Mabon is coming. The fall equinox is tomorrow. This year hasn’t been great in terms of my outward practice, but each cycle of the moon and turn of the season has confronted me with some insight or inner work to do. Last week’s new moon found us helping with a family emergency, which in turn brought up some childhood trauma, which has really given me some important insights. I’ve been dealing with some dark emotions but I’ve also felt some real healing.

Maybe that’s a fitting way to begin fall. I was taught that fall is the season of water, and water is the element of emotion. In a year full of dark and difficult emotions (for all of us, I’m sure), it’s nice to have a few healing moments mixed in. Everything still sucks and we’re not feeling very festive, but hopefully fall will bring us more healing and comforting moments as we drift on this ocean of stress.

In hard times I tend to forget about everything but the problems in front of me, so I’ve been trying to shake out of that and open my eyes more to the world outside. In the cool mornings I’ve been taking long walks around the neighborhood, appreciating the beautiful and unique things that surround me every day, making space for small moments of comfort and connection. Here’s what I’m noticing as Mabon arrives: