Dancing the Circle

The wheel is turning, the season changing 
A misty autumn door lies open before me 
As my path winds on to new stars birthing 
I am dancing the circle around and around. 

Iona Jenkins 2022

​Passing through the seasonal door of Autumn Equinox, I sense a change in the air, as well as in the ground beneath my feet. The vibrant greens of summer may wither in grass and leaf, but in this dying, the landscape will soon be re-painted in a blaze of gold, amber, russet, ginger, taupe, crimson, dove grey and deep evergreen. And at the same time, there is a soft compassionate quality in the quiet sea outside the window of my apartment, glittering with morning diamonds from bright sunlight accompanying this autumn transition. The intense heat, and lashing storms we had in South Wales towards summer’s end have all blown away.

In Celtic tradition, autumn is located in the west on the wheel of the year with the element water, which cleanses and washes away. The Archangel associated with this direction is Gabriel. Autumn is a time for letting go, a time to surrender after celebrating the harvest, and stocking our barns in readiness for the dark stillness of the winter months. Autumn is a time when the Soul seeks to shed all that is worn out, just as a tree sheds its leaves to survive, to thrive and blossom again in the spring. It is also a time to reflect upon, and celebrate our achievements, in addition to acknowledging mistakes and regrets before casting them into the autumn winds, so we may move on, as the mist clears from wisdom learned, and our path continues.

I have cast this years regrets into the ocean, and as I reflect upon my harvest, the fruits of my own labour I have gathered and stored, I see how the idea I turned into a book is now in its final stages of publishing, ready for its release in early December. My creation will soon be ready to take it’s chances, like a well-loved, nurtured child leaving the home of my inner landscape for the outside world of form. As I prepare for finally letting go, I make a wish that the words which flowed from my pen in that act of creation, may now nourish and inspire the lives of all, who choose to journey with me through its pages.

And today, I have also opened a bag of new seeds, all ready for planting in good ground, to nurture and grow my next book. The quest for Creative Spirit continues, as the wheel turns, dancing the circle around and around.

May all find personal inspiration and comfort in this new season.

IONA

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To Autumn
“Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.”
John Keats

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