Fall Equinox: Rituals + Recipes
“Autumn is the hardest season. The leaves are all falling, and they’re falling like they’re falling in love with the ground.”
What is the Fall Equinox?
The Fall Equinox is a special day in the tradition of Earth Wisdom. It marks the first day of the Fall Season and is a portal from the time of extreme growth (Summer) towards the time of harvest and release (Fall). It can be a harsh transition, shifting from warm heat to cool air…
On this day, our planet, Mother Earth, sits in a point of balance on her axis while she orbits the sun, such that the night and day are equal lengths. Another way to see this is that we have access to the same amount of light and darkness today; masculine and feminine energies; any polarity. The equinox teaches us that there is always a central point that connects the two opposites and it’s a place we can see clearly from— a place of stability.
Too often we live in a place of imbalance — overindulging, pushing ourselves beyond our capacity in any given direction. But the equinox reminds us to find our center, to take a moment, a day to know what a place of balance or re-centering means for us before we yield into the Fall Season.
Rituals + Practices to Honor the Fall Season
We invite you to honor yourself today and remember that you are a child of the earth and sun. As a cyclical being, you too are invited to have a day of balance and centering. For us, we love to honor ourselves and the equinox by:
Making Art (scrapbooks, photo albums, wreaths the signal harvesting)
Changing our closets/rooms (shift from summer to fall clothes)
Taking a walk in nature and appreciating the seasonal shift
Trying a new recipe for comfort food or comfort drinks (cider, chia, pumpkin spice lattes, anyone?)
Journaling (Take a look back 9 months ago, at your New Years resolutions, what has grown since?)
Host a party/zoom hangout (gather your fiends for story telling, crafting, etc.)
Have other Fall rituals you love?
It’s an honor to walk with you during these impressively transformative times. May we continue to recognize and step into our truest wants and desires at every level of our lives— the personal, interpersonal, professional, community, local and global levels. And may it serve the highest good in this sacred design we all know as life.
Ayurvedic Fall Recipes
Fig and Cardamom Overnight Oats, Adapted from The Everyday Ayurveda
● ⅓ cup rolled oats
● 3 dried figs, quartered
● 1 tsp maple syrup
● ⅛ tsp dried cardamom
● ½ cup almond milk or other favorite milk
Instructions:
● Combine all ingredients in a clean 8 ounce jar. Seal with a lid and shake to combine. Put it in the fridge overnight. Let it come to room temp before eating in the AM.
Fall Goddess Muffins, recipe from Kate O’Donnell
● 2 eggs (substitute flax egg for vegan)
● ½ cup cooked butternut squash
● ¼ cup maple syrup
● 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
● 1 tsp vanilla extract
● 1 ½ cup almond meal
● ¼ tsp salt
● ¼ tsp baking soda
● ¼ tsp baking powder
● 1 ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
● ¼ cup fresh cranberries (or substitute unsweetened dry)
● 2 tbsp shredded coconut
Instructions
● Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with cups.
● In a medium sized bowl which eggs vigorously for 1 min. Or use an electric mixer. Add
squash and mash into egg. Stir in maple syrup, vanilla and melted coconut oil.
● In a separate bowl, mix almond meal, salt, baking soda, baking powder and spice mix. Add the dry ingredients to the wet. Do not overmix. Stir in cranberries.
● Divide batter into 6 cups
● Dust with shredded coconut
● Bake for 25 mins or until the tops begin to brown
● Muffins will be soft and will firm up as they cool. Let cool completely before removing from tins.