Rhythms of the Elemental Energies

As the wheel of the year turns westward toward the setting sun over the cosmic sea, our soul’s journey or “anam turas,” turns west as well, making its way toward TirNaNog, the magical place of youth that lies beyond our earthly sight, deep in the heather of another world.

Fall Equinox, the time starting at the end of September through Halloween, is the end, the final place on the Wheel before life’s re-inception. It is a visionary time during which we prepare for the final harvest, reigniting our commitment to the cosmic plan and our search for the mysteries of the Universe inside us.

In autumn we stand on the first steps, barely opening the gate to a temporary resting place after an abundant growing season, making our way inward and downward. Like Inanna, we will soon prepare and embrace the presence of our personal winter, relishing the darkness until the light shines bright again.

Beginning at the western balance point of equal dark and equal light, we honor the Earth as she harvests apples, nuts and grains for the last quarter of our annual journey. Before our departure, we share our abundance with deep gratitude for the community, our soul friends and their wisdom. We sing our good-byes to the extroverted and transformational fires of summer while dancing together over a light speckled sea. And then we begin the slow turn inward, curling and cuddling into a place of our own, all alone.

Now, while we celebrate, the graying Mother empties her nest and gives way to the crone in perfect time with the green leaves making way for the deeper more mature colors of autumn. We no longer dance on the slick and shiny surfaces, instead allowing ourselves to be absorbed back into the hues of gold, orange, red and brown as the leaves fall quietly from their branches, soon crumbling beneath our feet. From our vantage point in the sunlight above we give way to the land below, burying ourselves in the soils of curiosity and courage.
Here we dive, sliding into our earthly womb on the element of the water that cleanses as we surrender to its currents, its turns and flows. Water transports us toward our destination at the single point of oneness and global awareness. Water speaks to water across the horizon and we soak in the fluids of its essence, taking small bites of earthly knowledge from the apples to open our hearts and minds along the way. Apples and cool river waters guide us, alchemizing knowledge into wisdom as we move slowly into the shadows.

Celebrate! You have successfully turned the Wheel of the Year once again and are ready for the wisdom of your ancestors, returning to the womb for healing and rebirth. Honor the seeds you planted long ago; love the sproutlings that grew into flowers, vegetables, nuts, fruits, and grains; for now you are prepared and abundant as you give way to your evolution, turning yourself into ashes to fertilize the ground for the seeds of the new year.

Goddesses of the Autumnal Equinox

Each geographical region has its own elemental correspondences to the directions and seasons, though underlying all elements is that of the Earth at the harvest, abundant supplies, and gifts from the Mother. In the Isles of Brigid, autumn is symbolic of the earth element emerging from the water of summer, and the crone emerging from the Mother.

Ertha and Gaia are manifestations of the autumnal equinox, though the symbolic Triple-Mother Goddess, Eiru, is best known in the Isles as a real world representative and cosmic metaphor of fertility and sovereignty. She lives in the land of women; she is the Mother of matter and performs the cleansing of Earth each year for the next planting.

Eiru, along with Fodha and Banba, protects the land, evokes dedication, devotion and commitment in the people that walk on her surface. She gives us life and preserves us in the face of danger and destruction, famine and misfortune. She is the mother, coming from the maiden and giving way to the crone, who is at the root of all autumnal harvest festivals.

We call on you Eiru for guidance and balance, for clarity and resolve. We thank and honor you for lighting the way into ourselves and for lighting the way outward again. Blessed are we who know you; blessed are we who honor the cycles you create for us along the spiraling path to awaken our souls. It is a route well trodden, so we fear not for our lives, making way for learning, remembering, and true focus for our intentions as ever-evolving souls.

Without your benchmarks, our sovereignty is unanchored and we fly untethered into the abyss of the ethers. Instead we spend our time growing, realizing and expressing. Thank you for the arms of compassion you wrap around us, and for your elemental reflections that help to remind us of who we really are as spirits embodied.

Prayer of Gratitude

Manifesting abundance and havingness is our inherent human right and creative power. We often desire and yet cannot create what we want because we remain separate from our nature, avoiding responsibility and risk. By praying as if you already have what you want, focusing on the end point in gratitude, you will move yourself out of hopelessness toward full enlightenment.

-Stand or sit comfortably with your feet on the ground, your eyes are closed.

-Visualize a grounding connection from the root chakra into the center of the earth. Sit for a moment and breath, releasing stagnant energies into the earth’s core.

-Allow earth energy to enter the bottom of your feet, moving into your lower body. Breathe and circulate the earth energy.

-Feel the cosmic energy as it moves into your crown chakra through your body to meet and mix with the earth energies.

-Breathe in and breathe out. Feel the earth and cosmic energies flowing through your body, opening the doors of knowledge and awareness, eliciting conversations with the God and Goddess of your heart.

-Envision what you want in present time. Observe and ground this vision.

-Create a symbol that represents what you are already manifesting. Allow your vision to flow into the symbol.

-Breathe into your heart, filling it with gratitude for what you have, what you want and what you are creating. Breathe from your heart out into your symbol, into the world, into the Universal flows where your vision will manifest.

-Release your vision to the Cosmos; trust that sending it away will allow it to manifest in your personal dimension and reality.

The information here has been compiled from various personal experiences as well as teachings and information from Kathy Jones’ book “Priestess of Avalon, Priestess of the Goddess,” Mara Freeman’s book, “Kindling the Celtic Spirit,” and Frank MacEowen’s book, “The Celtic Way of Seeing.”

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