Another Turning of the Wheel

Fall officially arrived this week, although somebody apparently forgot to tell Georgia because it is still plenty warm enough outside to make me question the calendar.

But the wheel turned anyway.

This week brought Mabon and the Fall Equinox, that little point in the year when day and night meet almost evenly before we begin our slow walk into the darker half of the year.

I’ve always loved the idea of the Wheel of the Year. Not because I think we need another calendar telling us what we’re supposed to be doing, but because it reminds me to notice things.

And lately, life has been moving fast enough that I could probably use the reminder.

The garden is changing. The evenings are coming a little earlier. There’s a different feeling in the air, even if the temperature hasn’t gotten the memo yet.

And I’m changing seasons a little bit too.

The last few weeks have been busy. Really busy. I spent months preparing for my first big festival, worrying over every little detail, making bracelets, blending tea, packing boxes, unpacking boxes, changing things, changing them back, and probably driving everyone in my house slightly crazy.

Then suddenly it happened.

And then it was over.

There’s something strange about standing on the other side of something you worked toward for so long. You look around and think, Well… now what?

Maybe that’s part of what Mabon is about.

Harvest isn’t only about gathering apples and pumpkins and herbs from the garden. Sometimes our harvest is simply stopping long enough to look at what all that work actually grew.

What worked?

What didn’t?

What surprised me?

What do I want to carry forward?

And what can I finally put down?

The funny thing about the equinox is that while we’re welcoming autumn here in the Northern Hemisphere, the Southern Hemisphere is welcoming spring.

Same earth.

Same sun.

Same turning of the wheel.

But while one garden is beginning to rest, another is waking up.

I really love that.

Because life seems to work that way too.

We can be ending something and beginning something at the exact same time. We can be tired from the last season while still feeling excited about the next one. We can be grateful for what we’ve gathered and still have seeds in our pockets.

Maybe balance doesn’t mean having everything perfectly divided down the middle.

Maybe it’s simply knowing when to hold on and when to let go.

When to work.

When to rest.

When to harvest what we’ve grown.

And when to quietly tuck another seed into the dirt.

So this week, I’m taking a minute at the garden gate.

I’m looking back at what this season gave me. I’m appreciating the things that grew — including a few things I wasn’t sure ever would.

And I’m looking ahead, too.

There are still ideas scribbled in notebooks. There are still herbs waiting to be blended, bracelets waiting to be made, festivals to think about, and plenty of things I haven’t even dreamed up yet.

But they don’t all have to happen today.

The wheel will turn again.

It always does.

And maybe that’s one of the nicest things about standing here at the equinox.

Nothing stays in one season forever.

Happy Mabon, friends.

Until next time, I’ll meet you Through the Garden Gate.

— Mary