Fall is my favorite season. The trees are changing, the scent of fallen leaves is everywhere, the air is crisp and cool and…. Well, no its still 90 degrees here in Florida.
Autumn Equinox is pretty much Thanksgiving for witches. But it’s so much more than that. To help explain everything, I’ve written this article and made a handy video.
At this point, you’ve scrolled past the YouTube video, so I’m assuming you’re one of those folks that prefers reading things. Get cozy, grab a Pumpkin Spice Latte, and read on!
Names and Dates
The Fall Equinox occurs every year, usually on September 22 or 23, when the day and night become equal, but it has been known to happen outside of those dates. Like all solar events, the variance in timing is caused by the “wobble” in the earth’s axis. For 2023, the exact date is Sep 23, 2023, 2:49 AM EST. Take note of that, we’ll come back to it later!
So yeah, we generally use an oversimplification of saying “day and night are equal,” but the reality is a little bit more complex. I’m not an astrophysicist, but I’m sure there are plenty that work for The National Weather service. One of them might have even written this explanation, which I’ll quote directly to save myself time rewording.
-National Weather Service
There are only two times of the year when the Earth's axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun, resulting in a "nearly" equal amount of daylight and darkness at all latitudes. These events are referred to as Equinoxes. The word equinox is derived from two Latin words - aequus (equal) and nox (night). At the equator, the sun is directly overhead at noon on these two equinoxes. The "nearly" equal hours of day and night are due to refraction of sunlight or a bending of the light's rays that causes the sun to appear above the horizon when the actual position of the sun is below the horizon. Additionally, the days become a little longer at the higher latitudes (those at a distance from the equator) because it takes the sun longer to rise and set. Therefore, on the equinox and for several days before and after the equinox, the length of day will range from about 12 hours and six and one-half minutes at the equator, to 12 hours and 8 minutes at 30 degrees latitude, to 12 hours and 16 minutes at 60 degrees latitude.
Woohoo, they even covered the etymology for me!
As always, you can refer to the handy chart if you feel lost.
In Wicca, these dates are also called Mabon. If you’d like an explanation on why, you can check out Aidan Kelly’s article here. To make a quick point, not everyone is a fan of this name. Also, it’s another word people can’t all agree on how to pronounce. I’ve heard MAY-bon, may-BUN, MAH-bun, and more.
Before we get too much further, let me just make mention that no single tradition can claim any sort of authority over the equinox. As a solar event, it was celebrated by ancient cultures all over the world.
Associations
- Colors: Brown, red, gold
- Flowers: sunflowers or perhaps anything locally in bloom (mums, roses, dahlias, and pansies all bloom around September and October)
- Herbs: chamomile, rue, yarrow, sage
- Crystals: sunstone and moonstone
- Foods: fruits and vegetables, apples, squash, berries, pomegranates,
- Symbols: acorns, cornucopia, pinecones, leaves
- Instruments: drums
Balancing
A common legend is that at the exact time of the Equinox (you took note, right?) it’s possible to balance an egg on one end due to some sort of gravitational equalization.
Nobody ever believes me, which is a little frustrating, but I’ve done it. And I even took a picture.
Egg Balancing. Original Image.
The truth is it’s actually possible to balance eggs on any day of the year provided you have enough patience. If you successfully do it on the Equinox, however, it does feel exceptionally witchy.
To focus a little more on the topic of “balance,” you can use your knotwork skills and make a balance ribbon. This is a process I show from start to finish in my video, but here are the written instructions.
Magickal Working Idea – Balance Ribbons
Balance Ribbon. Original Image.
This magickal working idea utilizes some simple knotwork and focuses on the balance aspect of the equinox. Since the day and night are equal, it’s an important time to reflect on balance in our lives. Have we been working too hard and playing too little? Have we been spending more money than we’ve been saving? Has a spirit of adventure been dominating over a need for rest? Do we feel emotionally stable? Those are just some starter questions, but balance also extends to the elements within us — to the air, fire, water, and earth energies that make up our four-fold nature. Take some time to reflect on any aspect of your life that feels unbalanced or out of sync, then grab your supplies.
You will need:
- 2 Lengths of Ribbon (1 white, 1 black) at least 9” in long
- Optionally: A small bag, one small piece of moonstone, and one small piece of sunstone
Instructions:
- Place the two ribbons side by side and tie an overhand knot at one end, locking them both together.
- Using the long ends of both ribbons, tie a half knot (the same as the first knot you make when tying your shoes, not including the bunny ears) and tighten it until it is loosely snug against your original overhand knot
- Repeat this process, securing each knot to the previous knot, until you run out of ribbon
- As you work, visualize aspects of your life coming back into balance
I recommend alternating “right over left” and “left over right” to form square knots — this typically produces a more “visually appealing” result. Don’t untie knots if you mess up! It’ll come out exactly how it’s meant to.
If you’re good at braiding, you can use longer pieces of ribbon. Fold them in half, then tie an overhand knot just below the bend. You’ll now have 4 strands of ribbon to braid together. I’m terrible at braiding anything beyond 3 strands, so if anyone accomplishes this, I would love to see the result.
When we do this working with our coven, we like to give everyone a small drawstring bag along with a piece of moonstone and sunstone. You can keep everything, including the ribbon, inside the bag. Carry it around with you during times when you most feel you need balance.
Balance Bag. Original Image.
For a full visual of this process, be sure to check out the video.
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Harvesting
On the wheel of the year, we have three harvest festivals.
- Lughnasadh, the first harvest, celebrates grain and bread
- Autumn Equinox (Mabon), the second harvest, reaps all the fruits and veggies
- Samhain, the third harvest, is the culling of animals (and possibly people), but we’ll talk about that another time
Every harvest festival is an opportunity to be grateful for what we have, but Autumn Equinox is as close to Thanksgiving as you’re ever going to get on a witch’s calendar. The celebrations include a focus on fruits and vegetables like apples, squash, pumpkin spice lattes, berries, grapes, pomegranates, and more, so here’s where you start getting your traditional image of the abundantly overflowing cornucopia.
It’s always nice when our magick reflects the seasonal energy from the wheel of the year, so magickal workings that center around the idea of gratitude are very appropriate.
Magickal Working Idea – Gratitude Jars
Gratitude Jar. Original Image.
This magickal working idea uses pen and paper and focuses on the gratitude aspect of the second harvest. Maybe you planted some “seeds” of manifestation at Imbolc that are just now starting to sprout, or perhaps you formed clear goals and intentions at Beltane. Either way, each of the three harvest festivals is an opportunity to show gratitude. Even in the darkest of times, there’s always something to be grateful for. If you’re feeling low, you can always pop open your gratitude jar for a quick reminder!
You will need:
- Pen
- Paper
- Small glass jar with lid
- Optionally: Supplies to decorate, like ribbon
Cut or tear the paper into tiny strips or squares. On each piece, write down something you are grateful for, fold it up, and place it in the glass jar. Continue until you run out of paper, space, or ideas.
You may choose to decorate the jar. I like to tie black and white ribbon around mine. You can keep this on your altar or in a space you see every day as a small reminder that you always have things to be grateful for. If you’re feeling exceptionally low, you could open the jar and remind yourself of all the positive things you chose to record about your life.
You can watch me make my own gratitude jar in the video, but the instructions are pretty simple provided you know how to write and fold paper.
Magickal Working Idea – Donation Drive
What better way to show your gratitude than to actually give back? I have previously attended Mabon rituals where every participant is encouraged to bring food items for donation. The donations, primarily canned goods, are stacked high next to the altar. It’s quite a sight to behold! These items can be dropped off at your local charitable organization, shelter, food bank, or even a church. In these times, everyone is looking for help. You can bring extra offerings for the gods, like squash or pomegranates, and stack those next to the altar as well.
Just about anyone can give money or small items, but one of the most valuable things you can ever give is your time. If you can, look into charitable ways to invest your time. Here’s a few ideas on how you can do that:
- Collect items for “hygeiene kits” to donate to your local shelter. Call ahead of time to see what they need and accept. This could include basic necessities like razors, toothbrushes, deodorant, etc.
- Volunteer with a local organization that cleans up parks, beaches, etc
- Help your elderly neighbor with their lawn
God & Goddess
As per usual, let’s take a moment to consider what the god and goddess are doing at this time of year.
The goddess is pregnant. As with Lughnasadh, this is reflected in the bounty of the earth that we’re harvesting.
The god is basically prepping for death. At Samhain, he will become the sacrifice. I know, that sounds grim… but don’t worry, it’s all part of the plan. And it happens every year.
Autumn Equinox marks a tipping in the scales where night hours begin to take over. If you cut the wheel of the year into two pieces, you could consider everything between Autumn Equinox and Spring Equinox to be the “dark half” of the year. In a practical sense, that just means there’s less sun and more darkness each day. Esoterically, however, the sun is often equated with the ego or self. As we start to enter the darker portions of the year, it’s a good time to begin introspection.
A Quick Stop in the Underworld
The story of Persephone and Hades is frequently told around this time of year. There’s many versions of the tale, but if you’ve heard one, you’ve heard them all. If you’d like to read an in-depth explanation in physical book form, you can always purchase a copy of Modern Witchcraft with the Greek Gods by Jason Mankey and Astrea Taylor, which of course I would be remiss if I didn’t mention was discussed in Episode 3 of Music, Myth, and Magick.
I’ll give you the CliffsNotes version.
- Hades had a thing for Persephone, so he kidnapped her
- Demeter freaked out and got everybody searching
- Hecate helped find Persephone in the underworld
- Zeus was like “I don’t really want to get involved in this, guys”
- Demeter got pissed and was like “okay fine, then no more fertility for the earth”
- Hades tricked Persephone into eating a few pomegranate seeds
- An agreement was finally reached where Persephone would spend 6 months each year in the underworld
The moral of the story? Never eat the food in hell.
No, but seriously, this myth is sometimes used to explained why we have two halves of the year. And now you know why pomegranates are associated with Persephone.
Incense
This lovely Mabon incense recipe comes to you from my amazing wife, Selene.
- Two Parts: Frankincense Resin
- One Part: Honeysuckle
- One Part: Mugwort
- One Part: Juniper Berries
- One Part: White Oak Bark
- One Part: Apple Peels
Are you missing an ingredient? No problem. Substitute using whatever you have on-hand. Some other herbs that might be commonly associated with Mabon are sandalwood, cypress, pine, oakmoss, rosemary, sage, thyme and cinnamon. If you happen to find them nearby, you could also add a few fallen leaves or acorns.
The apple peels in this recipe need to be dried. You can peel an apple, eat the insides, then place the peels on a baking sheet. Bake at 200ºF for a couple of hours, flipping the peels every 30 minutes. If you happen to have a food dehydrator, this is a great excuse to use it. If the apple peels aren’t totally dried, they’ll be a little gummy. It does take quite a bit of effort to grind them.
Grinding the incense by hand is an opportune time to charge it with your energetic intentions. Try focusing on either “balance” or “gratitude.” As you work the incense in the mortar, you can picture things you are grateful for and truly fill yourself with the feeling. You’ll not only empower the mix, but you’ll also feel more relaxed and content once you’re done! What better way to charge a Mabon incense?
Altar Ideas
- Altar Cloth: Use two altar cloths of contrasting colors. Fold the second cloth into a thin runner. You can try using white and black to symbolize the balance of day and night or dark green and orange to symbolize the relationship between the earth and the sun at this time
- Decorations: Dried leaves, acorns, seasonal fruits, squash, pumpkin seeds, cornucopia, pinecones, or anything that “feels” like Fall, Equinox, or Mabon to you
- Crystals: Place an equal number of small, tumbled pieces of sunstone and moonstone to represent equality between two opposing forces
Your Local Harvest
Moving beyond those traditional associations for a moment, what do you have in season locally? What’s being harvested right now in your corner of the world? Here in Florida, we’ve got grapefruit, oranges, and tangerines. You might consider using seasonal fruits on your altar, too! It doesn’t have to be all “acorns and squash” all the time.
Shoutout to Panegyria
I’d like to give a quick shoutout to Panegyria for hosting a small portion of this article on their website. I’m always happy to “guest write” for other blogs or publications. Panegyria has some other cool articles, so you should check them out when you have a chance.
Autumn Equinox Music
So how exactly does one find appropriate music for the Equinox? Go ahead and search for “Mabon Music” on YouTube or Spotify… you’ll find tons of playlists featuring Celtic-inspired instrumentals, kitschy pagan tunes, or meditative yoga tracks.
Maybe that works for you. Maybe it doesn’t.
But let’s think outside of the box. What songs remind YOU of autumn?
Maybe it’s a simple jazz tune.
Maybe it’s finally time to start putting on a sweater when you go outside.
Maybe you’re just obsessed with all the leaves that are starting to show their beautiful shades of yellow.
Whatever music triggers you to think of autumn can also help transport you to a ritual mindset.
Conclusions
There are tons of ways to celebrate the Autumn Equinox. Whether it’s making a balancing an egg or listening to a melody that resonates with our soul, there is always a sense of gratitude and reflection in the air. It’s time to bid farewell to the warmth of summer and welcome the crispness of fall!
As we celebrate the harvest and give thanks for the bountiful gifts of the earth, let’s also remember to give back and show kindness to others. Physical acts of generosity, such as volunteering or donating food, embody the spirit of the harvest season and allow us to make positive impacts in our communities.
Remember to pause, reflect, and find the balance within ourselves and the world around us.
And while you’re doing all that reflecting, tell me this: what song most reminds you of the fall season? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Autumn Equinox!
Aerik Arkadian 
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