The autumnal equinox, also called Mabon, occurs around September 21 in the northern hemisphere.
After this equinox, the nights grow longer than the days, so it is traditionally a time to look inward, take stock, give thanks for the harvest, and prepare for the time of dreaming.
In a world that is often so terribly out of balance, it can be both healing and heartening to celebrate this special time. This is a time to celebrate the abundance you already have and to open up to the possibilities ahead.
This is a time when your past experiences take seed, regenerate into wisdom, which is reborn within. It's also the time to ponder the necessity for fallow periods; just as a field needs to lay fallow to support new growth, so do people.
The History of Harvest Festivals Around the World
The idea of a harvest festival is nothing new. In fact, people have celebrated it for millennia, all around the world. In ancient Greece, Oschophoria was a festival held in the fall to celebrate the harvesting of grapes for wine.
In the 1700's, the Bavarians came up with Oktoberfest, which actually begins in the last week of September, and it was a time of great feasting and merriment, still in existence today.
China's mid-autumn festival is celebrated on the night of the Harvest Moon, and is a festival of honoring family unity.
Ways to Celebrate the Autumnal Equinox
There are an array of creative methods that one can utilize to mark the harvest season, including with the following methods:
- Make a dream pillow by stitching two 7" square pieces of fabric together and fill with two cups of some sound sleep, deep dream, better dream-recall herbs such as hops, lavender flowers, rosemary and rose petals.
- Find your balance by sitting or standing quietly with your eyes closed, breathing deeply and be mindful of your body. How does your body feel? Now bring your hands to your heart center and be mindful of whether you still feel balanced. Let this be a gentle reminder to you of the grace, beauty and balance that comes with the autumnal equinox between day and night, light and dark, activity and rest.
- Go for a nature walk and enjoy the changing scenery.
- Decorate your home with the colors of the season (reds, oranges, browns and yellows), the symbols of the season, including corn, sheafs of wheat, squash and root vegetables, scales a yin-yang symbol, one white candle and one black candle, wine, vines, grapes, apples, pomegranates, God's eyes, corn dolls, nut shells, baskets, and other similar items.
- Plan a harvest meal giving thanks for all you have been blessed with. Some foods you may want to incorporate are a honey wheat bread, apple butter, stuffed grape leaves, cranberry sauce, pumpkin bread, squash pie, an autumn beef stew loaded with root vegetables, roasted butternut squash soup, warm apple pie, etc.
- Create a Mabon alter using symbols of the fall season.
- Invite prosperity into your life with prosperity candles which you can create with an unscented candle in a harvest color ( yellow, orange, brown), your choice of essential oil (cinnamon, orange or ginger), something to inscribe the candle with ( pencil, stylus, etc), pinch of dried sage, basil or dill. Light the candle and meditate on the flame and allow the candle to burn out on it's own
- Learn the story of Demeter and her daughter. This is perhaps the best known of all the harvest mythologies.
- Learn the story of Inanna, The Sumerian goddess.
Celebrating the Autumnal Equinox
Ancient civilizations celebrated the earth and her changing seasons. The autumnal equinox marks the final harvest. Throughout the world many cultures celebrate the autumn equinox with the common theme of balance and equality.
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