What Brings Autumn?

“Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves, we have had our summer evening, now for October eves!” 
          – Humbert Wolfe

Axial tilt is the reason for the seasons. Because of the earth’s mass, there is a gyroscopic tilt to its rotation. It is tilted 23.4 degrees in relation to its plane of orbit. This tilt appears from earth as if the sun moves across the sky at an angle to the equator.

Two times a year the sun rests on the celestial equator. And at this time the sun will rise exactly in the east and set exactly in the west. These are the equinoxes. This year (2015) the Autumn equinox takes place on September 23^rd at 8:21 UTC.  After the Autumn Equinox, each day the sun’s rays will shine more on the southern hemisphere and less on the northern hemisphere. Those of us in the northern hemisphere experience the gradual shift of seasons from summer to fall.

The laws of nature will also shift. Autumn is a time of culmination, when the cycle of plant life has completed; flowered, borne fruit and generated seeds. Scientifically speaking, chlorophyll production is declining which (poetically speaking) is generating a kaleidoscope of golden and jeweled colors. Plant life above ground is beginning to wither, while life below ground is burrowing deeper.

It is time to honor accomplishments and harvest from nature. It is time to thank the earth for her generous bounty; to come together in community and celebration as the days grow shorter and cooler. In order to benefit from the shifting laws of nature, we change our clothing, our food and our routine.

Ideally we will have a fall cleanse and purify our bodies of accumulated summer heat and toxins. Fall is the most effective time of year to cleanse, according to Ayurved, because all of the circulatory channels are dilated from summer’s warmth and the body is innately programmed to slough off and release all that is not useful for the coming season. After the cleanse it is a time to eat denser, more unctuous and starchy foods – the roots, gourds, seeds and nuts that are now amply provided as nature’s bounty.  Taking our cue from the sun, we do best to retire a little earlier at night for more restorative rest. It is also time to prepare the land for winter’s sleep, putting the garden to bed, filling the silo, larder, pantry and wood pile.

Autumn is a glittering time when colors dazzle and the air has a unique golden clarity. All around us nature is busy preparing for winter; the stirring call of the elk, the noisy migration of geese and the quiet and almost unseen scuttling of mice and garden spiders.

“I love fall! Fall is exciting. It’s apples and cider. It’s an airborne spider. It’s pumpkins in bins. It’s burrs on dogs’ chins.  It’s wind blowing leaves. It’s chilly red knees. It’s nuts on the ground. It’s a crisp, dry sound. It’s green leaves turning, and the smell of them burning. It’s clouds in the sky. It’s Fall. That’s why … I love Fall.”  
                 – Author unknown.