Mabon, also known as the Witch’s Thanksgiving, is the second pagan harvest festival of the year, celebrated on the Autumn Equinox, around Sept 21th – Sept 23rd (in the northern hemisphere.) Often overlooked by many pagans, This mid-harvest festival is where we honor the changing of the seasons from summer to fall and give gratitude for all of the blessings we have received.
What is the Autumn Equinox?
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 fall season. The earth is changing and this a time to harvest what remains of our herbs, fruits, and flowers within our garden. As we look around, our animal companions are doing the same, as they gather seeds and prepare for the darker days to come.
Below you will find 7 ways to celebrate the Mabon Sabbat, helping you to embrace the changing of the seasons.
7 Ways to Celebrate the Mabon Sabbat
1. Cast an Apple Spell for Healing
Apples are abundant during the autumn season and are a valuable tool to use in healing spells. There is much truth in the old saying, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” The Mabon Sabbat encourages us to rest and to heal, as we transition into the darker and colder days of the season.
Prepare your apple by cutting it horizontally in half, exposing the pentagram in the middle. Take a few moments to look into the pentagram, the witch’s symbol of protection, and visualize your body at optimum health.
Now take each seed within your apple, and place it into the palms of your hand. Hold your hands tightly together, visualizing a healing light within the center. Feel your hands become warm with the healing energy.
Find a place in your garden to plant your apple seeds. Place your seeds in the ground, and say something similar to the following,
“By the healing energy of the apple and the earth, I nourish my body and soul. As the earth nourishes these seeds, helping them to grow into healing apple trees, so shall the earth nourish my body with its healing energy.”
After you are finished planting your apple seeds, sit in the garden and eat the rest of the apple, visualizing your body healing with every bite.
2. Harvest Seed Pods to Decorate Your Mabon Altar
The Mabon sabbat is the ideal time to gather a variety of herbs, flowers, and and seed pods from the garden. Seed pods are the keepers of life energy, containing so much mysterious, and are a natural way to decorate your altar for Mabon.
You can use your seed pods to craft a festive garland to hang above your sacred space or to make a bracelet to wear during ritual. Where I live in North Carolina, I gather acorns for prosperity, mimosa pods for creativity, and pinecones for protection.
3. Perform a Releasing Spell with Autumn Leaves
The Mabon Sabbat is a time to let go, to seek self reflection, and to 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. Perform a releasing ritual for the Mabon Sabbat.
Gather fallen leaves of various shades of color and sizes. On each leaf, write down a word or short phrase to symbolize what you want to release from your life. When you are ready, hold the leaf in your hand, and speak aloud what you wish to let go of.
Example ~ I release my attachment to people who do not share my core values. I let go of them gently, with love and care, from this day on and all future days to come.
Find a place in nature where you can release each leaf in the wind. A hilltop, a river or a stream, where the leaves can blow away from you. As you release what you no longer need in your life, you make room for healing to take place, inviting more blessings to flow your way.
4. Connect with the Mabon Sabbat with Seasonal Scents
There is a noticeable change in the air this time of year, as our senses are filled with pumpkin spice, fresh baked apples, pine, cinnamon, and orange. Celebrate the Mabon sabbat by delighting your senses with seasonal candles, incense, or oils.
The Mabon Sabbat is meant to be enjoyed and to give off those warm and cozy vibes of Fall. These comforting aromas have a way of transporting you to those mystical places within yourself.
5. Perform a Fire Gazing Meditation for Balance
The Mabon Sabbat is celebrated around the time of the Autumn Equinox, where the hours of light and dark are equal. This a time to go within and to seek balance within ourselves.
Begin by placing 4 Balance tealight candles on your altar, in each direction, one for the north, one for the east, one for the south, and one for the west. As you light each candle, visualize an area of your life coming into balance.
Spend some time in sacred space, watching the flames of the candles dance back and forth. Stare into the candle flame and see this area of your life coming into a state of balance. You may wish to journal about balance or listen to music while your candles continue to burn.
6. Make a Gratitude Tree
Give thanks and express your gratitude for all of the blessings you have received by making a gratitude tree for your home. Gratitude trees, also known as Blessing trees, 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 to count your blessings and to add a little Magick into your Mabon sabbat celebration.
7. Write a Letter to the Earth
Even if you’re not much of a writer, this time of year has a way of helping the words from within to flow more easily. I always find drinking a pumpkin spice latte helps me get into the flow.
The Mabon Sabbat is a time to reflect, to look at the bigger picture of our lives. Find a quiet spot in nature, perhaps under a majestic oak tree or a weeping willow, and allow your heart to fill the page. What do you wish for the earth?
Write to her.
Tell her everything you wish for her, even if you’re unsure of how to make it happen. Allow the energy of the trees around you to speak through you, and embrace the words that flow onto the page. When you’re done, fold up your letter, and send it to the earth. Bury it under the tree.
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