Activating Equinox Energies

Autumn Equinox is upon us and this gorgeous sense of season turning can be felt by all residing in the Northern Hemisphere.

Even the urban-entrenched fashionista cannot deny the chill in the morning, the shift of darkening nights and the enticing lean towards sumptuous jumpers and blanket-wear.

At times like this it seems that the cycles of nature are imprinted within our very DNA.

Travelling backwards to ancient times, Equinox would have been the time for our ancestors to gather the final harvest in. There’d be a sense of abundance – or not – depending on whether the harvest had been good. The yield led to celebrations of gratitude and thanksgiving, establishing festivals such as the Wine Harvest, the Harvest Festival and the Fruit Harvest.

In modern times, here in England, it’s not tradition to throw parties and celebrate all the good stuff we’ve reaped during the year. Instead the shift of the wheel finds expression through tweaks and quirks in our impulses; sudden desire for pumpkin flavoured lattes; a need to tie up loose ends; thoughts about planning and reflection; clearing clutter and packing things up for the winter; delight at the prospect of jumper season.

What this says is that despite our species’ disconnect from the wild world, human beings can still sense on a deep level, the subtle changes in the air.

Irrespective of where we live in time and history, urban or rural, wild or contained and whatever our rituals and senses around this time of year, what’s undeniable is our intrinsic connection to the bigger, deeper, natural orbit of the seasons.

It’s a pattern that’s bigger than all of us.

It’s a pattern that’s deep within us.

And if this pattern is already so knitted into the fabric of our feelings, why not become more conscious and creative with it?

Here are three ways to explore and activate the energies of Autumn and the Equinox:

Most vision boards focus on what we want to bring into our lives.

We focus on the future and choose the relevant symbols and images to draw in the qualities and feelings that we wish to experience.

A beautiful way to honour Autumn Equinox is to reverse this and instead make a vision board that captures your gratitude for all of the wonderful harvest you’ve reaped so far this year, on both inner and outer levels of your life. You could create two boards that sit together, one representing who you have become as a person this year, the lessons you’ve learned and the obstacles you’ve overcome. The other board could represent the experiences you’ve had, the outer things you’ve achieved in your professional and personal life, your relationships and your art.

Place this somewhere that you can see it often and build a sense of gratitude for all of your treasure and bounty.

Once the fields had been harvested, our ancestors would burn where the crops had been to prepare the soil for the following year. Fast forward to today and for those of us with gardens, there’s a definite urge to get everything stored away and neatly in place for the winter.

But once we’ve got everything safely stored away for winter, there are other satisfying modern translations for this deep rooted urge to cleanse, clear and dismantle.

Choose an area of your home that needs has gathered clutter and needs to be cleared.

Take anything that you no longer use to charity shops or pass them on to people who could use them.

Dismantle shelves where you keep beloved items, crystals and books, thoroughly clean them and then either store the items away or replace them in a way that feels good to you.

Look at your dominant relationships. Which ones are working well? Which relationships are cluttered with unspoken words and half-said truths. How can you clean them up or let them go for good?

Clutter sucks our energy, whether its emotional, physical or mental. If it isn’t working for you, release it, transmute it or heal it.

Get your energy fields clear and ready for the next harvest.

Throw a Wild Wheel Dinner Party.

In ancient times people understood the vital relationship between humans and the natural world. Our fingers sowed seeds, our hands toiled and dug the earth. In response the earth pushed through vegetables and fed the animals that we relied upon to survive. Then we partied and made merry and sprinkled massive thanks over the earth for her yield.

Today’s world is a very different story. We live in a time where food is mass produced, processed and we can buy anything at any time of the year. Humans have utter dominion over the earth and supermarkets supply everything in abundance. Our survival appears to depend upon coins and digits in the bank (appears to) and securing food is as simple as doing a Tesco online shop.

Summoning gratitude for the food we have seems kind of like having a rather dull school harvest festival in our own kitchen.

And yet …

Ecologically, we’re at a very tense and tender point in our history. People are desperately looking for ways to help the planet heal and nurture a deeper relationship with the environment that we depend upon for survival. What better way to rebuild our relationship with the planet than to look beyond the surface and start building traditions that value and honour the Nature once again?

Explore ways to infuse your life with small ceremonies and rituals that honour more deeply the relationship between your body, yourself and the earth. Create a tradition that marks your pledge to the planet through honouring its cycles and those cycles within you. Go to farmers markets and local nurseries to buy locally grown fruit and vegetables. Go blackberry picking and make apple and blackberry crumble. Bring everything together with massive gratitude as you prepare it and then share it with the people you love in a Wild Wheel Dinner Party.

Happy Equinox.

Bethan x

Recommended Posts
Contact Bethan

If you'd like to know more or request a call back, please email Bethan here.