Autumn Equinox Ritual: A Moment to Return & Remember
The Autumn Equinox is a threshold. This transition is a moment of balance between light and dark as well as an invitation to notice what this year has given us before we begin the journey toward winter.
There are the blessings we would gladly keep: the celebrations, unexpected joys, people we gathered with, places we traveled, things that grew.
And there are the gifts we may not have asked for: disappointments, endings, uncertainty, mistakes, difficult conversations, seasons that asked more of us than we thought we had to give.
All of it belongs to the year.
This ritual is a way of remembering—not to hold tightly to what has been but to honor it. To gather the blessings and the lessons, thank them for what they have given us, and begin making space for what comes next.
The Ritual: Gather the Year
Sometime around the Equinox, take a little time to mentally look back over the year so far. Move slowly through your memories. Look through your phone photos or your calendar.
Think about the people, places, celebrations, ordinary afternoons, changes, challenges, beginnings, and endings that have shaped your year.
Then, choose a handful of moments—and find small keepsakes that represent what you have expereinced. They may be photographs, ticket stubs, labels from a favorite bottle, a note someone gave you, a stone or shell from a journey, dried flowers or leaves, something made by a child, a receipt from a memorable meal, or simply a few words written on scraps of paper.
Include reminders of the delightful things and, if it feels right, something representing what was difficult too.
Arrange these objects somewhere you will see them, maybe a table, shelf, windowsill, or small seasonal altar.
Leave them there for a week.
You don't need to do anything with them yet.
Simply let them remind you:
This happened.
I was here.
This, too, became part of my life.
Close the Ritual: Sit With What You Have Gathered
At the end of the week, make a little space for yourself.
Light a candle. Pour a cup of tea. Sit beside the objects you have gathered and spend a few quiet moments looking at them.
You may wish to journal or contemplate these inquiries.
Begin with what you have received.
What surprised or delighted me this year?
What do I want to celebrate?
Where did I grow?
Who or what supported me?
What did I learn about myself?
What did the difficult moments teach me?
What am I grateful to have experienced—even if I don't need to experience it again?
Then turn gently toward release. Spend some time considering where you may still be gripping the year. Perhaps there is something beautiful you are trying to hold onto or recreate. Perhaps there is something painful you are resisting, replaying, or trying to make certain will never happen again.
You don't have to resolve any of it.
For this moment, simply ask:
What am I ready to stop gripping?
What can I allow to be complete?
What no longer needs to come with me?
Listen to (and if you wish write) whatever flows through your mind.
Practice: A Grounding & Releasing Meditation
Take a moment to pause. Close your eyes, if that feels comfortable.
Feel the ground beneath you. Notice your body being supported by the chair, the floor, the earth. Let yourself rest here.
Allow your breath to come and go naturally.
Bring to mind the year you have lived so far. Let a few moments rise on their own… faces, places, celebrations, changes, things you hoped for, and things you never expected.
Notice what brings warmth. Notice what still feels tender.
There is nothing to sort or change. Simply acknowledge:
This was part of my year.
This was part of my becoming.
Imagine holding all you have received in your open hands—the blessings and the lessons, the beautiful and the difficult.
Silently offer:
Thank you for what you gave me.
Thank you for what you taught me.
Take a slow breath.
Now gently open your hands.
You don't need to forget or push anything away. Simply loosen your grip.
Let what is complete be complete.
Let what is leaving, leave.
With each exhale, soften your jaw, your shoulders, your hands.
Feel a little more space open within you.
The beautiful does not disappear when you stop grasping for it.
The difficult does not need to be resisted in order for its lesson to remain.
Feel the steadiness of the earth beneath you and quietly say:
I honor what has been.
I release what is complete.
I make space for what comes next.
Take one final breath, and gently open your eyes.
Turning Toward the Darker Season
When you are ready, extinguish your candle and return, keep, or release the objects you gathered in whatever way feels right.
Autumn reminds us that release is part of growth. The trees loosen their leaves. The earth quiets. Little by little, space is made.
May this Equinox be a moment to return and remember…. to bless what has been, loosen your hands around what is passing, and enter the darker season a little lighter and more open to what comes next.
LIVE ONLINE MINI-RETREAT
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 at 7:00pm EDT
Autumn Equinox Mini-Retreat: Rest & Return
As the season turns, so do we — toward stillness, toward breath, toward the simple knowing that rest is not separate from practice, it is practice.
Join me online Tuesday, September 22 for a 90-minute Autumn Equinox mini-retreat:
30 minutes of meditation to arrive, followed by an hour of slow, supported practice to let the body settle into the turning of the year.
🍂 Tuesday, September 22 | 7:00–8:30pm ET
🍂 Live + recording (available through October 22)
🍂 Included with Online Membership or Drop-In available