What you need to know about fall symbolism
If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere then odds are fall has settled in. With the time change, shorter days, a cooler climate and leaves falling all around, it has arrived. We are in the cycle of the year when darkness is greater than light - the time of the feminine where the sun’s journey into descent is in full force.
It’s the time of Samhain in the Celtic Wheel of the Year. A time of death and descent. Where the inferior within us must die in order to cultivate new life. We do that by slowing down and going within. You may already feel a natural waning within your body and energy. It’s time to honor that. To feel what we need to feel and face the parts of ourselves we don’t like to acknowledge. Introspection, acceptance, the courage to let go, and compassion for ourselves and others are required.
This is a magical, mysterious, energy-shifting time of year. As we embrace the darkness, both within us and in the external world, healing, opportunity, and wisdom can emerge. While it can be scary to confront the shadow, it’s helpful to remember that darkness is an integral part of life. We all carry light and dark within us and all of life starts in the darkness - whether it’s in the womb or in the earth. When there is too much light, things die and dry out, like a desert.
One thing that makes it easier to bear is by connecting through your heart. If we can soften it, engage from a loving place and remember that darkness carries light, then it’s not as scary as it seems. The gift of facing the shadow is the learning and wisdom that comes as a result. We emerge back into the light with more light and wisdom than before. Just like the Yin-Yang symbol, the seed of light is contained within the darkness. And from that seed, we gain clarity, absorb the lessons that are here for us, and tap into the power that helps us overcome, allowing our light to grow.
Gratitude can then emerge. Gratitude for the knowledge that we’ve gained, for being able to apply what we’ve learned, for our journey, for who we are. And beautifully, toward the end of this season, the Thanksgiving holiday is celebrated with the sentiment and reminder of gratitude.
The reading to close out the ceremony for our Autumn Box is this poem - FALL, LEAVES, FALL - from Emily Brontë.
“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.”
I love how it reframes and reorients this season, helping us take a different perspective. As the leaves fall, and the days get colder and darker, may you find bliss, song, blossoming, and gratitude where it might not have been.
For more, check out the video below on additional seasonal symbolism.
