As the Wheel of the Year turns toward its closing chapters, we find ourselves at Mabon, the Autumn Equinox (in 2025, this falls on September 22). Day and night stand on equal footing, the sun balanced on the horizon before tipping into the long, dark descent of winter. It is a moment of both abundance and release: the baskets are heavy with harvest, yet the fields begin to quiet. Dormancy whispers at the edges, reminding us that all cycles carry both fullness and fading.

This year, the equinox arrives under potent skies: a New Moon in Virgo, hand in hand with a partial solar eclipse. Where Virgo seeks order and clarity, the eclipse brings hidden things into view, asking us to face what we’ve ignored. It is celestial balance, yes, but sometimes we settle into imbalance without noticing, so when life shifts back toward balance, it can feel like a reckoning.

And then there is the apple, one of Mabon’s most enduring symbols. We celebrate it in cider and pies and here in the Midwest, festival after festival, but its deeper magic lies hidden at the core. Slice an apple crosswise and you’ll discover a secret star of five seeds, a pentagram etched in nature’s hand, evoking protection from evil (and let’s not forget the forbidden apple and its symbol of knowledge!).

So, for this Mabon, I invite you into a tarot ritual shaped by the apple’s star. A five-card spread to honor the light of what has ripened, to release and to gather, to meet your shadows, and to plant seeds for what comes next. Lay the cards in the pattern of those hidden seeds, perhaps with a real apple at your altar. Cut it open, let the star reveal itself, and remember: even in the quietest dormancy, seeds are waiting for their time to grow.

Mabon Apple Seed Spread:

Card Meanings

1. The Light — What Has Ripened
The harvest of your year so far. What has come to fruition, ready to be celebrated, savored, or shared? This is the gift you hold in your hand now.

2. Lesson to Leave Behind
What wisdom has already been integrated, and can now be released like fallen leaves? This card shows where holding on too tightly keeps you from moving forward.

3. Gift to Carry Forward
In balance with Card 2, what energy, practice, or insight is worth gathering and taking with you into the darker half of the year? The nourishment you’ll keep in your basket.

4. Shadow Seed — Hidden Challenge
The part of yourself (or the collective) that asks to be acknowledged in the quiet, inward months ahead. What lies beneath the surface, waiting to be unearthed?

5. Bright Seed — What to Plant
The seed of intention you can sow now for growth in the coming cycle. This card balances the shadow by offering hope, vision, or a practice to sustain you in the darker months.

to sweeten the reading:

If you’d like to deepen the symbolism of this spread, bring apples into your space as companions to the cards.

• Choose your apples mindfully. Pick five to echo the star within, or one perfect apple to hold the center of your altar. Red for passion, green for renewal, golden for abundance — trust what calls to you.
• Slice one crosswise. Reveal the hidden star of seeds within. Place this at the heart of your spread, letting the natural pentagram guide your cards into balance.
• Offer gratitude. Before you begin, whisper thanks to the harvest, to the earth, to the cycles that sustain us. Apples have long been symbols of wisdom, sweetness, and mystery — honor them as such.
• Snack with intention. After your reading, eat the apple (or share it with loved ones) as a way of bringing the insight into your body. Let the sweetness remind you that even in shadow seasons, nourishment is always present.
• Save the seeds. Tuck them into a small pouch, scatter them outside, or keep one on your altar as a reminder of what you’re planting this season.

In this way, the apple becomes more than a symbol. It’s a teacher, a bridge between the harvest of now and the seeds of tomorrow.

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Image credits:

Rare Book Division, The New York Public Library. “Mela Carla. {Melo Carlo” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1817 – 1839.