Autumn Equinox: The Second Harvest

The wheel of the year continues to turn, and we suddenly find ourselves in the middle of September. The shadows are beginning to grow longer as we face the second half of the year. What are we reaping in our lives? What can we bring to the table after all the work we have done in the passing year?  Although we will surely be bringing in some bountiful crops, there will be some cherished plans and ideals that we will have to allow to die on the vine. 

I am personally thankful this Harvest to see the results of my hard work not only in writing, but for finally breaking through the wall of fear and procrastination to get my work out there!  After much deliberation, I decided to submit a piece to Circle magazine which was published in their Summer issue Sacred Dance.  This was a very difficult decision to make, as it is autobiographical in nature, and more than a little expository.  Because I have gotten so much support and wonderful feedback from the handful of folks that I actually told about this piece, I would like to extend the invitation to any who are interested: It is titled Finding the Sacred within the Profane - under the pen name "Sarah Blackwood". 

I am also on the edge of my seat waiting for my new column in SageWoman Magazine, which will arrive on the shelves any day now!  I feel honored to be part of this magazine, which is celebrating its 25th year in print with this special issue.  My column is titled, "Turning the Wheel, Astrology from a Goddess Perspective."  Far from a traditional astrological "Sun Sign" column, Turning the Wheel is about learning to align ourselves with the natural rhythms of the seasons, so that as women, we may reclaim our rightful relationship with the earth, and our creative soulful selves.

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The sun enters Libra on September 23rd, at 2:05 pm PST, marking the Autumn Equinox. Day and night, and masculine/feminine energies are now equal. This is the Second Harvest, and the right time to take stock of our lives and make sure that our own energies are balanced. Remember that the time for celebrating is not just on the day of the Equinox, but for three days after, as with any magical holiday.  So, if we didn't have the time or energy to mark this day with a special personal ritual, or prepare a feast of thanksgiving, there's still time!

Harvest Time! Coombs Country Market

The Equinox is a natural earth centered time for Thanksgiving, and is sometimes known as Witches’ Thanksgiving. Our Celtic pagan ancestors would celebrate this time of year with a communal feast of the earth’s seasonal bounty. Bonfires would be lit, and merriment would ensue. Conversely, as it was a harvest festival, it was also a time for weighing and assessment; a time for reflection, rest, and repose after a long active season of planting and tending. It also marked the place in the wheel of the year to ready the nest for shorter days and longer nights; putting up preserves, smoking meats and ensuring all was sound for the coming winter. The balance inherent in this day of equal day and equal night were thus reflected in the wisdom of our ancestors, as they celebrated the abundance of the passing summer, while honoring the solemnity of the transition to the season of scarcity.


After the Equinox, the light graciously gives way to the approaching dark creative time of the year. It is both a literal and metaphorical time to gather the fruits we have seeded, tended and are now harvesting. It is the time of year when Persephone descends to the Underworld. 

Persephone: Queen of the Underworld

 The mystery is twofold: not only does Persephone go to the Land of the Dead to rule as its queen; Demeter, grain goddess and Mother archetype, grieves for her lost daughter and refuses to make the crops grow.


Both archetypes are inextricably connected, and the symbolism of both can be drawn on for meditation or ritual to mark this time of the year in our personal lives. Autumn Equinox is not only a time for the celebration of the Harvest and to honor the grain Goddess Demeter for the abundance she has provided for us in the passing year; it also marks the solemn and numinous descent of Persephone, and her transformation from Mother's Daughter to The Queen of the Dead.


Ideally, a ritual marking the Autumn Equinox would include aspects acknowledging both aspects of the Mystery. In Jungian psychology, all motifs are seen to be parts of the Self. In other words, although there are two main archetypes in the myth, they are both part of the greater whole, and both ultimately reside in our own psyche.