Happy September Equinox wherever you live in the world, on Wednesday 22 September at 19.22 UTC (see www. timeanddate.com for the time and date in your region).

Eighteen months or more we hit the pandemic full on and the scary movie scenario became a reality from which we could not easily wake.

At last are stirrings of spring in the Southern hemisphere and new life again in some parts of the world; in the northern climes the September Equinox heralds the tentative Autumn harvest we are starting to reap and use as best we can - and to plan for the new planting just the other side of winter. We can use the balance of this time in every land equal day and night, albeit unsteadily as we walk into morning or twilight, to restore our own equilibrium and reach out to steady others.

For all of us we are encountering maybe for the first time in years, the person we are essentially and have always been in our hearts. It was all too easy to lose that real authentic self in the 24/7 scramble of the previous years to reach the winning post ahead of those we regarded as rivals with whom now we share the good and bad times.

Once we once we have cleared the chaos and debris, hopeful, eager; we can emerge again full of dreams to share that better world with others as well as ourselves.
Mother Nature turns the wheel of the year without our help or interference and despite our neglect of the climate. it is not too late to try to preserve the bird song we heard during lockdown, even as the traffic roars at the starting block, to appreciate the local flowers and greenery before racing for the departure gate at the airport to whoever or wherever will welcome us first regardless of if we actually want to go.
As we meet again with friends, family and colleagues, it may be hard to remember why we felt so aggrieved over petty point scoring in an obscure family feud or office rivalry.

Go with all your heart for change as it becomes possible again, but do not give up on people or situations where there is still hope and love or where we discovered we are mortal, not angels or demons and so there can be forgiveness and understanding.

Wherever you live in the world on this Equinox, you might like to try this renewal of the home ritual where many of us have spent so much time in the previous months, to welcome the new energies

You will need:

A bowl of lavender, lilac or rose water or a floral fragrance diluted in a little water.

Timing:

Any morning around the Spring Equinox in the Southern hemisphere or the Autumn Equinox in the Southern hemisphere as a reminder, new beginnings can come any time anyway with a willing heart.

The Ritual

• Anoint each doorknob or handle in your home with a few drops of fragrance, starting from outside the front door and sprinkling a few drops on each external window ledge too, saying for each, Blessings on all, May sickness, misfortune and sorrow call here no more, henceforth do I bar every door. Let there be laughter, health and good cheer, bad luck and sadness depart now from here.
• Go indoors, again anointing door handles starting inside the front door and ledges in every room, repeating the words.
• Pour any fragrance that is left down any internal plughole and put in the plug, saying, Now, only goodness and good fortune remains. Blessings be on all who enter herein.

Happy, happy Equinox and may those I have not seen for so many months across the seas soon be restored to my life. You are always in my heart,