Everything ceases but nothing ends 🍂
My thoughts about dark, moody autumn girl mode, balance, and learning to say farewell
Happy Equinox, dear you.
I’ve been meaning to write to you all week. But, daily life had other plans. Instead, I found myself in the midst of moments, days, and challenges that pulled me away from feeling balanced and grounded, to be honest.
But, it’s early Saturday morning on the autumnal equinox - for us in the northern hemisphere. (Happy Spring to you in the south!). And I’ve got candles lit, a pumpkin spice coffee by my side, and music playing in the background. So, I’m all calm and cozy here, and ready to celebrate the equinox with a few words to you.
No matter where we find ourselves in the world today, no matter what hemisphere we live in, on the equinox, the earth balances on her axis today giving the planet equal amounts of daylight + darkness. Equinox literally means “equal night”. Equi - equal, nox - night. And today’s autumnal equinox ushers in a shift in the seasons and invites us to pause, reflect, and drop into the energy of balance as we cross over into the dark half of the year.
In the northern hemisphere, from now until the equinox in March, there will be more hours of darkness than light. And, with that seasonal, cosmic shift we also officially shift into a slower, quieter, darker, more liminal energy.
You may already know this, but I am a dark half of the year soul. This is the half of the year where I feel most at home. I am more grounded, connected, rooted, and inspired. I don’t know how to explain it, but I am just more me. There is magic, mystery, wisdom, and a cozy, moodiness in the air. And I am comfortable living in the midst of the dark, with the questions, and enveloped in silence. I think it’s where I find myself feeling the most awe and wonder with nature, the cosmos, and the cycles of life.
The autumn equinox means it’s time for cozy, moody, autumn girl mode. It conjures up images of books and rain and candles and hot drinks. Boots and sweaters and gloves. Blankets and movies and long nights gathered at the table.
But, perhaps that’s just all a bit too sweet and perfect and Hallmark-movie-ish. Don’t get me wrong, I loooooove cozy, moody autumn girl mode. All of the above things I mentioned are on my beloved fall bucket list scribbled in my moleskin journal. However, to really feel the deep magic of the dark half of the year, to really drop into the wisdom of the season of autumn, I need to go deeper.
As autumn unfolds, nature teaches me all I need to know. Savor the moment. Surrender to the truth of death as a part of life. Release what has been. Dare to go deep. Rest in the darkness. Hang around in the shadows and fog of your mind. Embrace mystery. Find your wisdom within - from your soul and the souls of others (ancestors, teachers, earth-based cultures, spirits).
With the beginning of the autumnal season, I find that I am first drawn to lessons of surrender and of learning to say farewell - and releasing what has been. By simply following the natural cycle of things, the earth slowly, quietly shifts from the season of abundance and growth to the season of death and harvest. I want to do the same this autumn. I want to effortlessly shift from the growth and experiences of the past into accepting that it is time to bid farewell to many things in my life.
In my yoga class this week, the focus was the root chakra and saying farewell. My teacher shared some lovely words and thoughts throughout the evening, but there is one quote that she read that I keep repeating to myself.
Allting upphör men ingenting tar slut.(Swedish) Everything ceases but nothing ends.
Exactly, I thought, as I felt those words envelope me like a warm, comforting blanket.
And I knew: this is the truth of autumn. But, it is also the truth of life. It is all a cycle. Life, growth, death, rebirth. Things end, but other things begin. Farewells and goodbyes are part of life, but there is always a shift in energy and an opening into something else. Always. And the cycle begins again. In nature and in us. Everything ceases but nothing ends.
Just think about that for a second…
It is with this same deep wisdom that I also want to live. As we enter autumn and darkness today, I want to trust that life unfolds as it is meant to. That one thing ends, but something else begins. That goodbyes and farewells mark deep love for something that once was, but they also open new ways of love and life. Things shift. Energy changes. But, the cycles continue.
This season, in addition to cozy, moody, dark girl autumn, I want to dare to surrender to it all. I want to bravely say my farewells so that something new can begin.
Goodbyes are not easy. There are many things in my life that I need to release right now - some welcome, most of them unwelcome. Nevertheless, this is the time for farewells. The endings, the shifts, the new beginnings of new ways of being are all part of life.
So, I use the balance of this day, the equinox, to give me a moment to take one, long, deep breath to say farewell and feel the shift before starting off on the dark journey inward. A journey that is both cozy and warm and nostalgic, but that is also melancholic and quiet and dark.
The cozy, dark, candlelit nights ahead are the perfect moody, mysterious atmosphere to dig deep and spend time writing and journaling and meditating and reading and simply being with our own thoughts and wishes and dreams. This is the harvest season and there is so much that we can harvest and gather right now in order to prepare for the coming silence of winter.
And, with that, I will take my leave and say farewell to you, dear one. I wish you the coziest, most magical and awe-inspiring equinox. May you feel the shift, begin to say your farewells, and welcome in something new.
xoxo. liz.
I enjoyed this post so much! I live in Ohio, spend a lot of time outside in nature, and have noticed that as soon as the days begin to get darker sooner, I feel a sense of relief. I'm aware of it and have attributed this feeling to the fact that summers tend to be so busy and the days seem to be so long but as I was reading your newsletter today, I kept thinking wow this is me and this is me and that's why I feel like I do! I just recently discovered your Substack so I'll browse your archive, but wondering if you have book recommendations that you've enjoyed about this topic?
I always considered myself a summer girl (with a passion for fall) because of the long days and all the light and sunshine, but I’m feeling drawn to the darkness as well these days. I’m way more creative in fall and winter, and the more important that aspect of myself becomes to me the more important become the seasons that nurture that.
Thanks for your deep insight and lessons about the importance of flowing with the seasons instead of resisting them. Love it! 🤎