Blog of the 9 Mysteries

  Michaelmas: A Day for the Angels September 29th is Michaelmas — the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels. It's one of the oldest angel feasts there is, actually built on top of even older Autumn Equinox celebrations. For centuries it marked a turning point in the year: rents came due, harvests wrapped up, and in England a roast goose on the table was considered good luck for the whole year ahead. ("If you don't baste the goose on Michaelmas Day, you will want money all year," as the old Norfolk saying goes.) Underneath the folklore, though, Michaelmas has always really been about the angels — Michael especially, along with Raphael and Gabriel. So this feels like the right day to get reacquainted with all three. A quick reminder before we do: angels aren't former humans the way most saints are. They're their own kind of being — pure spirit, intelligent, immortal, and entirely devoted to serving as messengers between us and the divine. And they want to be calle...

  Harvest Moon & the Marassa: A Season of Fullness This year, the sky and the calendar line up in a way worth pausing for. The full Harvest Moon rises on September 26th — the moon that farmers once depended on for extra light to bring in the last of the crops before frost. That same day is also the feast of Saints Cosmas and Damian, who in our tradition are the Catholic counterparts of the Marassa: the Divine Twins. It's a fitting overlap. The Harvest Moon is about what's ripened, what's been gathered in, what there's finally enough of. And the Marassa are, in their own way, about fullness too — just a different kind. A little about the Marassa The Marassa are old — some say older than any other lwa in the pantheon. They're twins, but there are three of them. They're spoken of as male and female, and both, and neither, all at once. In Vodou teaching, this isn't a puzzle to solve so much as a truth to sit with: that one thing, doubled, often becomes somet...

  You Didn't Miss Mabon: The Harvest Is Still Happening by Mambo Samantha Corfield If you looked at the calendar, realized the Autumn Equinox has already passed, and thought, “Well, I missed Mabon,” I have good news for you. No, you didn’t. While many people celebrate Mabon on or very near the Autumn Equinox, in some circles the celebration extends from September 21 through September 29. And really, when you think about what Mabon represents, that makes perfect sense. The harvest was never a one-day event. Our ancestors did not walk outside on the morning of the equinox, harvest everything before dinner, have a feast, and call it done.  Harvesting is work! Harvesting took time. Crops ripened at different rates. Food had to be gathered, preserved, stored, shared, and prepared for the months ahead. The harvest was a process, and our celebration of it can be a process, too. Mabon is often called the second harvest on the Wheel of the Year. It is a time of gratitude, balance, abun...

 Greetings spellmaker readers!! The Autumn Equinox has arrived, and shortly thereafter, on September 26th, we will experience the wonderment and splendor that is the Harvest Moon. 🌚 Celebrated in Chinese culture with festivities and the serving of "mooncakes", immortalized in songs, such as the lyrical "Harvest Moon" by Neil Young, and cited in poetry and folklore, the Harvest Moon illuminates the night with a bright pumpkin glow. To me, it always seems the Earth is welcoming in the fall, and throwing hints at the fantastic show she is about to give us!! The Harvest Moon is special because moonrise occurs much earlier than usual. The name is very apt, because this extra burst of illumination enabled farmers to work at bringing in the harvest just when the days began growing cooler and longer. In the northern most regions, this allows near constant light above. The Earth may indeed laugh in flowers, but with the Harvest Moon, she installs gratitude for our sustenanc...

  The Equinox: A Moment of Balance On September 22nd, day and night settle into perfect balance before the year begins its slow tip toward darkness. It's a quiet turning point — not dramatic, not loud, just the world pausing for a moment before it leans into fall. It's a good day to do the same thing ourselves. Summer has a way of piling things up — plans that didn't pan out, energy we spent on things that didn't deserve it, tension we've been carrying without quite noticing. The equinox is a gentle nudge to set some of that down before the darker half of the year asks something different of us. You don't need anything elaborate to mark it. A few ideas: Take stock before you let go. Sit for a moment and think honestly about what this summer actually gave you, and what it simply used up. Both are worth acknowledging. Say thank you to what's ending. Even a season, even a stretch of hard months, deserves a little gratitude on its way out. It got you here. Rel...

  A harvest altar, for your home, from your home!  You don't need a single new purchase to build a proper harvest altar this season. Nor do you need to be of any particular path, faith or religion.  Walk out to your yard, open a few kitchen cabinets, and you'll find you already own everything worth putting on a shelf right now. This time of year hands you the whole thing for free. From the yard Autumn does most of the decorating on its own, so let it. Look for the colors already showing up outside, the deep golds, rust reds, and warm browns that only exist for a few weeks a year: A handful of leaves, the more curled and imperfect the better, in whatever mix of yellow, red, and brown you can find An acorn or a pinecone or two, still a little dusty from the ground An ear of corn, or even just a dried husk, for that classic golden harvest look A late sprig of rosemary or mint, still green enough to smell A smooth stone or piece of bark that catches your eye on the w...

Smudgie Sniffing the Mabon Candle   Mabon for Beginners: Simple Ways Anyone Can Celebrate the Autumn Equinox by Mambo Samantha Corfield You may have seen the word Mabon appearing on social media beside pictures of apples, pumpkins, candles, autumn leaves, and beautifully decorated altars and wondered, “Am I supposed to be doing something?” The answer is: only if you want to. Mabon is the name commonly used by many modern Pagans and Witches for the autumn equinox, one of the eight seasonal celebrations that make up what is often called the Wheel of the Year. In 2026, the astronomical autumn equinox occurs on September 22. Here at the House, we can think of September 21 through September 29 as our broader Mabon season, giving us time to notice and work with the change rather than limiting ourselves to one particular day. And you do not need a perfect altar, expensive supplies, a garden, a coven, or years of experience to participate. At its heart, this season is about something huma...