“May Autumnal Equinox be the beginning of new things in your life. May the negativity in your life end and may there is peace and happiness surrounding you.” ―Robin Wall Kimmerer
Happy Mabon Equinox!
Here we are again, acknowledging the turning wheel of the year. As we embrace the seasonal transition to pause, breathe, reflect, practice self-care, and balance the elements of our lives to support evolving new possibilities, I discover the joy of being in this moment.
Each season has its dominant themes, and we have much to learn from Nature. The Autumn season, aptly described by the poet Mary Oliver is “the old gold song of the almost finished year.”
As Mabon or the autumn equinox nears, it is a beautiful time to reset and honor yourself and all you have done as we come full circle to your intentions last winter solstice.
With gratitude for the long weeks of heatwave finally breaking, I refocus my attention on the sacred that attunes me to the Earth’s rhythms and the circular patterns I experience as I traverse seasons.
In this blog, I suggest a Mabon Medicine Wheel Ritual using Clarity & Focus Spray and Guardian Ritual Essence to help you refocus and center your energy as you continue your journey around the seasonal wheel.
Mabon Equinox
At the autumn equinox, the Sun rises due east and sets due west. Here in the northern hemisphere, it continues its journey southward. The days become shorter and the nights longer until, at the winter solstice, the Sun’s light returns to warm our lives again.
Equinox brings to awareness what we are balancing on the journey through the Wheel of the Year, its counterpart being Ostara or the spring equinox. Mabon invites us to step across the threshold and enter the inner mystery. We are returning to the dark from whence we came.
The natural world cycle is progressing towards completion, the Sun’s power is waning, and from now on, the nights grow longer, and the days become increasingly shorter and cooler.
Now that equinox is here (September 23), the days are getting shorter, and you may notice that the light’s character is different. The bright, intense summer sunlight gives way to a softer, less harsh, golden glow.
Reflecting the golden light in our consciousness, this is a time when we can gain clarity as we shine that light, becoming attuned to the dark and the light within ourselves as we step across the seasonal threshold.
Mirroring Nature
When we observe the Autumn Equinox, we become part of the experience. The Mabon autumnal equinox is a day on the medicine wheel signifying our movement from Summer to Fall, from the South to the west, from Fire to Water.
From a stage of growth to one of reflection, the summer to fall transition begins to pull our energy inward. The turning progression signifies movement interlacing both parts of the whole, light and dark, side by side.
Just as each season gives birth to the next through a sort of death, our spiritual lives have seasons that must allow the alchemy of transformation for the new to be born. I see the leaves changing color and dropping with cooler nights, mornings, and warm days. Letting go is a natural process as much as the pull of the wheel.
And so, in these small, natural, precious moments of seeing, I am reminded that earth tides are a natural time to pause and make sacred out of the mundane.
Nature is rarely in a stagnant state of perfect balance. It is always in flux, sometimes from one extreme to the next. Even though Nature is constantly changing, it also seeks balance.
What We Are Balancing
In seeking balance in our life journey, we are really after a sense of harmony, equanimity, and peace. During Mabon, we can explore every aspect of life to rebalance ourselves through conscious intention and attention.
Mabon encourages us to find balance in the same way as the Earth. Finding balance, we align our body’s center of gravity with the Earth’s gravitational field.
Through the lens of the Tao, the concept of opposing sides is always seeking wholeness. What is the struggle between “dark” and “light” within ourselves?
The wisdom is that there is the seed of darkness in the light, and in the dark is the seed of light. Planting and harvesting are two activities on the ever-turning wheel of the year.
As the light descends and darkness rises, our hidden or outworn aspects begin to unfurl. Autumn is the time in the harvest season that calls for “shadow work” – transmuting the ways we “keep ourselves in the dark” and reflecting on the “light lessons” these shadows can teach us.
Working through our personal and collective shadows involves examining our choices and beliefs and how they align (or don’t) with our values and purpose. When we harvest the kernels of our shadow messages, we bring their wisdom to light.
By working with autumn’s planetary, elemental, and natural energies during the equinox, we can intentionally invite more balance, harmony, and celebration into our lives.
Medicine Wheel Wisdom
Indigenous traditions were based on the knowledge of the rhythm of life they received through observing Nature. And what they observed is that there are no straight lines in Nature. All of Nature expresses itself in circular patterns.
The Medicine Wheel, sometimes known as the Sacred Hoop, has been used by generations of various Native American tribes for health and healing. Think of the Medicine Wheel as a holistic map with four quadrants. It embodies the
- Four Directions: Father Sky, Mother Earth, and Spirit Tree—all of which symbolize inherent dimensions of health and life cycles.
- Stages of Life: birth, youth, adult (and elder), death.
- Life aspects: physical, emotional, mental, spiritual.
- Elements of Life: fire, water, air, earth.
- Animals: eagle, bear, wolf, buffalo – and many others.
- Ceremonial Plants: tobacco, sweetgrass, cedar, sage.
Each season is represented by the cardinal directions signified by the traditional four colors (black, white, yellow, and red). The points on the wheel convey concepts such as the four seasons and the sacred path of both the Sun and human beings. Each element in the wheel focuses on a different aspect of living and contains specific attributes and lessons that can inform, guide, and nourish our lives.
The circle is representative of life’s never-ending cycle (birth, death, rebirth), a powerful energy vortex, when constructed, brings the energy focus many of us can use in our lives.
Movement in the Medicine Wheel is circular in a clockwise, or “sun-wise” direction. This movement helps us to align with the forces of Nature, such as gravity and the rising and setting of the Sun.
The west represents autumn on the wheel, the direction from which the Sun sets and darkness comes. Black is the color of this season, representing diminishing light and mystery. Spiritually, the west is the direction of the unknown, going within, dreams, prayer, and reflection.
West Medicine
When we turn to the West/Autumn quadrant of the circle, our energy best aligns with the energetic pause of the setting sun. We are invited to step into the mystery, integrate through introspection and reflection, and welcome “non-ordinary” states of mind and deep acceptance of who we are.
The west is known as the autumn of harvest, fulfillment, and decay, and thus also of endings. It is the end of a cycle where we engage in sorting, letting go, and conscious participation in harvesting the fruits of our intentions planted earlier this year. In the work of the west (that which we step beyond), we shed the old form and embrace what is yet to be born.
West also signifies the place of testing the limits of endurance so that the gift of perseverance may be achieved and its broader and more subtle implications are made apparent. The ability to stick to a challenge, even though it may be difficult and painful, offers its gifts. The nearer one draws toward fulfilling a goal, the more difficult the journey may become.
This, too, is the place of daring and courage. If we are to honestly face our dreams and bring them into being, with hearts open wide, we must balance receptivity with courage. After all, our dreams and visions require courage, knowing that even with the best-laid plans, they sometimes fail. We acknowledge that we did our best with what we had.
Thus, the west also contains wisdom gained through living, embodied by our ancestors.
In the Western Mystery Tradition, autumn is defined by the water element signifying inner journeys of introspection, feelings, emotions, and receptivity. This direction is symbolized by adulthood and parenthood; the energy expressed when responsibilities and nurturing are balanced.
Connecting to the element of water and our own emotions, one of the lessons is to allow “flow” as energy in motion. And with feeling, its movement implies a stirring of deep waters as we find our meaning and place, meeting the fulfillment of life. The hope is that the harvest will sustain us through the long sleep of winter until spring.
Mabon Ritual Harvest
Finding new and ancient ways to live and celebrate life, we approach Mabon with reverence for all that we have learned and gained this year by feeling into the energy and creating sacred space to contemplate how we feel.
To support you during this ritual, I recommend two powerful alchemical wellness care ally’s to help empower you on your life journey.
Clarity & Focus Spray will clear the mind and allow you to clearly see what you are shedding as you harvest your gifts.
Guardian Ritual Essence acts as “Guardian of the Heart or Soul.”
Using these vibrational allies as you cross this threshold of seasonal change will enhance your courage to feel your emotions about your accomplishments, triumphs, and challenges.
We can combine the symbolic and ritual elements of the Fall Equinox into a reflective and celebratory space using the medicine wheel to practice gratitude and energy renewal.
How to Prepare
- Decorate your home and your altar with items that represent the new season.
- Choose a space in a quiet place indoors or outdoors where you will not be disturbed by other people, pets, or loud noises for about 30 minutes.
- Make a small altar by placing the elements symbolizing the sacred wheel on your black cloth.
- East – a lit candle
- South – apples, flowers, leaves
- West – a glass cup of water (and tokens of your accomplishments this year)
- North – a clear quartz crystal
Performing your Ritual
The best time for your ritual is during the golden hour before sunset on the equinox. It is a potentized “in-between” time when day and night are balanced, paused on the threshold of change.
- To begin your ritual, place six drops of Guardian Ritual Essence on the top of your crown, under your tongue, and in your glass of water.
- Sip your water.
- Close your eyes and touch your chest to connect and transfer the energy of the essence to your heart,
- Mist Clarity & Focus Spray and breathe deeply of its aromatic and vibrational essences.
- Pause and breathe.
- Light your candle representing the direction of the east and the element of air and light.
- Light the sage, sweetgrass, cedar, and tobacco as an offering – place your bowl in the center of your circle as the herbs burn.
- Centering yourself, mindful of the moment and the sacred equinox hour, “feel” the energetic transitional shift from summer to autumn.
- Invoke the elemental power of the west.
- Reflect on your dreams and intentions for this year.
- Ask yourself:
- What am I shedding?
- What is finished?
- What is nearing completion?
- What is hidden in the depths of my soul?
- Are my beliefs and choices aligned with my values?
- What is the story I have told myself about my experience this year?
- Is there a theme? (lack, abundance, struggle, loneliness, identity, etc.)
- What frightens me most?
- In what areas of my life do I need courage?
- What am I avoiding?
- Who are the wisdom keepers in my lineage that connect me to the past and the future?
- What areas of my life do I need more flow?
- What needs balancing?
- What are the self-care practices that sustain me?
- Feel your emotions as they arise in your body.
- Name them.
Now shift your attention to what you are harvesting now. Ask yourself:
- What blessings and gifts have I received this year?
- What is the one constant always with me as I travel around the sacred wheel?
- Pause, breathe, feel.
From the Heart: Mabon Harvest Prayer:
“This is my harvest, and I give thanks.
These things are the fruits of a year of my life, and I give thanks.
And through my own hard work, I have
- Planted my seeds
- I have watered and weeded tender growth
- I have guided the strong young shoots
- I have thinned the weak ones that would not live
- I have enjoyed my flowerings
- I have loved the efforts of my work.
And now at harvest time, I give thanks.
These are my most heart-felt offerings as I lay them upon my wisdom wheel:
- I celebrate them in gratitude
- I celebrate them in hope
- I celebrate them as blessings
- I honor my transition, here and now.
For what I harvest at Maybon, I plant again next spring.”
Concluding your Maybon Ritual
As you go through these prompts, be aware of how you respond. Take a moment to journal your thoughts and feelings. Honoring your Mabon intention when working with the shadow, try these tips to keep moving forward through the season:
- Keep an open mind
- Practice self-compassion
- Be patient with yourself – both during the ritual and throughout your journey.
Sip your glass of water with the Guardian Ritual Essence in the water. As you nourish yourself with the water of life, you also feed your cells and your energy body with the protective vibrational support of Mother Incense Cedar. Her energy is a wise companion as you journey beyond the equinox threshold.
I recommend drinking one cup of water with six drops of Guardian Ritual Essence daily for the next three weeks. This ally will fortify you on your journey.
Pulled forward into the dark soil of your life, it takes courage to see what is hidden. And, in the darkness, you’ll also begin to conceive what you want to give birth to in the spring or energize new creations next year.
Enjoying the Moment
In harvesting the year’s gifts, beginning the journey inward, honoring the dying back, recounting losses and leave-takings, verbalizing poetry of gratitude, and being with stillness and silence, I pause.
At this moment, aligned with Nature and the Sun, I feel the wonder, joy, and awe of witnessing the suspension of time and space, balanced, empty, and complete.
May the gifts of Maybon be rich in your heart and wisely offered to the world.
All my aromatic love,
Vidya
