An Altar for the Autumn Equinox
Tomorrow is the Autumn Equinox! In the Celtic tradition, this day it is called Mabon (pronounced MAY-Bon), and celebrates the final harvest of the year. Known as the pagan Thanksgiving, Mabon marks the first day of fall, when the length of day and night are the same.
This year in the northern hemisphere, the Autumn Equinox falls on September 22nd. It is a time to celebrate a moment of solar balance, to go hearth-side, welcome the longer nights, relish the cooler days and embrace the darker half of the year.
This year I've decorated my Mabon altar with apples, pears, seed pods, fresh rosemary, dried flowers, and leaves. The ceramic figure on my altar is always Persephone, Queen of the Underworld and daughter to the Earth Goddess Demeter. For me, Persephone represents the creative “shadow self”. Her annual return to the underworld marks the beginning of Autumn and serves as an affirmation that to live a fully integrated creative life, we must acknowledge our grief and darker emotional cosmology. This time of year embodies creative solitude, reflective silence, and gestational growth.
For those of you who are participating in the Creative Alchemy Cycle, I invite you to share in the comment section below how you’ve decorated your altars for the Autumn Equinox. What colors, flavors, images, and stories are resonating with you right now?
The Creative Alchemy Cycle: Autumn Equinox bundle is NOW AVAILABLE for purchase! This bundle is packed with digital creative content, exploring themes that are intimately linked with myths, traditions and symbols of the Autumn Equinox, known in Celtic culture as Mabon. We’ll take to the mountains of Eastern Oregon, gather huckleberries, red clover blossoms, and seed pods, and enjoy the nourishing waters of local alpine lakes. Then we’ll head into my studio to paint and process the beauty that surrounds us. This bundle explores the themes of harvest and grief, reminding us that we all have something completely unique to offer this broken-hearted world. Purchase the bundle HERE.
