Wheel of the Year

Celebrate the Autumn Equinox

The Autumn Equinox marks two important milestones in the Wheel of the Year. It is the end of harvest and the balance between light and dark – equal day and night.

It is a time of celebration as we give thanks for all that we have grown and reaped this year. We give one last push to bring in the last of the harvest from our fruit and veg, whether that is in our gardens, foraging the hedgerow or the farmers bringing in the last of the grains. As gardeners we might reflect on what grew well this year and what changes we make for next year, we might also start planning our growing for next year, nuturing small plants in a greenhouse over the winter.

It’s also a busy time making and preserving to keep the fruit and vegetables edible over the winter – chutneys and jams, cakes and stewed fruit. I find there is never enough time in the day for all the making I want to do with the wonderful things we grow or forage.

The inner work

But ‘grown and reaped’ is not only about produce but about our own development too. What have we learned? How have we grown? What goals have we achieved? A time to reflect, to put in the last bit of effort to reach our goals, to finish things off and tie up loose ends.

The end of September also marks the end of summer as the sun retreats, the days are noticably shorter and cooler. The earth pulls in on itself and all growth stops, sap returns to the roots and the leaves begin to turn. This gives us a chance to reflect on the opposite forces in our lives – celebrate the successes but also clear out the things that haven’t been so successful. Learning from them then letting them go either physically or emotionally, letting go of things that are no longer relevant in your life. Enjoying the gifts and clearing away the unwanted!

So take time this Autumn Equinox to celebrate and express gratitude for everything you have received and learned in this growing cycle. And balance this with a reflective and considered clearing away of the old growth and incomplete projects. Then be ready to rest over the winter ready to pick up again or start new projects next year.

Wheel of the Year

Celebrate the Autumn Equinox by reaping the rewards of your hard work

The Autumn Equinox is the point in the year when the days are getting shorter and the dark and light are of exactly equal length – a point of perfect balance.

It’s a time when the berries are like bright in the hedgerows and apples and plums are sweetening on the trees.  The sap in the trees returns back to the roots for the winter, creating vivid colourful displays as the leaves begin to die.  The cycle of the natural world is coming to an end as the growing season closes and the sunlight wanes.

But it is a time of great gratitude.  A time to be thankful for the harvest and to reap the rewards of the plans we set in place earlier in the year. Like many of you I set goals at the Winter Solstice, at Imbolc and the Spring Equinox.  My goals mainly focused on my business as you’d expect but there were also other underlying goals that I hadn’t set with clear definition (now there is a lesson in clearly setting goals with detail!) which are coming to fruition around this time.  The health goal and work I’ve been doing with my Heart Chakra are both showing results in their different but still very positive ways.  The business goals have exceeded my expectations and it’s wonderful to see these long term plans such as my work at Twinwoods and Verve Wellness Studio at Bedford Heights coming on line now too.

I have many things to be grateful for in my life – my health and my business, my friends, family and new people coming into my life; and whilst I often take time for gratitude, today I will do so with more definition and from my newly opened Heart Chakra.

In love and light

Ax