and the wheel has turned...
writing about rest, the meaning I see in autumn, Mabon celebration and the Wheel of the Year.
I climb into my bed after a long day of walking around, finally stretching my nicely tired legs. I make myself cozy under the covers and reach for a cup of warm tea, eager to return to my current read.
Can you imagine how good that feels? That’s how autumn should be: like a restful evening after a beautiful, active day.
Have you ever heard about the Wheel of the Year? It’s essentially a calendar consisting of eight celebrations connected to the seasonal changes of the land. Four of them are solstices and equinoxes, which mark the waning and waxing of light and darkness throughout the Year. For example, just over a week ago we passed the autumn equinox, or Mabon, as it is known on the Wheel of the Year.
The fact that this calendar is a “wheel” emphasizes the cyclical rhythm of life. Spring comes after winter and autumn after summer, every time.
What I find exciting is that not only nature is cyclical, but so are we, humans. Our energy levels and mental and emotional activities change throughout the day and the year. Also throughout the month for women.
This idea of humans’ “seasonality” stems from the simple truth — we are a part of nature. Though we have grown to think we are apart from it.
Not long ago people lived and loved in tune with the natural cycles, celebrating seasonal changes, and marrying their inner life with the outer. Life was not linear, and surely not an exponentially growing straight line. The ebb and flow, the circle, the spiral — that was the model those days.
I will leave aside the philosophical discussion of why it has changed — perhaps, it’s also just a season in humankind’s history. For now, let me just say that in my experience, being in tune with the seasonality of the outer and the inner worlds benefits me greatly. And that is what I am here to share today.
You might wonder: it sounds lovely, but how do I follow the Wheel of the Year and know what each season is for?
My answer is this: look to nature, pay attention, and trust your interpretation.
Let’s take the example of Mabon, one of the two of my favourite celebrations on the Wheel of the Year.
The last harvests are being gathered, and the fruits of our labor — quite literally — have been reaped. We can enjoy the bounty of what we have sawn and grown, grieve but let go of that which did not take its root or come to fruition. Make preparations for the winter months: we will not get as much sun and light in the sky but we can find them in a jar of strawberry jam or by the warm fireplace.
Nature redirects all resources to sustaining internal life, letting go of the remnants of the summer lushness. Hibernation will soon ensue all around.
If you look at what I’ve just said above as a metaphor, you get your guidelines for the season too.
Celebrate the fruits of your work from the past half a year, and mourn what you had planned for this period but which did not come to life. And let it go by accepting the fact it did not happen when you thought it would.
You can expand this metaphor to your work, home, as well as social and inner lives. Get rid of that which takes more energy than it gives, because in the dark months of the winter you, like a tree, will need all your energy to keep your own life juices flowing.
And that is a part of my own interpretation of this season which evolves and expands with time. I want to empower you to be your own guide on this journey of attuning to the cycles within and without. Look up to nature and let it inspire you. Do not resist the growing darkness for it will grow anyway. Flow with the seasonal change instead and keep your own inner fire alight.
A proper rest comes after a proper effort. Our modern world’s standard for what is “a real achievement” is rather high and many of us are failing to see our wholehearted efforts unless they reach that bar and gain social acknowledgment. As a result, we do not know when to rest, not to mention how to rest.
If I compare this phenomenon to the seasons, I could say that we live in a society that wants it to always be summer. Constant output of “fruits” all year round. No time to rest and go inward. But the seasons change everywhere, even in the warmest and the coldest places on Earth. And each period has gifts to offer if only we embrace our own seasonality.
Let autumn be autumn. Stretch those tired legs and sigh with contentment, proud of all the efforts made.
Yours,
Nika