Autumn Equinox: What It Means + How to Work With the Season

The Autumn Equinox marks one of those tangible turning points in the year. Day and night come close to equal, and from here, those of us in the Northern Hemisphere begin moving into the darker half of the year.

The days get shorter. The temperature begins to shift. The natural world starts preparing for winter.

And whether we consciously pay attention to it or not, we are part of that natural world too.

This is one of the reasons I love working intentionally with the seasons. They give us natural moments to check in with ourselves instead of expecting our energy, capacity, needs, and priorities to stay exactly the same all year long.

If you're craving more support through these seasonal transitions, check out my Seasonal Healing offer. For $50/month, you receive an Energy Healing session every three months to help you clear, recalibrate, and move into the next season intentionally.

Autumn Equinox + the Harvest

You'll sometimes hear the Autumn Equinox called Mabon, particularly in modern Pagan and Wiccan traditions. Mabon is actually a modern name for the celebration rather than the name of an ancient Celtic equinox festival.

What does have very old roots is the importance of the harvest itself.

For our ancestors, harvesting wasn't just a cute fall activity. What was gathered and stored during this part of the year helped determine how people would make it through the winter.

So this season naturally brings up two questions:

What have I received? And what do I need for the season ahead?

Look back at the last few months.

What grew? What worked? What supported you? What did you learn? What do you have now that you didn't have when this season began?

Your harvest doesn't have to be something impressive.

Maybe it's money or a new opportunity. Maybe it's a relationship. Maybe it's a boundary you finally learned how to hold. Maybe you understand yourself differently. Maybe you made it through something really fucking hard.

Take a second to actually acknowledge what you have gathered before immediately asking yourself what's next.

And then look forward.

What do you need as you move into the coming months?

More rest? More community? More structure? More money? More support? More time alone? A different relationship with your body?

Nature is preparing for what's coming. We can too.

Gratitude + Reciprocity

Harvest also gives us an opportunity to think about reciprocity.

We spend a lot of time asking for things. Calling things in. Setting intentions. Manifesting. Asking our guides for support.

But there should also be moments when we stop asking and say:

Thank you.

What has the earth given you this year?

What have your guides given you?

What have other people given you?

What has your own body carried you through?

And how can you give something back?

You might make an offering to the land, care for the place where you live, share food with someone, give your time, leave an offering for your guides, or simply sit outside and express your gratitude.

It doesn't have to be elaborate.

The practice is remembering that we're in relationship with the world around us, not just constantly taking from it.

Journey Into the Season Ahead

The Equinox is also a beautiful time for journey work.

Rather than deciding which guide you should connect with, journey and see who meets you.

You might ask:

Who is here to support me in this next season?

What from the last season am I meant to carry forward?

What can I leave behind?

What do I need to gather or prepare for the months ahead?

If you've never journeyed before, The Well has an entire section that teaches you how to journey and begin building relationships with your guides. You'll also get access to our Autumn Equinox Community Healing, along with the full library of healing resources.

Let Yourself Change With the Season

We live in a world that expects pretty consistent output.

Same schedule. Same productivity. Same capacity. Same expectations.

But that's not how anything else in nature works.

There are seasons for growth. Seasons for harvesting. Seasons for shedding. And seasons for pulling inward.

The Autumn Equinox gives us a moment to notice that transition.

Celebrate what you've gathered. Give thanks for what you've been given. And then ask yourself what you need as you move into the season ahead.

You don't have to have the whole next season figured out. Maybe this is simply a moment to notice where you are, honor what it took to get here, and let yourself begin to shift with the world around you.

The light is changing. The season is changing. You are allowed to change too.