Autumn Equinox is the doorway to winter. Summer is over and a new phase will begin. We can share with each other what we have gained and completed during the summer and make our plans for the coming winter. From now on the days will get noticeably shorter and colder. The Sun’s power is waning fast. This is the time of ripening fruits, nuts, mushrooms and berries. It is a busy time if you want to lay in stores for the winter. After all is gathered in, and the outside jobs are completed, we can celebrate the harvest. This is the family gathering of autumn’s end, Thanksgiving, the big harvest party; a feast and a celebration of the year’s abundance. Here we celebrate the Earth and all her gifts, friendships, family, our produce, our creations and achievements, as well as our own personal harvest.
It is a time for balancing and reconciling opposites and to see them as part of the whole. Everything co-exists together and we need both sides in order to be balanced and whole: the seen and the unseen, the known and the unknown, creation and destruction, death and rebirth, materialism and spirituality. Here at the Autumn Equinox, celebrate your whole selves, your masculine and feminine aspects, your conscious and unconscious, the active and the receptive, your light and dark sides, your fortunes and your misfortunes, your young self and your old self – and all aspects of the cycle of life. Celebrate it all, the good and the bad. Honour the changing season that brings a chance to start again. Dragon Day was celebrated at the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes. The dragon goes underground now for the winter. Here the dragon is invoked to carry the Fire energy into the inner realms, to activate the Fire within. The dragon is an ancient energy symbol representing Earth energy, dynamism, Fire, will and courage. This we take with us now as we turn to face the dark inner realms. This is not a place to fear as we have been taught, but a place to get in touch with your power, strength, inner focus, spiritual path and a reconnection to your inner wisdom. We are part of this whole, not separate from it.
Fennel – Foeniculum vulgare
Collect the seeds in the autumn. Make an infusion in the usual way and use for all gastric disturbances, for stimulating digestion, reducing bloating and helping to expel wind. Fennel is a hot dry herb and will get rid of dampness and cold. It can be safely drunk by nursing mothers to increase milk production, passing through the mother’s milk to the baby to reduce wind and colic. Fennel is nourishing and sustaining, whenever you feel you need nurturing.
It has a soothing calming effect on the emotions.
n.b. It is a uterine stimulant, so use sparingly if pregnant.
Hops – Humulus lupulus
Harvest the hop flowers in early September as they cascade over the hedgerows. Hang them up to dry as part of your Equinox decorations. It is a strong sedative, calming the liver and the stomach, relieving headaches and sleeplessness due to stress. Mix dried hop flowers and lavender flowers and fill a small cotton pillow with this mixture. Sleep with the herb pillow inside the pillowcase to ease insomnia.
n.b. Do not use hops if you are feeling depressed, as they will make the depression worse.
Marigold – Calendula officinalis
A herb of the Sun to take with you into the winter.
The petals can be gathered in September and dried for winter use as herb tea. It is a powerful blood cleanser that works on the lymphatic system and builds up the immune system. Drink the infusion whenever the immune system is lowered, and for viral and fungal infections such as candida. The same infusion can be used to bathe wounds, and is safe to use with children and babies. Calendula will bring comfort to the spirit. It has a soothing effect after shock, trauma or anger. The fresh leaves and petals can be added to salads.
Hawthorn berries – Crataegus monogyna
Collect and dry the haws from September to October. Haws are the primary remedy for all problems of the heart and should be drunk regularly in later life to relieve and prevent angina, hardening of the arteries, and palpitations of the heart, water retention and poor circulation. It will regulate high or low blood pressure, depending on the need, and gently bring the heart back to normal function, improving the general condition of the heart. It is also a useful herb for relieving stress, insomnia and any nervous condition. Pour cold water onto a handful of berries and let them stand overnight, strain and drink the next morning. The berries can be burnt as an incense to help release blocked energy and open the heart to giving and receiving love. By releasing stress, it enhances a person’s ability to let go and trust.
Begin making plans to have a harvest party of summer’s end. Plan to gather with friends and family to celebrate the harvest and for thanksgiving. This is a great occasion for a bring-and-share feast!
Celebrate the abundance of the Earth: apples, damsons, sloes, rose hips, haws, elderberries, blackberries, the flowers, the fungi, and all the ripening seeds on the plants. There is so much to appreciate now before the rain and the cold begin the period of disintegration and decay. The energy of the Earth is turning inwards now; the sap in the trees and plants is returning into the roots. Young trees and plants will become stronger through the winter months as their roots grow deeper. Sit with your back against a favourite tree, tune into its descending energy. Here in this moment, feel the same energy within yourself. Turn and seek strength in the roots of your deepest being. Rest and sleep is the completion of the cycle of growth that began in the spring.
There is much to do at this time, gathering fruit, making fruit wines, jams and preserves, collecting and drying mushrooms and seeds. This is a busy time in the kitchen that once again becomes the heart of the home. Prepare food for the feast using the abundance of the season. As you make the food, give thanks from your heart for all that you have.
Let the abundance of the Earth speak for itself. Collect autumn leaves and make a celebratory basket of coloured leaves. In other baskets collect nuts and seeds, seed-heads, fungi, fruits and berries. They can be displayed and honoured in any creative way you wish. Hang up coloured cloths of browns, yellows, oranges and reds.
The Autumn Equinox is the time to clean out and clear your space ready for the coming new season. Throw out or give away unwanted things that are no longer relevant, or hold emotional associations that may be holding you back. Move forward into the new season with greater clarity, uncluttered by psychic dross. Creating light and harmony in your living space will greatly affect how you feel and what you achieve in your space. As you are about to move indoors now, the importance of a clean uncluttered space for yourself cannot be over-emphasised. Give everything a wash, getting rid of all the dust. Burn sage to cleanse the space. Create a special area or shrine to focus your spiritual journey. Light candles there. Put appropriate Bach flower remedies into water and, using a plant-spray, spray the room to enliven and enhance its energy and your energy within it. As you work, state clearly your intent for clarity and harmony. It is a wonderfully uplifting thing to do and afterwards your room feels very different.
Dedicate an area of your room to your spiritual growth: a window ledge, a table, or a shelf. On it, place a coloured cloth, a vase of fresh flowers, crystals, and anything of significance that will help you keep connected to your spiritual path and the insights you are gaining. Light a candle here whenever you make this connection.
Wash all your crystals and put them under the harvest Full Moon to recharge. Thank them for all their help, for their energy, power and healing. Crystals are very powerful living things, acting directly on the energy field of the body. They respond to vibrations of respect, care and love, like all living things. They can help us to become balanced, to communicate with all of nature and to experience all life as sacred.
This is an extract from Glennie Kindred’s Sacred Earth Celebrations. Order your copy HERE.
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Glennie Kindred is the author of twelve books on Earth wisdom, native plants and trees and celebrating the Earth’s cycles, and is a highly respected teacher and much loved expert on natural lore and Earth traditions.
