As the Wheel of the Year turns from Mabon toward Samhain, we step into a season that is neither here nor there. The bounty of harvest has been gathered, yet the great descent into the dark season has not fully arrived. This is the liminal space, a threshold of shadow & ember, where the witch may pause, listen & weave their magick in between.

The Threshold Between

To walk the liminal path is to honor the in between. The days shorten, the air cools & the earth begins to fold inward. It is no longer the bright abundance of summer, nor yet the shadowed night of Samhain. In this space of becoming, the witch finds fertile ground for reflection, preparation & quiet magick.

Workings of the Liminal Season

This is a time to tend the inner flame while acknowledging the fading light around us. Consider these workings as ways to align with the season’s rhythm.

• Balance Workings– Light two candles, one black & one white, to honor both day & night. Sit between them in meditation, attuning yourself to the sacred balance of shadow & glow (this can also be a cord cutting during a waning moon phase).

• Shadow Journaling– Keep a small book beside your altar. Write down dreams, repeating thoughts or patterns that rise with the changing season. These are whispers of the shadow, waiting to be understood.

• Seasonal Offerings– Collect fallen leaves, seed pods or bones from the wild. Place them upon your altar as offerings to the turning earth, or hold them aside to become spell ingredients for Samhain night.

Advanced Threads for the Seasoned Witch

For those who wish to weave deeper, the liminal path offers gateways of vision & shadow. Try these practices when the nights are long & quiet-

• Dream Incubation- Sleep with a sprig of mugwort beneath your pillow, or tuck a small charm of ancestor connection beneath your bed. Record what visions come.

• Quieting Workings- Walk widdershins (counter clockwise) around your home or land, speaking aloud, command the release of the lingering energy of summer so you may turn inward in strength.

• Shadow Scrying- Use a black bowl filled with water or a polished dark stone. Gaze softly into its depths, asking to reveal what is hidden within you.

  The Offering of the Fallen Leaf

  One of the simplest yet most profound magick of this liminal season is to work with what the land freely offers, the fallen leaf. As the trees shed what they no longer need, we too may honor what must be set down in order to walk more lightly into the shadowed half of the year.

  What You’ll Need

  • A freshly fallen autumn leaf (choose one that calls to you. Whole, color choice or curled with age)

  • A black or white candle (to anchor the season’s balance)

  • A slip of parchment or paper & pen

  The Working

  1. Place the leaf before the candle and hold it gently, acknowledging it as a gift of the season.

  2. On the parchment, scribe a single word or symbol representing what you choose to release, not with violence, but with the same grace as the tree releasing its leaves.

  3. Fold the parchment and place it beneath the leaf. Light your candle, recite,

     As the tree releases to endure,
     So I lay down what I no longer secure.
     Shadow walk me, night receive,
     In liminal silence, I release, I weave.

  4. Leave the candle to burn for a time, then extinguish by snuffing (not blowing). Carry the leaf outside & return it to the earth, just under the surface, offering your gratitude as you do.

  This working is not about endings alone, but about creating the space needed for deeper magick when the veil is thinnest at Samhain.

Closing the Path

The weeks between Mabon & Samhain are often overlooked, yet they are a sacred season of their own. Here, light & shadow weave together, inviting us to honor both. By walking this liminal path, the witch prepares not only for Samhain’s veil but for the deep magick of the dark half of the year.