Do you feel the electric energy approaching the autumn equinox on September 22nd?

It’s palpable where I live, on Vancouver Island. The skies are charred with smoke from the Pacific North West fires. Mornings and evenings are covered in heavy mist. Crickets are the music of my late afternoons.

We are entering the most magical months of the year with the cumulative drama, tragedy, and activism of politics, and COVID-19 pushing the tide of consciousness. Balance and equality are deep lessons in—and for—humanity this year.

Equinox aligns our focus with equilibrium, where night and day, light and dark are in balance. Whether you are celebrating the autumn or spring equinox at this time, it is an opportunity to come to a still point, to refocus perspectives, to find a grounded footing, and open to the energy before you.

Where do I need to find balance?

What does balance look like for me?

How can I find balance between my inner and outer world?

What are my thoughts and actions creating on the planet—are they balanced with my soul integrity?

These deep questions are perfect for the equinox and the approaching months ending this most unusual year.

What’s important about understanding the cosmic energy of the season before us, is that we are working with not against the flow of the universe. When one surrenders to flow, they open to receiving.

In resistance, we block our own ability to create the outcomes we seek. In flow, we co-create; we manifest through trust in ourselves and the world around us.

2020, according to numerology, is a four year. Four years are building years—where foundations are built for the future. I think we can all agree that 2020 has lived up to its purpose: breaking down old paradigms and creating space for new ways of being.

Four represents stability, equality, and strength—building upon the four pillars of material reality—earth, air, fire, and water. It utilizes the building blocks of the universe, mass, matter, and substance to create the physical world we live in.

Four also represents thinking, feeling, sensing, and intuition; what Carl Jung calls the quaternity of the self. 2020 has been earnest in building something future generations could rest on, in a mystical yet practical way.

We have another three months or so to engage with the message and sacred geometry of the number four in our lives. We can attune to the four elements, four directions, and our own quaternity. The closer we get to the frequencies of these things, the closer we can attune to our true nature and a more mindful life.

The northern and southern hemispheres will experience the time between equinox and solstice in opposite ways—there is a balance and synchronicity to that as well.

Depending on where you live, here are practices to sink into, wild one:

Northern Hemisphere: Work with the Crone

The period between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice, punctuated in the middle by the pagan high festival of Samhain (All Hallows’ Eve), is the “dark moon season” of the year. It is the time of the crone, the wise woman, the witch—the one who lives by the seasons and the wisdom of the natural world.

We are between worlds—between night and day—between a bountiful harvest and the starkness of winter.

This is a time when Spirit is highly active, the veil between the seen and unseen worlds thins, and our intuition is our closest ally—associated with feminine, internal forces.

Observe that nature draws inward, pulling energy from the roots to its inner core. Its relationship with the sun is put to rest, shadows lengthen, leaves decompose on the forest floor, and silence becomes the sacred theme.

The direction of the autumn equinox is west, where the sun sets. And just as the leaves show their true colors, this is a wonderful time to begin to understand ourselves better.

What does my soul cry out for?

What would I like to release?

What visions can I nurture?

Is my body and psyche asking for deep rest? How can I honor that?

Make plans to be rebirthed at the spring equinox.

Mystic, create an altar for the next three months. Consult your oracles as needed, brew cleansing teas, read books that inspire you, write your heart down, eat grounding foods, enjoy walks in the cooler air, sift through your emotions, and connect with ancestral wisdom.

Allow the old, wise hag to infiltrate your dreams and show you the way of the dark goddess who teaches sovereignty, freedom, connection to desire, and healthy boundaries.

An Autumn Equinox Practice:

>> Think of four actions you took this year and write them down.

>> Beside each one, write down what an alternate action could have been.

>> What would your life have been like had you taken these different actions?

>> Observe the hermetic law of cause and effect, which states that for every action there is an equal reaction—every cause has an effect and every effect has a cause. Every step we take creates ripples in the tapestry of the world. Therefore, we seek mindful directions.

Southern Hemisphere: Clear Energy and Sprout

For those celebrating the equinox in the southern hemisphere, the emphasis is on increasing light, instead of decreasing. This time is associated with initiation and action. It is associated with a masculine, external energy, and the direction is east.

My friends in Australia and New Zealand tell me that their energy is returning, they feel motivated to “spring clean,” throwing open windows, decluttering, and making room. They are even extending the clearing out to their physical bodies—spring greens and green smoothies—energy is sprouting  at a fantastic speed!

There is a true call to balance here though. In the exuberance of getting sh*t done, how easy is it to forget that we still need to rest, and to listen to intuition? If we tip too much in the direction of action, it’s possible to suddenly feel absolutely unmotivated.

That may be because we’ve piled too much on the proverbial creativity plate, forgotten to check in with our body for guidance, or pushed too many boundaries in order to achieve.

The spring equinox reminds us that we can also take things off our list. We can complete one thing before we start another. We can ask:

Am I still going in the direction I intended?

Am I listening to the cues my emotions are providing for me?

What is my relationship with time? Do I believe that time is something I create or something I run out of?

Am I paying attention to where my soul is leading or is it running ahead? 

Am I connecting to my own natural rhythms as nature teaches me?

Am I taking time for me among the hustle?

Even though the spring equinox is a time to externalize, the wisdom of our internal journey never leaves us.

A Spring Equinox Practice:

>> Ask your inner wise one: what do I desire to plant both physically and cosmically?

>> Find seeds for something that will bring you joy, such as herbs, spring flowers, or edible greens.

>> On a piece of paper, write a desire you would like to see sprout over the next three months. This is your cosmic seed. It could have to do with any area of your life: financial, romantic, emotional, or physical.

>> Place the piece of paper at the bottom of a garden pot of your choosing, fill it with soil, and add spring seeds.

>> Say a simple intention over your desire.

>> Water, love, and nurture.

>> At the summer solstice, express your gratitude for what the universe has provided.

These last months of 2020 are hopefully not something we rush through—to get it over with.

May the end of 2020 be filled with moments, days, and weeks of thoughtful contemplation of this grand undertaking by the consciousness to bring us into a more equitable society.

May we find gratitude for all we’ve learned this year, and lean into these last months with more listening, compassion, and love for each other.

The transition from the equinox to the solstice may indeed be the most important few months of this year.

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