This year, Mabon and the Harvest Moon fall just a couple of days apart, making it the perfect time to express gratitude for the year's blessings. The end of the harvest is quickly approaching and winter will be upon us before we know it. This is a time to take stock of what we have, prepare for the coming winter season, and be thankful for the blessings we have. This ritual is designed to help you express that gratitude and thank the Earth, local spirits, deities, and other otherworldly forces in your life for their continued support and love. Remember, being grateful is essential to attracting abundance. By expressing gratitude, we open the door for continued blessings to enter our lives, as like attracts like all.
What You'll Need
- Altar adornments associated with the Harvest Moon, gratitude, and your deities, spirits, etc
- Candle (pink or another color you associate with gratitude, the harvest, and/or abundance)
- Jar
- Paper strips
- Writing utensil
- Acorns and/or Citrine chips
- Wine/Beer/Cider/Juice or other seasonal offering
What to Do
During the Harvest Moon or Mabon, begin by finding a quiet place to work where you will not be disturbed. This ritual is best performed outside under the light of the Moon but can be done inside near a window if conditions do not allow you to venture outside. Cleanse and consecrate your space using your preferred method before setting up your altar in preparation for the ritual. You will want to choose items that you associate with the season, Harvest Moon, gratitude, and your deities, spiritual guides, local spirits, Earth, ancestors, or any other otherworldy forces you work with regularly in your practice. This can be colorful dried leaves and flowers, acorns, citrine, runes such as Gebo or Fehu, candles, pictures, statues, antlers, incense, etc. Be sure to leave space for you to safely work your spell as this ritual does include a candle.
When your altar is complete, place your spell ingredients and offering in the center. If you wish to cast a circle and call quarters, now is the time to do it using your preferred method. When ready, light the candle and begin invoking the otherworldly forces you work with regularly in your practice one by one by saying, "[Insert name and descriptors here] I invite you to this rite to give thanks and pay tribute to all those who have helped me. I ask that you be present to receive my gratitude on this night. May the moon and stars bear witness to this sacred act." If you do not feel them come immediately, repeat this invocation, adding more descriptors as you go. Remember, no spirit, deity, ancestor, or other entity is required to show up when called, so if they choose not to join you, do not be deterred. You can still honor them and give your thanks.
Stand or sit before your altar and take time to reflect on the blessings and abundance in your life using the candle's flame to enter into a mild trance if needed. Write down each thing you are grateful for on each strip of paper. Be specific and heartfelt in this thanks. It could be a person, a moment, an accomplishment, or anything else that fills you with gratitude, hope, and happiness. Once complete, read each blessing aloud saying, "I am thankful for [insert blessing.] Thank you [insert entity name] for this blessing." before folding the paper toward you and placing it in the jar.
When all the blessings have been placed in the jar, add your acorns and/or citrine and seal the jar. Hold the gratitude jar gently in your hands and offer a closing prayer or expression of thanks, acknowledging the blessings you have recorded and sealed within. This should come from your heart, so what you say is entirely up to you. I encourage you to speak in the moment until you feel you have sufficiently expressed your thanks.
Close the ritual by offering the entities you work with wine, beer, cider, juice, or another seasonal offering they may prefer, such as milk, corn, tobacco, whiskey, or incense, by saying "With this [insert offering] I express my undying gratitude for the gifts you have bestowed upon me. May you accept this offering of love and thanks and continue to bless me in the future." Take a few moments to pour your gratitude into the offering in whatever way you see fit before releasing the ritual and snuffing out the candle. Place the gratitude jar somewhere you will see it every day.
For the next several weeks until the next full moon, choose one strip from the gratitude jar to read. Let the feelings of gratitude wash over you and continue to give thanks to those who have assisted you on your journey. Continue to make regular offerings to express your gratitude. If possible, make a donation to or volunteer at a local charity or give back to your community in some other way, such as picking up trash, cleaning up local a river or stream, or handing out blessing bags to the unhoused.
Under the next full moon, you may release the jar's contents by burning the strips of paper and giving thanks once again or continue to add to the jar's blessing to watch your abundance continue to grow. I encourage you to continue adding to your jar each month for the next year to cultivate a daily practice of gratitude and appreciation for the blessings that surround you. Over time, this jar will fill with notes of thanks, serving as a tangible reminder of the abundance in your life as it continues to bring more blessings to you.
Why You Did It
Understanding the whys of a spell is just as important as performing it. It helps you understand the process so you can modify the spell or ritual to suit your needs and helps guide you to write your own. It's my intention that by providing these explanations, you can build a better understanding of how spells are written and executed so you can modify and build your own spells (the goal of my Spellcrafting Series).
First, this spell is conducted during the Harvest Moon or Autumn Equinox, both of which are deeply associated with gratitude, appreciation, and the giving of thanks, particularly for the bounty of the harvest. This association was further perpetuated by your choice of altar decorations, which work sympathetically to increase the ritual's potency and attract the entities you work with. The full moon is also associated with celebrating the fruits of your labors, being a time to appreciate what you have accomplished and honor what you have created. As such, this is the perfect time to create a gratitude jar that you can add to all year as the moon's beams further infuse the spell with its own potent energies.
Next, a candle was lit to light the way for the entities you work with so they could find you calling to them in the dark. It also helps you focus on your goal, as the flame can be used to calm and clear your mind so you may focus on that which you are grateful for. The entities you work with were invoked using their name and descriptors so that they could witness your expression of gratitude and receive the offerings of thanks you wished to gift them with. Thanking those who have helped you is the foundation of a healthy relationship, and strengthens the bond you both share. It also ensures the entity will continue to work with you in the future, as there is little worse than working with a thankless witch. Continued offerings and expressions of gratitude also ensure future blessings, as like attracts like. When we express our gratitude, the Universe hears it and continues to send blessings our way. This is further expressed by writing and saying our blessings out loud and continuing to express gratitude over the next month or year.
Added to the jar were citrine and/or acorns, which are both associated with abundance and luck. These were added to the jar to enhance your blessings and bring more to you over time. I think we all wish to continue to grow our blessings.
Finally, the spell was sealed with further thanks and preferably charity work. Giving back to the community that you are a part of, whether it be caring for the Earth or her creatures, is a great way to pay tribute to entities that have helped you and show those entities you are willing to share your blessings with others. Giving thanks takes many forms and requires constant work, but it is well worth it in the end.
Wish to break this spell? When you feel the ritual is complete, either at the end of a moon cycle or at the end of the year, you can release the contents of the jar by burning them. This released those blessings back into the Universe so that they may return to you again in the future. You can also choose to bury the contents close to your home, including planting the acorn to watch your blessings grow.
Remember to record this ritual on your ritual/spell worksheet or in your Book of Shadows for reference later.
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No matter what you decide to be thankful for or how to express those thanks, gratitude is the foundation of good witchcraft. I hope you have a blessed Harvest Moon and thank your future be full of continued luck, fortune, health, and happiness.
Interested in learning more about the Harvest Moon or gratitude? Below are some resources to get you started.
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