With the passing of the Autumn Equinox, the cycle of light and dark has shifted and the days now grow shorter. The energy around us evolves from the external activity that accompanies spring and summer toward the gathering stillness of autumn and the meditative introspection of winter. Even with this, autumn remains a busy time, long associated with the harvest of fruits, nuts and grains. In our modern world, autumn brings a return to school for many, and a shift of consciousness from recreation to education.
For our Northern ancestors, autumn brought with it a sense of urgency. With no big box stores or warehouse markets to turn to for food and supplies during the short, dark, hard days of winter, this was the time for all hands to turn to. The ripened spelt and barley were harvested by hand , their golden stems cut with iron sickles, and the bundled stalks threshed to separate the seeds from the chaff. Apples, pears and berries were gathered and dried for sweetening bland winter foods. Honey was combined with water, exposed to wild yeasts and set to ferment into mead, while some of the barley was made into ales. Fish were smoked and dried or stored in salt. Cattle, sheep and goats were assessed and the most likely breeding stock set aside to renew the herds come spring; the remaining animals were slaughtered and every possible part preserved or used in some way. The same was true for fowl. Carrying livestock over through the dark times of winter took significant resources so our ancestors learned to be sparing and selective.
The care and deliberateness with which our Ancestors managed their resources serve as important models for us today. While few of us now grow our own produce or grain and even fewer raise and slaughter our own livestock, we still maintain the tradition of a harvest celebration in our modern Thanksgiving holiday. Like our ancestors, we can honor the shift of the seasons, the move from action to introspection, acknowledge our blessings, sacrifice and release those things which no longer serve our highest good and prepare ourselves for a time of contemplation and engagement with the Deep Self within.