September : Fire | Suicide Prevention : Mabon
- The Garden Variety Witch
- Sep 1
- 11 min read
September arrives like a deep exhale, carrying the golden weight of summer's end to the edge of autumn's promise.
This Palimpsest weaves together September's sensory richness with the evolving nature of Fire energy, the vital importance of Suicide Prevention Month's message of connection and support, and Mabon's ancient wisdom of balance and gratitude.
Like the Harvest Moon that illuminates the fields, each theme shines light on the others, revealing how September's magic lies not in dramatic transformation, but in the graceful art of conscious transition.
September :
The first cool morning of September touches skin with the gentle reminder that everything is moving through a seasonal transition.
Where August blazed with relentless heat, September whispers with a crispier air that carries a scent of ripening apples, woodsmoke from warming chimneys, and the earthy sweetness of leaves starting their colorful surrender back to the Earth.
This is a month that moves through the body differently—morning walks now require a light sweater, evening conversations happen around fire pits instead of in air-conditioned rooms, and the nervous system may begin to release the hypervigilance of summer's high intensity.
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The name September reveals the month's teaching about perspective and adaptation. Originally the seventh month in the Roman calendar, "September" comes from the Latin "septem," meaning seven.
When January and February were later added to the beginning of the year, September became the ninth month, yet kept its original name—a beautiful reminder that identity doesn't have to change with circumstances.
This historical flexibility mirrors September's energetic invitation to adapt gracefully to changing conditions while maintaining your essential nature.
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Full Moon
Indigenous communities across North America recognize this time as Harvest Moon season, the period when extended moonlight allows for harvesting well into the evening hours.
The Tulalip Tribe calls this moon '"the time of silver salmon's return", which falls on Sunday, September 7th, 2025 in the sign of Pisces.
Have you ever seen the shimmer of swimming fish under a full lunar glow?
How did that memory, or imagined moment, of Water Magic make you feel just now?
Swim in it here for just a moment; breathe.
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Astrologically, September dances between the confident Fire of late Leo, the practical Earth of Virgo, and the balanced Air of early Libra.
This Moon helps illuminate what needs some final attention before autumn's deeper work begins, and the Autumn Equinox on Monday the 22nd together create a powerful portal for balance and release.
This lunar and solar dance creates natural timing for rituals of gratitude, letting go, and setting intentions for the darker half of the year.
What can you harvest today, this week?
What's for keeps and what must go straight to the compost bin?
What of it can you share and compassionately give away?
What intentions and groundwork can you begin to lay across these two days to empower the coming sweater-weather season?
What can you genuinely celebrate right now? (you're here breathing, that's an simple place to start!)
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New Moon
September's New Moon falls on Sunday the 21st, in the earthy and practical sign of Virgo and is accompanied by a partial solar eclipse, and all this right before it shifts into Libra the following day!
This offers us a second helping of that Powerful Portal Energy that can help amplify our intentions, rituals, and workings during this time of the month.
What will you call into reality with all of this fertile energy later in the month?
What practical steps can you take to help make it so?
What person or community can you lean on to help manifest it faster?
Who can you help right now to do something they're trying to accomplish?
Remember, many hands can lead to lighter work.
Fire :
September Fire differs from the roaring flames of summer; it's the steady glow of embers that have learned to burn with slower-moving and sustainable wisdom rather than a consuming intensity.
Like a master chef who no longer needs to prove their skill with flashy technique, September Fire operates with quiet confidence and enduring power.
This evolution teaches us about the maturation of our own inner Fire: how passionate intensity can transform into sustainable creative energy that nurtures, rather than exhausts, us as individuals.
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In the journey of tarot, the King of Wands embodies this evolved September Fire perfectly, representing the mature mastery of creative energy after years of learning to balance passion with wisdom.
Contrasted to the Knight of Wands' impulsivity and lack of control, the King sits confidently on his throne and holds his wand with the ease of someone who knows exactly how to control and wield their individual power.
His Fire burns steady and warm, offering light, heat, and connection to others without diminishing his own flame, demonstrating Magic In Action via:
Fire as leadership
Creativity as service, and
Passion as a force for community-building rather than individual glory
When working with September's energy, try channeling the Fire King's qualities of confidence without arrogance, power with responsibility, and creative energy that uplifts others to watch your efforts magnify.
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Ancestral and cultural traditions honor September Fire as the hearth flame—the sacred Fire that connects home, community, and survival.
Celtic communities maintained perpetual fires in temples and homes, understanding Fire as the bridge between worlds and the heart of hospitality.
Hindu traditions recognize Agni as both the digestive Fire that transforms food into energy and the sacred Fire that carries prayers to the divine.
Many Indigenous traditions hold ceremonies at seasonal transitions, using Fire to carry intentions, release what's no longer needed, and call in protection for the challenging times ahead.
These collective traditions remind us that Fire is not just personal energy, but rather a sacred force that connects us to our ancestors, our communities, and the divine.
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September Fire journaling prompts focus on clarity, release, and preparation: Write by candlelight about what you want to burn away before winter arrives.
What wisdom has your inner Fire taught you this year, and how can you share those teachings with others?
What habits, relationships, or thought patterns need to be transformed in Fire's healing flames?
What creative projects or goals have been burning, and which ones are ready for the next stage of manifestation?
How will you use your personal Fire to serve your community during the darker months ahead?
Suicide Prevention Month : tending the sacred flame of hope
September holds space for one of our most important conversations: acknowledging the times of life when the flame of hope burns so low that it's hard to remember its existence at all.
Suicide Prevention Month allows September to be a time for a community-wide embrace so to speak, recognizing that mental health struggles touch every family, every workplace, every spiritual community, and that our collective response can mean the difference between isolation and connection, despair and renewed hope.
This isn't about directly fixing or solving, but about surrounding each other with the steady warmth of presence, understanding, and compassion.
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Mental health challenges are not spiritual failures or signs of weakness, they are human experiences that require the same tender attention as any other health concern, and just as we wouldn't tell a person with diabetes to "think positive thoughts and meditate/pray the problem away", we can't expect such practices alone to address complex mental health needs.
True support is feeling Connection to community, feeling heard and seen in your experience, right now, just as you are.
So, what can we do to help build such supportive environments for healing to flourish?
Intentionally making and protecting spaces for judgment-free listening, practicing consistent presence, and sharing the understanding that asking for help is a sure sign of Strength and wisdom.
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Depression and suicidal ideation often knit a thick fog making it hard to remember that support even exists.
This is why community outreach during difficult times becomes a literal lifeline.
Practical support starts with knowing the location of resources:
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (988) provides 24/7 crisis support (988lifeline.org)
Crisis Text Line (text HOME to 741741) offers immediate text-based help (crisistextline.org)
The Trevor Project (1-866-488-7386) specifically supports LGBTQ+ youth (thetrevorproject.org)
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) offers family support and education (nami.org)
Your local community mental health centers often provide sliding-scale counseling, and many spiritual communities are developing crisis support teams trained in both pastoral care and mental health first aid. Check your immediate area for even further resources
Keep these numbers accessible and share them widely, sometimes being a bridge to resources and a brighter future is the most important magic we can practice.
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Ritual work rooted in remembrance and resilience can provide some comfort when honoring the people we've lost while supporting those who currently struggle. Try one of the following methods of putting your Magic In Action for recognizing suicide, its impact, and prevention:
Lighting white candles for loved ones who died by suicide, speaking their names, and sharing favorite memories can be a gentle way to honor those who have passed by their own hand.
Creating altars with photos, meaningful objects, or flowers that celebrate their lives rather than focusing on their deaths can offer us a physical reminder of their love and place in our lives.
Practicing storytelling circles where people can share their experiences without judgment or advice-giving can help redistribute your love and compassion back toward those living in the here and now.
Organizing community gatherings that combine practical resource-sharing with ritual elements like group meditation, healing circles, or collaborative art projects that build connection and hope help in transforming the status quo.
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Intersectional awareness recognizes that suicide disproportionately affects marginalized communities facing additional stressors like discrimination, economic hardship, social isolation, and many other aspects of individual human experience.
LGBTQ+ individuals, especially youth, face significantly higher suicide rates due to peer and/or parent rejection and bullying. (Consider supporting The Trevor Project today!)
Veterans experience unique challenges related to combat trauma and difficult transitions to civilian life. (Consider supporting The Headstrong Project today!)
Indigenous communities struggle with historical trauma and ongoing systemic oppression. (We challenge you to research the tribes native to the specific land you occupy, how much do you already know about them?)
People of color often face barriers to accessing culturally competent mental health care. (Consider supporting POCAAN today!)
Our community response must address these systemic issues while providing immediate support that honors different cultural approaches to healing and help-seeking.
How can you support your own mental health today?
How can you offer support to someone this week?
How can you help craft a more compassionate status quo?
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After experiencing a challenge it can be easy to stay worked up in emotions and dwelling in your mental space, but this is the time when it's most helpful to bring focus back to the body and allow the stress to release itself gently.
Affirmations and grounding practices can offer tangible anchors during these times, and the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique is a simple method that calls on all five senses.
5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique:
To begin the practice, notice 5 things you can see. Really looking at each thing and taking in all of its characteristics. Name and describe these things out loud if possible.
Next, what 4 things can you feel or touch? Focus on bodily sensations: how your clothes feel on your skin, the grumble of your hungry stomach, the firm seat underneath you, the slick phone screen you're holding? Tap into your felt sense here, you are safe.
What are 3 things you can hear? The white noise whirr of a fan? Birds chirping out the window? Your own heartbeat?
Focus on 2 things you can smell; the litter your cat just kicked up? Incense or a scented candle burning from your altar?
Finally, what is 1 thing you can taste? Is it remnants of the last thing you ate? (And, if you think it's a bit funky, try elevating your mouthcare ritual with our Oral-Care Air Magic Bundle!)
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Remember that small acts of self-care and connection are acts of resistance against despair, and help shift the status quo small choice by small choice.
Brewing tea mindfully, texting a friend, stepping outside for fresh air, or lighting a candle can all be forms of hope-tending magic. How can you put Magic In Action today and support life?
Mabon :
Mabon arrives for the Autumn Equinox on September 22nd, presenting a masterpiece of balance and an opportunity for gratitude.
Named for the Welsh god of youth and harvest, this celebration honors the moment when day and night stand in perfect equilibrium before tipping toward the dark half of the year.
What are you ready and willing to harvest right in this moment?
(And, here in the northern hemisphere Mabon officially marks the start of spooky season at ITBC! Check out our freshest Shop drop and support a woman-owned, 1% For The Planet business today!)
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Mabon represents the second of three harvest festivals, following Lammas and preceding Samhain, focusing specifically on the fruit harvest and the deeper spiritual work of preparation for winter's introspective months.
This is the holiday that teaches us to find stability in change and wisdom in the natural rhythm of expansion and contraction.
What can you do to prepare now for the release later?
What can you hold firm to during this rhythm of change?
What ebb down the path of life will match this flow state right now?
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The equinox offers profound spiritual metaphor for balancing light and shadow within ourselves, not as opposing forces to be conquered but as complementary aspects of wholeness.
Just as the earth requires both day and night for healthy growth, our souls need both joy and sorrow, action and rest, giving and receiving to remain in dynamic equilibrium.
Mabon rituals often incorporate physical representations of this balance: altars decorated with both bright and dark elements, lists of gratitude paired with lists of what we're ready to release, or meditation practices that honor both our achievements and our areas for growth.
This is not about perfection, but rather about practicing accepting the full spectrum of humanity, found in ourselves and the world as a whole, with compassion and curiosity.
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Mabon is a juicy time for deeply personal harvest work. In your favorite physical or digital journal or grimoire, consider the following as seeds of inspiration for inner exploration:
What have you cultivated in yourself this year that you're proud of?
Which relationships have grown stronger and deserve celebration?
What skills, insights, or spiritual practices have developed through your year's experiences?
Where in your life do you need more balance between giving and receiving, solitude and community, work and rest?
What fears or limiting beliefs are you ready to compost so they can transform into wisdom?
How can you honor both your achievements and your vulnerabilities with equal compassion?
What do you want to plant in the dark soil of winter so it can grow strong roots before the return of spring?
There are no wrong answers, or correct questions. Follow your curiosities and satiate them.
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With Mabon comes the emphasis of community celebration, feasting, and gratitude sharing.
When was the last time you were at a food- or gratitude-based group gathering?
Is it possible for you to attend or organize a potluck style event where everyone brings a dish, themselves, and stories to share?
At your next gathering could you lead a gratitude circle where participants share three things they're thankful for from the past season/month/week/etc.?
Shared celebrations help remind us that our individual blessings grow stronger in community, and that personal harvests contribute to the collective abundance that sustains us all through challenging times.
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This is the season that teaches us community as sacred practice, whether we're gathering around literal Fire to share stories and support, creating altars that honor both abundance and loss, reaching out to check on friends during a month when mental health struggles intensify, or simply sharing the harvest feast that reminds us how individual gifts create collective nourishment.
September shows us that the most powerful magic happens not in isolation, but in the warm glow of connection where our personal Fires join together and create light strong enough to illuminate the path forward through any season of change we find ourselves growing through.
As the sacred wheel keeps on turning, you are both student and teacher in its mystery unfolding.
♥
This blog is created with respect for all spiritual paths and personal identities.
Our mention of deities, rituals or practices, and celebrations are offered as inspiration not prescription. We honor your sovereignty in adapting what resonates and leaving what doesn't.
Magic exists in infinite forms; you ARE magic, and your expression of
Magic In Action will help transform the status quo.
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