Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;
Lengthen night and shorten day;
Every leaf speaks bliss to me
Fluttering from the autumn tree.
I shall smile when wreaths of snow
Blossom where the rose should grow;
I shall sing when night’s decay
Ushers in a drearier day.
—Emily Brontë
Goodbye, Summer.
We’ve crossed the threshold in the Northern Hemisphere.
Mabon has welcomed us: I feel joy in the shake of every leaf, the roar of Mother Superior. The light of the waning Harvest Moon.
Nature teaches us that transitions can be both harsh and beautiful. I stand in gratitude with my lessons this year, the push off the cliff to explore parts unknown, deep under the frigid and clear waters. I befriended Fear, Anxiety, Angst, and the hardest one to let in under the armor- Resignation.
That is when I let go and fell.
Goodbye, Summer.
Mabon houses us temporarily. She sweeps us into her home in the summer-bright sunshine, and we bask in her offerings; the gifts of the year, her warm and knowing smile (this has happened before and it will happen again, my child), her reminders to be grateful for what we have achieved. And so quickly she sweeps us out the door, across the threshold into the waiting frosty forest.
Transitions can be both harsh and beautiful.
Fall, leaves, fall.
In the dwindling summer-bright sunshine, what pulls you close, draws you near? What lessons have you learned this year?
What do you appreciate the most about the transition to autumn?