A Mabon Ritual

The Autumn skies are sharp and warm, the deciduous trees are turning red and gold. Across Australia, the eucalypts have reached the end of their water stores, their leaves dry and curled – ready for the Autumn rains and the vibrancy of an Australian bush Winter. The evenings are darkening and there’s a chill in the air.

Autumn has begun.

Mabon, the Autumn equinox, is the time to connect with nature’s balance. It’s when the Celtic druids gave thanks to the deep earth and the trees for their Summer abundance, often walking a spiral as a symbol of entering the dark and re-entering the light.

As above, so below. As within, so without.

You’ll Need:

A white candle

A black candle

A stone or crystal (one that means something to you, and/or connects you to the earth)

An apple (any kind)

Your Ritual

1. Prepare your sacred space, and cast circle. Call in the quarters in whatever way you prefer.

2. Next, sit in the centre of your circle and reflect on what ‘balance’ is to you. What does it look like in your life? Where is it needed?

3. Place the white candle on the left of your altar, and the black candle to the right.

4. Say “These candles represent life and death, the blessed partnership of dark and light. With Autumn’s herald, I begin my journey inwards.”

5. Light the white candle, and hold your apple and stone. This candle represents the waxing moon, or ‘growing’ energy.

6. Close your eyes, and visualise yourself walking in a spiral, starting from the outside and turning inward, inward, inward. With each turn, focus on your feelings as you enter the inside of the spiral.

7. When you reach the centre of the spiral, open your eyes, and light the black candle. This represents the waning moon, or ‘declining’ energy.

8. Place your stone and apple between the two candles, and focus on the balance the four items represent: beginnings and endings, light and dark, the roots of the earth to the branches of a tree.

9. Feel balance within you, bringing peace or stillness. Hover in this state, and allow it to ground you.

10. Focus on your stone, the symbol of deep earth and nourishment. Visualise roots growing out of your feet, and into the cool, dark earth. You are connected to the deep mother.

11. Now focus on the apple, the symbol of abundance and fertility. Visualise the warmth of the sky, as the branches of a tree reach out of you, towards great heights. You are connected to the great father.

12. Say “This apple represents blessed light. This stone represents blessed dark. Together, they are the sacred partnership of life and death. With Autumn’s herald, I begin my journey outwards.”

12. Close your eyes and visualise yourself walking back out of the spiral, starting in the tight centre and slowly turning outward, outward, outward. As you make your way out, feel yourself letting go of anything holding you back, or creating imbalance.

13. When you’ve left the spiral, open your eyes and blow out the candles. Give thanks to any deities you’ve invited in, and close your circle however you prefer. Write down your experience or learnings in your grimoire or Book of Shadows.

Leave your candles, stone and apple on your altar until Samhain.