In the Northern hemisphere, the second harvest of the season falls on 22 September which also rings in Libra Season. This time marks the beginning of the Spring Equinox (Ostara) in the Southern Hemisphere. Also known as the Autumn Equinox, this is when night and day is (relatively) equal, and marks the beginning of darker days ahead.
This is in traditional (notice how much I’ve used that word by now?), more cis/hetero European-based paganism. Witches coming from a more secular and/or queer, non-Western vantage point can still embrace all of these associations by reveling in the change of seasons and all the good stuff coming our way during this harvest season.
We don’t need to have a direct connection to the popular Celtic traditional holidays in order to experience our paganism. Explore ways you experience spirituality. For example, if you are devoted to a certain pop culture universe, see what you can find there that aligns with your personal paganism. Some witches from Jewish backgrounds create a practice that coincides with the Jewish High Holy Days. Spirituality looks different for every person, and the key thing to having a connection with our paganism is to make it our own. The closer our personal connection in whichever way we experience it, the more potent our manifestations will be.
We don’t need to be involved in a literal harvest to celebrate whatever we have harvested in our own lives over the course of the year. This time gives us a chance to sit back and celebrate what we have manifested into being. It doesn’t matter if it’s on a big or a small scale, a personal or a professional level, or any other measurement: it’s ours to bask in. Allow yourself to do so. It sometimes seems that we spend twice as much time cutting ourselves down, and hardly any time patting ourselves on the back.
Transition and wisdom are central themes of Mabon. This is a time of letting go that which no longer serves us. What has transitioned for you in your life? How are you handling that transition? What are some of the things you learned along the way? It’s time to release all of the muck that has been building up emotionally. As the days get darker, the light inside needs to get brighter. Mabon is a time to honour the strength within us and take stock of what we have – not just that of the material variety (but, hell, if buying the perfect colour of lipstick is your jam: go for it) as we journey into the long, dark winter nights.
For many, darkness is something to be avoided. The return of darkness comes with this equinox. What does it feel like when you embrace the darkness (besides feeling metal AF)? Is there beauty in the darkness? What is it? Remember, seeds germinate in the dark. What intentions can you set to germinate over the fall and winter months? The shadow is like a bed of deep, rich soil. The shadow is not always negative: it’s the wellspring of our personal power and home to the subliminal.
Celebrations can be as simple as a glass of wine or a joint in a spot where you can relax and quietly contemplate to a brash gathering of fellow witches (or general mirth-makers) with a potluck and maybe a ritual however formal or informal you choose to be. As someone who hardly ever takes part in group rituals, I get as elaborate or simplistic as energy allows that day. I typically use this time to do a tarot pull, and a simple meditative ritual.
Just taking a moment to appreciate the changing of the season and the progression of time helps give us a better outlook and reflect upon ourselves and the past year. Stepping back from the day-to-day norm inspires us to live with deeper intention within the moment. Using this time as a moment to reconnect with the natural world and our relationship to it better grounds us to the here and now. We are all inhabitants of Earth and time moves all of us.