This moon is going to keep you up at night but you’re not even going to mind! If you have any goals you’ve been sitting on starting; if there’s decisions you’ve been vacillating between; if there’s an uncertainty you’re hoping to find clarity on… this is the full moon that you’ve been waiting for.
The second harvest is upon us. The Equinox last week welcomes the thinning veil, and you may find your intuition heightened. Use this to guide you towards your goals. This is the time of action.
For this month’s ritual, we’re working on transformation. Not because there’s anything wrong with you: but because like the snake that sheds its skin, you simply are ready to grow.
You’re going to need the first signs of autumn you’re seeing in your yard. The drying flowers in your garden. The fallen leaves on the ground. The husks of fallen walnuts. Maple seedlings. Anything that is calling to you.
Go outside and take a walk. If you don’t have a lot of nature near you, you can find things that signal the end of summer, the end of the growing season, and the start of transformation. A pamphlet for back to school shopping, or a dusty popsicle wrapper reminding you that summer is over could work too! Feel free to get creative.
We’ll be calling on the transformative energy of the autumn for this ritual. Autumn is not a time of death: it is a foundation for life. The leaves fall so that frogs, snakes, salamanders, and other animals can have winter shelter. Caterpillars, the pupae of moths and butterflies, and many insects use the leaves as hibernation habitats. The tree itself needs to shed the leaves so that the new may grow.
You too are shedding so that you can grow.
For this ritual you will need:
Signs of nature’s transition into autumn
A jar
A piece of paper and a pencil
A candle of any color that reminds you of autumn: yellow, orange, red, or brown
Solid intentions for the energy you’re feeling
Call the quarters and set your sacred space. You might choose to embrace the elements and do this outdoors, enjoying the last lingering days of warmth before a cold winter. If there are any gods or goddesses you prefer to invoke in every ritual, call them in as well.
Call in the land spirits and ask the blessing of autumn:
“Spirits of this land. Elders of the trees and stone. I invite you to join me in this time transformation. Stand with me here in this season of change. I invite your calming presence this day as I set my intentions for my transformation.”
Take the paper and write your intentions. What do you need to shed so that you might grow? Into what goals will you grow? After you write them down, share them with the spirits present by reading it aloud. You will place this in your Book of Shadows.
Then take a second piece of paper and write the things you need to release, the old habits, relationships, or perspectives you need to shed in order to achieve these things. Read them aloud as well.
Once you’ve read them both aloud, lay the papers aside and open your jar. Place the leaves or other autumn objects inside the jar, saying “as nature sheds to invite new growth, so do I.” Place the leaves and objects in the jar. Then add your list of what you need to shed to the jar as well. Roll it up as small as you can and add it to your jar.
The paper with your goals will come home with you for your Book of Shadows. At this point, you may want to place it at your breast, close to your heart for the remainder of the ritual.
When the jar is filled, seal it with the candle. You can drip the wax to seal the jar further, and then place the candle on the top for it to burn out completely. Say, “as the fallen leaves are to the trees, may this candle be to my transformation. May it melt away and allow me to transform.”
Thank the land spirits and autumn for accepting your invitation today:
“Spirits of this land. Elders of the trees and stone. I thank you for accepting my invitation for you to join me in this time transformation. Thank you for lending your steadfast support in this season of change. May we see it through together in this autumn of becoming.”
Release the quarters and any deities you invoked. Leave offerings to nature if you’re outside, and to your deities if they were invoked. A libation or snack is a good option, or a piece of your hair is good too.
When the ritual is complete, you can keep this jar on your altar, your car, or at your desk, somewhere you will work towards these goals. When you need to, shake it or hold it close to remind you that you have the support of the seasons and spirits around you to transform.
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