Thoughts on the start of the autumn and a future art project.
(Image description: A photo of a black lantern with a lit candle inside. It is on a wooden bench surrounded by fallen autumn leaves. The background is of a forested area during sunset.) Credit: Photo by Marko Blažević on Unsplash
My most recent flamekeeping shift started on the eve of the Autumn Equinox, so observing the shift in the seasons seemed even more important than usual. Fall is my favorite season with its gradually cooler temperatures, shorter days, heartier meals, and many other wonderful things.
Beside fulfilling prayer requests, I spent some time in nature to celebrate the holiday. It was a quiet, but fulfilling occasion.
Even with the official start of the season, it wasn’t time to don sweaters and watch colorful leaves fall from trees. I spent some time at the beach and enjoyed the cooler temperatures there. Autumn is felt more in the slant of the sun and the wind. In this case, it was very windy that day, so it serves as a reminder of autumn’s blustery side.
It’s bit of a habit to collect seashells from the shoreline, so I try to be mindful of not collecting too many. After all, shells are homes for many animals and eventually contribute to coastlines in their own small way, with the issue of erosion being a problem.
While there, I found a seashell and a piece of driftwood about the length of my forearm. It has some lovely lines and knots. When I spotted it, I immediately thought it might have a spiritual purpose.
I initially considered making it into a wand, but I then thought that it could serve as a more durable base for a bell branch. My current one is made from a slender tree branch that I painted silver with small, round bells attached to it.
The driftwood has some spiritual connections by way of the three realms of earth, sea, and sky. Its parent tree depended on the land to grow. Once the branch fell off the tree, it was shaped by the water and wind.
Other than adding bells to it, I think adding the letters of the ogam alphabet to it could possibly work. I will need to give it some thought for its design.
Art projects aside, changes in the season also have their own deeper meanings. After all, the natural world is a mirror to the spiritual one.
In the Carmina Gadelica, St. Bride is mentioned as holding sway over the seasons and giving them their respective purposes. She’s typically associated with the coming of spring and renewal of life, but
She’s also responsible for the other seasons’ aspects.
I don’t know how people in the Scottish Highlands might’ve personally perceived the seasonal changes due to time period and location differences, but there is a general sense of slowing down and turning inward. This shift can be observed in many different ways, based on preferences and circumstances.
It’s a return to rest and a time for gratitude, but it can also be a time to start removing things that no longer serve a purpose. It’s a slowness of color and bounty until nature slumbers in winter.
From a monastic perspective, fall might be considered as an increase in the quiet of the earth and a drawing near of the Otherworld. That occurrence makes sense with Samhain approaching, a time of the ancestors and liminality in general. As this seasonal process continues, I imagine that I’ll write more about these sorts of topics.
May you and yours have a blessed, happy, and wondrous autumn!
Leave a Reply