Mabon: Celebrate the Autumn Equinox, Harvest & Inner Balance

A vibrant yellow maple leaf clings to a bare branch, surrounded by softly blurred autumn trees and a bright, overcast sky.

What is the Autumn Equinox or Mabon?

Also known as the Second Harvest Festival, Mabon is celebrated on the Autumn Equinox. In the Northern Hemisphere, the equinox in occurs on September 22, 2025 at 2:19 PM EST. The word equinox comes from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night), marking the time when day and night are in near-perfect balance.

Traditionally, this is the season when harvests are reaped, preserved, and stored for the long winter ahead. Spiritually, it is a time of inner turning: attention shifts from the outward energy of summer into the reflective stillness of autumn. Projects come to completion. Instead of starting new ones, we are called to pause, review, and prepare.

This is the season to honor the balance between light and dark within ourselves, to celebrate what we’ve accomplished, and to release what no longer serves us. Like the harvest, we gather wisdom, acknowledge our growth, and prepare to carry only what will sustain us into the darker half of the year.

Quick Summary of Mabon: The Autumn Equinox at a Glance

Date (Northern Hemisphere): Around September 21–23 (Sept 22, 2025 2:19 PM EST)
Also Known As: Second Harvest, Harvest Home, Alban Elfed
Themes: Balance, Gratitude, Release, Preparation, Transformation
Symbols: Cornucopia, apples, acorns, autumn leaves, baskets, scarecrow, scythe
Spiritual Focus: Gratitude, abundance, balance, community, completion, letting go

For more journaling experiences, grab your free Wheel of the Year Journal Prompts download to explore each season in more depth.

Correspondences for the Fall Equinox or Mabon

Direction: West
Time of Day: Twilight
Colors: Brown, Gold, Green, Maroon, Orange, Yellow
Symbols: Acorns, Baskets, Corn Stalks, Cornucopia, Drums, Leaves, Music, Scarecrow, Scythe
Foods: Apples, Bread, Beans, Cider, Corn, Gourds, Grains, Mead, Pomegranate, Pumpkins
Deities: Bacchus, Ceres, Chang'e, Demeter, Freyr, Frigg, Gabriel, Ganesha, Hephaestus, Inanna, Indra, Isis, Mabon, Ma’at, Michael, Modron, Parvati, Persephone, Pomona, Quetzalcoatl Raphael, Selene, Thoth, Vishnu
Crystals: Amber, Bloodstone, Carnelian, Citrine, Garnet, Hematite, Jasper, Moss Agate, Obsidian, Onyx, Peridot, Sapphire, Smokey Quartz, Tiger’s Eye, Yellow Topaz
Flowers: Aster, Chrysanthemum, Goldenrod, Marigold, Passionflower, Sunflower, Thistle, Yarrow
Herbs: Bay, Benzoin, Echinacea, Hyssop, Mugwort, Myrrh, Rosemary, Rue, Sage, Solomon’s Seal, Sweetgrass, Tobacco, Turmeric
Trees: Ash, Elder, Ivy, Maple, Oak
Incense: Cinnamon, Clove, Frankincense, Myrrh, Rosemary, Sage, Vetiver
Animals: Blackbird, Deer, Eagle, Goose, Hawk, Horse, Owl, Salmon, Squirrel, Stag, Wolf
Spiritual Focus: Abundance, Accomplishment, Balance, Community, Equality, Family, Goals, Gratitude, Grounding, Healing, Harmony, Love, Planning, Protection, Sharing, Study, Success, Transformation, Wealth, Wisdom

The Name “Mabon” and Why It’s Controversial

The autumn equinox is one of the eight seasonal festivals celebrated in many modern Pagan and Wiccan traditions. Today you’ll often hear it called Mabon, but that name is actually a fairly recent addition.

The term was introduced in the 1970s by Aidan Kelly, a Wiccan author. Kelly wanted each Sabbat on the Wheel of the Year to have a distinctive, myth-inspired name, much like Yule and Beltane. He borrowed Mabon from Welsh mythology, referring to the deity Mabon. There’s no historical evidence that ancient Celts or Druids ever used this name for the equinox.

This is where the debate begins. Many practitioners embrace “Mabon” because it offers poetic resonance. Others dislike it, pointing out that it’s modern, not historically attested, and can feel disconnected from older traditions.

It’s not the only Sabbat name with modern roots, either. For example, “Litha” for the summer solstice comes from a 6th-century Anglo-Saxon calendar, but it wasn’t widely applied in Pagan circles until the 1950s. Some people embrace it, while others reject it for the same reasons.

Other Names & Celebrations You May Come Across

The equinox has been honored around the world for thousands of years, often under different names:

Alban Elfed: A Druidic term meaning “Light of the Water.”
Harvest Home: A folkloric English name for the agricultural celebration.
Michaelmas: A Christian festival (Sept 29) honoring the Archangel Michael, rooted in earlier harvest traditions.
Sukkot: The Jewish harvest festival, falling near the equinox on the lunar calendar.
Higan / Ohigan (Japan): A Buddhist holiday of balance and ancestor veneration observed at both equinoxes.
Mid-Autumn Festival (China): Celebrating harvest and family unity, often near the equinox, dedicated to the moon goddess Chang’e.
Sharad Navratri (Hinduism): A festival dedicated to Durga that begins around the autumn equinox.
Mithra’s Festival (Zoroastrianism): Associated with the equinox and the balance between light and dark.
Mayan & Aztec Observances: Temples such as Chichen Itza were built to align with the equinox sun, tied to deities like Quetzalcoatl.
Ancient Greek & Roman Harvest Rites: Honoring deities like Demeter, Persephone, Pomona, and Ceres at this time of year.

These names and celebrations remind us that the equinox is a universal moment, woven into myth, religion, and culture all over the world. Mabon is just one modern expression of a much older pattern of honoring balance, harvest, and transition.

At the end of the day, names carry power because we give them power. Whether you call this time Mabon, Harvest Home, Second Harvest, or simply the autumn equinox, what matters most is how you connect with the turning of the seasons.

Personal Story About Mabon

The first time I heard the word Mabon, I was in a group home. The other girls were talking about the holiday and I thought it was just another name for the Fall Equinox. I helped them decorate their rooms with autumn things, but I didn’t ask questions. At the time, I didn’t realize they were witches or practitioners. To me, it was just friends having fun and decorating for fall earlier than October.

It wasn’t until years later that I learned more. When I was sixteen, I wandered into what I thought was a “head shop,” but it turned out to be a metaphysical store right across the street from my school. Patty, the owner, welcomed me in like I belonged there. Her store was decorated for what looked like Halloween, but when I asked, she explained it was for Mabon, the Fall Equinox.

That moment changed something for me. I was just beginning to explore my psychic abilities and my connection to the Goddess Athena, though I was still “in the attic” (my version of the broom closet). Patty gave me my first crash course on what Mabon really was a celebration of the harvests and preparing for winter. The cool decorations were just the added bonus.

Since then, I’ve made it a point to honor the equinox each year. Sometimes in simple ways, sometimes with spell work and rituals. To me, this is a season of gratitude, release, and creativity. September through November has become my shadow work season. It’s when I turn from the busy, practical tasks of summer toward inner expression like writing, sewing, reading, creating. As the leaves change, I look at all my projects and ask: What needs finishing? What can be released? What deserves my energy moving forward?

This Mabon, I am letting go of some things that I am not ready to discuss openly. We all have our secrets... well maybe they are not secrets, but rather it is a time where the energy I am working with is fragile and outside influences can sometimes hinder my progress. I will say that I have been writing in my journal, choosing to use many of the prompts that I provided below to continue the process of healing.

I also will be making Moon Water to keep for the coming months to help boost my spell work and shadow work.

Shadow Work as a Key Focus

The Fall Equinox is about honoring the diminishing light, the natural cycle of endings, and the lessons of balance. It’s a time to reap what you’ve sown, but also to look honestly at the results. Sometimes our outcomes don’t match our expectations. That’s where shadow work comes in.

Shadow work at Mabon might involve:

Journaling to explore what patterns are ready to be released
Writing down what you need to let go of and burning it safely as a ritual
A candle meditation on light and shadow within yourself
Tarot or oracle spreads that ask: What am I harvesting? What must I release? What is hidden in shadow?

The key is reflection without harsh judgment. This season teaches us that endings are natural and necessary. What we let go of now creates space for the seeds of the future to rest in winter’s quiet soil.

Mabon & Fall Equinox Journal Prompts

Use these prompts to guide your reflection and bring gratitude, release, and preparation into your practice:

Balance & Reflection

Where in my life do I feel balanced right now? Where am I out of balance?
The equinox is equal day and night, how can I honor both light and shadow within myself?
What lessons has the darker half of the year taught me so far?

Gratitude & Harvest

What am I most grateful for that has “come to fruition” this year?
What goals, dreams, or intentions have I successfully harvested?
Who or what supported me during this season of growth?

Release & Letting Go

Just as the trees release their leaves, what is it time for me to release?
What habits, relationships, or thought patterns no longer serve me as I move toward winter?
How can I create space for rest and renewal in the months ahead?

Preparation & Intention

How can I use the slower pace of the coming season to nurture myself?
What seeds of intention do I want to carry quietly through the winter, to rest and germinate in the dark?
What rituals or practices help me feel grounded as the year winds down?

Cycle & Transformation

Looking back over the past year, what “chapters” feel complete?
In what ways have I transformed since last fall?
What wisdom from this cycle do I want to carry into the next?

Mabon Tarot Spread: Finding Balance at the Equinox

Along with journaling and shadow work, tarot can be a powerful way to connect with the energy of the Autumn Equinox. The spread below is designed to reflect the themes of balance, gratitude, release, preparation, and transformation. You can use tarot cards, oracle cards, or even runes: whatever feels right in your practice.

The 5-Card Mabon Spread

The layout forms a gentle crescent shape surrounding Card 1, symbolizing the turning of the seasons. The cards are positioned in a clockwise direction.

A tarot spread for Mabon/Autumn Equinox featuring five card positions with themes of balance, harvest, release, preparation, and transformation.

Card Position Meanings

Balance Point (The Equinox Itself): What is currently in balance in my life? Where am I being asked to find greater equilibrium?
Harvest (What to Celebrate & Give Thanks For): What blessings or accomplishments am I harvesting at this time?
Release (What to Let Go Of): Like the trees dropping their leaves, what is ready to fall away?
Preparation (What to Store for the Winter): What wisdom or resource do I need to carry into the darker months?
Transformation (The Gift of the Cycle): What transformation is unfolding within me as one cycle ends and another begins?

You can do this spread on or around the equinox, lighting a candle to honor the balance of light and dark. Write down your insights, and consider pairing it with your journal prompts for more clarity.

Final Thoughts

Mabon, whether you call it the Autumn Equinox, Second Harvest, or Harvest Home, is a reminder that life moves in cycles. As the light and dark come into balance, we are invited to pause, reflect, and prepare for what comes next.

This season is about gratitude for what we’ve gathered, release of what we no longer need, and trust in the quieter months ahead. Journaling, shadow work, and divination tools like the tarot spread shared above can help guide you through this process. They offer insight, clarity, and encouragement as you navigate your own turning of the seasons.

However you celebrate, may your Mabon be filled with balance, abundance, and deep inner knowing.