Practical Fall Magick

Everyday ways to make the season magickal.

If there’s a season that carries a natural lure of magic and mystery, I think most people would agree that it’s fall (or autumn… I use both terms). The temperatures cool and the nights sharpen… where the same friendly crow that’s been peering over the garden all season starts exuding a bit more wild wisdom. Or the way the flowers drop their petals, exposing their seed heads that carry the message it’s time for transformation. The leaves on your favorite deciduous trees go from their vibrant shades of green to moodier colors… deep plums, burgundy, and the fiery reds and orange of a fire burning under the night sky.

We often think that the magick of the season only happens around Samhain or Halloween, but the magick is found in the entirety of the season. It isn’t just one day or one night, it’s in the small practices and rituals that can be done as you feel called. The intentional way to work with seasonal symbols, incorporate seasonal scents and symbolism, and yes… get a little witchy. 

For as whimsical and magickal as I do feel on a regular basis, during this season and the rest of the year, too, I’m a practical person… a nod to my Midwestern roots and way of life, I suppose. Which is why sharing practical ways to embrace the magick of the season is important. 

A simmer pot can use whatever you have on hand for the season.

Simmer Pots

There’s an old soup pot I keep in my cabinet that’s used for one purpose and one purpose only: simmer pots. This is something that’s almost embarrassingly simple - a pot of water on low heat, a handful of things from the kitchen or garden - and then the lovely aroma wafts through the house. Scent has a way of marking time that nothing else quite does… the way certain smells trigger memories we didn’t even know were stored… and those that we do. Incorporating seasonal scents transports you, because one whiff and you're not just in your kitchen anymore, you're in the season.

My go-tos tend to lean into the earthy feeling of fall: cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, cardamon pods, a few slices of apple, or curls of an orange peel. Sometimes a sprig of rosemary if I want something a little more grounding than sweet. And if you've got dried herbs or flower petals from your own garden on hand, even better. A simmer pot made partly from things you grew yourself is an extra sort of seasonal specialty.

A simple herb bundle (mostly) foraged from my yard & garden.

Herb Bundles

Herb bundles are also one of those crafts that look far more complicated than they actually are. At their simplest, it's just a small handful of dried herbs, gathered and tied tightly around the bundle with cotton string. The only special technique required is tying it tightly enough so as it dried the herbs are still tightly held. 

A quick note before we go further: what I'm describing here isn't smudging. Smudging is a specific, sacred and closed practice belonging to certain Indigenous cultures, and it's not something to borrow or relabel. What I'm talking about is smoke cleansing more broadly – burning dried herbs to clear a space – which is a practice found across many different cultures throughout history, each with their own herbs, intentions, and traditions behind it. This is simply my own version of that much older, much wider practice.

These bundles are meant to be burned slowly, a little at a time, letting the smoke move through a space as a way of clearing it – before a new season, after a hard week, or just when a room feels like it needs an energetic reset. Different herbs carry different intentions – cedar for resilience, sage for purification, rosemary for protection, mint for clarity, lavender for calm – so what goes into your bundle can be as intentional as you'd like it to be. 

Now the thing about these bundles is that they do need to dry out before you’ll be able to use them. So once you’re done tying them, hanging them upside down for a few weeks to dry is required. Before I burn them, I’ll always double-check the string to make sure it’s still tight and the bundle itself is still tight. If it’s not, I’ve noticed that it burns out quickly and doesn’t carry the smoke the same way. 

It’s a practice in patience, but a little patience, it turns out, can be its own clearing of sorts.

Also, if you don’t have the things available to make these, but you’re able to buy the bundles somewhere, that’s absolutely fine. It’s about the practice, the ritual and the intentional act of doing.

Flower Crowns & Wreaths

There’s a child somewhere still in all of us, and this next practice is one that brings that child out. As fall approaches my garage is usually filling up with flowers hanging by the rafters. These “everlasting” flowers happen to make for some of the most beautiful crown and wreath material of the year. Working with dried stems and blooms, especially this time of year, feels different than working with fresh ones. They don't wilt on you mid-project, they hold their color in moodier, more autumnal tones, and they last far longer once finished.

You don’t need a big occasion to justify making one. Sometimes it's simply decor for an altar or entryway, sometimes it's for an actual seasonal gathering, and sometimes it's just a small, handmade gift for someone who'd appreciate it – no reason required beyond that.

If you want to add an extra flair of magic, try adding ribbons, bells, or any other meaningful momentos (feathers, crystals, etc.) to your creation.

Building a Fall Altar

I'll say this upfront: there's no one right way to build an altar. An altar is really just a small, dedicated space for whatever you want to honor for a season – which means yours doesn't need to look like mine, or anyone else's on the internet.

That said, if you're starting from nothing, a few simple, natural materials go a long way: a gourd or two, some dried flowers, a candle you actually intend to light. Beyond that, let it be personal. A stone you picked up on a certain occasion or maybe a photo of someone you’re holding in your heart. Add the things that mean something to you. The point is to have a space that allows you a moment of intention and connection in your day.

And if you’re like me, you can have a few different altars. I keep one in my office more specific to my work, one downstairs in the living room where I tend to spend more of my time during my practice, and one in the kitchen to honor more of the making and tending of the season. There’s no rule and no right or wrong.

Small Daily Practices

Now, not every bit of fall magic needs a project behind it. Some of the most meaningful practices are the ones so small they barely feel like "practices" at all.

A cup of morning tea made with a little more attention and sipped slower than usual. A quiet minute or two of gratitude tied to something that went your way that day. Lighting a candle a little earlier each evening as the nights stretch longer, just to notice the shift in the season. These little practices give you a chance to pay attention to the turning of the season (and the season as a whole) but don’t require any specific date on the calendar. 

Magic doesn’t need a grand ceremony all the time (or ever). Especially in our modern world when we’re all busy and have a number of priorities on any given day. Magic just requires a bit of intention.

A Note on Reclaiming Magic

These are a few ideas and practices that can help you connect to the magic of the season but doing so in a way that fits into your day. 

But before you go trying any of this, I want to be real about something… 

There is a major aesthetic trend and general “vibe” right now when it comes to witchiness and magick. It might feel like everyone you know or everywhere you look someone is talking about it, posting about it, trying to sell you something about it. And I think it comes from different places. 

Some of it is purely aesthetic and performative… and from people who know there’s a trend and want to make a buck off of it. But some of it… most, I hope… is deeply rooted in a reclamation of older ways and traditions that have lost their way over the course of our history. And this feels especially true for women.

Reclaiming the magic and magick that we all carry within. Reclaiming a connection to the land that is around us. Reclaiming titles and abilities and the power that we all identify with.

That is the real magick.

So let these suggestions be a practical way to tap into what magick feels like for you this fall… you never know what world it might open for you.