When a day after Halloween I walked into Flying Tiger Copenhagen and found it completely full of Christmas stuff, I felt a little sad and disappointed.
Have we really lost touch with the seasons? Are they really just sales points on a marketing calendar? Have our yearly seasonal rituals and gatherings been highjacked to promote material consumption of stuff we don’t need?
The problem I see here is that this type of over-commercialisation of the rituals that mark the turning of the year causes us to lose touch with the natural flow of the seasons and the values they represent.
I believe that feeling connected to the seasons and values they represent connects us to something that is larger than ourselves, to what is sacred and assessable to all and is there to be celebrated in whatever meaningful way moves you.
For me, this means returning back to basics and looking at the turning points of the year and what they mean to me with fresh eyes. In essence, I am in the process of rewilding my city life.
If we follow the Celtic calendar, we have just experienced Samhain (31st of October) and we are moving towards the Winter Solstice (21st of December). This marks the beginning and the darkest part of the seasonal year. It is a time of scarcity and sharing, a time of letting go of what we can no longer carry and rooting deeper into ourselves. It is also a time of trusting the unknown and that the light will slowly return.
What is important here is not the calendar date but intuiting the seasonal changes through our senses and embodying the flow through intentional acts that are meaningful to us.
For example, I started a new seasonal diary just after Samhain that I take with me everywhere I go. In it I reflect on the values of the season I am in and what it means to me. I also include daily observations of how I feel and my thoughts.
Also, although I am quite busy with work and studies, I have made it a point to make Sundays sacred. Sundays are a time to reconnect with home and family which also includes friends. This is when we clean our apartment and we cook a big meal which helps us reconnect with each other and the feeling of gratitude for what we have.
Another way I’ve been intuitively connecting with Fall is through walking meditation. These are walks without a destination. I just follow my intuition and pay attention to the seasonal changes around me and observe what arises in me. This is what I then reflect on in my diary.
The winter solstice will be here soon enough. We’ll feel it. We’ll sense it. There is no rush.
What are your Fall rituals? Please share them with us below…
