equinox!

Autumn Equinox or Mabon comes any time between September 21-23. As one of the lesser Sabbats on the Wheel of the year, it has a more modern approach from witches and pagans, but do not be mistaken--this time of the year has always been celebrated as the Second Harvest on the Wheel of the Year. First Harvest is August 1 when we celebrate Lammas or Lughnasadh honoring the harvest of the delicate grains, including wheat, corn, and others. Second Harvest celebrates the more abundance harvest of again corn, root vegetables, squashes, gourds and pumpkins, fall fruit including apples, pears, grapes, plums and others, and other abundant crops that last in root cellars through the winter. Third Harvest festival is Samhain, celebrated Oct. 31st, when the fields are basically done, and animals are harvested for winter.

Just for reference, the Wheel of the Year is a way on understanding what are called the Solar Festivals, or the eight points on the year that are celebrated in connection to agrarian festivals throughout the world.

Mabon is considered a Masculine sabbat (like Lughnasadha). Key concepts here are gratitude, Balance, Equality, Equity and Equanimity, Abundance, Protection, Prosperity, Self-confidence, and Harmony. If you are interested in learning more, check out my latest podcast on Centered (available wherever you get podcasts) where I talk about Autumn Equinox, the Pagan understandings of the Second Harvest (I also do a deep dive into the history of the word "pagan" and then how witches started Wicca and compiled the Wheel of the Year, including how they were named, then I talk about Mabon, the correspondences for altars and grids, and then spiritual work and insights for this time. I also share journal prompts and a personal gratitude reset ritual from her upcoming book + oracle card deck called Cycles.

Listen to my podcast about the history, lore, and rituals of Mabon (and literally so much more) right here:

I also created a Tarot Layout for Autumn Equinox, so you can work with the energies in your own practice.

I also wanted to include some pictures from my cacao ceremony and healing circle, including my altar, the distance healing grid, some candles I created and more.

Blessed Autumn Equinox!!! In my earth-based pagan spiritual practice, we honor gratitude and the abundance of the Earth at this time of the year. Autumn Equinox or Mabon, the second harvest festival in the Wheel of the Year, arrives somewhere between September 20 and 22nd. Though harvest festivals have always been celebrated, the Wiccans, in the mid-20th century, brought us Mabon, named after the Celtic God of the same name. The Wiccan creators wanted to keep the Celtic-focus for the names of the eight festivals in the Wheel of the Year; hence the story of Mabon being featured for Autumnal Equinox. Mabon, a Celtic god, as a child was stolen from his mother and imprisoned deep in the womb of the Earth. At Yule, he will be reborn with the light again.

Like Ostara, the Autumn Equinox honors balance of light and darkness. Unlike Ostara, Mabon examines the move into the darkness. The Greek Eleusinian Mysteries and Rites of Demeter were honored for over two thousand years to honor the move from light to dark. Central to these mysterious rites, which were so secretive that they were never written down, was the story of Demeter and her daughter Persephone, sometimes called Kore. You can read the Homeric Hymn to Demeter translated by Gregory Nagy (my favorite translation). Listen to the podcast episode for more…

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