A Mabon Cacao Ritual for the Autumn Equinox

Mabon – Meaning and Attuning to the Autumn Equinox

On September 22, 2025, we celebrate the festival of Mabon and the Autumn Equinox, also called the autumnal equinox. It marks the astronomical beginning of autumn. Just like Ostara, the spring equinox, day and night are exactly equal here too – light and darkness are in harmonious balance.

Mabon is the eighth and final of the Celtic festivals in the Wheel of the Year. This solar festival closes the yearly cycle, which then begins anew with Samhain at the end of October.

We can see and feel it: the nature around us is shifting into a new cycle. Leaves begin to glow in the warm colors of autumn. Apples, pears, rose hips, berries, and plums are ripe, and plants release their seeds for the coming season. Summer is drawing to a close, and autumn is near. The sun’s strength gradually fades, and even on warm days the coolness of autumn nights is noticeable. From now on, the days grow shorter and the nights longer, until we reach the longest night of the year at the Winter Solstice on December 21.

To attune yourself to Mabon and a ritual with Mama Cacao, you might begin with a small “autumn cleaning” in your home – releasing old energies and making space for the new. Lighting incense such as sage, mugwort, or cedarwood can also help you find clarity and calm. A walk in nature, gathering colorful autumn leaves, or creating an altar with harvest offerings may deepen your connection with the special energy of the Autumn Equinox, if you feel drawn to it.

Mabon Cacao Ritual – “Your Heart’s Path & Your Values”

1. At your favorite place, create a small Mabon altar with candles, power objects, nature’s gifts, and anything else that feels harmonious and meaningful to you.
2. Prepare your Ritual Cacao with love and awareness (here you can find a recipe & preparation tips). Make yourself comfortable with cushions and blankets at your sacred spot, and have your journal or something to write on nearby.
3. Smudge yourself and your space once, saying: “I close this cycle and make space for the new.” For smudging, we recommend our white sage.
4. Speak an intention into your Cacao. It could be something like: “Grant me clarity for my soul’s path and show me the next steps.” You may also set the intention that Cacao helps you bring your wishes and goals into a (new) structure.
5. Close your eyes and feel the Cacao spreading throughout your body. Breathe calmly into your heart and imagine your heart growing larger with every breath. Ask your heart: “What are my values? How can I live these values on my heart’s path?” Allow images and feelings to arise.
6. Bathe in these images and feelings. Imagine placing all these moments into a photo album within your heart. Press your flat hand more firmly to your heart and say: “All these images and feelings are now stored here.” Remember this gesture for times when you want to recall these memories.
7. Stay in these images and feelings as long as it feels good to you.
8. When you are ready, open your eyes and take your journal. Stay in this meditative state to write intuitively. Reflect on questions such as: ✦ What are my values? ✦ Which of the things I am currently doing are aligned with these values? ✦ What structures or practices help me to keep walking my heart’s path (in alignment with my values)?
9. Write down everything that comes to you, then make a small plan for how you want to follow your goals and wishes concretely in the coming weeks.
10. At the end, give thanks – to the Spirit of Cacao, to yourself, and to life.