Fall Equinox and September First Quarter Moon

The autumn equinox occurs tonight at 11:50 p.m. in the Pacific Northwest. Summer is over and darkness will again catch up to the light.

The rains will begin soon (hallelujah!), Canadian geese are on the move south, the leaves are turning and beginning to drop, and night temperatures are cooler. Everything in nature is paring down, and moving energy to the roots and into the earth.

Tonight is also the first quarter moon; we are one-quarter of the way through the moon cycle. The moon is waxing - growing in light and energy, creating a time for decisive action. I use this August quarter moon's energy to help me to discern my path, and then act on it; this requires clarity.

Mark the Start of Autumn:

1. Journal queries

2. Fall possibilities list

3. Make a full effort plan

4. Write a mission haiku

5. Sustainable straw collecting

6. Make a straw doll

1. Journal queries:
The autumn equinox is the second balancing point in the year; in the fall we might gently shift our attention from the physical side of life to the spiritual and mental, to indoor projects and thoughtful pursuits. As the nights lengthen, we have more dark time available, to be alone and to think; to become clear about our intentions; to nurture inner seeds that may not sprout until spring.

Center, and consider the balance in my life.

How well do I balance my physical, mental, and spiritual needs?

How can I balance my personal needs with my commitments to the outside world? 

 

How do I balance my various priorities so they get the appropriate attention?

Think also of the balance in the world; meditate upon what this half of the year will bring, dark and light, and how best I can take right action in the world.

2. Fall possibilities list:

I give myself permission at the start of fall to try something absolutely new - start a new study of an unfamiliar subject, practice a new way to paint, focus on a new inner challenge, dream of outlandish notions, and / or experiment with new ways of organizing my days. Today I will make a list of possibilities:

1. Learn a disco dance, and practice daily
2. Learn more ASL signing 
3. Join a 350 working group
4. Take a wild garden or permaculture class or course
5. Experiment with gauche (and begin to wean myself from acrylic paint)

3. Make a full effort plan: 

At the first quarter moon, I prepare to give full effort to my priorities. Full effort requires attention; you remember your intentions - what it is you want to do and your deepest reasons why. 

I'm thinking today about full effort for pollinators. I've been studying the decline of pollinators, and what they need from us, and I want to step up my efforts. This is the best month to start native wildflower seeds, and collect plants.

My intention is to honor the native bees and butterflies, create habitat for them (and a love connection), because they are in decline, and a world without native pollinators would be unthinkably barren.

I also need to notice my emotions, energy, and obstacles. I remember that for each opportunity in life there is a challenge, and the challenge to balance is obsession. If I am consumed by one part of my life or being, I can’t be centered. Practice slowing down and gathering chi to find my equilibrium.

Today I made a Full Effort plan that considers my energy and balance:

1. Choose and prepare one (the first) new pollinator bed by removing weeds and covering to kill dormant weed seeds (covering for an entire growing season is best).
2. Collect native plant seeds; cold stratify any that need it.
3. Start some seeds in pots when the seeds are ready.
4. Next month, plant some seeds and plants directly in beds.

4. Write a Mission Haiku:

My missions are my various big projects or directions in life. Today I'm looking at my mission to Find Unity with Nature. I'll write it as a haiku, because a poem has a unique ability of getting to the core of a Truth. Here's the steps I use:

1. Write a brief, evocative sentence or two describing this top mission in my life, and the significant issues that surround it:

I intend to find Unity with Nature by remembering that the Earth and every part of Creation is a living, spiritual being, and by living in accordance with that, because part of my mission in life is to lead a simple life of integrity. I intend to Take Good Care of our garden spaces and the wildlife that uses it, study new ways of being with nature, listen to the earth, honor it, and cultivate a real relationship with nature, because finding unity and connection with Creation will bring vitality, peace, and purpose to all my other work and relationships.

2. List the most exciting or pleasing verbs that describe what I want to do with this mission:
Remember, live in accordance, take care, cultivate, connect, learn.

 

3. Next, list some core values that go with this mission:

Love, Unity with Nature, Celebration and Play, Creativity, Learning, Purpose, Service

4. Turn these sentences, verbs, and values into a haiku, an unrhymed poetic form consisting of 17 syllables arranged in three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively (or a Cinquain, which is five lines, with 2, 4, 6, 8, and 2 syllables), that gets to the core of my mission, and gives me a framework for my actions.

Bees and butterflies-

please accept my love and care;

This garden is yours.

 

5. Sustainable Straw Collecting:

We all have ancestors who were gatherers, who collected from nature to fill their family's larder. These were people who knew the best place to collect nuts, berries, and grains; knew how to leave enough to ensure a new harvest in the future; and knew how to show gratitude and thanksgiving.

Somewhere along the way my ancestors lost the wisdom of how to collect wisely and began to take more than they needed, and lay waste to the environment. I need to heal from this ancestral history, and so I've designed what I call Medicine Collecting - a thoughtful way to gather food and materials that is sustainable and honorable. 

Last fall I documented how I used Medicine Collecting for straw. To be clear, I used to routinely collect decorative wheat from a craft store, wrapped in cellophane - not very sustainable or honorable. Now I gather it sometimes from my garden and sometimes from nature. Here are the steps:

1. Observe - Keep your eyes open whenever you go outside to really see what nature has to offer. Part of observation is deep examination, drawing or meditating on the subject to get to know it better.

This is most likely wild wheat,
planted by birds in our front yard.

2. Research - Know what it is you are collecting, so you don't accidentally take something rare or endangered (or poisonous).

3. Collect sustainably - Only take a portion; leave some for the animals and birds and some to fall to the ground to reseed the area.

4. Give thanks - Say a little prayer or thank-you to the Earth and the Creator for providing.

6. Make a straw doll

2017 straw doll

Wheat and straw weaving is an ancient art form, done all over the world, as a symbol of the harvest. 

The custom in Europe was to make a straw figure out of the last sheaf of wheat that was harvested, so the spirit of the grain had a place to live through the winter. Then it was planted again in the spring.

I usually make a simple figure with a few pieces of straw and scraps of fabric.

Supplies: Straw, carpet thread, scissors, water, cloth scraps


1. Collect a handful of grain, and cut to 6-1/2-inches, leaving some of the grain heads longer. 

Tie them together just below the grain heads with carpet thread.

2. Soak a couple of shiny pieces of straw in hot water for about 15 minutes, and flatten them out with your fingers. 



Wrap the flat pieces around the head, and tie at the neck with carpet thread.



3. Tie a few short pieces together at both ends, trim them, and insert them under the head for the arms.

Tie them in place, wrapping thread in a X across the chest.

5. Finally, add a few scraps of bright cloth for a vest or skirt.

2022 straw doll, with wheat collected from garden and yard