The Spiritual Meaning of Mabon, (Also Known as the Autumn Equinox)

- September 17, 2025

Mabon, also known as the Autumn Equinox, is one of the eight festivals in the Wheel of the Year. Celebrated around September 21st to 23rd in the Northern Hemisphere (and around March 20th to 23rd in the Southern Hemisphere), Mabon marks the moment when day and night are of equal length—perfect balance before the descent into the darker half of the year.

This equinox is both an astronomical event and a spiritual turning point. It honors the second harvest (following Lammas and preceding Samhain), and is often called the Pagan Thanksgiving for its focus on gratitude, community, and the completion of cycles. Mabon invites a sacred pause—a moment to acknowledge what has come to fruition and what must now be let go.

Seasonal and Astronomical Significance

At the Autumn Equinox, the Sun crosses the celestial equator, creating an equal distribution of light and darkness across the Earth. This moment of balance is fleeting. After this point, the days begin to grow shorter, the nights longer, and the natural world begins its slow journey into rest and reflection. It is a threshold between the light and the dark halves of the year, embodying themes of transition, preparation, and inner focus.

Spiritual Meanings and Symbolism

1. Balance and Harmony
Mabon is a time of equilibrium. Light and dark are equal, reflecting the need for balance in our own lives—between activity and rest, giving and receiving, inner work and outer expression. Spiritually, it is an invitation to realign with natural rhythms, to pause and examine where imbalance may exist within body, mind, or soul.

2. Gratitude and Abundance
As the second harvest, Mabon is a time to give thanks for all that has been cultivated and gathered—both physically and spiritually. It’s a season of thanksgiving, not only for the fruits of the Earth but for the growth and lessons experienced over the past seasons. This practice of gratitude strengthens our connection to life and fosters a sense of contentment and spiritual nourishment.

3. Letting Go and Release
Just as the trees begin to release their leaves, Mabon teaches us the beauty and necessity of letting go. The days ahead will ask us to journey inward, to rest, to shed the unnecessary. Spiritually, this is a time to examine what is no longer serving us—old habits, outdated beliefs, or emotional burdens—and begin the sacred process of release.

4. Reflection and Transition
The equinox serves as a spiritual threshold. It encourages introspection, the reviewing of past cycles, and the setting of intentions for the descent into winter. It’s a liminal time, when the veil between the physical and spiritual realms begins to thin, preparing the way for deeper inner work and ancestral connection.

5. Death and Rebirth in Nature’s Cycle
Mabon reminds us that the natural world moves through cycles of life, death, and renewal, and so must we. The harvest, while abundant, is the result of plants that have died to offer sustenance. In this, there is spiritual wisdom: that death is not an end but a necessary transformation in the cycle of becoming.

Symbols and Correspondences

Colors: Deep reds, golds, browns, oranges, purples
Foods: Apples, squash, corn, grains, nuts, wine, cider
Herbs: Rosemary, sage, chamomile, marigold
Crystals: Citrine, amber, carnelian, smoky quartz
Deities: Demeter, Persephone, Mabon ap Modron, The Crone or Dark Goddess aspects
Animals: Owls, stags, crows, squirrels—symbols of wisdom, change, and preparation

Rituals and Practices

Create a Mabon altar: Decorate it with seasonal elements like leaves, apples, pinecones, candles, and symbols of balance (such as a scale).

Gratitude ceremony: Write a list of things you are grateful for and read them aloud in sacred space. Offer thanks to the Earth, the Sun, and the spirit of the season.

Harvest feast: Share a meal with friends or family using seasonal produce. Eating intentionally is a way to honor the harvest within and without.

Meditation and balance work: Use this time to reflect on areas of imbalance in your life. Meditate on how you can bring more harmony into your relationships, routines, and spiritual practice.

Letting go ritual: Write down what you wish to release, then burn or bury the paper, symbolizing the sacred surrender to the Earth’s cycle of decay and transformation.

Nature walks: Connect with the changing landscape. Notice the signs of transition in trees, animals, and the air itself.

Deeper Implications

Mabon is not only a seasonal festival but a spiritual metaphor. It mirrors the inner descent we all must make into the shadow self—the quiet spaces of the psyche where truth and healing dwell. The balance of light and dark reminds us that both are sacred and necessary for growth.

It is also a time to consider what we will carry with us through the coming months of darkness. What wisdom have we gained from our experiences? What dreams will we nourish through winter’s quiet? Just as seeds lie dormant underground, so too does spiritual potential rest and renew in stillness.

In Summary

Mabon, the Autumn Equinox, is a sacred moment of balance, thanksgiving, and transition. Spiritually, it calls us to reflect on the year’s journey, to give thanks for what has grown, and to prepare ourselves for the inward path of winter. It teaches the beauty of cycles, the necessity of release, and the quiet power of introspection. By honoring Mabon, we align ourselves with the turning of the Earth and embrace the wisdom of both light and shadow on our path of spiritual growth.

Learn more about the Wheel of the Year