Mabon: the Autumn Equinox Festival of Harvest, Gratitude & Balance

Mabon - The Autumn Equinox Festival of Harvest, Gratitude & Balance

When the air begins to cool and the nights grow longer, Mabon grows close. This ancient festival is celebrated this year on Monday, September 22, 2025. Marking the Autumn Equinox in the Wheel of the Year, this harvest holiday marks the date that day and night, sun and moon, are perfectly balanced, a temporary moment of harmony before we descend back into the longer, darker nights of the fall and winter months.

Mabon is a seasonal celebration rooted in European paganism that was later echoed in Christian harvest festivals, honoring modern spiritual and agrarian traditions around the world.

Whether you’re lighting a candle in gratitude, baking spiced apple pie, mulling wine, or simply breathing the cool, crisp air, Mabon is your invitation to slow down, gather indoors, and celebrate the fruits, vegetables, and grains of your hard work and your community’s efforts together.

If fall is your favorite season, Mabon may well be your favorite feast holiday.

Watch our Mabon Video on YouTube Here

Mabon’s Roots: Pagan, Christian, and Seasonal Traditions

Celtic and Pagan Origins

In ancient Celtic traditions, Mabon is the second harvest festival (following Lughnasadh, and preceding Samhain) and one of the eight sabbaths of the Wheel of the Year. Given the name of the Welsh god Mabon in modern times, the “Divine Son” of the Earth Mother Goddess, this day reflects themes of balance: light and dark, gain and loss, life and death.

Ancient pagans generally celebrated this time of year by offering thanks to the Earth for her abundance. Apples, grains, berries, and wine were offered on altars, and bonfires were lit. The turning of the leaves was seen as the sacred mirror of human life: beautiful, yet fleeting.

Mabon ap Madron: the Divine Son of the Divine Mother

The Welch God Mabon ap Madron is associated with hunting and youth. His stories include being stolen from his mother and imprisoned, and later being rescued by King Arthur and his men. 

Mabon is not associated with Irish mythology, and his placement in the Wheel of the Year comes from neo-Pagan traditions that did not seek to adhere to the historical accuracy of the traditions of one particular people. We find the focus of the rights of the first son in the context of Irish law an intriguing idea, particularly fascinating when one takes a philosophical lens to the meaning of divine right versus free will, especially from a modern Western perspective.

Christian Influence: Harvest Festival and Thanksgiving

The origins of many seasonal pagan festivals were recast as Christianity spread. In Britain and parts of Europe, more generic harvest festivals and festivals attributed to saints and maetyrs became Christianized versions of the harvest festivals, held at the same time of year. For Mabon, churches were decorated with grains, fruit, and flowers, and hymns such as “Come Ye Thankful People, Come” echoed the same gratitude once intoned in Druidic rites.

Thanksgiving in the United States additionally echoes Mabon, though celebrated in late November rather than September. It is worth noting this holiday is generally observed with a full four-day weekend, the longest federal holiday in America.

Scents, Flavors, and Symbols of Mabon

Like a cozy blanket on a misty fall day, let cozy aromas, delicious foods, nature walks and more guide you in celebrating Mabon this year.

Featured Notes and Seasonal Vibes:

Here are some ways to fill your home with 

• Our Mabon Collection features our interpretation of this holiday based on our interpretation, including our easier-than-a-bonfire Mabon soy wax candles
• Fresh apples - from tart and juicy McIntosh apples to crisp Granny Smiths, there are many common apples available at this time of year. We recommend you look into heirloom apples as well!
• Set out some harvest spices - clove, ginger, allspice
• Fresh-baked apple pie - warm cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugared vanilla on top
  
• Have a bonfire (or consider our Campfire soy wax candles crafted to smell like the real thing)

Herbs Associated with this Day

• Sage - cleansing and wisdom
• Rosemary - memory, protection
• Cinnamon - prosperity, warmth
• Chamomile - rest, peace
• Bay Laurel - victory, transition

Ways to Celebrate Mabon

Whether you are deeply spiritual or simply love the whole fall aesthetic, these ideas can help us welcome the fall equinox with intention:

Light a Mabon Candle or Burn a Bonfire

Scented with apple pie, fresh apples, cinnamon and other harvest spices, let us make things a little easier for you with our Mabon Collection - especially if your schedule makes finding the time to celebrate difficult.

Or you can build a bonfire outdoors - here is a guide on how:

Bake Something Seasonal

From squash to fresh apple pie to mulled wine, you can make all kinds of seasonal foods that will bring everyone together! Sharing many traditions and seasonal timeline with Thanksgiving in America and Harvest Festival in Europe.

Create a Mabon Altar

Making an altar is easy, and much more common than many of us think! Decorating the fireplace mantle, shelves, even the banquet table has roots in honoring the season organically.

Go on a Nature Walk

Get outside to experience the changing seasons! Fall hikes are amazing and our personal favorite, since the brisk autumn air refreshes the senses, and the bugs are usually (mostly) all gone. It's a great way to appreciate the greater world around you and enjoy the day.

Share a Meal and Discuss Gratitude

An extension of baking something seasonal, sharing a meal with loved ones can be done whether or not you personally cook. Gathering food and cooking together can be a wonderful shared experience with loved ones and is the oldest way to experience this day. As traditional or untraditional as you prefer, the most important thing about this custom is making it unique to yourself and your family traditions - celebrate the end of summer and the coming winter together.

Giving Gifts for Mabon - For Him, For Her, For Them, For Everyone

Giving gifts at Mabon isn't a traditional custom, but who doesn't love presents?

• Apple pie, apple strudel, apple custard - make something from the heart!
  
• Give fruits, grains, or other harvest produce (squash, pears, wheat, corn)
• Make a craft with autumn colors (orange, gold, red, and brown)
  
• Give a Mabon Soy Wax Candle, Goat's Milk Soap, Fragrance Roller, or Diffuser Oil from our Mabon Collection
• Invite friends, neighbors and loved ones to share a meal - think a banquet, picnic, or even just a night out together
  
• Play bobbing for apples, make caramel or candied apples, or bake pears/make a seasonal dessert
  
• Give gifts that reflect the elements of balance (day/night, light/dark), encouraging reflection, rest, and equilibrium.