Mabon Correspondences: The Magic Of The Autumn Equinox
Mabon is a time to give thanks and gratitude for the abundance of the summer and of the harvest. The Magic of the Autumn Equinox can be seen through the Mabon correspondences below.
Mabon the second of 3 harvest festivals, the others are Lammas and Samhain.
If you want to read more about the mythology and lore behind the Sabbat, check out the post : Everything You Need to Know About Mabon
Wheel of the Year
Welcome to our journey through the Wheel of the Year, a beautiful and cyclical guide to the seasonal festivals celebrated by many Wiccans, Pagans, and various nature-based spiritual paths. This wheel symbolizes the annual cycle of seasonal festivals, marking the natural rhythms of the Earth and the ebb and flow of life.
The Wheel of the Year consists of eight Sabbats, each celebrating a different aspect of the Earth’s journey around the sun. These festivals include four solar events — the solstices and equinoxes — and four seasonal festivals traditionally tied to agricultural cycles.
1. Samhain (October 31st-November 1st): Marking the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter, Samhain is a time of reflection, honoring ancestors, and the thinning veil between worlds.
2. Yule (Winter Solstice, around December 21st): Celebrating the rebirth of the sun, Yule is a festival of light, joy, and the promise of the returning warmth.
3. Imbolc (February 1st): A festival of purification and the first stirrings of spring, Imbolc is a time for setting intentions for the upcoming year.
4. Ostara (Spring Equinox, around March 20th): Marking the balance of day and night, Ostara celebrates new beginnings, fertility, and the vibrant awakening of the earth.
5. Beltane (May 1st): A joyful festival celebrating fertility, fire, and abundance, Beltane is a time of passion and growth.
6. Litha (Summer Solstice, around June 21st): The peak of summer, Litha is a celebration of light, power, and the fullness of life.
7. Lammas or Lughnasadh (August 1st): The first harvest festival, Lammas is a time to give thanks for abundance and to reap what has been sown.
8. Mabon (Autumn Equinox, around September 22nd): A time of balance and reflection, Mabon celebrates the second harvest and the winding down of the year.
Each Sabbat reflects a unique aspect of the Earth’s natural cycle and offers a moment to pause, reflect, and celebrate the ever-changing beauty of nature. As we journey through the Wheel of the Year, we connect with these natural rhythms and honor the legacy of our ancestors who lived by these seasonal cycles.
1Mabon Correspondences
Mabon happens on the Autumn Equinox of each year. The dates are typically September 21-23, depending on the year.
Solar Phase of Mabon
The solar phase of Mabon is Sunset. This symbolizes the weakening of the sun and the rise of the lunar phases (of the Goddess).
Mabon Symbols
Symbols for Mabon are featured around the harvest and autumn. Things like Cornucopias, pine cones, seeds, pomegranates, squashes, corn, apples, and root vegetables are all good symbols. If you have others that you want to include, go for it. Most seasonal decorations and symbols of autumn are totally appropriate here.
Food and Herbs for Mabon
The typical foods for Mabon are corn, beans, squash, apples, pumpkins, cider, root vegetables, pomegranate, and wine. You can read more about the symbolism of wine and Dionysus in my main post on Mabon.
Herbs that you can include on your altar, workings or in your food for Mabon are Mugwort, Rosemary, Rose Hips, Yarrow. I also want to mention some of the flowers the correspond to Mabon here which are sunflowers, thistle and marigold.
Mabon Correspondences: Stones/ Crystals
When we think of autumn, we are thinking about the oranges, yellows, browns and reds of the season. Even some of the dark greens of the non-deciduous trees of the pine families.
The crystals listed below are to help you with the task of turning inward and removing negative energy that would prevent you from being in alignment with your innermost self.
All of the crystals below are associated with the Solar Plexus Chakra and with abundance and/or prosperity.
Amber
Amber corresponds with Mabon because it cleanses the mind and body and pulls negative energy away from your body and your aura.
Amber is connected with the Leo and Aquarius zodiac signs and with the element of fire.
Citrine
Citrine can help you focus your energy on the positive and less on the negative. While Amber releases the negative energy, Citrine redirects it.
Citrine also helps to open your intuition. It's linked to the zodiac signs of Aries, Leo, Libra and Gemini and is the birthstone for those born in November.
It can help bring you into alignment with your soul's purpose and the discoveries that you make when turning inward.
Cat's Eye
Use Cat's eye to help stimulate your intuition and when you are in need of grounding back into your body. Sometimes we can get lost in all of the inner work and forget to come back to our daily lives.
Like Citrine, Cat's Eye helps turn negative energy into positive energy.
Adventurine
When you feel really anxious, like your starting to head down a negatively energetic path, Adventurine will be waiting for you. To help bring you back to a calm state of action that gives you the confidence boost to keep going when things get tough.
Sapphire
Sapphire strengthens your intuition and brings you back to a place of positive calm.. do you see the theme here yet?
It stimulates concentration and bring clarity of mind. Sapphire is a stone of wisdom.
Jasper
Jasper is the protector. While you are doing all of this inner work, we can become susceptible to outside influences. Jasper can help to keep those negative influences at bay while you are focusing on your inner self.
Jasper can help to reduce stress and bring about inner balance.
Mabon Correspondences: Gods and Goddesses
Mabon ap Modron
Mabon is the God of the Sun, son of Modron the Goddess of the Earth. Mabon was kidnapped and imprisoned 3 day after his birth and was rescued by Culhwclh and Arthur by defeating Morgan or the Nine Witches.
Green Man
The Green Man is associated with Mabon as he is seen as the God, who is waning as the Goddess is rising.
Demeter and Persephone
Demeter is the Goddess of grain and her daughter, Persephone caught the eye of Hades. When hades kidnapped her, Persephone had eaten 6 pomegranate seeds, thus having to spend 6 months in the Underworld. Anything eaten in the Underworld will make your stay in the Underworld permanent.
Morrigan
Morgan is associated the Autumn Equinox as she is the half sister of Arthur, who in the Mabon myths, has been said to be the one who guards Mabon that Arthur and Culhwclh had to defeat in order to free Mabon from his imprisonment.
Morgan is also seen as the Mother Goddess form, which is the form that Modron takes after giving birth to Mabon.
Inanna
Inanna is the Sumerian Goddess of fertility and abundance. When she descended into the underworld, where her sister, Ereshkigal, ruled, it was decreed that Inanna could only enter the underworld like everyone else- by stripping yourself of clothing and earthly possessions. By the time that Inanna had done this, Ereshkigal had released a series of plagues upon her sister, killing her. During the time that Inanna was in the underworld, the Earth had ceased to grow. A vizier restored Inanna to life. As she rose back up to the surface, the Earth began to flourish and produce again.
Mabon Correspondences: Animals
Each of the animals listed below have their association with Mabon, through the Celtic myth of Culhwch's journey to find the location of Mabon.
Owl
The owl shows us that we can turn disadvantages into advantages. We should make the best of all situations. A time to connect with Nature and our inner selves through the study of esoteric lore.
Stag
Stags bring grace, majesty and integrity. Also, protection when you are feeling vulnerable.
Blackbird
The blackbird reminds us to seek a more spiritual path. To turn our focus inwards. Listen to your dreams and explore mythology to learn more about yourself.
Salmon
Salmon is the oldest animals in the Druid tradition, offering wisdom and inspiration. The theme of rebirth, the journey back to whence you came, is felt here. The need to travel back to the beginning, whether of this life, or past lives, to gain the wisdom that we seek.
Heron or Crane
The Crane is all about patience, focus and concentration. The Crane and the Heron are both seen as Gatekeepers of the Otherworld and our inner world. They symbolize secret knowledge that can be found only in the inner realms of ourselves.
If you are looking for more ways to work with the energies of the Autumn Equinox, you should try some of my favorite tarot decks for Mabon.
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