𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲, 𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀, 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁.

The Autumn Equinox is a point of equilibrium where day and night will be equal. This is the perfect opportunity to pause and take stock of all that the exuberant months of summer have brought and to consider what you wish to let go of before the winter. After this point the balance will be tipping in favour of the dark and the quiet times of winter introspection. It is time to prepare!

Questions to ask yourself in preparation for the autumn equinox:

• what have I grown, nurtured and harvested this year?

• Is it what I intended?

• Do I have enough food, warmth, love and connection to sustain me through the winter?

• If not, what can I do about it?

• What do I have that I can share?

• What no longer serves me?

I was contemplating these questions while sitting watching the bees earlier today. The ivy is currently flowering and there is one last burst of single-minded, hyper-focused activity taking place at the hive entrance with the field bees coming and going delivering nectar and pollen. A constant low hum is coming from the hive together with wafts of divine honey-scented air. The bees, always guided by the sun and it’s cycles, know what time it is and are busy dehydrating the nectar their sisters have gathered so it can be capped with wax and stored safely for the winter. The workers doing this will not survive to nourish themselves from these provisions. Most will die off before then, exhausted, having given their all over the summer to ensure the survival of the hive throughout the winter. Most of the small population of male bees, the drones, will be evicted from the hive before the temperatures drop in in order to conserve the hives resources. The mother (queen) and her daughters will huddle together in the darkness, almost hibernating if it is cold enough. There is an economy in shutting down and maintaining just enough homeostasis to survive.

I realise that I am a lot like the bees. This summer has felt like I have worked incessantly to make sense of the changing world around me and inside of me. The versions of myself who have done this work, like the summer bees, have been destroyed by the process and will not benefit from the insights gained. But the newly emerging version of myself would not exist without this work that has gone before. None of us are who we were 18 months ago, we have all been challenged to change and shed our skins by the unprecedented times we have lived through. And there is no doubt that more is yet to come.

For many, this winter's predicted socio-economic crisis is being foreshadowed by a psycho-spiritual apocalypse (from Ancient Greek ἀποκάλυψις (apokálupsis) 'revelation, disclosure') . It has been building for the past 18 months or so (well, the past few thousand years , really). It is like watching a mass initiation ritual with people’s ego structures being dismantled and their sense of reality being shattered. It has been especially conspicuous in the ‘new age’ community but more and more people with no prior interest in the metaphysical are starting to notice that a shift is taking place. Still, most people are not aware that we are undergoing this collective rite of passage. Even those who have been preparing for this time their whole lives are finding it difficult to ride out the waves of unveiling and unraveling without losing hope or going mad. Eventually, many are discovering that there is a point of stillness within the chaos. That point of stillness is the life raft and it can only be found within. To reach it we each must face the stormy waves. The waves, whipped up by external events and triggers, are made of whatever is hidden inside of ourselves that we do not wish to feel: emotions like fear, anger, shame and guilt. These emotions are also the ghouls that will make our survival during the dark months of introspection and going inward challenging. It is often these unacknowledged parts of us that also stop us from extending care and compassion towards others (including to ourselves). Like the bees, we have to be able to work together if we want to ensure all have a fair chance of making it through the winter (I don't condone kicking the males out of the house though).

My heart goes out to those who are struggling financially and psycho-spiritually already and who do not know how they will take care of themselves and their loved ones this winter.  I hope that those whose pantries are empty will find kindness and aid from those who have supplies to spare.

For the sake of our collective survival and evolution, at this autumn equinox, please take the opportunity to release any emotional baggage and shadow aspects of yourself that you do not wish to carry with you into the winter. Let them do their work and then die like the summer bees. Don’t forget, thought, to also take stock and celebrate all you have achieved this summer (and if you are reading this, then you have already achieved a feat of endurance your ancestors will be in awe of). Celebrate your own personal harvest and the bounty Nature has produced. The bees know how to honour these cycles of creation, reward and letting go without needing any human help. For us, there are many ways to consciously engage with these rhythms and cycles. The trance dance ceremony I offer is one of them.  

The Autumn Equinox is on Friday 23rd September 2022.

The Trance Dance Ceremony is on Saturday 24th September 7-9:30pm - all who wish to dance with their shadows, let go of what is no longer needed and celebrate the harvests are welcome. More details can be found below.

Wishing you a bountiful harvest and sending much love,

Anna