Mabon/Autumn Equinox Personal Correspondences
Oh my goodness it’s my favorite time of the year approaching! Leaves are beginning to change and gold and fiery reds are beginning to seep into it’s green colors. Acorns sprinkle the ground as squirrels do their feverish dance across the lawns. So many delicious fruits and vegetables are in season! The air is cooling and bringing a breeze that is gently pushing summer away. This is the beginning of the end of the year as we enter the final season and the last quarter. It is a time of reflection of the past year, things to banish and improve on and to show gratitude and count our blessings. Especially in honor of the harvest and the togetherness that the holiday season brings, gratitude is an important aspect of this sabbat. A fantastic way to celebrate this sabbat is by hosting a pot luck for your circle and enjoying the equinox with a wonderful fall feast!
Orange and Amber
For fall, I don’t need to say more haha.
Mustard yellow and Pea green
I put these two together because this celebration also falls on a transition where most leaves are a lighter greenish yellow and I noticed in nature many things have the hues of a deeper mustard yellow or a yellowy pea green color. Also a lot of squash have these hues too.
Brown undertones
for fall and the soon to be bare trees
Burgundy/Wine
It’s the season of the wine harvest and also the colors of plum and other ripe fruits. (Thanks to hands-heart-hearth for the helpful addition!)
Squash
carnival, fairytale pumpkin, acorn
there’s many but those are the top 3
Mushrooms
Especially Turkeytail, Chicken of the Woods, Beefsteak etc.
Wooden flutes that are slower and somber like the oncoming cooler breeze.
Here is a playlist I made (play the white noise soundtracks under the music)
Apple (especially pie and baking)
Nutty earthy fragrances like peanut
There is a lot in season. For vegetables, the biggest one that takes the attention for me is squash. There are many beautiful squash that are great for decoration and to eat. My favorite is the acorn squash, especially because of already the symbolism of the acorns everywhere on this equinox but also the nutty flavor of the squash and it’s green to orange colors. It is both highly decorative with perfect flavor and presence. Corn is also appropriate for this holiday and can be honored with a warm cornbread and carrots add great color and flavor to a lot of dishes.
For fruits there are apples, plums and grapes. Grapes and plums can be honored in wine and for apples there is cider. Apples of course also make fantastic pies and sweets.
I see this holiday as a fantastic alternative to Thanksgiving (since it’s a fall feast and gratitude is involved) and especially since a lot of things are in season many similar dishes can be served like corn bread, apple sauce, roasted squash and stuffing.
If there is meat being served I like to make candied bacon with brown sugar and maple syrup or bbq chicken with a bbq sauce lightly spiked with smoky bourbon with a hint of maple syrup.
Spices like allspice, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, cloves and ginger find it’s way into my cooking in both sweet and savory.
In the realm of sweets and treats there is a lot to work with. For dessert, especially because it’s pie season, one must make a pie or tart. Annually I make a caramelized apple tart with sparkling brown sugar on top. Apple cider donuts also make for a great dessert option. For treats there are the options of caramel popcorn, caramel apples, caramel itself, maple sugar fudge, maple butter cookies, butterscotch, dried apple chips, apple flavored candy. I also like flavors such as earthier nuts like peanuts and walnuts, but especially peanut butter with treats. It can be dangerous if someone has allergies so I usually omit it, but I like the nutty earthy flavor because it reminds me of acorns and burrowing seeds. Caramel apples is the prime treat for this holiday and can be decorated in a number of ways with either fall leaf sprinkles, chocolate sprinkles, chopped nuts, icing designs or candy toppings.
For drinks there are many options, but one I tend to go to the most is spiked warm apple cider. I warm it with cinnamon and spike it with Haitian rum I infuse with caramel. I see this as the height of brewing season where a lot of ciders and wines are beginning to get brewed especially since many fruits are in season. You can bring wine to the feast or even enjoy it with seasonal beers. I also see the colder part of the year as whiskey season and if you wish to honor the corn aspect of the harvest, bourbon is always a good smoky spirit to keep around.
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