Autumn Equinox and Mabon Meaning

Last Updated on September 22, 2025 by Avia

Morphing Into Mabon Meaning and Autumn Equinox Meaning: This time of year, around September 21-22 offers an incredible opportunity for insight, transformation, and personal development. Why? Because this time marks the ignition of the autumn equinox.

In my education of Nature, my mentor taught me about Mabon meaning. Mabon, or the fall – autumn equinox are one in the same. Mabon is just a different term for this seasonal transition. The term is an old European word for the autumn equinox. But this point in time is known by many names in many cultures. Whether you call it the start of Fall, or Mabon, or Harvest time, Fogamur, or that switched-on time of year when the leaves change…by any name…it’s a glorious time to celebrate a unique transition.

Autumn Equinix Meaning — Autumn Equinox Meaning

Highlights About Mabon Meaning and Autumn Equinox Meaning

So what are some take-away points to Mabon meaning and this autumn equinox? Plenty! This is a great time to focus on big transitions in our lives. Now is also the perfect time to fixate upon harvesting that which we have planted in the past.

Grab onto this present moment and consider what you have accomplished over the summer. Consider the seeds have you planted in your life or the lives of others? What have you contributed to your world? What you have sewn will be reaped during this time of year. The autumn equinox has boomerang energy. Now is the time when karma kicks booty. What has been done will come back to us this time of year.

This is true on an agricultural level, of course. It’s harvest time. We start to pull goodies from our gardens and relish the bounty we’ve received. The ancients had a special connection with this equinox because it is a time of extraordinary celebration for what the earth provides.

Okay, so maybe you don’t have a garden. Maybe your idea of harvest is opening up your freezer and shoving a Lean Cuisine in your microwave. That’s okay. You don’t have to be a tree-hugger to be in love with Mabon meaning and the profound impact of this autumn equinox.

Autumn Equinox and Signs of Change

Essentially, this is a time to embrace the challenges and changes life presents to you right now. This equinox marks the essential balance between light and dark. The sun begins to withdraw, and we perceive the light of the day becoming shorter. The earth and her relationship with the sun are shifting. With our planet’s shift, we should be aware of ourselves shifting too.

Make a point of shifting into a place of celebrating the light available to you right now. Maybe that sounds contradictory. It’s not. This is a time of fading light, and increasing darkness. Relish the light you have now, but also contemplate the effect of shadows in life. That may sound a little scary, but it’s really not when we approach the concept head-on.

Life on all levels is about balance. This is a prime time to perch yourself on the precipice of light and dark and party hearty for the diverse opportunities nestled in this moment.

The Meaning of Mabon: Magic, Power & Potential

Mabon is a hinge point. It’s a sacred doorway that swings wide open once a year, offering us balance, clarity, and a heap of potential if we’re brave enough to step through. Mabon is like the universe saying, “Okay, here’s a pause button. What will you do with it?”

At its core, Mabon is the celebration of balance. Light and dark are perfectly even, and that cosmic equality is rare stuff. It’s the universe showing us equilibrium in action. Balance is about about asking:

Where am I giving too much?

Where am I holding back?

What’s ripe for harvest in my life?

What’s begging to be released like a tree dropping its leaves?

Symbolically, Mabon is drenched in harvest magic and it also brims with less tangible harvests: wisdom, experience, and the strength we’ve cultivated through the year’s ups and downs. It’s a time when gratitude becomes a spell of its own. Saying “thank you” to the earth, to the sun, to the lessons (even the cruddy ones) creates a ripple that attracts more abundance.

That’s the real magic of Mabon: it’s not just a celebration, it’s a portal. Step through it with intention, and you’re met with clarity, balance, and the power to realign your path.

So when I say Mabon is potent, I mean it. This is a time when gratitude sharpens intuition.

How to Embrace Mabon Meaning and Autumn Equinox Essence

1). Get Your Shine On

This is the prime time to give yourself a high-five for all your accomplishments. Take inventory of your achievements and successes. Imagine the energy of Nature applauding you for how much you have grown, and the bounty you have received. But what if you’ve had a hard time? What if you’re struggling to jump and jive to the tune of your accomplished glory? That’s okay. I’m not suggesting you need an Emmy or a Pulitzer prize in your pocket.

Sometimes we must reflect upon the simplest challenges we have faced. Maybe you potty trained your kid over the summer. Or perhaps you perfected a poached egg. Your achievements don’t have to be legendary, they just have to be acknowledged. By doing this, you set a tone of confidence as you move through the darker months of the year. And by doing this, you give yourself reassurance that you have the light to progress, advance, move forward and evolve no matter what.

2). Clean Your Clock and Take Stock

You’ve heard of spring cleaning, but who says spring has to corner the market on clearing out the cobwebs? The autumn equinox is perfect when it comes to clearing out unwanted crud in our lives. Whether it’s getting rid of that pasta that expired two years ago or getting rid of old emotional grudges…take stock of what you’ve been holding onto, and give it a big heave-ho! The Universe has a funny way of rewarding us when we cleanse our lives – especially during special times of the year like now. Clean out your house. Clean your heart. Clear your mind. This is the time to do it, and the results will be extremely rewarding.

3). Stop, Drop, and Roll

You know that term when you’re on fire? Stop, drop and roll. That’s kinda what the autumn equinox asks of us. Mabon meaning is all about being present in this revolutionary moment and giving ourselves the freedom to roll with whatever comes in our future. Maybe that means a time of withdrawal.

This time might ask you to be a little selfish and indulge in your own personal space. That’s okay, because every self-investment you make moves into a beautiful momentum for your future. It may seem paradoxical to say be present while rolling with an unknown future. The point here is to don’t sweat tomorrow. Simply know tomorrow will take care of itself as long as you take care of this present moment. Sometimes you’ve got to experience the fire, sit on it, roll with it and extinguish it. By doing so, you come out renewed and rebirth. Kinda like a phoenix! Autumn is a time of light burning out, only to be reborn again.

Signs and Symbols of Autumn Equinox

There are essential symbols associated with Mabon meaning and the autumn equinox. In an effort to round out our understanding of this time of year, and one of the best things about the autumn equinox is that you don’t need a calendar or an app to tell you it’s here. Nature does the announcing herself loud, proud, and with a flair for drama. Here are a few examples to illustrate what I’m saying.

♥ Owls

Take the owls, for instance. Every equinox season, it seems like I hear their calls more often at night. Their hoots that cut through the crisp air…I rather think they’re signals to trust inner knowing (or lean more deeply into inner listening). I’ll never forget one autumn night when I was walking my dogs. Gus was sniffing every leaf pile like it was a five-star buffet, and Chadwick was darting around like a wind-up toy. Suddenly, an owl swooped right over us. My whole body tingled. To me, owls at this time of year are spirit messengers saying, “Trust your gut. The answers are already inside you.”

♥ Ivy

Consider this emerald gem. As trees begin to fade in the fall, the ivy clings tightly and remains evergreen. Autumn is a time of death and rebirth. Seeing the ivy thriving as an oak tree kisses summertime goodbye is a symbol of endurance and strength. The same holds true for you right now. Cling to whatever keeps you fresh and evergreen. Hold onto that which supports you and keeps you thriving.

♥ Scales

Or, more precisely, the sign of Libra. This sign governs this time of year. Why? Because this is a phase of time that is all about transition – but superior balance. In life and in Nature, we are all walking a tight-rope. It is key we keep our balance in order to utilize this moment to our maximum potential.

♥ Swan

What? Yeah. The swan is a symbol of the autumn equinox (so is the goose) because it is an icon for the ultimate transformation. From Celtic to Native American, the legend of the swan evokes lessons of growth, evolution and self-love. You know the story of the ugly duckling. If you can relate to that story, then let this time be a reminder you are not ugly…you are simply in transition. This time can shine a special light upon you that accentuates the beauty that resides within you. Spread your wings and relish the lovely being you are.

♥ Sun

Another irony, because the sun is fading this time of year. But it’s important to keep the home fires burning within our hearts. In fact, when the light fades, that’s the time we’ve got to turn up the voltage within us and crank up our internal amperage. No matter what you are faced with – you must remember you are made from light. Therefore, if you invoke the light, you will be guided in life. Simple as that. You are a star – in fact, you are made from stars. You cannot deny your own light. The only thing that thwarts your stellar presence is falling into the darkness. Do not go gently into the good night. Demand and command the light within and around you. You have infinite potential. Keep your light burning upon that potential within you!

♥ Deer

Then there are the deer. Around the equinox, I notice them more near the edges of fields, quiet but watchful. I once had a doe lock eyes with me on a misty September morning, and I swear, it felt like she was reminding me to step softly, gracefully, even when life feels hectic. Deer show us that gentleness is strength, especially during transitions.

♥ Crows

And of course, the crows. Oh, how I adore them. Every fall, their raucous caws seem extra loud, as if they’re celebrating the shift right along with us. I remember one autumn equinox when a whole murder of crows circled above me while I was journaling outside. I took it as a sign that transformation was coming whether I was ready or not (spoiler: I wasn’t, but the crows were right). For me, crows symbolize adaptability — they don’t fear change, they thrive on it.

♥ Leaves (of course!)

And then… there are the leaves. Golly, I could wax poetic about them forever. Watching them shift from green to fire-red, gold, and amber is like seeing the Earth write poetry in some mesmerizing leaf-writing. I’ve always felt a personal kinship with leaves in transition. They don’t cling, they don’t complain. They just let go, gracefully, knowing it’s part of the cycle. What a ginchy personal narrative. One year, I actually sat under a maple and practiced letting go of some old hurts right along with the falling leaves. Corny? Maybe. Healing? Absolutely.

This is why I love the autumn equinox so much. It’s like the Earth herself becomes a teacher, and all her creatures (feathered, furred, or rooted) are whispering lessons about balance, transformation, and the beauty of letting go.

Autumn Equinox in Global Traditions

One of the coolest things about the autumn equinox is that it proves we humans have always been sky-watchers and soul-watchers. No matter where you look on the map, people noticed when the light and dark shook hands, and they turned it into something sacred.

The Celts threw down with feasts and fires. For them, it was gathering the last apples or grains and also about gathering wisdom. They saw this seasonal tipping point as a time to say, “Hey, thanks Universe for the crops and the lessons.”

Over in Japan, the equinox is celebrated with Higan. Families clean up ancestral graves, bring flowers, and basically have a heartfelt check-in with their roots. It’s about balance, but also about keeping that cord between the living and the gone-but-not-forgotten strong and glowing.

And then there’s what I experienced in the Native community, which cracked my heart wide open. While I was working and volunteering, I got to see firsthand how deeply our First People honor this shift. It was a seasonal marker and a a sacred threshold. They tended to the land like it was a living being easing into its next phase, almost like a midwife for change, or a death doula helping the Earth transition gracefully from one chapter to the next. That kind of reverence? It humbled me to my bones.

Different cultures, different rituals, but the theme of balance is clear.

Rituals & Practices for Balance

The autumn equinox isn’t just some cosmic headliner we watch from the sidelines — it’s an invitation to actually do something with all this equal-light/equal-dark mojo. If you’re feeling called to honor the season, here are a few simple, symbolic practices to help you sync up with the balance Mother Nature is flexing right now.

Candle Meditation (Light & Dark Edition)

Light two candles both, side by side. Then just sit with them. Watch the flames flicker like two dancers who know each other’s every move. As you breathe, let yourself feel both energies: the shine of growth and the shadow of release. Balance is about making peace with both sides.

Journal It Out

This is the season of harvest and shedding, so why not do the same with your thoughts? Try these prompts:

What am I ready to release, like leaves falling from the tree?
What blessings am I harvesting from this past season?
What do I want to carry with me into the quieter months ahead?
It doesn’t have to be long or poetic. Scribble, doodle, vent — whatever helps you sift through your inner harvest.

Move & Breathe Like the Earth

If yoga’s your thing, flow through a few sun salutations as the day begins or ends. If not, just plant your feet on the floor (or, better yet, the ground outside) and take ten slow, deliberate breaths. Feel yourself as sturdy as an oak, rooted and balanced, even while everything shifts around you.

I hope you enjoyed these observations about Mabon meaning and the loveliness of the autumn equinox. Check out the links below if you’re interested in more! As always, thank you for reading! I wish you all the very best equinox ever!

Mighty brightly,