Fall Equinox 2009

This is the season of abundance. Wherever we look we see Her harvest. Purple grapes hang from their vines. Branches hang heavy from the weight of fruit and sweet nutmeats. All life forces have done their work ~ the sun ~ the rain ~ the earth ~ the wind ~ all have added and imbued everything with fruitful abundance.

We have reached the time of the harvest. The shadows of the day are lengthening and our growing season is drawing to a close. We reach out claiming our rich rewards ~ our bountiful harvest.

We are about to see one last array of beautiful color, the trees bursting forth in dazzling color ~ one last display ~ reds and golds ~ yellows and oranges ~ in final preparation for plants to move into their resting season. Minerals of the Earth fed these living things giving life in the spring and then flowers blooming into fullness. Finally, heaviness swelling, they return the body to the earth in this deepening autumn. We begin a season of quiet rest.

We are not unlike or kin of the plant kingdom. We plant our feet on this firm Earth as well. We live in similar cycles, first with fresh adventures, new forms of study, new plans all bursting within us. We move into the summer of our work ~ the blossoming forth of our dreams into reality, each promising a fruitful harvest following our hard work. The visible signs of what is yet to come hold promise, a thread of light that runs through everything in the Universe, a promise without which we could not ever begin again with hope for new endeavors, just as the trees, without it, would not bloom in the spring.

As we move deeply into our own experience, we feed on that which nourishes the soul, expanding to embrace new ideas, concepts, visions, pleasures, and sorrows. Much like the trees reaching higher and wider, we expand our view. Just as the plants, we struggle in the summer of the cycle for growth and expansion.

In this cycle of growth, inevitably there comes a time when no matter what our involvement or dedication, a change comes upon us. Somehow no matter how much we try to resist this time ~ some important process within us stops and we cannot move forward.

This is not an indication that all is lost or even that the growth is over. It is a sign of the changing of the seasons. The trees know the change is upon them when the day grows shorter and the temperature begins to drop; and if these signs do not speak loudly enough, the first frost brings home the message. We know the summer of our endeavor is at an end when we can take in no more, when no fresh understanding unfolds, or when the heart has gone out of the experience.

It is time to pause in our growth, rest from our steady seeking. We must lay aside our books, come home from our adventures and sit by the fire. In the closing of a cycle we, too, must let the quiet enfold us while the fruit of our searching ripens. We must take the time to gently search within ourselves for the full harvest of our experiences. 

To know the cycle of nature is to know the cycle of ourselves. Every season has its purpose. When a cycle of life comes into autumn for us, we are not delaying new growth by taking the time to taste the sweet abundance of our experience. Before we look ahead to the promised spring, before we hurry to our next project, let us take counsel with ourselves, and partake of the rich reward that is the true fruit of our seeking; let us celebrate the harvest and rest awhile in the lengthening shadows of autumn.

Many Blessings

Bendis

Author’s Bio: In the Goddess community, Deanne Quarrie is known as Bendis, Fierce Huntress of the Two Spears, Priestess of the Goddess. Bendis spent the early part of her life as a student of world religion, finally finding Goddess in mid-life.  Diving headlong into what she considered life’s greatest treasure, Deanne has never looked back.  Her work as a priestess has been dedicated to the empowerment of women and helping them to learn of the ecstasy of Her dance.  She has written four books which can be purchased at http://www.lulu.com/applebranch Bendis has spent the last eleven years heavily involved on the Internet, weaving webs through continents, networking and pointing seekers far and wide, serving as moderator for many e-groups, as both peacekeeper and technical advisor for thousands of women as they grew in Goddess. Through the Apple Branch - A Dianic Tradition, Bendis has mentored many women as they studied to become priestesses themselves.  These women now share their knowledge and guide other women both in the United States and in Europe.

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The Apple Branch - A Dianic Tradition