Warmth has now passed, and cold lies ahead during this seasonal shift when there’s an equal amount of day and night. Mabon, the original “Thanksgiving”, is the time of year when farmers determined if there would be enough food for winter. The primary intentions of the Autumn Equinox is to achieve inner equilibrium, aligning your internal state with the cosmic balance of light and dark, and recognizing the interplay between action and rest. Harvest the “inner crop” of your year by acknowledging personal accomplishments, growth, and blessings. Set intentions to shed habits, ideas, emotional baggage, burdens, and unhealthy relationships that no longer serve you, much like trees dropping their leaves to compost for future growth. Slow your pace and prepare for the introspective, quieter months of the dark half of the year.

The name Mabon comes from the Celtic God Mabon, or Maponos, who died every year, to be reborn in the Spring. Mabon is pronounced “MAH-bohn.”

Mabon is celebrated at the Autumn Equinox, when the daylight and night-time are again equal (falling on the day the Sun enters the sign of Libra), when all the trees are letting go of their past so that new life grows and creates a stronger and healthier future. It is also analogous to the mystical fall of man. At this time the human Spirit descends into the Realms of Annwyn, by being immersed in the illusion of the physical existence. In ancient Egypt, the Autumnal Festival reenacted the grief and joy at rediscovering the Goddess Isis’ husband, Osiris, and son Horus.

This is the time of the Sun’s denouncement, its slow slide into winter and symbolic death. It is also the time of the Earth’s ebbing life force, as the plants of summer bear their fruit and decrease. Mabon is the second harvest, that of grains and of fruits that are made into wine, a time of celebration for the abundance of food to see us through the winter. In earlier times, the food one ate in the winter was the food grown and harvested by the people. There were no supermarkets to pop into to pick up a last minute item. When the harvest was poor, people could experience hunger in the cold, dark days of winter. So the gratitude felt for an abundant harvest was heartfelt.

Mabon is sometimes associated with the Old God, especially in His form as Dionysus, because this is the time of the grape harvest. In this sense, Mabon honors the God of ecstasy, spiritual visions, and freedom. We honor the Old God, for now is the time he descends into the darkness of Annwyn, into the embrace of the Crone aspect of the Goddess, giving thanks to that which has served you in the past and now release as it is no longer of service to you, to bring forth new life into our world for our highest good.

The Autumn Equinox is also celebrated in the name of Diana who is the Italian Goddess early identified with the Greek Goddess Artemis, also called Newhain by the Celts (Lady of Wild and Free Creatures, Goddess of the Sacred Grove). She is the Goddess of the Moon, of the country, the forest, and the hunt, of springs and brooks, chastity and of childbirth. Her powers are over women who prayed to Her for offspring. She is thought of as the Protectress and Mother to all, especially women. Later, Christianity adopted and changed the worship of Diana into the Virgin Mary. Ephesus and Nemi (an apple tree and a deer) are two symbols associated with Diana that also presided over Holy Groves, and Diana is often portrayed with an apple branch in her hand. Later the Christians destroyed as many of these groves as they could to remove the aspect of the old Goddesses, and their followers. The Isle of Avalon, a Celtic name for the Otherworld, also means “Apple Isle”.

The Autumn Equinox is also the time when the Elders gathered food and grain, and at night left it at the door of the poor. This was to ensure that they would have food for the coming winter, and again emphasises the role of Provider and Protector. Today we carry over this tradition, and donations are made to the poor. The birds are not forgotten either. We pick the dried sunflowers to see when their seeds will be ready for harvesting. In this way we can feed the birds when everything is sleeping.

The Autumnal Equinox is a time of balance or equality and harmony. We give thanks for the harvest, which has been safely gathered, and we say farewell to the strength of the Sun. At this point of the year, the Sun loses His power and the dark of the night begins to gain dominion over the days. The Autumnal Equinox is also a time of looking forward. As the leaves change color, we think about the final gathering of grain, berries and fruit; as these will be used to make potions and wine for the winter months.