As we move into a new season, the shifting energy of our planet and inevitably ours, is inviting us to embrace transition.
This particular time of the year (the Fall Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and Spring Equinox in the Southern today) held great significance for ancient cultures around the world.
They built megalithic structures that would mark the day of the equinoxes in a certain way (think of the Stonehenge stone circle in England and temple complexes such as Angkor Wat In Cambodia and Mnajdra in Malta). They also had knowledge about the many ways in which the energy that’s available to us at this time could be harnessed.
And right now more than ever, at this point in our history which Gregg Braden calls “the time of extremes, where cycles of time, of conflict, economy and of astronomical events collide”, we need to use all the resources available to us in order to step into who we are meant to be for ourselves, in our individual lives and out into the bigger community, most authentically.
Because the whole world needs this version of ourselves, this authentic, heart and soul driven version –
for it is only this lit up version, propelled by the fuel of love, passion and purpose, that is capable of creating the needed change we all want to see (especially) after the global-scale, impactful experience 2020 brought.
I also feel that at the time of the equinoxes, the veils between the different layers of our reality get thinner, and that means that the “Universal Womb of Wisdom” has a chance to open up more for the Feminine to really communicate through instantaneous “downloads”, through our intuition, through our innate knowing as beings, as vessels carrying the intelligence of life within our bodies.
Today, you could be tuning into really powerful insights about your life, about what situations need change, about which behaviours and learned, outdated ways of thinking and behaving need to be let go of, you could get a glimpse where we’re heading as a global community, as a humanity –
you could be receiving guidance about a next step you need to take in your life, or you could receive the answer to an important question you asked the Universe, or you could gain the clarity needed for what you need to be focusing on for the remaining months of the year.
So I’m inviting you to mark this significant day of transition in the form of letting go of the old unhelpful ways and celebrating the “harvest” or abundance in your life (if you’re going through the autumn equinox in the North) or the cleansing, renewing energy of the new (if you’re going through the spring equinox) –
– and do it in some way that feels meaningful to you, with your presence and intention.
Creating a personal ritual can be such a beautiful and transformational way to mark an important moment in your life. To me, a ritual is simply that, a moment of presence and intention helping you to mark a point in time and help your body-mind-spirit complex integrate an experience.
In our modern culture, we tend to mainly mark and celebrate achievements (which is an absolutely wonderful thing to do!) but we have lost touch with the Feminine aspect of ourselves that guides us to mark and celebrate the internal shifts happening inside ourselves, like a powerful healing process in you know you’re ready for something new, or the changes really our nourishing Mother, our Earth is experiencing.
Here are some guiding steps to help you create a meaningful moment in your day (today or the following few days of the equinox – it’s better to do something at a later day, than do nothing at all because you couldn’t “catch” the exact astronomical day):
PREPARATION
1. Begin by choosing and amount of time you can dedicate to your ritual without feeling rushed or pressured.
2. Set your boundaries around your time. Think about the place and moment of day when you can have privacy (here I’d encourage you to ask to not be interrupted by family members or roommates). Be ready to turn all devices off and disconnect in this way.
3. Gather your tools and symbols you’ll be using in your ritual: pen and paper, a bowl, candles, symbols of spring/autumn, perhaps an image or statue of a goddess connected to the Earth in mythology, your notebook or the planner where you write goals and optionally, anything else that puts you in a spiritual space (like burning sage or using an essential oil).
THE PROCESS
1. Find your quiet spot and prepare your space.
2. Get seated comfortably (ideally on the floor so you can feel that connection to the Earth better), and take a moment to become silent, focusing on your breath, becoming present with the sensations in your body.
3. Connect to Mother Earth Gaia by simply become aware that She is holding you right now, through her gravitational field. Then imagine beautiful roots growing from your heart down body and connecting you to Her very core, to her own heart – imagine feeling this connection to your unconditionally accepting and loving mother.
4. Now in your notebook (you can actually turn a notebook into a “notebook for rituals” to use on Full Moons, solstices, equinoxes and at times of big shifts in your life), write down a simple intention for the whole process (e.g. stepping into feeling more grounded in my life, letting go of beliefs that hold me back & setting new goals, feeling my connection to the Earth & cosmos in a feminine way, etc.)
5. Ask to be told/shown/revealed what your Deeper Self (your Soul, your Higher Self, however you connect with that older wiser part of you) is asking of you to release throughout this new season you’re moving into. Try to remain silent and write on a piece of paper the first thing that comes to mind without filtering it (I know how hard it can be to trust what comes up, but be willing to play with it as an experiment).
6. Now, with intention, place the paper into the bowl and burn it. Allow the cleansing flames to put you in a trace-like space and release from your body the energy of what’s written on the paper. Stay silent for a few more moments.
7. Close your eyes again and once more, ask to be shown what you need to be focusing on during this next phase. Ask to be shown how the changes you feel called to make would look like. Write what comes to mind into your notebook this time.
8. Become aware of your connection to the Earth again, of the connection from your heart to Hers and the roots growing from you and spend a moment in gratitude with your hands in a prayer position at your chest with the thumbs feeling your heartbeat. Gratitude for yourself for creating this beautiful moment of presence, gratitude for any insights received and finally gratitude for Gaia herself for supporting you at all times.
Beautiful! Know that your energy, your thoughts and your alignment with your true self never goes unheard. You are – Always – contributing. I hope this has brought you renewal, stillness and clarity and I would love to hear how the ritual went for you!
With so much love,
Adelina