Mabon (Autumn Equinox) Folklore and Traditions

 Source: learnreligions.com

Interested in learning about some of the traditions behind the celebrations of the autumn equinox? Find out why Mabon is important, learn about the legend of Persephone and Demeter, the symbolism of stags, acorns and oaks, and explore the magic of apples and more!

What are the origins of the word “Mabon”?. Image by Andrew McConnell/Robert Harding World Imager/Getty Images

Wondering where the word “Mabon” came from? Was it a Celtic god? A Welsh hero? Is it found in ancient writings? Let’s look at some of the history behind the word.

Cet your family outdoors to celebrate Mabon!. Image by Patrick Wittman/Cultura/Getty Images

Mabon falls around September 21 in the northern hemisphere, and around March 21 below the equator. This is the autumn equinox, it’s a time to celebrate the season of the second harvest. It’s a time of balance, of equal hours of light and dark, and a reminder that the cold weather isn’t far away at all. If you’ve got kids at home, try celebrating Mabon with some of these family-friendly and kid-appropriate ideas.

Autumn Equinox Around the World

Mabon is the time of the second harvest, and of thanksgiving. Image by Johner Images/Getty Images

At Mabon, the time of the autumn equinox, there are equal hours of light and dark. It is a time of balance, and while summer is ending, the winter is approaching. This is a season in which farmers are harvesting their fall crops, gardens are beginning to die, and the earth gets a bit cooler each day. Let’s look at some of the ways that this second harvest holiday has been honored around the world for centuries. Read more about the Autumn Equinox Around the World.

Gods of the Vine

Grapes are everywhere in the fall, so it’s no surprise that the Mabon season is a popular time to celebrate wine-making, and deities connected to the growth of the vine. Whether you see him as Bacchus, Dionysus, the Green Man, or some other vegetative god, the god of the vine is a key archetype in harvest celebrations. Learn more about the Gods of the Vine.

Pagans and Renaissance Festivals

RenFaire isn’t specifically Pagan, but you’ll see a lot of us there. Image by Dave Fimbres Photography/Moment Open/Getty Images

Renaissance Faires and Festivals aren’t specifically Pagan, but there are a few reasons why you’ll see a lot of us there. Let’s look at how this counterculture institution of the sixties and seventies turned into a place where you can almost always find other Pagans.

The Celebration of Michaelmas

Michaelmas fell near the end of the harvest season, and was a time for settling accounts and balances. Image by Oliver Morin/AFP Creative/Getty Images

In the British Isles, Michaelmas is celebrated on September 29. As the Feast of St. Michael within the Catholic church, this date is often associated with the harvest because of its proximity to the autumn equinox. Although it’s not a Pagan holiday in the true sense, Michaelmas celebrations often included older aspects of Pagan harvest customs, such as the weaving of corn dolls from the last sheaves of grain. Read more about the Michaelmas Celebration.

Nutting Day

Hazelnuts are typically ripe around September 14, known as Nutting Day in the British Isles. Image by Alberto Guglielmi/Photodisc/Getty Images

Around the middle of September, the nut season starts. Hazelnuts ripen in the hedges, and they have long been connected to folklore and legends. Hazel is associated to the Celtic tree month of Coll, from August 5 to September 1, and the very word Coll means “the life force inside you.” Hazelnuts are connected to wisdom and protection, and are often found near sacred wells and magical springs.

The oak tree has long been venerated by people of many cultures as a symbol of strength and power. Image by Images Etc Ltd/Moment Mobile/Getty Images

The acorn is a symbol of strength and power. In the fall, these tiny yet hardy little nuggets drop from the oak trees to land on the ground. Because the acorn only appears on a fully mature oak, it is often considered a symbol of the patience needed to attain goals over long periods of time. It represents perseverance and hard work. In many cultures the oak is sacred. Read more about Acorn & Oak Folklore.

Pomona, the Apple Goddess

Pomona is the goddess of apple orchards, and is celebrated around Lammas. Image by Stuart McCall/Photographer’s Choice/Getty Images

Pomona was a Roman goddess who was the keeper of orchards and fruit trees. Unlike many other agricultural deities, Pomona is not associated with the harvest itself, but with the flourishing of fruit trees. She is usually portrayed bearing a cornucopia or a tray of blossoming fruit. Learn more about Pomona, the Goddess of Apples.

The scarecrow guards the fields and crops from hungry predators. Image by Dimitri Otis/Digital Vision/Getty Images

Although they haven’t always looked the way they do now, scarecrows have been around a long time and have been used in a number of different cultures. From the farms of ancient Greece to the rice fields of Japan, scarecrows are often used for a variety of purposes. Learn more about Scarecrow Magic & Legends.

Can You Balance an Egg on the Equinox?

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Can you balance an egg on its end during the equinox?. Image by Imaginar/Image Bank/Getty Images

There’s a very popular story that circulates on the Internet twice every year at the spring and fall equinoxes, and it’s about eggs. According to legend, if you try to stand an egg on its end on the vernal or autumnal equinox, you’ll be successful, because of the polarity and balance of the earth. Let’s explore the legend of Egg Balancing on the Equinox.

Source:

Wigington, Patti. “Mabon (Autumn Equinox) Folklore and Traditions.” Learn Religions, Sep. 5, 2021, learnreligions.com/mabon-folklore-traditions-4590167.

Spell For Mabon

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Some of the Witchcraft/Magickal Correspondence and Actives for Mabon c. 2018

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Mabon Activities and Correspondences

Symbolism of Mabon: The completion of the Harvest begun. Day and night are equal and the God prepares to leave His physical body and begin the great adventure into the unseen.

Symbols of Mabon: all harvest symbols, corn, autumn flowers, red poppies,nuts, grains, leaves, acorns, pine and cypress cones, oak sprigs, wreaths, vine, grapes, cornucopia, horns of plenty, burial cairns, apples, marigolds, harvested crops. wine, gourds

Colors : Orange, Dark Red, Yellow, Indigo, Maroon and Brown.

Goddesses: Modron(Welsh), Bona Dea, Harvest Deities, Persephone, Demeter/Ceres, Morgan(Welsh- Cornish), Snake Woman(Aboriginal), Epona (Celtic-Gaulish), Pamona(Roman), the Muses(Greek).

Gods: Mabon, Modron(Welsh), Sky Father, John Barleycorn , the Wicker-Man, the Corn Man, Thoth(Egyptian), Hermes, Hotei(Japanese), Thor, Dionysus(Roman), Bacchus(Greek) and all wine Deities.

Tarot Cards: Judgment and The World

Altar Decorations: acorns, pinecones, autumn leaves, pomegranate, statue of the Triple Goddess in her Mother phase.

Mabon Herbs: Rue, yarrow, rosemary, marigold, sage, walnut leaves and husks, mistletoe, saffron, chamomile, almond leaves, passionflower, frankincense, rose hips, bittersweet, sunflower, wheat, oak leaves, dried apple or apple seeds.

Foods of Mabon: cornbread, wheat products, bread, grains, berries, nuts, grapes, acorns, seeds, dried fruits, corn, beans, squash, roots (ie onions, carrots, potatoes, etc), hops, apples, pomegranates, carrots, onions, potatoes, roast goose or mutton, wine, ale and ciders, breads, apples, pomegranates

Animals: dogs, wolves, stag, blackbird, owl, eagle, birds of prey, salmon & goat, Gnomes, Sphinx, Minotaur, Cyclops, Andamans and Gulons.

Element: water.

Incense : pine, sweetgrass, apple blossom, benzoin, myrrh, frankincense, jasmine, sage wood aloes, black pepper, patchouly, cinnamon, clove, oak moss

Mabon Stones : During Mabon, stones ruled by the Sun will help bring the Sun’s energy to you.clear quartz, amber, peridot, diamond, gold, citrine, yellow topaz, cat’s-eye, adventurine.

Customs: offerings to land, preparing for cold weather by bringing in harvest, cutting willow wands( Druidic), leaving apples upon burial cairns & graves as a token of honor, walks in forests, gather seed pods & dried plants, fermenting grapes to make wine,picking ripe produce, stalk bundling

Spellworkings of Mabon: Protection, prosperity, security, and self- confidence. Also those of harmony and balance. Taboos:It was considered unlucky to cut down the very last of the Harvest, and so was also left to stand in the field by some traditions.

Activities of Mabon: Select the best of each vegetable, herb, fruit, nut, and other food you have harvested or purchased and give it back to Mother Earth with prayers of thanksgiving. Hang dried ears of corn around your home in appreciation of the harvest season. Do meditations and chanting as you store away food for the Winter. Do a thanksgiving circle, offering thanks as you face each direction – – for home, finances, and physical health (North); for gifts of knowledge (East); for accomplishments in career and hobbies (South); for relationships (West); and for spiritual insights and messages (Center). Decorate the table with colorful autumn leaves in a basket. Display the fruits of the harvest – corn, gourds, nuts, grapes, apples – preferably in a cornucopia. Or decorate with wildflowers, acorns, nuts, berries, cocoons, anything that represents the harvest to you. Like its sister equinox, halfway across the Wheel of the Year, the Autumn Equinox is a good occasion for a ritual feast. Plan a meal that uses seasonal and symbolic fruits and vegetables. You can serve bread, squash, corn, apples, cider and wine. Make some homemade wine or cordial gather and dry herbs, plants, seeds and seed pods. Make grapevine wreaths using dried bitter-sweet herb for protection. Use ribbons of gold and yellow to bring in the energy of the Sun, and decorate with sprigs of dried yarrow or cinnamon sticks. Make a protection charm of hazelnuts (filberts) strung on red thread. Make a witch’s broom. Tie dried corn husks or herbs (broom, cedar, fennel, lavender, peppermint, rosemary) around a strong, relatively straight branch of your choice. Make magic Apple Dolls Gifts of the Harvest can be used to make tools and emblems that will remind us of their bounty all year round. Look for colored leaves. Collect fallen leaves and make a centerpiece or bouquet for your home. Save the leaves to burn in your Yule fire. Vist an apple orchard and, if possible, pick your own apples. Hang apples on a tree near your home. Watch the birds and other small animals who will enjoy your gift. This is also the time for replacing your old broom with a new one. As the broom corn is ripe now, besom making is traditional and magickal this time of year. Begin the festival with a vineyard or orchard harvest. You might check the farm lands in your area to see if there’s an orchard or pumpkin patch that allows customers to harvest produce for themselves. Traditionally Sabbat festivals begin at sun set on the eve of the Holiday. You can use the daytime hours of this holiday eve to prepare baskets for harvesting the next day. Baking a pumpkin pie (from scratch if possible) is a wonderful way to bring in the fragrance of the holiday season

September 23, 2025 Current Southern Hemisphere/Tomorrow’s Northern Hemisphere Moon Phase

You can find more moon phase details on both of the websites used in this post by clicking on the hyperlink.

Source: nineplanets.org

The Moon phase for September 23rd, 2025 is a Waxing Crescent phase. This is the phase where the moon started to become visible again after the New Moon.

In this part of the moon cycle, the Moon is moving away from the Sun and is becoming more and more illuminated by sunlight. In this phase, the moon will go from 0.1% to 49.9% illuminated before reaching the First Quarter phase.

In the Waxing Crescent phase the moon rises before noon in the east, transits the meridian before sunset, before setting in the west before midnight.

Fun fact:

Phase Details

Moon age: 1.38 days

Moon illumination: 2.19%

Moon tilt: 160.952°

Moon angle: 0.5

Moon distance: 401,395.79 km

Moon sign: Libra

Source: MoonGiant.com

You can use this link to go forward or backward in time for Moon phase information. If you are curious, you can even find out what phase the Moon was in when you or anyone else was born.

Today’s Waxing Crescent Phase

The Waxing Crescent on September 23 has an illumination of 3%. This is the percentage of the Moon illuminated by the Sun. The illumination is constantly changing and can vary up to 10% a day. On September 23 the Moon is 1.74 days old. This refers to how many days it has been since the last New Moon. It takes 29.53 days for the Moon to orbit the Earth and go through the lunar cycle of all 8 Moon phases.

Phase Details

Phase: Waxing Crescent
Illumination: 3%
Moon Age: 1.74 days
Moon Angle: 0.49
Moon Distance: 402,773.97 km
Sun Angle: 0.53
Sun Distance: 150,064,497.06 km