Autumnal pagan celebrations have a long history and are closely tied to the changing seasons and the harvest. These celebrations, rooted in ancient pagan beliefs, often involve rituals and ceremonies to give thanks for the abundance of the harvest and to honor the spirits or gods associated with the earth and nature. One of the most well-known autumnal pagan celebrations is Samhain, which originated in ancient Celtic culture. **Samhain**, typically celebrated on October 31st or November 1st, marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. It was believed that during Samhain, the boundary between the living world and the spirit world was at its thinnest, allowing spirits to easily cross over into the mortal realm. As a result, many rituals and traditions were observed during this time to appease or connect with these spirits.
As a result, many rituals and traditions were observed during this time to appease or connect with these spirits. Another important autumnal pagan celebration is **Mabon**, which is rooted in the traditions of the ancient Druids. **Mabon**, observed around the autumnal equinox (around September 21st), is a time to give thanks for the fruits of the harvest and the blessings of the earth.
Autumnal Equinox: Witches Share How They Celebrate
September 23 marks the 2019 Autumnal Equinox — a day when the sky is equal parts dark and light. It’s also the date that witches celebrate Mabon, one of the pagan festivals in the Wheel of the Year. The Wheel of the Year is the cyclical calendar of festivals that modern pagans celebrate. The Wheel symbolizes the continuous turning of time and mirrors nature’s cycles of death and rebirth. Named for the God of Welsh mythology, the festival celebrates the harvest and the life and that summer created as we prepare for the long, cold nights of winter.
Most modern witches likely don’t have a literal harvest to feast on and honor like the original celebrants of Mabon did, so the day instead marks a time to reflect on and honor the things we’ve been working on this year and the work that we’ve brought to fruition. “Mabon is the day that corresponds to the last harvest: It is a day to call in, a day to appreciate our many, many blessings and spread those around. It is a day to give thanks and let whatever bad habits or troubles that have been accumulating in our psyche in an unhelpful way go,” Sarah Faith Gottesdiener told Teen Vogue.
Gottesdiener is an artist, designer, tarot reader and witch — you may know her from her popular and often sold-out Many Moons workbooks or from her shop, Modern Women. For Gottesdiener, the season’s magic is especially potent because it combines with her celebration of the Jewish High Holy Days. While she says that the Celtic mythology attached to the Wheel of the year doesn’t resonate with her, its connection to nature and the season’s effects on us personally and collectively makes following it important to her. This includes embracing the return of the darkness that accompanies the Equinox. “The darkness is a beautiful thing, because it is where seeds germinate. The darkness is deeply potent: it is our subconscious and a source of our own power,” Gottesdiener said.
For writer and intuitive tarot reader Swati Khurana, the Autumnal Equinox is a profoundly personal holiday. After Khurana began shifting away from the label of “Hindu” 20 years ago to separate herself from what she called a "tradition that was connected to caste violence," she said she started questioning and opting out of holidays and traditions that felt like they no longer fit into her “post-colonial intersectional feminist perspective.”
“I loved the rituals of being among women in temple, applying mendhi on my hands, creating trays of offerings, and walking into the moonlight,” Khurana told Teen Vogue about her appreciation of certain aspects of some Hindu holidays. “As I started observing the Equinox, I used elements that I still find so beautiful, but recast them in a ritual that centered self-actualization and personal freedom. Observing the Equinox became a way for me to reclaim the season [that] includes my birthday and my two favorite holidays — Diwali and Halloween — from a feminist perspective.”
If it’s your first time celebrating Mabon, Gottesdiener recommends choosing rituals that feel sacred to you and that have intuitive resonance. “Like celebrating the phases of the moon, or the different seasons, make it personal, and make it about celebrating and honoring life in the present moment— that is ultimately, what all great magick does,” she said.
Swati Khurana by Abeer HoqueGottesdiener will be celebrating by hosting a customary potluck feast for loved ones where they’ll eat, read poems, pull tarot cards, reflect, and burn that which they wish to release. She also plans to do some solo celebrating. “For the most part, I am a solitary practitioner, so I'll also be reflecting and working with the energies for myself personally as well. Because of the placement of the [waxing] moon, this year, I'll be focused on what I wish to harvest more of in my life,” told Teen Vogue.
Social justice educator Steph Guthrie offered a ritual facilitated for her birthday by friend Kritty Uranowski that felt particularly meaningful during a difficult year of her life. “We each wrote down on small pieces of paper one thing we were grateful for from the summer that we’d carry with us into the winter, one thing we were ready to leave behind, and one thing we hoped to manifest in the months ahead,” she told Teen Vogue. After a consensual and optional sharing of their reflections, participants burned the things they wanted to leave behind, planted in the ground the things they hoped to manifest, and held onto the things we were grateful for.
Even if you don’t identify as a witch or aren’t up for a planning big ritual, pausing to acknowledge the season’s changing is a valuable practice for reflection and gaining perspective.“Dedication to observing and respecting the natural world is something that anyone can do, whether they are witches or not,” said scientist and college instructor T. Kempton. “Seasonal holidays like Mabon encourage us to be active participants in the turning wheel of time, living intentionally and intensely, instead of just coasting through life. Mabon is a beautiful time, and we are beautiful within it.”
Autumn cemetery visits don't have to be spooky. / Colors Hunter - Chasseur de Couleurs/Moment/Getty Images
People often engage in feasts, dance, and music, and participate in rituals to honor the changing seasons and express gratitude for the abundance of nature. One common feature of autumnal pagan celebrations is the use of **bonfires**. These fires, often lit during Samhain and Mabon, serve multiple purposes. They provide warmth during the cooling temperatures of autumn, offer a gathering place for communities to come together, and symbolically represent the transition from summer to winter or life to death. **Bonfires** are often used as a central focus for many rituals and ceremonies during these celebrations. Overall, autumnal pagan celebrations are a testament to the deep connection between nature, the harvest, and spiritual beliefs. They offer an opportunity to express gratitude for the abundance of the earth, honor the changing seasons, and connect with the spiritual realm. These celebrations continue to be observed by modern pagans and serve as a reminder of ancient traditions that have withstood the test of time..
Reviews for "The Role of Sacrifice in Autumnal Pagan Rituals"
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