The Coming Equinox

I’ve always appreciated the Equinoxes. I like the reminders that both the Light and the Dark are coming. I’ve never celebrated the more Wiccan Mabon version. For me I used it as a time of re-balancing. I used the Equinoxes to fast and clean, to shed the excesses and intensities of the previous season and prepare for the new one. My practice used to be to abstain from food – a full 24 hour fast of nothing but water, do a lot of yoga and meditation, and deep clean the house. And then I had kids.

Strict fasting is out, as I’ve been pregnant and/or nursing for the last 7 years. Besides, I take a limited fast every Monday. Lots of yoga and meditation is also generally out, as uninterrupted time is hard come by. I just accept that my yoga and meditation practice comes with a child nearby. Deep cleaning a house also takes all week as I fit it in between the needs of my family and regular daily requirements.

However, this year has a special feel to it. It’s the first Equinox in our new home. The first one where we can see what a harvest looks like.

Our garden is beyond abundant, as is my gratitude. My husband and I know almost nothing about growing our own food. We bought a house with a huge garden. Instead of letting it go to seed, we invited some local sustainable agriculture students to farm it. They grow their own food and we have the ability to go out and pick what we need. They get rent-free land and we get a share of the land’s bounty.

This Equinox I am grateful for the four college students who work so lovingly with the Land. I am grateful that allow my kids to “help” and teach them things about bugs and dirt and plants.

As I deep clean my house over the course of this week, in frustrating fits and starts, I am grateful for all of the abundance in our lives. The lush Land outside our doors and the lush chub of a healthy baby. For my kids who are thriving in a new school year and home that is filled with love and acceptance.

This Saturday, the formal Equinox, I’ll raise a glass in thanks and my family will talk about gratitude. I’ll stand outside and offer blessings to Land and Spirits. If the “gardeners” come by (they’ve been on vacation) I will thank them too.

The Dark will begin to make Its presence felt and tides will shift. And my family life will get busier as school and activities and more holidays will fill the calendar. But this weekend I pause and accept my body and my home and my Land as it is, with gratitude for all its abundance.