🍎 How to prepare your altar and energy for Mabon

Mabon is approaching. The autumn equinox, that solemn moment when light and dark toss each other and, symbolically, you're supposed to find the perfect balance in your life. Spoiler: you won't. But you can at least treat yourself to a sacred moment, an altar that exudes autumn, and a ritual that reminds you that no, you're not just a hamster in a wheel.

Mabon is the second harvest festival. A chance to say thanks, take stock, and tuck away your summer magic in a drawer to put on your itchy sweater and dramatic cape. It's the in-between: still a little light, but already the thrill of shadows approaching. And trust me: if you don't want your fall to feel like depression disguised as a Halloween pumpkin, prepare your altar and your energy now.

🍂 Mabon in real life

Mabon isn't a Pinterest invention. It's a pagan festival that honors the autumnal equinox: day and night are of equal length, a symbol of balance. The ancestors took advantage of this opportunity to:

• harvest what was left in the fields,

• to party before the cold hits them,

• thank the gods for not letting them starve to death.

Today, you can translate that as:

• empty your fridge of leftover summer rosé,

• thank your banker if your overdraft has not yet cried out for mercy,

• and find some semblance of inner peace before the days get shorter.

In short, Mabon = gratitude, harvest, balance . And if you want it to stay more than just three witty words thrown around in an Instagram meme, you're going to have to embody it.

🕯️ Prepare your altar for Mabon

Your altar is your sacred setting. No need to break the bank at Nature & Découvertes: you can do it with a candle, an apple, and a pebble found in your garden. But if you want to push it a bit, here are some tips:

• The colors : orange, brown, deep red, gold. Anything that screams “pumpkin, fallen leaves, and mulled wine.”

• Objects : apples, grapes, pomegranates, nuts, corn on the cob, squash, candles… anything that reminds you of abundance.

• The symbols : a bowl of bread, a cup of wine (or juice if you're being a saint), an apple cut in half which reveals the 5-pointed star.

And no, your altar doesn't have to look like a sepia-toned Pinterest photo. If your candle leans like the Tower of Pisa and your apple is slightly rotten, it's already on theme: Mabon is all about delicate balance.

The real secret? Place things that mean something to you on your altar. Even if it's just the leaf you picked up on the sidewalk on your way to get your bread.

🌑 Prepare your energy

Mabon isn't just a setting. It's also an energy to embody. And here, be careful: it stings a little. Because preparing your energy means facing what's there .

1. Take stock
   What have you sown since Ostara (spring)? What has grown? What has gone wrong? Accept the truth: not everything is harvested.

2. Let go of what is dead
   That project that's been dragging on for six months and will never see the light of day? Bury it. That relationship that's been stagnating? Compost it. Not everything needs to survive the winter.

3. Find your balance
   Simple breathing: Inhale 4 counts, hold 4 counts, exhale 4 counts, hold 4 counts. Do this 10 times. It calms your inner hamster and puts you back in center.

4. Write your gratitudes
   No need for a novel. Three things to say thank you for, even if it's just "I still have coffee this morning."

🥖 Mini-ritual of Mabon

Want to mark the occasion without embarking on a 3-hour ritual? Here's my quick version:

Material :

• 1 orange candle (or the one lying around, who cares).

• 1 apple.

• 1 paper + pen.

• A piece of bread or a glass of wine (or both, let's be crazy).

Steps:

1. Light your candle.

2. Cut the apple in half and gaze at the five-pointed star at its center. A gentle reminder that magic is everywhere.

3. Write two things: one you are grateful for, one you want to let go of.

4. Eat your bread or drink your wine/juice with awareness. Say:
   “I give thanks for what was, I welcome what is to come.”

5. And there you have it. Ritual folded. You can even keep half the apple as an offering and eat the other.

✨ Conclusion: balance is a bluff

Mabon, this isn't Instagram's fall decor party. It's your annual checkpoint. A moment to say thank you, let go of what no longer serves you, and remind yourself that you're not supposed to wear everything.

The perfect balance? Illusion. The real magic is accepting that you're constantly balancing between light and shadow, gratitude and grumbling, mulled wine and electricity bills.

So this September 22nd, set up your rickety altar, relight a candle, cut open your apple, and smile to yourself: you're working magic. Not because it's perfect, but because it's you. And that, my dear, is already the essence of Mabon.