The Autumn Witchcraft Field Guide explores autumn equinox rituals, Mabon holiday spells, and dark cottagecore aesthetic with Plants By Laurali! This period brings everything back into balance, between dark and light, and everything in between. As the days grow shorter and the nights grow longer, we begin to see a glowing atmosphere of dimly lit pumpkins, strings of fairy lights, and glowing mushrooms setting the tone for what is to come.

During the Mabon holiday, the veil begins to thin, preparing itself for the witchy holiday Samhain. The spirit world bleeds into the earthly realm when the veil becomes thin. This is when strange things begin to happen.

As the veil grows thin you are more likely to consort with spirits. Communication with ghosts, nature spirits, and the magic of ancestors is highly likely at this time. You are more likely to see things you wouldn’t normally see with your naked eye.

This is the time of year when you are more likely to spot a fairy, a ghost, or an animal familiar as it draws closer to you with curiosity. I highly recommend using pendulums, mirror magic, and tarot cards during this dark period, as they will likely be highly beneficial to you.

If you have a penchant for dark things, this is an optimal time to learn all about them! Everything goes from sunlight and brightness to a dark cottagecore aesthetic.

What is the dark cottagecore aesthetic? Dark cottagecore is the simple lifestyle of cottagecore living combined with the dark colors of dark academia. You might find dark or muted colors, darker lighting, and interest in dark subject matters such as graveyard witchcraft, gothic architecture, and dark academia playlists.

To me, this is the perfect time of year to explore the darker side of things! Everything in nature begins its death season, as we reap the rewards of the harvest of the summer months. Autumn is a wonderful period for exploring darker themes in Mother Nature.

You’ll often find me in the forest at the moment of the magic hour. For photographers, this is the ideal lighting for snapping photographs, and bringing captions to life. As the light grows darker, the forest begins to transform into a darker place.

There are glowing funghi communities in the forest. I often call them ghost mushrooms. Some of them look like little ghosts.

The butterfly garden becomes dead, as it makes way for the colder winter season. It is here where I see the sparkling shimmer of fairy lights strung across the garden trellis with magical intentions.

It is in the dark forest, that things begin to shift, transform, and change this time of year. As do we. As the autumn leaves begin to turn so does our knowledge of dark things.

The Autumn Witchcraft Field Guide

What are some things we can do this autumn season to bring out our inner witch? This is the optimal time to sit still with ourselves, reflect on the changes we’ve made throughout the year, and do shadow work.

While this time of year can be festive, it can also be a quiet, thoughtful time of year. For the Mabon holiday, I practiced cottagecore witchcraft, enchanting pumpkins, gourds, fairy lights, and cinnamon brooms. I decorated with the dark cottagecore aesthetic and put my intentions for the rest of the year into each item that I enchanted.

It’s important to surround yourself with themes of the season! I’ll also be taking those late afternoon nature walks in the woodland, as I watch the light fade into darkness, knowing there is more out there than we will ever know.

In the summer witchcraft field guide, I wrote about water witchcraft and how it’s a powerful theme for summer. In the autumn months, you’ll need to look toward themes of death, as parts of nature begin to die off in preparation for the cold season.

The earth element is what I turn to during Mabon season, as leaves begin to change color and the ground is filled with colorful leaves, crossroad dirt, and the spirit of the graveyard. Additionally, I use the air element in my magic a monumental amount of times, as the crisp, fall air begins to blow in from the north.

Water subsides during the autumnal equinox season of life! It still has its place, but it takes a backseat to the colder, dryer weather coming in to take its place.

The autumn witchcraft field guide brings out themes of darkness with dark cottagecore, goblincore, and gothcore. This is the beginning of a seasonal balance that is a reflection of all that you created beforehand. Everything has its place here, from the darkest corners to the highest treetop!

When I think of autumn cottagecore, I think of warm and cozy vibes! Days filled with cinnamon and nutmeg and nights filled with shadows and carnivorous plants that gobble up bad habits and things that have become problematic in life.

It’s a place in time when you can sit still for a minute and catch your breath, connecting with your darker, shadow self in ways you never imagined before. It used to hide in shadows or sit on a dusty bookshelf filled with cobwebs, but here, in this moment, your shadow self comes out to play!