Autumn! Crisp cool breezes. Warm sun. The bounty of crops bursting fulfillment, including your seeds of intentions planted in spring. In the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving with gratitude for all we have—the cornucopia of a generous universe.
Autumn is harvest and fulfillment, yet it holds a haunting sadness. Autumn is the fullness before dying— Halloween and Day of the Dead. We thumb our noses at death, still knowing our stay on this beautiful planet is temporary. Autumn Equinox greets us on September 22 with light and dark in perfect balance, but from here on out, darkness increases until Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year.
In this pool of mixed feelings, autumn shouts life at its fullest! In the ceremonies I do with friends to celebrate the changes of season, we focus in fall on gratitude.
“Astrologizes” are exercises aligned with the changing seasons to help us stay in touch with the natural world. The more we’re grateful, the more we receive. To be a Spirited Woman is to hug Source and express appreciation. Let’s start with a Gratitude Box.
Your Gratitude Box - Find a box with a lid. I often purchase ones already decorated at a crafts store, but you can take a simple shoe or recycled gift box. Decorate it to taste. One idea: Paste your favorite quote(s) on gratitude outside. Here’s mine: If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough. - Meister Eckhart
Cut some strips of paper. This astrologize is even more powerful when done in a group setting, although the first part is done solo:
- Review your seeds of intention that have bloomed since spring. This is easy, if you did the spring astrologize. Just review your seed packet. If you didn’t do the spring astrologize, no problem. Just add this pre-step. Recall those desires and resolutions you were working on in late March. Write them down. Now review them and write what you’re grateful for that has come to pass on your paper slips.
- Once you’ve written your gratitude for the seeds you consciously planted, move on to write thanks for the pleasant surprises—those gifts you received that were unexpected. “Box” them all.
- If done in a group, go around the circle giving each person a chance to share select slips of gratitude. End with a prayer or poem on gratitude.
Gratitude Journal - Gratitude isn’t a season; it’s a way of life. Keep up your supply of blank paper and add to your Gratitude Box daily. It’s great to dip into the box on a blue day for reminders of the blessings in your life. An alternative: add a column to your journal, Things I’m Grateful for Today. I always aim to find ten. This positive thinking and delight in good things that come your way keeps a woman spirited and in the flow of life’s gifts. It will truly change you.
Happy Harvest!
- Joyce Mason - www.joycemason.com
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Joyce Mason has been an astrologer for over 20 years and a writer ever since she could hold a pencil. Her trademark is insight with humor. Learn more about Joyce, her two blogs, and her library of articles on topics from A to Zzz (astrology to dreamwork) on her Writer Joyce Mason website. Don’t miss her spirited living blog, Hot Flashbacks, Cool Insights or her astrology site, The Radical Virgo.
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