Top 3 Books for the Autumn Equinox / Mabon
One of my favorite things to do is research pagan traditions for the different holidays. I really love finding old crafts, recipes, and rituals and using them as the basis for my own Pagan celebrations. Over the years I’ve collected quite a few books that focus on Pagan holidays and since we have the Autumn Equinox around the corner I thought I would share the top 3 books I turn to for inspiration on celebrating this time of year.
The first book I’d like to share is Autumn Equinox: The Enchantment of Mabon by Ellen Dugan. This thick book is dedicated entirely to the Autumn Equinox. It’s also where I first learned about the John Barleycorn folk song that I ended up making a video about a couple weeks ago. I like how this book includes a section on different harvest customs & folklore so you can see how the Autumn Equinox is celebrated across a variety of different countries & cultures. And, for those of you that really enjoy spellwork there’s quite a few different Virgo & harvest themed spells included as well.
The next book I wanted to share is a bit old-school. Wheel of the Year - Living the Magical Life by Pauline Campanelli is a book for the whole wheel of the year, not just the Autumn Equinox, but I really do like what they’ve chosen to include in the Autumn section.
One of the difficult things I’ve found with a lot of more contemporary Pagan books is that they often don’t include the history and the origins behind the different traditions so I really like how this book focuses on folklore and tells you where these traditions actually originate. There’s also a great little section in the September chapter on the history of mandrake roots and how to harvest certain poisonous herbs for making flying ointments.
Lastly, I wanted to share Celebrating Autumn Equinox by Waverly Fitzgerald. This little book packs in a ton of autumn craft ideas. There’s also a lot of great historical information on wine traditions throughout Ancient Greece as the Equinox is the time of the wine harvest. There’s even a section on the Eleusinian Mysteries and how they were performed in ancient times.
In addition, there’s an easy description on how to make your own wine at home. This is something I’ve been wanting to try but have been really intimidated by the whole process. I really appreciate the simple way they go over the instructions and I’m thinking about giving it a try.
Next, I’d love to hear from you guys and if you have any favorite books that you like to use for the Autumn Equinox. Please share below down in the comments. Also, I wanted to know if you guys would be interested in having me start a Discord. I’m thinking about starting one as a Patreon exclusive. It could be a way for you guys to connect and a way for me to help answer any questions you have about paganism & witchcraft. Let me know in the comments if that’s something you’re interested in.