autumn and death

As I welcome Autumn in a very soft and easy way to our home, I’ve been dreaming about and sitting with the topic of death. Death has been following me around (more on that in my audio), reminding me of an important aspect of this seasonal shift: death as an important part of the life cycle.

I’m being invited to note how I honor death…how I honor my ancestors, how I honor the passing of animals and plants, how I honor the transition of seasons. Even how I honor my own endings.

As I harvest the last of our summer plants, and pull them from the ground one by one, I sit in the fullness of life. Gratitude for the abundance, nourishment and beauty these plants offered me and my family; sadness for the end that that is here and the death of these plants.

Today I set up the autumn altar for our home, inviting in this next phase of the year. There's been a dead butterfly on my altar for over a year. I found it on a morning walk with my daughter when she was an infant. It is perfect. Like it landed on the sidewalk in its peak then took its last breath. I realize I’ve been keeping it on my altar to remind me of the fragility of life; a reminder that death comes for us all…sometimes in the peak of our existence, sometimes when we’re winding down a full life, and oftentimes somewhere in between. May we apprentice ourselves to nature, listening deeply to what she shares on Death and Rebirth.  

Wishing you ease as we journey into this next season.

Part 1 portion of the Autumn altar; flowers and leaves to come

Butterfly beauty