Can you believe summer is almost over?!

As the golden light of September filters through the falling leaves and the air turns crisp, the wheel of the year reminds us that nothing and nobody stands still.

We have reached the month of Mabon, the Autumn Equinox, a sacred point of balance between light and dark.

The harvest is in full swing as September’s Harvest Moon rises in her luminous fullness, and the natural world prepares for its gradual descent into rest.

This is a potent season for reflection, gratitude, release, and earthy magic. SOme of the witchy tasks suggested here may require a few supplies – we’ve spent some time sourcing them, so you don’t have to. Some of the links here are affiliate, meaning a few pennies come our way when you click, at no extra cost to you.

So here goes…20 witchy ways to honour September’s mystical gifts, deepening your practice and connecting with the ever changing rhythms of the land.

1. Prepare a Mabon Altar

Welcome the season with a sacred space dedicated to both balance and the abundance of harvest.

Decorate your altar with apples, acorns, pinecones, autumn leaves, and symbols of the equinox, such as scales or sun and moon motifs.

Add candles in earthy tones – we LOVE these 100% pure beeswax pillar candles – and offerings to deities or spirits you honour. This visual anchor helps ground your energy and celebrate the blessings of the season.

Also read: How to Build Your Own Witch’s Altar

2. Hold a Gratitude Ritual

Gratitude rituals are potent at any time of the year, but here, during harvest time, they take on a deeper significance.

• Write a list of things you are thankful for, large or small.
• Light a candle and speak your gratitude aloud
• Bury or burn the paper as an offering.

Ritualising this act of simple acknowledgement aligns your energy with abundance and actually opens you to receive more. 

3. Cast an Apple Protection Spell

This is one of my favourite September spells.

• Slice an apple in half horizontally to reveal the natural pentagram inside.
• Sprinkle with protective herbs such as organic rosemary or sage or a few drops of clove essential oil
• Bury the apple near your front door

This charm blesses your home in preparation for the coming darkness, drawing on the apple’s ancient energy and symbolism of wisdom and warding.

4. Make a Corn Husk Poppet

Use dried corn husks to create a small figure, stuffed with herbs and personal items. Charge it with intentions of protection, healing, or abundance.

These rustic poppets have deep roots in harvest folklore, and it’s fascinating to dive into the rich history surrounding them. If you’re curious, these are great resources:

• Poppet Magick: Patterns, Spells & Formulas for Poppets, Spirit Dolls & Magickal Animals
• Poppets and Magical Dolls (Pagan Portals – this are a fantastic series of magickal books)

This is also a great witchy activity to do with friends, or a witchy craft nights circle.

5. Bake a Harvest Bread Offering

Bake your very own harvest loaf using seasonal grains like oat, rye, or spelt. As you knead, infuse the dough with gratitude and intention.

Offer a piece to the land, your ancestors, or harvest deities such as Demeter, Ceres, or Lugh. Share the rest with family or community in celebration.

(If you’ve never baked bread, give it a go! It’s a beautiful, alchemical process and so much easier than you may think!)

6. Create an Autumn Equinox Balance Spell

The Autumn Equonox arrives on September 21st, and marks a day of equal light and dark, all across the globe.

On the day of the equinox, prepare a simple altar with two candles – one white (for light) and one black or brown (for shadow).

Place them on opposite sides of a scale, mirror, or circle to symbolise balance.

As you light them simultaneously, focus on the theme of harmony in your life. Speak intentions such as: “I honour both light and dark within me. I seek balance in action and rest, giving and receiving.” Write a few reflections in your journal as you hold this intention. You may also pull tarot, oracle cards or runes with questions like:

• What area of my life needs more balance?

• What have I been giving too much energy to?

• Where can I invite more rest or nourishment?

Close the ritual with a cup of herbal tea and a few deep breaths.

7. Harvest and Dry Herbs

Now is the time to collect herbs like sage, thyme, rosemary, mugwort, and lavender before the first frost. Dry them in bundles and store for winter spells, incense, or teas.

These herbs are also perfect additions to sachets, wreaths, or spell jars.

Get organised before you cut your bounty by ensuring you have drying racks – (we LOVE this stunning wooden Tree of Life herbal drying rack) and string handy, as well as apothecary jars and labels.

We recommend these jars:

• Classic glass 7oz apothecary jars, 30 pack, the classic and the best! 

• Small glass jars with cork lids (set of 12), perfect for very small quantities of precious herbs

• Spherical jar (set of 2) – SO practical and look amazing on open shelving!

As you collect each herb, thank the plant for its magickal, healing gifts for sustaining you through the colder months.

8. Scry With Fallen Leaves

This divination technique is SO much fun!

• With a question in your mind, go for an autumn walk and collect a selection of fallen leaves.
• When you return, sit down, light a candle and gaze into their patterns, spots, and edges. You may see shapes, animals, or symbols.
• Trust what you see, and write down whatever impressions you have, however random or unexpected. The metaphors may become clear days, weeks or even months into the future.

Also read: How to Practice Black Mirror Scrying + Tips for Beginner Witches

9. Make a Mabon Spice Jar

Combine your favourite warming spices in a beautiful glass jar – these are simply stunning!

Use in spells over the coming months, for warmth, joy, and prosperity. This blend also makes a beautiful simmer pot or gorgeous, magickal tea base.

You could also create hand-drawn labels and gift them to your friends.

Source herbs and spices locally where possible, or get them here:

• Cinnamon sticks
• Bay leaves
• Star anise
• Nutmeg (grind first)
• Dried chamomile flowers 
• Dried orange
• Whole cloves

10. Host a Harvest Moon Ritual

Gather together with a group of close friends, under the light of the Harvest Moon, occuring in September.

Set up an altar of candles, fruits, and wine or juice. Speak aloud your goals for the coming months and celebrate and release what is complete.

Love the full Moon? Get inspired:

• What is Full Moon Bathing and How to Do it

• Full Moon Shadow Work: 50 Journal Prompts to Illuminate Your Inner Gold

• Essential Full Moon Spells for Love, Money and Protection

• 10 Ways to Increase Your Spiritual Power with the Full Moon
• 10 Things You Should Avoid During a Full Moon
• Exactly How to Create a Full Moon Release Ritual
• How to Make Moon Water

11. Plant Garlic & Spring Bulbs

September is the very best month for planting garlic, a potent and pungent kitchen witch ingredient, and a highly protective plant.

This is also a great time to plant spring bulbs like daffodils, tulips and crocuses. 

Witchify the simple act of planting by speaking an intention for what you also want to grow spiritually or emotionally. These “buried spells” will rest in the deep, dark soil over winter, finally emerging as beackons of hope when the wheel turns once more and spring arrives

12. Create a Shadow Work Journal

As light begins to wane and we head into the darker season of the year, September marks the ideal time to begin a journal dedicated to your inner landscape.

Witches know that shadow work is an essential part of their craft – without exploring our hidden corners, we can’t truly create the lives we desire. My favourite way to approach shadow work is through the Moon phases. Find out exactly how, in THIS playbook and guide…

13. Honour Persephone 

If you feel called, consider invoking one of the powerful dark goddesses who journey into the underworld.

September marks the start of Persephone’s descent – a perfect time for honouring transformation and duality.

Light a candle, read a myth, and make an offering.

Take some time to reflect on your own descent and rebirth cycles. 

Need some inspiration? Read: 10 Unique Ways to Begin Working with the Dark Goddess

14. Make Acorn Charms for Abundance

Acorns are incredible symbols of potential and growth.

Collect a few from beneath a local oak and charge them with your wishes for wealth, creativity, or wisdom.

Place them on your altar, or add to charm bags with a selection of your favourite herbs and crystals. 

15. Blend an Equinox Anointing Oil

Create a ritual oil using base oils such as organic almond oil, olive or jojoba oil, and add a selection of autumn-scented essential oils such as frankincense, orange, clove, or myrrh.

Use this blend to anoint candles, tools, or yourself during equinox rituals. Infuse the oil with a small piece of carnelian or garnet for added vitality.

You can place them into roll-on bottles for personal use or amber glass dropper bottles for altar work.

Get supplies here:

•  Cold-pressed jojoba oil
• Organic sweet almond oil
• Frankincense oil – this brand is my favourite
• Clove bud oil
• Sweet orange oil
• Pure vanilla essential oil – this is SO good to add sweetness to an autumn blend!
• Birch essential oil – unusual but gorgeous

16. Craft an Autumn Besom Broom

Craft your own small besom (witch’s broom) using a selection of found twigs, dried herbs like mugwort or rosemary, and seasonal ribbon.

Hang it on your door in place of a seasonal wreath, as a beautiful decoration, a symbol of seasonal transition, and a ward against negativity.

September is the ideal time to cleanse, bless, and protect the entryway to your home, as it marks the doorway to the darker season.

17. Explore a new divination tool

September’s wheel-turning, slightly more introspective energy makes this month an ideal time to expand your divination practice.

See if you can dedicate a little time each week to learn how to use runes, tea leaves (tasseomancy), or pendulums, and explore how these tools can enhance your magical work.

Need inspiration? Check out these divination tools:

• Black obsidian engraved runes – this is a stunning set!

• Wild Soul Runes: Reawakening the Ancestral Feminine – by Lara Vesta, the absolute BEST book on runes you will find.

• Tea Leaf Fortune Cards & Illustrated Guidebook for Reading Tea Leaves. This is an amazing resource if you’re new to this timeless method.

• Obsidian pocket scrying mirror –  a great starter mirror, and it’s beautiful too.
• Golden pendulum – this design of pendulum works SO well for me, I highly recommend.
• Gorgeous wooden pendulum board – essential for divining more complex questions.

Oracle decks:

Treating yourself to a new oracle deck can also be a gorgeous way to open up the horizons of your divination practice. Here is a selection of my favourite decks:

• The Wild Unknown Animal Spirit Deck (go on, treat yourself this is oracle gold!)
• The Green Witch’s Oracle Deck
• The Starseed Oracle – probably the global favourite!
• Mystical Shaman Oracle – the illustrations are to DIE for, and this is a potent set
• The Spirit Animal Oracle
• Goddess Guidance Oracle Cards – I can’t do without Goddess cards and these are divine

18. Brew a Harvest Moon Tea

This year’s only harvest moon rises on September 7.

September can be a busy month, so if you don’t have time for a full-blown ritual, simply steep a calming blend of chamomile, apple peel, cinnamon, and rose petals.

Sip it under the full moon while meditating, journaling, or simply giving thanks. This tea is perfect for aligning with both lunar and seasonal energies.

19. Work with the Spirit of the Scarecrow

The scarecrow is an ambiguous but fascinating figure that appears across cultures. It can represent many things:

• A guardian protecting crops and boundaries.

• A symbol of the threshold between life and decay.

• An embodiment of the harvest spirit itself.

• A figure of sacrifice to sustain community well-being.

• A reminder of death and rebirth.

To explore what this seasonal figure may have to teach you, create a small scarecrow from sticks, fabric, or straw. Place it in your garden or on your altar and offer it seasonal grains or wine. Sit with it, and meditate on its meanings, asking what message it holds for you.

20. Cast a Walnut Wish Spell

September is when walnuts begin to fall. Their curious shells can be broken apart and used for many witchy crafts. This is one of my favourites.

• Once collected, your walnuts will need to be hulled and dried (this can take a couple of weeks).
• When completely dry, carefully crack open a walnut, keeping the shell in two halves.
• Write a wish on a small piece of paper, fold it up, and seal it inside with wax (THIS wax sealing kit is ideal).
• Place it on your altar or bury it near your threshold.
• Over the winter, the energies inside will ripen.

September offers us a sacred pause. It’s a liminal time when light and dark stand in perfect balance, before the great descent into the quiet of winter.

Whatever tips and tasks you take from here, I hope these witchy practices help you stay rooted in the cycles of the earth, the moon and our solar king above, and also in the deeper wisdom within yourself.

May your autumn season be filled with beauty, gratitude, and the rich magick of the turning year.

Blessed Mabon X