Celebrate the Autumn Equinox
By Cait Johnson, co-author of Celebrating the Great Mother (Inner
Traditions, 1995)
Mother of Darkness, Mother of Light
Earth beneath us, soul in flight,
Songs of love and love of life,
Guide us to our home.
--Circle song
No matter who we are or where our people came from, our ancestors
had many magical ways of honoring the autumn equinox, when the day
and night are of equal length and the world finds balance for a
breath of time. After this equinox the nights grow longer than the
days, so it is traditionally a time to look inward, take stock, give
thanks for the harvest, and prepare for the time of dreaming.
In a world that is often so terribly out of balance, it can be both
healing and heartening to celebrate this special time. We offer many
ideas: learn how to make a door blessing to celebrate your inner
harvests, a dream pillow to deepen your dreaming, or a Native
American corn necklace to honor the earth that feeds us. Or try the
Find Your Balance Exercise--it's lots of fun, and it's all right
here:
Taking time to honor your own inner harvests--all the things you
have achieved and felt and learned from, over the past months--is a
lovely way to connect with this time of year.
Make a Dream Pillow
Autumn means longer nights and more opportunities to dream. How
lovely! Help to deepen your dreams with these simple-to-make dream
pillows:
Start with two seven-inch squares of fabric, natural, non-synthetic
materials preferred (cotton or silk velvet is lovely and
traditional). Pin the right sides together and stitch 1/2-inch from
the edges on three sides. Turn right side out and fill with about 2
cups of any combination of the following dried herbs, each
associated with sounder sleep, deeper dreams, or better dream-recall:
hops, lavender flowers, mugwort, rosemary, rose petals
Stitch the remaining side closed. To use, tuck the dream pillow
underneath your regular sleeping pillow. At bedtime, turn your
regular pillow over so you breathe in the fragrance of the herbs all
night long.
Find Your Balance
1. Stand quietly with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees flexed,
and your eyes closed. What is your body doing? Is it still and
rooted, or does it need to sway or adjust in order to be fully
balanced? Give yourself a moment to come into balance.
2. Now raise your arms and try to hold them open, stretched out to
the sides, for a few moments. Feel how difficult it is. Now begin a
gentle movement, bringing your hands in toward your chest, then out
again to the sides, a rhythmic motion of opening and closing like
the beating of a bird's wings. Feel what a relief it is to have the
balance of both motions, both open and closed. Now give some deep
thought to the beauty of the balance between day and night, activity
and rest. How can you honor your own need for balance?
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