So the Equinox has come and passed us by and we are really feeling the change in the season. The Earth is tilted on its axis, meaning that as it orbits the Sun, the Sun illuminates the northern or southern hemisphere more depending on where the Earth is along its orbit. However, at two points in the year the Sun will illuminate the sorthern and southern hemispheres equally. These are known as the equinoxes.
Speaking about the time of the Autumn Equinox last week, someone commented they felt like they were in 'fast forward'. This is exactly what the past month has felt like. Partly in response to the previous six months, when for the first time ever we were forced to pause and take a rhetorical breath in the speediness of our lives. And partly because September is always our 'New Year' and with that comes a new routine and new beginnings.
The holiday of the Autumnal Equinox, is recognised as Mabon in the Pagan tradition. It is the Feast of the Ingathering, The Harvest moon, The Harvest Festival.
The Equinox marks many things for many people. It is the end of the blooming gorgeousness and heat of the summer, it is when the light and dark balance for a day and then switch their balance of our time of lightness, it is when the wind and the rain come and join us in earnest, it is when the produce is nearly harvested and collected for another year, it is the time to get excited at spotting the last combines and balers in the fields, it is the time of the large harvest moon, it is the time when you need to turn the light on to make a cup of morning coffee, it is time when the swallows f***off for the sunshine and warmth of Africa, flying high, flying free, it is the time to coat up, it is a time to reflect on the year and gather yourself for the coming darkness, it is a time to celebrate your successes and learn form the challenges, it is a time of Autumn beginnings and Summer endings.
We had a wish, an aim, a vision to try to mark these changes in our Earthly year by pausing to think about them.
So here are some of the things we have harvested this year. Some good, some needing reflection and adaption.
We started our own Community Interest Company
We started to follow our need to be outside more often
We changed our working life to make space for our needs
We learned how to design and create a website
We walked the fields and the woods more often
We found lockdown tricky but manageable because of the place we live
We familiarised ourselves with the springtime flowers and plants on the farm- a new one, every day for 60 days
We attempted to create lovely gardens
We had support from friends and supported them in turn
We learned wheelbarrowing water is hard physical work
We learned being physically distant from those you love is tricky
We recognised people have their own ways of working and we can learn lots from them
We shared fun times outdoors and valued small gatherings with special friends
We learned how much we loved the seaside
We welcomed new life into the family
We grew tomatoes
We didn't collect all our apples in time
We made a shelter
We met some brilliant people in the woods
We are starting to make some exciting connections with different people in our lives
And so on with another year. Hopefully with a less fast forward feel and more of a 'we are in control of our own speed' kinda thing. We can but strive to be happy as we go placidly amongst the noise and haste.
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