Saturday, September 26th was the Harvest Moon and now we’re moving towards October’s new moon on October 10th. So often our focus is on the full moon, but the new moon provides ample opportunity for reflection. Its darkness is great practice for the darker, shorter days we’re moving into. It’s a great time to start fresh and release what’s stuck. Working with the moon and its lunar cycle, as well as other natural cycles and rhythms, can be a great way to ground and balance our nervous systems and remember our connection to the more-than-human world. Although some of this work may seem new or strange to us, it is in fact, part of us. It was a given for our ancestors who recognized the interconnection of humans with seasonal and lunar rhythms, with the Living Earth.
I love exploring lunar rhythms, but I also invite you to explore other cycles/rhythms/seasons in your life: The season of Autumn may be front of mind as we recently passed the Autumn Equinox, the leaves are starting to change, and there’s a crispness in the air. And within this season, part of the cycle of the natural year, I invite you to notice the cycle of the fullness of the harvest yet plants also dying back, the trees letting go of leaves, the migratory cycle of birds….
Let us also not forget about a smaller (but no less important) cycle of night and day. Of our circadian rhythm. Once (mostly) attuned to the rising and setting sun, now thrown off by night shifts and windowless offices, blue light and constant technological stimulation. As daylight shortens, this could be an opportunity to let go of our busy schedules and get cozy at home in the evenings. Or perhaps a bigger one (that we may view as disparate from Nature, but in fact is not), of the “season of life” each of us are currently in. Perhaps it is new parenthood or retirement, puberty, menopause, a move, or a new career. All of these have a rhythm, an ebb and a flow, and are not permanent; they change (sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly). Some may involve physiological changes and connect with Nature and biology that way, but they also involve interconnection with the Land and other beings (both human and otherwise) in ways that may not always seem obvious. For example, moves and travel made me realize my strong inner pull/need to be by water, a connection to the Land and Water of the Great Lakes region.
Related to these rhythms/seasons/cycles are routines and rituals (rituals simply defined as regular practices imbued with meaning and purpose. They can be simple and regular or complex and more periodic). I invite you to reflect on the cycles and seasons I mention above (Lunar cycle, Nature’s seasons, night/day/circadian rhythm, and “seasons of life”) and think about what rituals help anchor you to them? (help build an interconnection with them)? And what rituals help them shift and change? (and not get stuck)? This transition time into Autumn is a great opportunity to create or update rituals.