Autumn Equinox

The autumn equinox occurred at 7:22 a.m. this morning in the Pacific Northwest. School has begun, Canadian geese are on the move south, the leaves are turning and beginning to drop, and night temperatures are cooler. Summer is over and darkness has again overcome the light. Everything in nature is paring down, and moving energy to the roots and into the earth.

This is the second balancing point in the year, when 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 to be alone and to think; to become clear about our intentions; to nurture inner seeds that may not sprout until spring.

I give myself permission now 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, or experiment with new ways of organizing my days.


Mark the Start of Autumn:
1. Journal:
Center, and consider the balance in my life.

How can I balance my personal needs with my commitments to the outside world?
How well do I balance my physical, mental, and spiritual needs?
What new studies or practices do I want to undertake this season?

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 cleaning:
Fall cleaning has an entirely different feel and focus than spring cleaning. In the fall we finish up, pack away, and "batten the hatches"-- we put away all the outdoor stuff, air out the sweaters, and prepare for winter. 

This week I'm starting in the living room and front porch. I plan to:

• Dust the furniture and tidy the books and magazines.
• Clean up the coat closet area.
• Clean the windows, inside and out.
• Clean the front porch and the front door.
• Clean and refill feeders for the wild birds who will soon be finding it harder to find food.

3. Decorate the house:

After the equinox I begin to deck the house with the oranges and golds of fall, and with the fruits of the season: Gourds, pumpkins, corn, and wheat.

Fall flower symbols:

• purple asters for love and patience
• sunflowers for truth
• zinnias for friendship and resilience
• chrysanthemums for strength and endurance

4. Make a straw doll:

Last year's 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 straw from fields or from the craft store, 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.

This year's straw doll

International Day of Peace

The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by a resolution of the UN General Assembly. In 2001 the date was fixed on September 21.

This message came from Secretary-General Kofi Annan on The International Day of Peace in 2005-

“Dear friends around the world- Peace is the paramount United Nations mission. It is the basis of our existence. The essence of our identity. The cause that animates everything we do. September 21, the International Day of Peace, is a day on which we reaffirm our commitment to this quest.... It is meant to be a day of global cease-fire, when all countries and all people stop all hostilities for the entire day. And it is a day on which people around the world observe a minute of silence at 12-noon local time. Twenty-four hours is not a long time. But it is time enough for combatants and political leaders to consider the destruction they are visiting on their people, and on their lands. And it is long enough to look over the barricades, or through the barbed wire, to see if there is another path.”


Peace Day Agenda:
1. Vow: 

"I vow to live in peace and cease all hostilities for this entire day."

2. Journal: 
Consider and list ways I can work for peace this fall and winter. 

How can I teach peace? 
How can I celebrate peace? 
How can I express peace in my art and writing?

3. Raise Awareness: 

Each year I choose a project to spread the word about Peace Day. One year we made peace flags; once I invited friends to watch a video about Peace Day; and once we made a peace poster in my art class.

This year I found the website for Pinwheels for Peace, and I was inspired to make pinwheels with one of my students. 

Supplies: Cardstock with the pinwheel template printed on it (available at the website), crayons, pens, scissors, straight pins, dowels, tape

We wrote words of peace on the inside of the pinwheels and decorated the outsides-













cut on the lines, 


inserted a pin,






stuck the pin into a dowel (and taped it well),

then planted them outside to turn in the wind.

4. Minute of silence at noon today:
Whatever you choose to do, please pause at 12 Noon local time and join people all across the globe in a Minute of Silence / Moment of Peace.

Full Harvest Moon and Autumn Moon Festival

Tonight is the full moon, my monthly time for action and release: I look again at the “seeds of intention” I planted 2 weeks ago at the new moon and decide on my next steps to take, I take those steps, then I release my expectations in order to clear space for new ideas and new intentions.

This full moon is called the Harvest Moon, because it rises obliquely and remains big and bright for a long time, giving extra light to harvesters.

Today is also the start of Chung Ch’iu, the 3-day Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. It's a happy and beautiful family celebration that comes each year at the time of the full Harvest moon; in China it's celebrated as a harvest festival and also the moon’s birthday. Ancient Chinese emperors worshipped the full harvest moon in order to help assure a good harvest. Later it became popular to appreciate the moon instead- admiring her beauty, and writing poetry in her honor.

Agenda for today:

1. Altar:
It's time to discern what to put on my altar for the next month. (For my thoughts on altars see About Altars). I generally keep it simple and choose only things that speak to me and feed me, and reveal what I believe in. I ask, what quality of the Spirit do I want to invoke?

Already this month I have added: 

• a dark blue candle, for depth, purpose, and persistence
• a Ganesha plaque-- the image of wisdom, beginnings, and success
• zinnias for resilience

Today I add-

• a photo of me on a raft in the McKenzie River, to remind me of how strong I am
• a painting of a heart, to remind me of how much I love to paint 

2. Journal:
The bright harvest moon is a good time to see things that are normally hidden. Today I will review the intentions I set 2 weeks ago, at the new moon, and also review the goals I set at the beginning of the year.

Do these aims all still seem vital?
What shadowy areas of my life are becoming illuminated? What would I most like to do in life that I’m still not getting to? How can I find the courage I am lacking?

From my journal: I have still not found my way back to painting with any kind of discipline. I want to be a serious painter again, but am resistant to dedicating the time it takes. I am not inspired, and won't allow myself the room to become inspired. I hope that the workshop I am taking this weekend will give me the courage and impetus I need to get back on the path.

3. Practice at my theme:

The full moon is a time to celebrate life-- be more creative, stay up late, exercise harder, and see friends. The bright harvest moon creates the right conditions to act on the work I need to do as this year winds down.

My theme this month is depth- the true course of my life, like a river flowing through a deep ravine. Following my path requires courage, honesty, and persistance. The path is always mysterious, and leads to unexpected challenges and changes. I’m directed back at every turn into the deep waters within myself, to discern the best route.

My intentions for this month are to:

• Evaluate my teaching program and make improvements; open to new teaching possibilities. 
• Return to a morning writing practise, exploring and clarifying my path for this fall.  
• Study and practise abstract painting; renew my passion for painting. 
• Move on: Use my new bike to visit friends, go to classes, exercise, explore, and generally get back out into the world.

4. Make moon cakes:

Normally on this blog I would give you an authentic Chinese recipe, but this simplified recipe has sentimental tradition in our family.

When my children were young, the city library hosted a Moon Festival event every fall, with telescopes, Asian writing and crafts, hot tea, and all the moon cakes you could eat. We went every year. The bakery that made the moon cakes gave us this recipe, an Americanized version, and that's the recipe my family has made and loved for 25 years.

For a similar but more complex and traditional recipe see Food52.

Ingredients:

• sweet red bean paste
• 1 c. flour
• 1/2 c. butter
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• red food color (optional)

Makes 8 cakes-
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. 


Make 8 large marbles of bean paste, and put them in the freezer to chill. (You might need flour on your hands.)

2. Mix together the flour and butter until crumbly. Mix in the sour cream; stir until dough forms into a ball.

3. Knead the dough a few times then divide into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball then pat to flatten into thick 5-inch circles.

4. Put a marble of sweet red bean paste in the center of each circle, fold the edges up over the filling, and seal. Shape each into a fat round moon. If you have a mold, you can press it in now, but it's not necessary.

5. Place moon cakes on an un-greased pan, and dot the center with a chopstick dipped in red food coloring (for good luck). Bake for 15 minutes at 350ºF. Meanwhile, whisk an egg yolk with a little water until smooth.

6. Remove the moon cakes from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes, then brush on the egg wash, and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown on top.

5. Have a Moon Festival Party:

We have invited a few friends for a party tonight, with moon cakes, tea, some fruit (round fruits are a symbol of family unity), and lanterns.

After moon viewing, we will write poetry to show our appreciation of the moon. 

In China, the Moon Festival continues for three days with games and fun. During this time it is believed that flowers fall from the moon and anyone sharp-eyed enough to see them will have very good fortune.

New Harvest Moon

So here it is September already, leading into the last three weeks of this sun-baked summer. September’s color is golden-yellow for the ripe grain, success, and balance at the center.

My late summer garden.

September is an unpredictable month. Many people are preparing to go back to school, but my teaching cycle is just ending. I get a couple weeks of break from teaching, so now I have free time to work around the house and yard, finish projects, and tinker with new ideas. 

I will spend some time this week sorting out the notions that come to me, holding each up to the light to see if it’s a keeper. Where is the Spirit leading me now? As I visualize the possibilities my world will expand. I want to remain open, centered in myself, and ready to respond to whatever life brings me.

The Chinese call the eighth new moon the Harvest Moon. 

The new moon is my monthly time for “seeding” intentions. I write down what I hope to focus on in the next 30 days or so, and then give my ideas a period of gestation, like seeds in the soil, before I take action. Having this regular time each month to focus my goals has helped to give me clarity of purpose.

Agenda for today:
1- Journal:
What are the possibilities?
What might give my life more wholeness?
What would I most like to do in life that I'm not getting to?


List my intentions for the next four weeks in these areas-Self, Friends and Family, Teaching, Artwork, Writing, Home and Garden, Work/Business, and Volunteer work.

2- New Moon Meditation:
Light a small white candle. Center, and feel myself fill with thankfulness for all I have now in my life.

3- Plan:

As the moon waxes, I expand-- plant seeds, make connections, and begin new projects. Today I will plan my first small steps.

4- Practise at my theme:
Today I added a dark blue candle to my altar, for depth, purpose, and persistence; this is the color of deep water flowing, reminding me to seek my true course. I dive into my own depths as I explore my life path. The path is always mysterious, and leads to unexpected challenges and deviations. Like water, I am persistent and sincere, and I keep flowing. My intentions for this month are to:

• Evaluate my teaching program and make improvements; open to new teaching possibilities. 
• Return to a morning writing practise, exploring and clarifying my intentions for fall.  
• Study and practise abstract painting; renew my passion for painting. 

5- Work in the late summer garden:
The summer has been dry, but with the rain we got today, our garden has new pep. With a little effort now the garden will shine for two more months with fall blooms and tasty vegetables.

1. Weeding: It's time to get all the weeds out. If weeds survive now they will produce enough seed to last for years!
2. Planting: I will plant bok choy this weekend, and next I need to put in a cover crop of fava beans in some of the empty beds.
3. Harvest green beans, tomatoes, raspberries, chard, peppers, and potatoes! I’m also going to gather nasturtium seeds (They need to dry for a week before I store them).
4. Store seeds: Once they are dry I will put all my seeds into zip-lock bags in the refrigerator, near the bottom, away from the freezer. (Note to self: Next spring, take bags out but keep them closed until the seeds warm, so moisture in the air doesn’t condense on the seeds.