Are you ready for the Equinox? 
For those in the Northern Hemisphere, it arrives on 
22-September @  6:03 PDT · 23-September @ 1:03 UTC

At each Equinox, a point of balance of light and dark around the world, I meditate on the balance in my life and look to the connections between the hemispheres and how that manifests in my life. 

For although the eight paired festivals of the Celtic Wheel of the Year (Winter Solstice & Summer Solstice, Imbolg & Lúnasa, Spring Equinox & Autumn Equinox, Bealtaine & Samhain) appear to be in opposition — one of each pair manifests as waxing energy and the other as waning energy —  there is always a connection, a synergy, a relationship. 

And although I celebrate the seasons through the mindset of my Irish origins, I also look to the wisdom of the indigenous people of this land where I reside, for an understanding of the traditions, wisdom and medicine here in the traditional, ancestral, unceded lands of the Coast Salish peoples. For me, that is sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), sel̓íl̓witulh(Tsleil-Waututh), and  xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam). Visit the Native-Land website for more information about the indigenous peoples of your locale. It is important to acknowledge the traditions of the land and listen to its wisdom carriers.  

What commonality might you find between the Autumn Equinox and the Spring Equinox? Harvest and Gratitude in Autumn? New beginnings and Resiliency in Spring? What connects them?

Autumn Energies

For me, at Autumn we are (re)turning to our deep inner Wisdom, reconnecting to our emotions, looking for balance after the Fire-y Summer season and welcoming the cool, refreshing cleansing and flowing Water energy. We are harvesting the wisdom from our own growing season, and we are coming closer and closer to Home, Earth, as we approach Samhain and the new turn of the Wheel of the Year. Autumn shows us gratitude, and opens us up to new ideas and ways of being. 

Dana O’Driscoll in her Druids Garden blog, suggests Autumn energy is about receptivity: “Receptivity has a lot of dimensions and definitions. In its most simple form, it is about openness: openness to new ideas, to change, and new experiences or patterns of life.  It’s about accepting what comes rather than trying to force things in a specific direction. Receptivity is about us simply allowing things to flow in, rather than trying to force things in a specific way.” 

Click here to read more on Dana’s illuminating concept!

And as you explore our Autumn Equinox Season course, consider both the traditional associations and local traditions of Autumn and Dana’s fresh look at the rhythm of the Wheel of the Year through a contemporary mindset of receptivity.

Blessings on the Autumn Equinox!

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