Living With The Seasons - Part 4

This is the final instalment of my four-part series on living with the seasons. We head into Autumn, which would have to be one of my favourite seasons. Once again, I remind you that our four seasons have an element and a humour attached to them. An element is either air, water, earth or fire (some people believe in a fifth element - ether) and each element is defined by a humour and its qualities. We are not going to go into humours in this post but rather their qualities in relation to the seasons. So the elements are attached to the seasons and each element has a quality or humour as follows:

• Spring - Air - wet to hot

• Summer - Fire - hot to dry

• Autumn - Earth - dry to cold

• Winter - Water - cold to wet.

If you follow the Gregorian Calendar then Autumn will start for you on the first of March, but for many of us who follow more traditional calendars such as the Wheel of the Year, Autumn actually starts at Autumn Equinox which happens this year on the 20th March 2025 for the Southern Hemisphere.

Autumn has the element of earth connected to it. Earth energy is a much slower energy than say the air element. It is a very practical energy that is connected to the Pentacles suit of the Tarot Deck. Like earth energy, Pentacles represent the more practical and mundane side of life, like money, career, health and building foundations. This energy is more risk-adversed, preferring to take the more well-travelled road then following through on new concepts like the Swords suit.

Summer has left the earth quite parched here in Australia and autumn brings in the colder mornings and nights which provides cool, moist relief for plants and animals as they prepare for winter.

Autumn is the time for us to start getting ready for winter and the colder months. All of nature around us can be seen collecting their harvest or food to give them sustenance over the darker months and we should be doing the same, physically and metaphorically.

Now is the time to be completing all the unfinished projects you have on the go, doing any last minute maintenance on the house, and preparing your garden for its dormancy. You not only do this physically, but also do it with your belief system, spiritual practice and relationships. Ask yourself as you examine each item in your 'to be finished' basket, "does this still serve my higher good?' If it does then complete it and move on. If it doesn't, then release it, let it go (during a dark moon ritual is particularly potent). This can include relationships you have kept because you feel pressured to have as many friends as possible. It is the quality of the relationship that you should judge relationships on, not the quantity.

Life is starting to slow down in preparation for the rest and reflection of the winter months, so don't chide yourself if you feel like having a cosy morning in bed with a cup of tea and a book every now and then. Enjoy the colder mornings, but remember that there is still work to be done.

So what can you do during Autumn to implement the slower, more practical energy of the earth element:

• Finish harvesting the last of your veggies and herbs. Prepare the soil for laying fallow (except where you are going to plant winter veggies);

• Dry any herbs and make chutneys, jams and such to eat through the winter. Everything tastes so much better when it is made from produce pulled from your garden;

• Complete any projects that are still languishing because summer got too hot. Now is the time to finish them;

• Do another declutter and remove things that have crept back into your life since spring. This also goes for the metaphysical stuff going on in your head (don't make room for it if it doesn't serve your highest good) and relationships that don't bring you joy anymore;

• Take your kids out for a walk and get them to watch and note the wildlife preparing for winter;

• Enjoy the colder mornings and nights by cooking heartier meals. Do some meal prepping such as batch cooking and fill your freezer with some ready-to-go meals;

• Autumn is actually a great time for creative endeavours. All the beautiful golds, browns, yellows and oranges within nature can spark our creative juices and get the energy going in our Sacral and Solar Plexus Chakras;

• Take walks in nature and notice the changes happening with Mother Earth. Be grateful that you get to experience it in all its glory;

• Practice self-care. Colder weather can mean aching joints and sniffly noses. Be gentle with yourself and others by eating nourishing food and dressing appropriately;

• Do a Letting Go Ritual to physically symbolise what you want to let go of; and

• As always have fun. Enjoy each season for what it brings into your life.

I rub my hands in anticipation for autumn. It is my absolute favourite time of year and one of my most creative times as well. Say cheerio to summer and head into the season of endings and completions.

Well that's it for my four-part series on 'Living With The Seasons'. I hope you have enjoyed these posts over the last year. Feel free to come back to them time and again to remind yourself of how living with the seasons can be a rewarding and successful venture.

Until next time...

Photo Credit: Jeremy Thomas - Unsplash

Photo Credit: Barbara Chowaniec - Unsplash

Photo Credit: neil macc - Unsplash