The autumnal equinox is upon us, though here in Tucson it is a slow march out of summer. Changes in the season are almost imperceptible, no golden leaves or crisp winds. The sweaters will stay packed until November or later; let’s hope the moths haven’t eaten them too badly.
Last month Andrew and I traveled to New Mexico. How powerful a landscape can be on a person. To see running water and flowers blooming, patches of lavender and honeysuckle and sunflowers and moss. A village of shining stones. Storm clouds over a canyon. A deep pool of mineral waters. A piece of cake so good. It was all so necessary.
I have been:
>Watching Over the Garden Wall
>Paying vet bills. Yukon now toothless, Peggy getting acupuncture & massage & Chinese herbs. A rough year overall for the pack.
>Brewing Desert Tortoise Botanicals herbal teas
>Visiting Kartchner Caverns
>Reading On the Run in Siberia and Soul Hunters by Rane Willerslev
So what’s becoming? What wisdom do we need hearing for this season? I crack an egg for my Yaga self. I ask the pendulum to see.
Current State
Let’s focus on domesticity—your domestic, vulnerable self. You are often sacrificing, trying to be supportive. But at times this can feel like powerlessness, it can feel like many slaughters, over and over again for others. You do not know what you contain. You may worry you are dull, you are like a thousand other people. But under your softness is a hardness. You have utility. You are protected. Discover what you are capable of, what medicine, what deepness you contain. You set limits on yourself. But you are determined. You can clasp it. You are grounded, and from your simple, daily life comes your strength.
Ways Forward
If you’re holding something in, now might be a good time to speak up, to be open, to share what’s been caught repeating in your mind. You may be afraid of sparking an argument or saying something you don’t mean. You clench in nervousness, unwilling. You will be okay though if you are thoughtful in your expression—be clear, honest, and true. Stress will accumulate and calcify if you continue to keep this to yourself.
You will need to be resourceful this fall when facing your challenges. You will have to adapt, to be your scrappiest self. You may not have excess luxuries, but you will get by making use of what you can, where you can. Remember that cooperating and sharing with others will lift you up and benefit you both. Live within your means, and give what you can.
You will also be challenged this season to dive deep, swim through your emotional waters. You may worry at times that you are drowning in yourself, but you have an exceptional capacity to traverse through the muck, to see clearly down there, and to make use of what you find.