Happy Autumn Equinox (or Spring Equinox)! May you be Blessed with abundance & joy and good health!

Depending where on Earth you are standing right now, you are either anticipating days of warmth & light or you are preparing for darker, cooler days. Either way, as the sun makes its slow turn around Earth, it is a powerful time worthy of recognition. We like to mark these cycles with simple, meaningful rituals.

For those of us who chose to be receptive to our intimate connections with the movements of the Earth and who live with our feet firmly in the soil, and hearts pressed against the trees, our lives are often steeped in instinctual rituals.

And that brings me to the ecotrain Question of the week

What rituals do you have, and why are they important to you?

As we work to harvest and put away food for the winter, the Autumn equinox (and upcoming harvest moon) is an important time for us. We are blessed to live and work on the land. That said, we sometimes lose sight of our food fortune. This marked time and the rituals that we take part in, bring us back to a place of mindfulness and gratitude.

We bring meaning to this day by choice. Today is a magical, meaningful time to celebrate because we want it to be. It's all about perspective. For us the natural cycles are something that makes sense to us. Our heart tells us these moments should have our attention.

Our rituals are rather simplistic but they suit us.

Instead of being in a hurry, today I worked with care. I set my mind to appreciating and admiring the bounty that we have pulled from the soil. This land, the sun, the trees, the bickering chickens and the bees, it's all so incredible. Today is a good day to pay special attention.

It doesn't get more simple than laundry and it probably sounds like a strange ritual but there you have it. Today is the perfect day to hang washing on the line while singing 'Three little birds'. I do this because my grandmother loved to sing while she worked and it gives me a moment of connection with her. This simple work is balancing and meditative. The textures, the colours and scents are stirred together by the wind and I can't help but know that I am so lucky to be standing here.

Tonight when we go to bed our sheets will smell like the sun and the wind.

Once the laundry was hung I decided to sit in the greenhouse where it is warm. I was drawn to the drying beans and notice that several bundles were ready. As I work its easy to tune into the crinkling of the dried leaves, the snap as the pod opens up and then plink of the beans as they land in the bucket. Beside me some bees were working on the nasturtium and our resident greenhouse snake tries to stealthily slither past unnoticed.

I can't help but notice how few beans each of these big bushes provides. We've worked so hard to produce our own food. How many more bushes do we need to grow to fill our needs? There's a lot of time for thought and contemplation as I work.

Beans are the coolest food I can think of. Zen in a pod.

I can't help but marvel at one thing after another as we work today. I want to soak it all up and store the memories for winter. We both enjoyed snacking on the cherry tomatoes as we worked and will miss doing this now that frost has come. Baskets of tomatoes are all over the house as I write this. These tomatoes will be bottled up for winter with a deep appreciation. When we open that jar and catch the first scents, the memories of picking those tomatoes will flood back. Its a cycle of constant nourishment of the body and soul. there is a ritual to every harvest, especially when you are doing it all by hand.

We have chosen to celebrate both the Equinox and the harvest moon. The next three days will be ours to do with as we please but with intention and purpose. It's the intention behind the action that defines it, that makes it a ritual.

Our celebratory rituals are very modest and looks something like this.

I'll wash the bedding and hang it on the line so that the sheets smell like the sun and the wind when we go to bed tonight. The windows will be opened up (which they usually are) so that the house is filled with fresh clean air.
We'll wander through the woods and perhaps gather some apples and fallen wood. We'll look for chaga and try to find that fallen birch I've been hoping to find so that I can make some tea. Most likely we'll just walk quietly and enjoy the moment and/or I'll take photographs.
On the night of the harvest moon We'll mix up some fire cider or other natural concoctions and set them out beneath the moon light. We'll have a small bonfire and drink fire roasted cocoa. There is something about sitting around an open flame at night that brings so much contentment. Its even more wonderful when there is a bright moon glowing above us as the flames dance.
We'll enjoy a lovingly prepared meal that consists of only items that were grown or gathered on the land around us.
We'll make incense sticks and wreaths or whatever else strikes our fancy just for the pure joy of doing it. I like to wander around with a basket and gather up items to work with and my husband is more inclined to play his guitar. I'll hang herbs around the house inviting good energy in. Thyme is for cleaning negativity, sage for health and wisdom, Lavender is soothing and encourages compassion, Rosemary for purification and peace of mind. There are so many choices.

We are part of nature and as the seasons change so do we. We'll sit beneath the big harvest moon, reflect on the past year while also shifting our balance to the upcoming cooler season. It makes sense.

Good health and happiness!

You can also find me at: walkerland.ca |
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