Embrace the magical time of the Autumn Equinox, also known as Mabon! As the days grow shorter and the air turns crisp, we are invited to immerse ourselves in a season of balance and reflection. It's a perfect moment to pause and contemplate the harmony in our lives—juggling work and play, giving and receiving love, tending to our families while nurturing ourselves. Let's revel in this delicate dance of equilibrium! 🍂✨
What is the Autumn Equinox and Mabon exactly?
The Autumn Equinox, which falls between September 21-23rd in America, is a time when day and night are equal. This time is a powerful reminder that balance is a fundamental part of nature. In some Pagan traditions, this day is celebrated as Mabon, a harvest festival marking the abundance of the Earth and encouraging gratitude for the year’s gifts of abundance.
Parents and Partners can use this time to reflect on the fruits of our labor—both literally, in terms of the food we may harvest or gather for autumn meals, and metaphorically, as we think about the growth in our relationships and children in the past year.
Finding Balance in Home Life
The Autumn Equinox is the perfect opportunity to reevaluate your family’s routines. How are you balancing work and family time? Do your current regimens allow for quality connection, both with your children and your partner? What about ensuring that you have set up time for self-care so that you don’t fall on the back burner?
Consider utilizing this time for creating simple, intentional family rituals. Here are some ideas to celebrate:
Make a Gratitude Circle: As a family or couple, gather around the table and share things each of you is grateful for. Children can reflect on the year so far and learn to express their appreciation for even the small things—this encourages mindfulness and them to become aware of the abundance in their lives.
Get Crafty with Seasonal Crafts and Activities: Get out in nature and take a little walk to observe the beautifully shifting season around us. Collect leaves, acorns, and other “fall”en items to create autumn-inspired crafts. You can make a “wheel of the year” with items from each season to showcase in your home as a reminder of the cyclical nature of life. In our home, we made a simmer pot together with apples and oranges, cinnamon and nutmeg, and water—you simply let it simmer on the stove all day and it fills your home with the scent of autumn. We also will be doing some fall painting and buying some sunflowers and marigolds to decorate
our home.
Have a Harvest Feast: Mabon is traditionally a harvest festival, so this is the perfect time to prepare a meal as a family with seasonal ingredients like apples, pumpkins, and other squash. This is the perfect time to encourage gratitude for the food we eat, the places it comes from, and the farmers that put their hard work into providing it to us. In a way, this is a similar celebration as the American Thanksgiving, but there are those of us that do not support the genocide of the Indigenous Peoples.—My family made a pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecakes, and for dinner we will be having a dense bean salad with salmon and baked apples.
Take the time to Create Balance with Self-Care: For mothers especially, finding balance often means prioritizing self-care. Whether it’s a solo walk, writing in a journal, or taking a moment to meditate in peace, reflect on how you can make more space in the coming months for your own well-being. You deserve it.
Embrace the Magick of it all: If your family is pagan or interested in the magikal arts like mine is, you may be wondering what you can do that is more magick inclined for this time. My family will be making a gratitude jar and doing tarot readings. In our jar we will place dried citrus, a white candle, pinecones, acorns, cinnamon sticks, dirt from our yard, and gratitude lists from each of our family members. I will place crystals of amber, citrine, aventurine, sapphire, Tiger’s Eye and jasper around it. The tarot reading I will be doing will help us recognize what we need to Harvest in our lives, Compost in our lives, and what Light we need to share and Dark we need to reflect on. We also will be trimming our hair to let go of old, stagnant and negative energy.
Mabon is also about recognizing the cycles of our relationships. This is the best time to check in with your partner, especially as the season is encouraging us to prepare for the slower, reflective winter ahead. In relationships, just like nature, there are periods of growth and change. What areas in your relationship need more nurturing? Where is lacking balance?
For neurodivergent families, like mine, balancing the needs of each family member while creating space to rest and reflect is crucial during this time. Slowing down, establishing routines that work for everyone, and creating moments for connection helps ensure that each of us feels seen and supported.
As we welcome the autumn season, let it be our reminder that the changes surrounding us are also beautiful in many ways. While the leaves will fall, and the temps will drop, the transition will promise a sense of renewal and growth. We must celebrate life’s harvests—both physical and emotional. Gather with your loved ones, enjoy the fruits of the season, and prepare for the reflective months to come. Take this opportunity to intentionally create space for gratitude, connection, and self-care in your home. By embracing the energy of balance and harvest, you’ll be cultivating the seeds of love and mindfulness that will sustain you in the seasons ahead.
How will your family be celebrating the Autum Equinox? Feel free to share your traditions and reflections in the comment section below.
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