Mabon
Splashing into the season of water and letting go.
Hello, my darling.
Is that the autumn wind or the witches chanting? Both – both is good.
I know a witch or two who is very happy with the darker evenings - and maybe you are too! How do you feel now spooky season is finally here?
I have my own feelings about Mabon.
The autumn equinox festival of Mabon will be upon us on Monday 22nd September (at exactly 19.20 BST). The fuzzy jumpers have been out for a few weeks in our household, but now we can officially sink into the deliciousness of autumn: the blackberry crumble, the crinkly leaves, and the fingerless mittens around a hot cup of tea.
For me, this is always the time when I begin to lament the loss of the brighter half of the year (soon, I'll be sharing a post about combatting that dreaded Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)). Anyone already pining for those long Litha nights might like to spare a minute for Mabon’s other themes of loss, shadow work and letting go.
But letting go doesn’t always have to be a sorrowful act. Letting go can actually be the thing that sets you free. Scroll down for your exclusive letting go ritual to help you release what is actually holding you back from who you want to be when spring arrives.
In this Mabon edition of The Green Witch, I’ll be sharing:
ways to celebrate the festival of Mabon
exciting news - my brand-new book!
events, events and even more magickal events!
your Mabon “letting go” ritual
There’s a lot going on this season, so make sure to take the time you need for yourself. I’m allowing myself to continue my love affair with silence, and finding joy in the peace after the thunderstorms. Blessed Mabon, darling.
Jennifer x
Underwing: A Story of Motherhood, Loss and Wild Intuition
The news is finally out there!
Thank you so much for all your kind and thoughtful words about my brand-new title, Underwing: A Story of Motherhood, Loss and Wild Intuition. Your care and gentleness mean so much to me.
This book has been written in the 18 months since the loss of my daughter, Sky. During this time, I rediscovered my place within witchcraft and the wild, natural world.
The journey has been heartwrenching and, at times, almost unbearable. But - whether you have been through any kind of loss or not - I hope you’ll find solace in the pages of this book.
Coming to a bookshop near you on Thursday 12th March 2026.
Find out more about Underwing in my Substack post here, and pre-order the book below 🩵
How to celebrate Mabon
Are you a “jump in a pile of autumn leaves” or a “pumpkin soup every night” kind of witch?
I’ll be celebrating Mabon by:
performing a harvest ritual. Didn’t we just have a harvest festival at Lughnasadh? We did - but within modern Paganism, there are actually three harvest celebrations! Mabon is the second harvest festival on the Witches’ Wheel of the Year. Perform a ritual to honour the bounty that the Earth has given us, or spend time reflecting on the abundance in your life. You can even be very literal here and gather together all the produce from your garden (or grocery haul) and bless it, asking the Goddess to bring luck to anyone who eats it.
making a gratitude altar. Speaking of abundance! Every year, I talk about creating a beautiful autumn altar, and you can absolutely do that (look back at last year’s newsletter for some autumnal ideas). But this year, I’m feeling personally called to make a gratitude altar of all the things I feel so lucky and grateful to have: I will add a pen to symbolise my writing, a framed picture of my little family, and as many oak leaves as I can find to symbolise the strength that I've expressed this year.
baking for others. My “baking window” is open from August-November once a year, so you’d better make the most of it! Apples are out in abundance, so I’m making apple and blackberry crumble, spiced toffee-apple tray bake and I’ve decided to go ambitious this year and try this incredible apple tart (below). I also shared ways of incorporating apples into your witchcraft practice in my post “Your 7 green witch tips for September”. Enjoy!
striking a balance. On the equinox, day and night are perfectly balanced. Usually, I would talk about finding balance and calm in your own life (see the ritual I posted last month), but this time I want to think of the other forms of balance in our lives: being a good friend, but still having firm boundaries; having a rich inner life as well as an outer one; acknowledging the “good” traits of the deities we worship, but also their more questionable ones and how those fit in with the cycle of life.
creating an autumn grimoire page. Find out everything you can about the spiritual side of autumn and stash it in your Book of Shadows (BoS) or grimoire. This can include autumn’s elemental ruler (Water), symbols (apples, pumpkins, rutting deer), and qualities (death and release). Read up on the fungi that can be found in your local area, or which birds are returning from their migrations, and which are heading into hibernation - this information will all be helpful for your autumn rituals and witchcraft work. You can make your autumnal grimoire section as beautiful as you like - Laura Derbyshire is the best for gorgeous BoS pages! Get inspired on her Substack.
pressing autumn leaves. These can be added to your altar, used to decorate your home or added to spellwork. Press them in a heavy book between two sheets of paper before they start to curl.
starting your shadow work. Long nights mean more time for exploring the twisty tunnels of your unconscious mind. I spoke about shadow work’s inverse practice this summer, but autumn and winter are the times of year we turn inward to reflect on our actions and thoughts. Shadow work isn’t easy, but it’s an essential part of a well-tuned witchcraft practice. Drop me a comment if you feel I should do a post purely on shadow work.
releasing and letting go (with a bit of magickal assistance). As I mentioned above, letting go doesn’t always have to be an act of grief. I recently decided to let go of caring so much about certain areas of my life that I’ve always been quite uptight about. This new “idgaf energy” is very new to me, but I’m enjoying the journey! Let go magickally using the spell at the bottom of this email.
For a closer look at the festival of Mabon, pick up a copy of my book, The Wheel: A Witch’s Path Back to the Ancient Self.
A season of magickal events 🍂
Autumn blew around the corner and all my witchy events flew into place!
Come and join me this autumn
Blackwell’s Oxford - Thursday 30th October, 5.30 pm
We're SO be named as “Blackwell’s resident witches”! Laura Derbyshire and I will be at Blackwell's Oxford speaking to you about the Pagan festival of Samhain. Are you ready to jump into Halloween?
The event will be followed by an exclusive Q&A and book signing.
Mind Body Spirit Festival, Birmingham - Friday 14th November, 1-1.30 pm
Join Laura and I on the NEC’s main stage, as we chat Witchcraft For Wellbeing. Learn about spellwork, crafting and living alongside the Wheel of the Year. Don't miss our practical happiness spell jar demonstration either!
The Divine Void Podcast - Episode 4, out now on Spotify!
Jump into the liminal space between Lughnasadh and Mabon on Episode 4 of The Divine Void Podcast!
In this episode, we explore tree folklore and magick, the joy of thwacking someone with a conker, and how to get back to your craft when life spirits you away.
Follow us on Spotify to get our next episode straight to your phone!
Crystals save (sea otters’) lives
I was lucky enough to be gifted these stunning gemstone bracelets from Otter Spirit.
Since 2020, Otter Spirit has been dedicated to protecting endangered sea otters by supporting local conservation efforts. For every bracelet sold, they donate $1 to the California Coastkeeper Alliance. Which I think is a wonderful cause.
All readers of The Green Witch can get 20% off the Otter Spirit collection with the code GREENWITCH20. I hope you enjoy!
Your exclusive “letting go” ritual
If you’ve read my recent post on green witchcraft, you’ll know that autumn is the season of water, loss and letting go.
At this time of year as the nights lengthen, the shadow work officially begins. We have permission to turn inwards and can start to ask ourselves questions, like:
What self-limiting ideas have I been holding on to?
Is there anyone in my life trying to keep me small?
What is holding me back from being a truer and more authentic version of myself?
The following “letting go” ritual is designed to be performed after you have done the above kind of shadow work. A ritual like this should be the culmination of deep inner work and is to be entered into with care, calm and grace.
I hope it brings you peace.
You’ll need:
1 dried oak leaf
1 sprig of rosemary
Frankincense essential oil
1 piece of paper
a pen
50cm plain, undyed twine
To be performed near a body of flowing water [bonus points if it’s raining!].
Stand by the water’s edge and take a moment to centre yourself (I would advise at least 9 inhales and exhales).
On your paper, write down the things you wish to release from your life. These could include fears, habits, emotions, situations or people that have come up in your shadow work. While you can write down as many points as you like, it is best to focus on just 1-3 things. The smaller the number of things, the more power you can place behind their release.
Now, take some time to hold this paper in your hands and visualise how your life would look once you have let these things go. How would you feel in yourself? What would you be able to achieve? How can you move forward?
Then you’ll make a parcel from your spell ingredients. Fold the paper into a small square (if you can fold it five times, then that would be perfect, but just fold it as many times as you can). As you do this, make sure you are folding the paper away from you, rotating it anti-clockwise, then folding the paper away from you again.
Next, place the oak leaf (for strength) and rosemary sprig (for purification) on top it, along with 9 drops of Frankincense oil (for letting go). Then tie the bundle together, wrapping the twine 5 times around the bundle.
Hold the wrapped parcel out in front of you and say:
“What doesn’t serve me, I release you now;
I am free, no longer in your power.
Water: take my pain and lack -
I am free of all that holds me back.
So mote it be.”Place your parcel in the water and watch the stream or river take it away downstream. Visualise the water cleansing any stuck or stagnant energy that still remains. Take some time to meditate or breathe deeply as you watch this ceremonial release happen in front of you.
When the ritual is complete, you may wish to go home and have a ritual bath or shower to cleanse yourself. I would also recommend having a dandelion root tea for further cleansing, or a grounding liquorice root tea.
I'll see you on the next turn of the Wheel: Samhain will be here on Friday 31st October. Watch out for your newsletter a few days before. See you then!
Thank you so much for reading! I really appreciate your ongoing support and feedback on my Substack. If you want to share some love or wish to support me, you can upgrade your newsletter subscription below ⬇️
What a lovely post. Thanks for all the inspiring ideas. I find Mabon such a liminal time, a time of loss of the bright, social outward focused summer, but also looking forward to the quiet, rest and more inward looking darker months. A merry Mabon to everyone!
Really enjoyed this thank you! Will be celebrating Mabon on Saturday with my coven of three, you’ve given me some great ideas thank you. A post on Shadow Work would be really appreciated by me at least, I keep pulling the Shadow Work card in my oracle pack 🫣