13 Autumn Equinox Rituals and Traditions to Honor Mabon

As the days and nights come into balance for the first time since Ostara, pagans and witches around the world celebrate Mabon, the Autumn Equinox. The fall equinox occurs each year between September 21st and 24th. This sabbat marks the second harvest on the Wheel of the Year and signals the turning inward that comes with Fall and the darker part of the year.

Mabon rituals and traditions honor the themes of balance, gratitude, and release. It’s a time to gather what you’ve sown (both physically and spiritually) and prepare for winter.

Autumn Equinox rituals might include lighting candles to represent light and shadow, journaling on where you can restore balance in your life, decorating an altar with seasonal symbols like apples, pomegranates, and acorns, or working with gods and goddesses like Persephone.

You’ll find more Mabon ritual ideas and ways to celebrate the Autumn Equinox below.

Gratitude and Balance Rituals for Mabon

Hold a Gratitude Ceremony

One of the most meaningful Mabon rituals is a simple gratitude practice. Write down everything you’re thankful for. It can include people, moments, lessons, even challenges that helped you grow. Whether you’re doing this activity solo or in a group, read each item aloud so you can acknowledge it fully.

You can keep the list in your journal or on your altar or safely burn it to symbolically release your gratitude into the world. This ritual helps you honor the harvest and set a grounded, intentional tone for the season ahead.

If you’re short on time, here’s a very simple step-by-step Mabon gratitude ritual for you.

Journal about Balance

The Autumn Equinox is a natural time to reflect on balance within yourself and your life because it is one of the times of the year (the vernal Equinox is the other) when the amount of day and night are equal. Use your journal to explore where you feel aligned and where things might be tipping too far in one direction.

Consider what’s been working, what’s felt off, and what adjustments could restore greater harmony as you move into fall. If you need a guide, use the assessment wheel in our witchy planner to help you visually map where your energy is currently and what needs more time or attention.

Light and Shadow Ritual

This ritual uses candle magic to represent the energies of light and dark. Place one white candle and one black candle side by side on your altar or workspace. Light both.

As the flames burn, spend a few quiet minutes reflecting. What habits, fears, or thought patterns are you ready to release as the days grow shorter? What strengths, values, or goals do you want to carry with you through the darker months? Write your answers down, or speak them aloud as a form of release.

Nature-Based Autumn Equinox Activities

Go on a Nature Walk

Taking a quiet walk in nature during this time of the year is a great way to connect with the shifting energies of the season and reflect on the balance between light and dark.

And, it’s one of the simplest and most powerful Autumn Equinox rituals for it invites you to slow down and connect with the seasonal shift, both around you and within.

As you stroll through a park or down a forest trail (or even just in your neighborhood), take time to notice how the air feels cooler, the way the sunlight filters through the trees, and the changing colors of the leaves. Collect a few natural items that catch your eye, like acorns, pinecones, or leaves to use on your altar, in your crafts, or in spells.

Plan a Fall Equinox Picnic

Celebrate the Autumn Equinox with a cozy outdoor picnic. Head to a forest clearing, lakeside, or quiet park and pack a basket with seasonal foods such as spiced cider, apples, hearty sandwiches, or pumpkin muffins. Consider bringing a thermos of chai or soup as well.

Bring soft blankets or cushions and take time to simply be in nature. Feel the cool air, watch the leaves shift color, and breathe into the slower rhythm of fall.

Watch the Autumn Equinox Sunset

The setting sun perfectly captures the energy of Mabon, when day and night share equal time. Find a peaceful spot with a view of the horizon and watch the sunset as a simple equinox ritual.

Bring a blanket and a warm drink, like chai, cider, or herbal tea and let the experience anchor you in the turning season. You might reflect on what you’re releasing and what you’re preparing to carry into the darker months ahead.

Refresh Your Altar for Mabon

Reworking your altar with fresh energy for the new season is a hands-on way to honor the turning of the Wheel. Add natural elements like pumpkins, acorns, colorful leaves, pomegranates and pinecones. Incorporate the season’s colors of reds, oranges, golds, and browns and some of the corresponding herbs for Mabon. You can also burn incense in fall-aligned scents like cinnamon, clove, or cedar.

Here are more altar ideas and details on how to set up your Mabon altar.

Go Apple Picking

Apple picking is a classic Fall activity that connects you directly to the rhythms of the harvest. Visiting an orchard gives you a hands-on way to engage with the earth’s seasonal abundance and gather ingredients for your autumn rituals or recipes.

After you go, use the apples to bake pies, simmer homemade applesauce, or brew a small batch of cider. You can also add a few to your altar as offerings for prosperity, protection, or gratitude. Here are some Mabon recipes you might consider making.

Other Seasonal Traditions That Honor the Harvest’s Energy

Enjoy a Candlelit Dinner

Throughout history, the autumn harvest was a time to gather, give thanks, and share a final communal meal before the colder months set in. Recreate this tradition with a candlelit dinner that honors both abundance and the balance of light and dark.

Serve seasonal foods like roasted root vegetables, squash soup, or apple tarts. Decorate the table with fallen leaves, acorns, or a centerpiece made from autumn fruits. As you eat, reflect on what you’ve harvested for the year and what you’re ready to release.

Host a Bonfire

Bonfires have been used since ancient times during seasonal festivals to honor the sun, offer blessings, and mark turning points in the agricultural year. Hosting one for Mabon brings warmth, reflection, and connection.

Gather friends or family around a fire pit or backyard bonfire. Offer cider or mulled wine, seasonal snacks like spiced nuts or baked apples, and set the tone with a simple group ritual: each person can share something they’re grateful for or something they’re letting go of.

Make a Homemade Broom

Crafting a besom, or ritual broom, is a traditional way to sweep away old energy and prepare your space for a new season. In folk and Pagan traditions, brooms were used to clear ritual space or hung near the door for protection and blessings.

Gather natural materials like broomcorn, dried grasses, or twigs, and bind them to a handle made of wood or a sturdy branch. As you build, weave in autumn herbs or spices like cinnamon, clove, or dried orange peel. You can use your besom in rituals, display it on your altar, or hang it near your threshold to honor the harvest and protect your home.

Decorate Your Home for Fall

If you haven’t leapt straight to Halloween decorating, decorating for fall is a wonderful way to embrace the season and create a cozy atmosphere. Update your home for Mabon with deep reds, oranges, and golds. Craft a wreath from dried leaves, berries, or corn husks. Place gourds, apples, or pomegranates on your altar or table. Here are some decor ideas to get you started.

Give Back to Your Community

The second harvest has always been a time of sharing the abundance. Ancient communities would celebrate with offerings to the gods and gifts to those in need. Continue that tradition by volunteering at a food bank, donating to a local cause, or sharing extra produce from your garden. You could also host a clothing or canned food drive with friends.

Honor the Fall Gods and Goddesses

Honoring deities connected to Fall can deepen your relationship with the season. Set up a small altar or devotional space for one or more of these figures, using traditional offerings and meditations that reflect their role in myth and seasonal transition.

Persephone

Persephone is the queen of the underworld and goddess of spring and she begins her descent into the Underworld at Mabon. Here’s our guide to working with Persephone, but to start, you might want to sit in quiet reflection on cycles of descent and return, personal transformation, and the balance between light and shadow.

Offerings for Persephone to include on your altar: Pomegranates, autumn leaves, red or black candles

Cernunnos

This horned god of the forest is a Celtic deity often associated with the natural world, animals, and the turning seasons. Offer a meditation on the rhythm of life, death, and rebirth in nature, and give thanks for the abundance of the harvest.

Offerings for Cernunnos to include on your altar: Acorns, pinecones, antlers, green or brown objects

Epona

Epona is a Gaulish-Roman goddess of horses and fertility also associated with protection and sustenance. When connecting with her, focus on themes of nurturing, safe passage, and how you carry those you love through change.

Offerings for Epona to include on your altar: Apples, oats, horse figurines, silver or white candles

Hades

As the God of the underworld and husband of Persephone, Hades represents the sacredness of endings, thresholds, and the unseen. Set a candle on your altar and sit in stillness, honoring your ancestors or what lies beyond. Take this time to reflect on mortality not as something to fear, but as a natural part of the cycle that gives meaning to life.

Offerings for Hades to include on your altar: Obsidian, skull imagery, coins, black candles