Fall Equinox & The Season of the Golden Sun

Ah, fall. Hands-down my favourite season here in the North. The season where the earth sings with it’s bounty and offers up abundance & beauty like blessings.

The thing with fall, after summer’s craziness, is that in our go-go-go culture (is this just an AB thing??), even though things are starting to slow & mellow, here we are still running around all helter-skelter & just trying to wrap things up.

Fall to me is a season of balance, and maybe that’s why I feel best in fall. The Wheel of the seasons turns. Solstice is approaching. It’s the time where the hours of the light and the dark are nearing to equal-the sun is moving lower in the sky, it’s rays seem to settle more comfortably in our skin. Our skin seems to know it needs these last rays of the sun to get us through the long winter. So let’s keep those arms uncovered-bring on that Vitamin D to build winter immunity! Take those glasses & sunglasses off so your eyes can benefit from the sun.

The night time is nearing equal length with the day & we can feel it. We can feel earth’s final hurrah building to a glorious crescendo before that first hard frost–before that first blanket of snow, when peace descends, & the shift is complete, and winter is here at last.

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I love the feel of fall. I love how the light becomes more & more warm & golden, and how it hits my eyes. I love the contrast of the brilliant poplar yellow leaves against the blue sky. But despite this feeling of shifting into slow down mode internally, there still seems to be so much to DO. The balance is precarious- how to find that tricky sweet spot in the middle of prepping for winter such as harvesting herbs & veggies, making the last of the fresh plant medicines, getting the remaining plants in my foster plant pile in the back corner of the yard tucked into the earth before their winter’s sleep, harvesting all of the season’s abundance AND just *being* outside and enjoying the last hurrah before hibernation sets in?

Oh, first world problems. Poor us, to have such abundance. I know I’m not the only one.

It was with great joy that I had a chance to escape the city the other day with one of my fellow herbalist co-workers and and just have some of that time to just soak up these all-too short days of fall. To wander around and spot mushrooms. To soak in the sun. To check on the rose hips, the nettles, the Rabbit Root, the burdock. To collect some of autumn’s generous berry bounty. To give thanks for it all.

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Mushroom spotting
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Harvesting High Bush Cranberries
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Pausing a moment from the nettle harvest to enjoy the slant of the sun

It’s such a bittersweet season– golden, glorious, and fleeting. I long for the season to last just a few more days (every few days!), yet on the flip side I’m feeling ready for the winter shift where I have permission to hibernate, turn book-ish, & plan some winter workshops already!

I wish for you to find the balance to enjoy the last of lazy sun filled days. May you too have time to slow down & connect with the plants & the shifting season. Wishing you an abundant harvest. Wishing you a beautiful Equinox & the fall that it heralds. Until next time,

 

In gratitude,

Dionne

Your YEG Community Herbalist

Want more info about the Autumn Equinox? Check out this  National Geographic article.

2 comments

  1. So right Dionne – what a beautiful way to see fall. I’m one of those running around preparing many gardens for winter. This year in particular I feel an urgency to get things cleaned up and put to bed before snow falls. I’ve spent many falls doing this work but it feels to me that this one came on so quick and is leaving us just as quick. I’m glad you have the time to stop and enjoy it! Thanks for a beautifully written piece.

    1. Oh, it’s so tricky to find the balance between slowing down with the season AND prepping for winter! And I’m not even doing dozens of gardens & yards like you! Thank you Teresa. Hope you get to shift into a lower gear soon. <3 <3

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