September 22nd -
The Fall Equinox:
The autumnal equinox is the first day of fall. This year
is falls on September 22nd. It is celebrated by many different cultures and
plays a significant role in some beliefs. For most people, fall is a time that
ushers in harvests, preserving food for the upcoming months, enjoyment of the
colors of the changing leaves and beginning to prepare oneself both physically
and psychologically for the upcoming colder months. For Keats, the famous poet,
fall was the "season of mists and mellow fruitfulness". A beautiful season, fall
is filled with color, crisp days and provides an excuse to indulge in great
foods.
In feng shui, the equinox represents a time of year where the
earth begins to contract and pull inward to prepare of the colder months ahead.
The earthly branch representation is the Rooster; an archetype energy that is
trustworthy, honest and reliable. It contains the element of metal, an inward
force that is driven and rigid. Metal is at prosperity point or what is
considered to be at peak right now. Therefore it behooves you to take advantage
of the aforementioned qualities of metal. Try not to shy away from the term
"rigid" but rather think of it as being focused at the task or mission at hand.
The Rooster is positioned on the 24 mountain template in
the west, a direction where our sun sets and a time of year to reap the benefits
of your hard work. All of this begins with the first day of fall. Here are some
fun ways to celebrate the autumnal
equinox.
- Understand the meanings associated with the
autumnal equinox. This is the day when both the daytime and nighttime
are of the same length, which has been long interpreted to mean that the world
is in balance. Once the autumnal equinox passes, the nights begin to get longer
and the temperatures will start to fall. Autumn is a time of dual purpose––it is
time to gather the main harvests and it is time to determine what is needed for
the upcoming winter. This is also about balance and as such, fall is considered
the season of balance, a time during which you can restore balance to your own
life.
- Consider
a dinner party to welcome autumn. Celebrate with family and friends and
offer some fall foods such as squash, apples and pears. Why not have people
bring their favorite fall food for the meal. Be creative and have fun with
this.
- Build or
set up a monument to autumn. Why not build a small stone circle. It can
be either outdoors (if you have a yard) or create it indoors on a cocktail
table. Choose stones from the outdoors (larger ones for your yard), and arrange
them in a circle. You can mark off the 4 cardinal directions with a different
stone. Be creative, maybe infuse some feathers, pine cones or acorns. The idea
is to honor nature, mother earth and her abundance.
- Have a
despacho ceremony. This is a Peruvian shamanic tradition. It is an
offering to Mother Earth and Father sky for the abundance they provide. This is
such a fun way honor the earth. You can simply gather different berries, grains,
sweets, feathers, shells or anything you would like to offer back to nature.
Wrap it like a present and either burn it, bury it or send it down a water-way.
I have a wonderful ceremony that I share with my feng shui students. Here are a
few photos:
- Make a
list of your inner harvest. An inner harvest refers to all the
achievements and experiences that you have had or felt during the past few
seasons. This is a way of restoring gratitude into your life, as you realize
what you have done and how you have coped with challenges during the past
months.
- Contemplate. This is a
season when the buzzing activity of summer dies down and the excitement of life
outdoors begins to relax into the more evenly paced, more predictable rhythm of
fall. Think about the ways you have neglected your inner growth and how this
might be remedied.
- Meditate or do yoga. Try to
find your balance, in the same way that the world finds its balance on the
autumnal equinox
Happy Fall
Equinox!
~Mary
Jane
