To Everything there is a Season..

This season is autumn. The Autumn Equinox marks one of the key turning points on the Wheel of? the Year. The sun sets at the mid point between its most northerly and southerly points, bringing equal day and night to the land.? A balance in the light and darkness of our days. A time to reflect on the balance in our lives and reset this if we’re off-balance.?

I’ve noticed the shortening of the days for some months now. From the Summer Solstice onwards the days grow at first imperceptibly shorter. By early August, the daylight hours are noticeably shorter, until we reach this key point in the year.?

The Autumn Equinox is also a time to be grateful for the abundance that surrounds us. I came back from the allotment yesterday with a trug full of produce, even though this year has been a poor one for growing. Tomatoes, beans, sweet corn, apples, raspberries. Even a few late strawberries. The autumn squash still need another month to be at their best. ?

For our ancestors, the Autumn Equinox was a time to celebrate the harvest and prepare for the cold lean months ahead.? Bring in the crops, lay down the wood, preserve and store the fruits and vegetables for winter.?

It is also a time of completion, when projects begun at the Spring Equinox are brought to fruition.? Now is the time to reap the rewards of your efforts this year, and consider your own harvest.? Time to look back on the plans you made early in the year, and reflect on your progress. Take satisfaction and fulfilment in what you’ve accomplished. To express gratitude for the plenty you enjoy.? Have your activities brought you the results you desired? If not, what have you learned? What will you now do differently?

The Energy of the Seasons

Yet, how many of us follow the energy of the seasons? Are even aware of these ancient celebrations on the Wheel of the Year??

A client of mine struggled throughout the summer to put her 2025 plans together to fit in with the company’s planning and budget. Of course she struggled. The high energy of summer is ideal for getting things done; completely the wrong time of year for planning, which needs the inward-facing reflective time of winter. ?

Others of us go all out and get super busy in the run up to Christmas and the end of the year.? We go to work in the dark, come home in the dark, and wear ourselves down with full-on days while we’re there, often taking more work home to complete in the evening. Little wonder we feel so exhausted (and often down with ‘flu or a cold) by the Christmas holiday. If we lived by the seasons, rather than the clock, we would be less active in winter. Drawing in to rest, reflect and begin to make those plans for the future. ?

Unfortunately, our modern world doesn’t always make this possible. Indeed, doesn’t recognise the power the seasons have upon our health and wellbeing. We have deadlines to meet; many of them come towards the end of the year, as that is often when a company’s quarterly or end of year reporting is due.?

My question to each of you:

How might you bring your life and work into greater harmony with the seasons?

Rest and reflect; make your plans in the dark months of winter. Take action to achieve those plans with the first stirrings of spring when the earth comes alive. Continue that action throughout the high days of summer, and bring them to completion now, as we celebrate the brilliance and abundance of autumn. And draw in once again in the coming months to rest, replenish your energy and set out your plans for the coming year.

Take some time in the coming days to bring yourself back into balance and prepare for the dark months ahead. This is the perfect time for that.

Almira