Journal Practice - Prompts for Autumn Equinox
“I honor what has grown. I release what is complete. I step into autumn with trust.”
What is Autumn Equinox?
Autumn Equinox marks the start of Autumn and is celebrated in the Northern Hemisphere between 22nd and 24th September. It is when there is equal day and night and signals the start of the decrease of light as days become shorter towards winter.
It is also one of 8 quarter festivals that celebrate the change of the seasons as part of the Wheel of the Year. This can be traced back to the neolithic era 10,000 BC and was used by Pagans and Celts to celebrate nature and the turning points of the year as it cycles around.
The Wheel of the Year has 8 quarter festivals - 2 solstices, Winter (Yule) and Summer (Litha), and 2 equinoxes, Spring (Ostara) and Autumn ( Mabon) and 4 cross quarter mid-points - Imbolc, Beltane, Laughnasadh and Samhein.
What does Autumn Equinox Celebrate?
Mabon, or Autumn Equinox, is a more modern celebration in the Wheel of the Year and it connects into and gives thanks for the harvest, the bounty of nature and marks the gathering of the last crops which in times past would have had to see communities all the way through winter.
Feasting, storytelling and dancing would have taken place to celebrated and give thanks for the gifts of harvest.
“Popularised in the 1970s through contemporary Pagan and Druidic circles. It references Mabon ap Modron, a figure from Welsh mythology, a child of the mother, a divine youth who is both hunter and hunted, taken and returned. While the historical roots of the name are mythic and poetic, the spiritual meaning of Mabon centres on equilibrium, transition and the changing of the light. It echoes the balance of light and shadow, the dance between life and death, and the turning inward that begins now.” https://rebeccadouglas.co.uk/what-is-mabon-and-what-does-it-mean/
Autumn Equinox is a time to reflect on what you’ve sown (both physically and spiritually) and prepare for winter.
Qualities of Autumn
Gratitude for what the earth and your life have grown
Balance where can you restore balance in your life?
Preparation for the transition into winter
Release letting go of what you no longer need
Slowing Down grounding, stilling and quietening inwards
Nature plays a central role in Autumn Equinox celebrations, with its changing beauty serving as a powerful symbol of the cyclical nature of life.
How to Celebrate Autumn
Spend time outside, enjoying the amazing colours of the changing leaves which symbolize transformation and the passage of time, mortality and renewal.
Enjoy the harvest of apples, berries, grains and remind yourself of seasonal foods in a world where we can find any food at any time.
Slow Down – enjoy slower walks, resting practices, reflecting and quietening with the season
Reflect on your own inner harvest, what you have created and are thankful for and what you want to release and let go of in the coming months.
Journal Prompts for Autumn Equinox
- What are you grateful for, what have you learned, experienced, created, achieved during the summer season? Maybe you had goals or intentions – how have they grown?
- Where do you feel out of balance? Is there anything you need to adjust?
- How can you release what is holding you back or you no longer need?
- What might you need to put in place to see you through the colder and darker half of the year?
- How can you slow down in our busy world? What activities help you to turn inwards, feel more grounded and help to replenish your energy?
Let me know how you are transitioning to Autumn…
find @nabalo here