When I lived in San Diego, California for the first year I had a really difficult time with the earth.  This was a big problem for me, especially as someone who is a Pagan and who’s spiritual path is largely tied to the earth and its cycles.  Everything seemed to be the same season to season.  This, coupled with a horrible sense of homesickness, lead me to a horrible depression that had me in bed for almost four months.  Our connection to the earth is so important.  Even when we don’t realize it our personal rhythms are connected to the rhythms of the earth around us.  When we can’t connect to the seasons and the earth, we get knocked out of rhythm ourselves.

So what do you do when you just aren’t feeling connected to the season?  Autumn is a big one because it’s an interesting transition point.  Spring and Autumn are both times with big changing energies.  In the spring we’re looking at the patterns of change that having us growing and working to bloom while in the autumn the change has to do with letting go and accepting the coming season of death.  If we connect to these between times spiritually it gives us the chance to really dive into the season that will follow which ends up being the height of one of two things, either life or death.

Connecting to autumn helps you to get ready for the dark half of the year.  From the moment of the autumn equinox on the dark wins out over the light.  The days get shorter and shorter, nights longer and longer. At first we don’t notice it at all and then it just seems to hit us all of a sudden.

Have you ever noticed that jarring feeling?  The one when you realize “Oh crap…it’s fall!!”

Next thing you know it’s either dark out at 5pm, or if you live in a place where it snows, that dead quiet and the frosty chill before a snowfall starts to fill the night air almost every night.  It is a little bit of a shock to the system when you aren’t ready.

Even if you’re not feeling like you’re getting any kind of connection to the season naturally, there are a few things that I’ve done that might be helpful for you.

[fontpress type=”webfonts” name=”Happy Monkey” size=”16px” lh=”18px” color=”#FD6000″]1. Surround yourself in fall colors![/fontpress] This is especially good for people who, like me when I was living at the beach in Southern California, might not see the changing colors of leaves in the trees or who live somewhere that doesn’t have the typical autumn environment.  Bringing autumn into your home with colors and decorations and creating your own autumn landscape indoors helps greatly.  Burn candles around the home in fall colors, put tablecloths in deep fall colors or with fall patterns on your tables around the home, and dress in reds, browns, and deep greens to surround yourself in the seasonal vibrations.

You can also use this as a guideline for using crystals to help you with connecting to the season too.  Pick stones in deep orange, red, green, brown and black and wear them as jewelry, carry them in your purse or pocket, or place them around your home.  Some of my favorite include amber, carnelian, smokey quartz, and onyx.

[fontpress type=”webfonts” name=”Happy Monkey” size=”16px” lh=”18px” color=”#FD6000″]2. Make simmering pots![/fontpress]

This is one of my favorite things to do for the autumn season no matter where I am.  It’s simple and easy and often the answer for those that have problems with burning incense or candles in their home.  This works great in my house because my husband has allergies and is sensitive to a lot of incenses which makes it hard for me to burn certain things when he’s home.

You can do this with either a small pot on the stove or a plug in simmering pot.  Cut up an orange or a lemon (I like lemon) into think slices.  Place the slices in your pot and then add dried autumn herbs and spices.  My favorites are cinnamon sticks, whole allspice, whole cloves, and cracked nutmeg.  Add water, at least enough to cover what you’ve put in your pot, and then simmer.  If you’re doing this on the stove top, put it on very low heat.  Usually within a half hour or so everything should start to smell sweet and festive!

Simmer as long as you like, or until the water evaporates.  Voila!

[fontpress type=”webfonts” name=”Happy Monkey” size=”16px” lh=”18px” color=”#FD6000″]3. Pick one room in your home to redo.[/fontpress] I know this might feel like a spring thing to do, but autumn is about letting go.  Clearing out and completely redoing a room in your home helps to work through some letting go but can also help with preparing for a cozy winter inside!  Go through books, magazines, DVDs, CDs, and knickknacks and get rid of anything that you haven’t used in to the last year.  Part with things that no longer hold any importance in your life right now.  We out grow our things but we have a habit of hanging on to them because of sentimental value.  Remember, getting rid of “things” doesn’t mean you’re getting rid of the person or the memory attached to them.  You’re making room for new things to come into your life!

With winter coming now is a great time to add cozy pillows and blankets to bedrooms and living rooms.  Adjust the lighting in your home so that evenings when the sun goes to sleep earlier in the day doesn’t leave you feeling lost in the dark.  Add candles and mood lighting that gives your home a warm feeling, like your home is giving you a big hug when you light it up!

[fontpress type=”webfonts” name=”Happy Monkey” size=”16px” lh=”18px” color=”#FD6000″]4. Cook and bake with autumn fruits, herbs, and spices![/fontpress] Pumpkin pie isn’t just for the holidays!  Bake pumpkin or apple breads, muffins, or pies.  Make spicy fruit chutney to go with meat dishes.  Make soups and stews that use autumn root vegetables.  Homemade pumpkin ravioli is one of my absolute favorite things to make this time of year {and it’s very easy too}.  And don’t forget about the beverages!  Mulled wine and cider, pumpkin spiced coffee, spiced hot chocolate, and one of my favorites, chai tea!

Here’s a simple chai recipe that I use.  It’s not exactly “traditional” but it works great!
Boil one mug worth of water.  Mix the following and then add to a a tea diffuser:  black tea leaves (about 1 – 2) tablespoons), 2 teaspoons each ground cinnamon and ground ginger, 1 teaspoon each ground cardamom and ground cloves.  Steep the tea in the water for about 10 minutes.  Remove diffuser and add cream and sugar to taste.  If you want a little more spice you can make spiced sugar syrups with cinnamon, cloves, and allspice.

[fontpress type=”webfonts” name=”Happy Monkey” size=”16px” lh=”18px” color=”#FD6000″] 5. Do meditation work to look back on the year.[/fontpress] Part of letting go is looking at what we’ve experienced and making sure that we’ve gained all we can from those experiences.  Now is the time of year for looking back, letting go, and giving thanks.  Be grateful or all the experiences you had this year, good and bad, and let go of those that you’ve already taken away the lessons from.  Hanging on to them isn’t helpful on a few levels, but most of all it doesn’t give you the room to invite other energies into your life.  Meditations and journey work can help you with reflecting and letting go.  So can creating a gratitude journal where you can write out both your experiences and your gratitude for what you received.

OHHH!!  And you could try this!!

[button style=”gradient” color=”orange” size=”medium” icon=”download-dark” href=”http://rowanpendragon.com/downloads/mabon.pdf”]Download me![/button]

Check out this Mabon worksheet!  I made this to be used as part of the work that can be done for letting go past and reaping our harvest.  It’s so important to do this work to honor all the things that we have put our energy and efforts into.  Download this and give it a whirl!

 

[fontpress type=”webfonts” name=”Poiret One” size=”30px” lh=”34px” color=”#000000″]What do you do to connect and honor the spirit of Autumn? [/fontpress]