Today is the Autumnal Equinox which signals the beginning of Fall in the northern hemisphere (our friends in the southern hemisphere are celebrating the Spring Equinox). On this day there will be an equal amount of light and darkness, and after this day the nights grow longer and we head towards Winter. In many modern Pagan traditions this is the second of three harvest festivals (the first being Lughnasadh, the third being Samhain).

The holiday is also known as “Harvest Home” or “Mabon” by Wiccans and Witches, “Mid-Harvest”, “Foghar”, and “Alban Elfed” by some Druidic and Celtic-oriented Pagan groups, and “Winter Finding” by modern-day Asatru. Most modern Pagans simply call it the Autumn Equinox. Here are some media quotes and excerpts from modern Pagans on the holiday.

“This week of the Autumnal Equinox, my thoughts, as usual, turn to those of balance. The sun has returned once more to the San Francisco Bay, vanquishing the fog to bring our usual days of heat before the winter rains begin. Everything basks in this golden gaze, including the homeless men and women sleeping on wooden benches under the potted roses yesterday as I swept the concrete free of cigarette butts and bits of paper napkin. Washing an industrial sized salad bowl, I asked myself what is it about balance that intrigues me. Being a child of autumn, who holds the scales, this question has been with me my whole life. Something deep inside my skin appreciates the equalization of night and day, and the way light changes on the leaves of trees this particular time of year. Seeking balance is my natural state. Yet, through years of study, spiritual practice, and deepening, I have come to understand that balance is not a static thing. It includes movement, to and fro. I have to recognize that my current viewpoint is not necessarily an underlying reality.” – T. Thorn Coyle, “Balancing Act(ion): Equinox”

“Throughout history, the first day of autumn has been considered a good time to take stock of the year’s successes and failures. For our hemisphere, Libra (the scales) — the only inanimate sign of the zodiac — is an occasion for balancing accounts. A myth in many cultures holds that some mystical force lets us stand eggs on their ends — but only for a few hours immediately before or after the exact time of the equinox.” – Richard Cohen, New York Times

“It is time to finish old business as we prepare, as the earth slows from the robust work of nature in the fields, and prepares itself for the quiet, sleeping winter months, and the spring to follow. It is when we stop and relax and enjoy the fruits of our personal harvests, whether they be from toiling in our gardens, working at our jobs, raising our families or just coping with the hustle and bustle of everyday life. It is a good time to prune your life of any non-essential activities, just as the apple trees shed their last ripe apples, gather your energies, as the trees draw back their sap into their trunks, and reflect on your season of growth and harvest. Some say this is best done over a fresh cup of coffee and a slice of apple pie!” - Terry Smith, Pineville, Louisiana.

“Mabon is traditionally a time of giving thanks for the bounty from the earth. The harvest ritual allows us to give thanks for coming together and celebrate our commonalities, as well as celebrate the blessings we have received throughout the year.” - Dru Ann Welch, Volusia Pagan Pride Day co-organizer.

“This is what I love about Mabon; more, perhaps, than any other Sabbat, it is a festival about which Pagans are actively making their own myths, in all their many forms. Mabon is an opportunity for us to look at our myths, and the stories we tell ourselves about our world, our past, and our potential futures. And since Mabon is so open to reinterpretation, it reminds us that if we don’t like those stories, or where they’re going, then maybe we can start telling the story differently, trying many versions, until we find the ones that we can live with and live in.” – Literata, The Slacktiverse

“As Ostara is balance tipping into growth, Mabon is balance tipping into decline.  Those of us in the temperate zones are fortunate that our climate is roughly in keeping with the symbolism of the Wheel.  Even here on the mild California coast hints of fall color are becoming visible even as the harvest is in full swing.  Some of the best peaches I have tasted in a long time are finally emerging at the end of our unusually cool summer.  But among the wild plants seed heads are formed or forming, preparing for the changes to come. But I do not really see much in the way of actual decline yet. The Sabbats of balance, Mabon and Ostara, do not usually get as much attention as the great cross quarter ones, or the equinoxes, but at the deepest level I think they teach one of the most profound Pagan insights: that the good life is lived in balance.” – Gus diZerega, The Meaning of Mabon

May you all enjoy the fruits of your harvest this season.

Tonight (or tomorrow depending on where you live) is the Autumnal Equinox which signals the beginning of Fall in the northern hemisphere (our friends in the southern hemisphere are celebrating the Spring Equinox). On this day there will be an equal amount of light and darkness, and after this day the nights grow longer and we head towards Winter. In many modern Pagan traditions this is the second of three harvest festivals (the first being Lughnasadh, the third being Samhain).

Anderida Gorsedd, The Long Man of Wilmington, Autumn Equinox
Some rights reserved by chrisjohnbeckett

The holiday is also known as “Harvest Home” or “Mabon” by Wiccans and Witches, “Mid-Harvest”, “Foghar”, and “Alban Elfed” by some Druidic and Celtic-oriented groups, and “Winter Finding” by modern-day Asatru. Most modern Pagans simply call it the Autumn Equinox. Here are some media quotes and excerpts from modern Pagans on the holiday.

“For the Equinox balance between the eternally dancing dualities of life reigns and is honored.  Neither predominates.  And so, for our ritual tonight we will focus on what needs greater balance in our lives, as well as gratitude for the fruits of this summer.  For me at least one balance, returning after too long an absence, is to work with the energies and spirits of the land along with all this head tripping.” – Gus diZerega, Beliefnet

Next Wednesday heralds the official end of summer—the autumnal equinox —when the length of day and night are equal (circa 11:09 p.m. ET). In the 21st century, this astronomical event is little more than a passing curiosity. But rewind by about three millennia to the time of the ancient Babylonians, and the autumnal equinox marked the start of the “minor new year.” Not only did celestial events define sacred festivals. Conversely, religion powered the development of astronomy, the first science. – Zeeya Merali, The Wall Street Journal

“In the rhythm of the year, Harvest Home marks a time of rest after hard work. The crops are gathered in, and winter is still a month and a half away! Although the nights are getting cooler, the days are still warm, and there is something magical in the sunlight, for it seems silvery and indirect. As we pursue our gentle hobbies of making corn dollies (those tiny vegetation spirits) and wheat weaving, our attention is suddenly arrested by the sound of baying from the skies (the “Hounds of Annwn” passing?), as lines of geese cut silhouettes across a harvest moon. And we move closer to the hearth, the longer evening hours giving us time to catch up on our reading, munching on popcorn balls and caramel apples and sipping home-brewed mead or ale. What a wonderful time Harvest Home is! And how lucky we are to live in a part of the country where the season’s changes are so dramatic and majestic!” – Mike Nichols, The Witches’ Sabbats

“In the north, winter starts early. Just as sunset marked the beginning of a day, winter’s period of gestation began the year. First full moon after the fall equinox: Winter Finding (Winter Fylleth) or Winter Nights (Vetmaettr) … Many kindreds use this holiday to honor the ancestors and celebrate the harvest. Some honor only the disir, while others follow a Norwegian tradition and honor the alfar in the fall and the disir in February.” - Diana L. Paxson, Essential Asatur: Walking the Path of Norse Paganism

“Although the specific date of the Autumn Equinox was not marked by any ritual in Celtic tradition, there is evidence that, at some point roughly halfway between Lughnasadh and Samhain, communities would involved themselves with a ceremony that reflected the processes then at work in the Year. This was usually a conclusion to ritual themes invoked at Lughnasadh, and focused on the end of the main harvest activities (i.e., the grain harvest), although it did not imply the end of the entire Harvest season, which continued until Samhain.” – Alexei Kondratiev, The Apple Branch

“If your sky is clear, you can glimpse an almost full Harvest moon in the east after sunset on this equinox evening. The crest of the moon’s full phase will come only 6 hours after the exact moment of the 2010 September equinox – in early morning tomorrow for the U.S. and Europe (4:17 a.m. Thursday morning Central Daylight Time, or 9:17 Universal Time). This is the northern hemisphere’s legendary Harvest Moon and the southern hemisphere’s first full moon of spring. What’s more, there is a blazing star like light near tonight’s moon. It is the solar system’s largest planet Jupiter, which just yesterday reached its opposition – when Earth flew between Jupiter and the sun.” – Bruce McClure, EarthSky Tonight

May you all enjoy the fruits of your harvest this season.

Today is the Autumnal Equinox (21:18 UTC) which signals the beginning of Fall in the northern hemisphere. On this day there will be an equal amount of light and darkness, and after this day the nights grow longer and we head towards Winter. In many modern Pagan traditions this is the second of three harvest festivals (the first being Lughnasadh, the third being Samhain).

Pagan circle at Autumn Equinox.
Photo by Chris John Beckett (CC)

The holiday is also known as “Harvest Home” or “Mabon” by Wiccans and Witches, “Mid-Harvest” and “Alban Elfed” by some Druidic and Celtic-oriented groups, and “Winter Finding” by modern-day Asatru. Most modern Pagans simply call it the Autumn Equinox. Here are some media quotes and excerpts from modern Pagans on the holiday.

“It’s the twilight of the changing seasons, that gray area in between summer and fall where anything goes as far as weather is concerned. It’s a sort of purgatory. Nothing is for certain. The verdict is out; nature is in the midst of deliberating.” - Tom Ragan, The Christian Science Monitor

“Mabon has become a time of celebration of reflection, grace, and balance. We may hold a seasonal rite at our “beautiful corners,” giving thanks for home and finance, school and knowledge, careers and accomplishment, and balance and relationships.” – Terry Smith, Alexandria Town Talk

“…celebrating Harvest Festival in church is a relatively recent practice. It was originally a pagan festival celebrated by those who had enough food and spare time to have a knees-up when the full moon – the Harvest Moon – was nearest the autumnal equinox. It was only in 1843 that the Rev Robert Hawker, from Cornwall, started the trend of holding a service, offering communion bread made from the first cut of corn.” – Charlie Brooks, The Telegraph

“It is sometimes called Mabon (in most Wiccan traditions) but I always think of the Autumnal Equinox as Harvest Home. It’s the middle harvest–the harvest of apples, eggplant, the young and tender fall kale. It’s the time to get some canning done–like you haven’t been doing that all summer long.” – Byron Ballard, The Village Witch, Asheville Citizen-Times

“In the rhythm of the year, Harvest Home marks a time of rest after hard work. The crops are gathered in, and winter is still a month and a half away! Although the nights are getting cooler, the days are still warm, and there is something magical in the sunlight, for it seems silvery and indirect. As we pursue our gentle hobbies of making corn dollies (those tiny vegetation spirits) and wheat weaving, our attention is suddenly arrested by the sound of baying from the skies (the “Hounds of Annwn” passing?), as lines of geese cut silhouettes across a harvest moon. And we move closer to the hearth, the longer evening hours giving us time to catch up on our reading, munching on popcorn balls and caramel apples and sipping home-brewed mead or ale. What a wonderful time Harvest Home is!” – Mike Nichols, The Witches’ Sabbats

May you all enjoy the fruits of your harvest this season.

Today is the Autumnal Equinox (15:44 UTC) which signals the beginning of Fall in the northern hemisphere. On this day there will be an equal amount of light and darkness, and after this day the nights grow longer and we head towards Winter. In many modern Pagan traditions this is the second of three harvest festivals (the first being Lughnasadh, the third being Samhain).

Pagan circle at Autumn Equinox.
Photo by Chris John Beckett (CC)

The holiday is also known as “Harvest Home” or “Mabon” by Wiccans and Witches, “Mid-Harvest” and “Alban Elfed” by some Druidic and Celtic-oriented groups, and “Winter Finding” by modern-day Asatru. Most modern Pagans simply call it the Autumn Equinox. Here are some media quotes and excerpts from modern Pagans on the holiday.

“We’ve had a fun summer, but it’s almost time to bid farewell to the warm weather and welcome the fall. The autumnal equinox will occur on Monday, September 22, 2008 at 11:44:18 a.m. EDT, causing weather geeks, neo-pagans, and people who simply enjoy the change of seasons to break out the sweaters or druid’s cloaks and have a little party. Variously known as Mabon, Alban Elfed, Night of the Hunter, Wine Harvest, and Witch’s Thanksgiving, the fall equinox holiday doesn’t quite enjoy the the popularity of the summer solstice, but it’s a good enough excuse to get outside and groove on nature, if that’s your thing.” – Victor Ozols, Jaunted

“We pagans consider this holiday as a reminder of the harvest of our efforts this year, and the bounty it is, weighted against our life’s experience. These past experiences take seed, regenerate into wisdom, which is reborn within. It is also a time to ponder the necessity for fallow periods, for it is the fallow periods which allow us to assimilate, regenerate, and incorporate that which we have progressed through the year. Just as fields need to lay fallow to better support new growth, so do we!” – Terry Smith, Alexandria Town Talk

“Mabon is the second of three harvest festivals on the Pagan calendar, with the third and largest being Samhain, at the Celtic new year. It celebrates the bounty of the harvest, but it also calls for celebrants to be thankful for other blessings in their lives, including family and friends. Among the traditional symbols of Mabon are wine, gourds, pine cones, acorns, grains, corn, apples, pomegranates, vines such as ivy, dried seeds and horns of plenty. Traditional foods include breads, nuts, apples, pomegranates and root vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and onions.” – Leslie Boyd, Asheville Citizen-Times

“At Mabon, we acknowledge the riches of the harvest while the fields are still bringing forth produce. This lets us interact, if we choose, with the living Earth even as She is busy making our apples and cabbages and corn and beans and potatoes get fat and ready for the picking. Whether we go to the local farmer’s market, go picking in a local orchard, or grow our own in a garden plot, the sensual connection with nature is strong at this time because the season of harvest is rich with color, fragrance and texture.” – Peg Aloi, The Witches’ Voice

“Harvest Home is the pleasantest of holidays. Admittedly, it does involve the concept of sacrifice, but one that is symbolic only. The sacrifice is that of the spirit of vegetation, John Barleycorn. Occurring one quarter of the year after Midsummer, Harvest Home represents midautumn, autumn’s height. It is also the autumnal equinox, one of the quarter days of the year, a Lesser Sabbat and a Low Holiday in modern Witchcraft.” – Mike Nichols, The Witches’ Sabbats

May you all enjoy the fruits of your harvest this season.

Today is the Autumnal Equinox (09:51 UT) and signals the beginning of Fall in the northern hemisphere. On this day there will be an equal amount of light and darkness, and after this day the nights grow longer and we head towards Winter. In many modern Pagan traditions this is the second of three harvest festivals (the first being Lughnasadh, the third being Samhain).

“Mabon” photo by Nyx(CC)

The holiday is also known as “Harvest Home” or “Mabon” by Wiccans and Witches, “Mid-Harvest” and “Alban Elfed” by some Druidic and Celtic-oriented groups, and “Winter Finding” by modern-day Asatru. Most modern Pagans simply call it the Autumn Equinox. Here are some media quotes and excerpts from modern Pagans on the holiday.

“An equinox in astronomy is the event when the Sun can be observed to be directly above the Earth’s equator, occurring around March 20 and September 22 each year. As a general rule, it is thought to be on the 21st of every quarter that the equinox changes. On these dates, night and day are nearly of the same length and the Sun crosses the celestial equator. In a wider sense, the equinoxes are the two days each year when the centre of the Sun spends an equal amount of time above and below the horizon at every location on Earth.” – Pretoria News

“Cultures throughout time have used the cycles of the sun to mark important events. The equinox itself holds less meaning in our modern society, and truly the change that comes to the season happens by degrees over time. But the notion of a balance between light and dark falling on a moment in time is a powerful, and useful, idea to dwell on long after the equinox has given way to the slow march of winter.” – The Daily Green

“Although the specific date of the Autumn Equinox was not marked by any ritual in Celtic tradition, there is evidence that, at some point roughly halfway between Lughnasadh and Samhain, communities would involve themselves with a ceremony that reflected the processes then at work in the Year. This was usually a conclusion to ritual themes invoked at Lughnasadh, and focused on the end of the main harvest activities (i.e., the grain harvest), although it did not imply the end of the entire Harvest season, which continued until Samhain” – Alexei Kondratiev, The Apple Branch

“In the rhythm of the year, Harvest Home marks a time of rest after hard work. The crops are gathered in, and winter is still a month and a half away! Although the nights are getting cooler, the days are still warm, and there is something magical in the sunlight, for it seems silvery and indirect. As we pursue our gentle hobbies of making corn dollies (those tiny vegetation spirits) and wheat weaving, our attention is suddenly arrested by the sound of baying from the skies (the ‘Hounds of Annwn’ passing?), as lines of geese cut silhouettes across a harvest moon. And we move closer to the hearth, the longer evening hours giving us time to catch up on our reading, munching on popcorn balls and caramel apples and sipping home-brewed mead or ale. What a wonderful time Harvest Home is! And how lucky we are to live in a part of the country where the season’s changes are so dramatic and majestic!” – Mike Nichols, “Harvest Home”

“Autumn Equinox (also known as Mabon or Harvest Home) is celebrated when day and night are of equal duration before the descent into increasing darkness and is the final festival of the season of harvest. In nature, the activity of the summer months slows down to the hibernation for the winter. For many Pagans, now is time to reflect on the past season. It is also a time to recoginse that the balance of the year has changed, the wheel has turned and summer is now over.” – BBC, Religion and Ethics

“However you celebrate this festival, I urge you all to get outside and enjoy the sensual delights of late summer as it gives way to early autumn. Visit a local farm. It is important to support small farms as often as possible; farming is a dying way of life in this country and your health (not to mention your local economy) will benefit when you buy local and eat fresh. Farmer’s markets are abundant this time of year; find one near you. Go apple picking. Support your local orchards! There is no substitute for fruit freshly picked from the tree; bring your children or make a day of it with friends. Have a harvest dinner made with fresh local vegetables or locally-raised poultry or meat. Make a pie or tart from apples or peaches. Buy wine or beer from a local winery or brewery. Remember your ancestors, who lived close by one another, who worked the fields together, who shared food and drink and fellowship together. Celebrate your own harvests: acknowledge your work, goals or other accomplishments.” – Peg Aloi, The Witches’ Voice

May you all enjoy the fruits of your harvest this season.