There's something special about the moment when summer starts saying goodbye.

The days may still be warm, but the light changes. The evenings start drawing in, the first leaves appear on the ground and, little by little, we go back to looking for indoor plans, hot meals and cosier corners.

The autumn equinox marks exactly that change of season.

And within the so-called Wheel of the Year, many people celebrate Mabon at this time, a festival associated with the harvest, gratitude and the transition into the darker half of the year.

But what exactly is Mabon? When is it celebrated? And how can we bring this time of year into our own magical practice without needing to do a big ritual?

Let's take a look.

WHAT IS THE AUTUMN EQUINOX?

The autumn equinox is one of the two moments in the year when day and night are almost exactly the same length.

From this point on, in the northern hemisphere, the days gradually get shorter and the nights longer.

That's why the equinox can be seen as a moment of transition and balance: we're right at the turning point between one half of the year and the other.

In 2026, the autumn equinox will take place on 23 September.

WHAT IS MABON?

Mabon is the name currently used for one of the celebrations of the Wheel of the Year, a contemporary ritual calendar used in various strands of modern witchcraft and paganism.

It's associated with the time of harvest, abundance, gratitude and recognising what we've sown and gathered over the previous months.

And here it's important to make a distinction:

Although there are many ancient traditions related to harvests and the change of season, Mabon as a festival with that name, within today's structure of the Wheel of the Year, is a contemporary construction.

That doesn't make the celebration any less meaningful. It simply helps us distinguish historical traditions from modern ways of practising and celebrating witchcraft.

WHEN IS MABON CELEBRATED?

Mabon is usually celebrated around the autumn equinox, so in the northern hemisphere it falls in September.

In the southern hemisphere, the seasons are reversed and this seasonal correspondence changes.

There's no single right way to celebrate Mabon. Some people follow specific Wheel of the Year dates and others prefer to use the change of season itself as their guide.

Personally, I think this second option can be especially beautiful: noticing what's happening around you and letting your practice follow that change.

7 WAYS TO CELEBRATE MABON AND WELCOME AUTUMN

You don't need to prepare an elaborate ritual to celebrate the change of season.

Here are some ideas you can adapt to your own practice.

1. Do a last harvest ritual

Think about everything you've sown, nurtured and worked on over the last few months.

What projects have you started? What decisions have you made? What have you achieved?

The idea of the last harvest can help you recognise what's reaching its time to be gathered and open yourself to receiving its fruits.

2. Practise gratitude

Autumn is a wonderful time to take stock.

You can write in your grimoire or journal what you're grateful for, from big events to those little things that have made your days a bit better.

It's not about forcing yourself to feel good or ignoring what's hard.

Just about also looking at what is there.

3. Cook something seasonal

One of my favourite ways to connect with a season is to eat it.

Apples, pumpkin, pomegranate, spices, nuts…

You can make an apple pie, a sponge cake, a soup or any other recipe that makes you think of autumn.

And if you want to give it a more magical dimension, you can look into the traditional symbolism of the ingredients you're using and turn the cooking itself into a moment of attention and presence.

4. Refresh your altar

You don't need to buy a new altar every season.

First, look at what you have at home.

You can add leaves, fruit, branches, pine cones, autumn colours or any other item that represents this time of year for you.

You can also gradually remove the items you associated with summer and replace them with others that suit the new moment of the year.

5. Return to your grimoire

Autumn is a great invitation to sit down, write and research.

You can take the chance to pick up your grimoire again, do some journaling, stick in photos or cuttings, organise your notes or research a practice you've been wanting to learn about for a while.

It doesn't have to be perfect.

Your grimoire is a tool for practice, not an exam.

6. Keep going outdoors

Although we associate autumn with staying at home, there are still plenty of pleasant days to enjoy outdoors.

Go for a walk in a park, visit a forest or simply notice what's happening with the trees and plants around you.

Notice what has changed since summer.

Nature can also be one of our best tools for learning to recognise the rhythms of the seasons.

7. Make a list of your plans for this autumn

This one's simple, but I love it.

Make a list of all the things you want to do over the coming months.

Books you want to read.

Recipes you want to try.

Places you want to visit.

Films or series you want to catch up on.

Projects you want to start.

Hobbies you want to take up again.

It doesn't have to be a productive list.

It can simply be a list of things you'd like to enjoy.

CREATE YOUR OWN CELEBRATION

One of the things I love most about magical practice is that it doesn't have to look exactly like anyone else's.

You can celebrate Mabon with a ritual, by cooking a recipe, decorating your altar, writing in your grimoire or simply going for a walk and paying attention to the change of season.

You can do just one of these things.

You can do them all.

Or you can do none of them.

Magic is also about finding which practices make sense for you.

And maybe this autumn you'll want to go one step further and make that practice a weekly thing.

THE WITCH'S TOOLS

If you've been wanting to make more space for your magical practice, The Witch's Tools, my weekly online creative magic workshop, returns in October.

Each week we meet to learn and create through visual arts, crafts, symbolism and different tools of magical practice.

The idea is very simple: make something and learn something every week.

A space to experiment, research, create with your own hands and gradually build a more active and personal practice.

New places will open on 25 September and will be available until 5 October, or until they run out.

The monthly fee for new members is €48 and each participant buys their own materials.

If you'd like a reminder a few hours before registration opens, you can join the waiting list:

[I WANT TO JOIN THE LIST]

Remember that joining the list doesn't reserve a place: it simply lets you get the reminder before registration opens so you can sign up when the time comes.

Now then: make something delicious, get out your grimoire, see what's happening outside your window and welcome autumn your own way. 🍂