Autumn Equinox

Autumn Equinox

Happy Autumn Equinox!

On the Autumn Equinox, night and day are equal. Light and dark are in perfect balance. The Equinox marks the beginning of the end of the harvest season. We celebrate the gifts of the Earth and give thanks. In the Northern Hemisphere, the life-force begins its slow decline as it retreats into the subterranean realm of Hades. The days are getting shorter and cooler; summer is over. We celebrate the joys of the summer and are grateful for the harvest blessings. 

The end of the summer is often intensely busy with hunting for nuts and mushrooms, preserving the gifts of the Earth and preparing for the coming dark season.
Stock up the larder and gather the supplies you need to see you through the winter. 

Returning to work, we concentrate and focus on our projects and goals. But don’t forget to enjoy the pleasures of this in-between season, as nature explodes its dazzling display of autumn colours.

Image by Sabrina Ripke from Pixabay

Lughnasad – Harvest Time

Lughnasad – Harvest Time

The time of the grain harvest

Lughnasad marks the harvest season. Fruits and vegetables ripen, the grain has turned golden, and the grapes grow plump and sweet. It is an intensely busy and happy time, especially for gardeners. We toiled in the spring, and now it is time to harvest the fruit of our labour and enjoy them. 

The period from spring to late summer is fraught with danger. Late frosts can kill sensitive starts, and summer storms may ruin a crop in just a few minutes. A good harvest is always hoped for, but never guaranteed. This year, we are witnessing the devastating effects of climate change. After many years of exceedingly hot and dry springs and summers, this year we had unseasonably wet weather. Without water, there is no life. But too much water is no good either. It washes away the topsoil and drowns plants and animals.

 

In the Christian tradition, Lammas marks the harvest season. The name comes from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘hlaf-mas’, meaning ‘loaf mass’. Bread and wine are the traditional sacraments of the Eucharist. And this is the period, when corn and grapes are getting ready to harvest.

 

But harvesting the seeds is only one stage of the perpetual cycle of life. Ideally, what we harvest now should sustain and nourish us through the winter, when the Earth is barren and still.  To sustain life, a part of the harvest is sacrificed and returned to the earth. We reap as we sow, but we also sow what we reap.

Facing the unravelling climate catastrophe, we are grateful for anything we can harvest today. We must change our practices and learn to adapt and live more sustainably. We depend on Mother Earth and if we want this cycle to continue and provide for our children and children’s children, we must act now.

There are many solutions, but continuing in the old ways is not among them. 

The future starts now.