On the 23rd of September, the Equinox is happening in both hemispheres, Spring in the Southern and Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere.
The Equinoxes are all about balance.
On both equinoxes the sun is directly overhead on the equator and day and night are of equal length all over the world.
These seasonal festivals, Spring (Ostara) and Autumn (Mabon), are not about the deep dark or the high peak, it’s not about the extremes, it’s all about … balance!
Balance is a beneficent resting point one can always return to after splashing out into the extremes. It’s also a time of tangible results. Spring Equinox offers us the egg, the potential, the new on the verge of coming out. Autumn Equinox offers us the apple, the juicy result of a full cycle.
Here’s a physical grounding exercise to prepare ourselves for the Equinox, to embody the balance that the axis of the equinoxes has to offer: The Pitchfork Position!
We can use this exercise to strengthen our connection with the Earth, and even with the Wheel of the Year as you can see in the picture below. It's called the 'pitchfork position' because we work with ‘three energy legs’. The first two run through our legs into the earth, the third runs from the tailbone into the earth.
Spread your feet at shoulder height and bend your knees slightly. The exercise allows you to draw up energy from the earth or, if you wish, you can also let surplus energy flow into the earth.
To activate the energy flow, place your hands on your navel. Now visualize energy rising from the centre of the earth into your hands. Visualise how the energy is absorbed through the middle of your feet, rising in two streams through your legs and uniting into one stream.
Now visualize in the same way that the energy rising from the earth is absorbed by your tailbone or root chakra at the base of your spine: this energy joins the two streams from your legs. The bundled energy then flows into your centre. Try to feel this energy in your hands as it fills your entire lower body.
The more often you do this exercise, the easier it is to feel the energy of the Earth and to let it flow into your body. If you feel that a situation or confrontation in your daily life is throwing you off balance, this exercise can help you to feel grounded again quickly with minimal effort. Enjoy!
[Image Wheel: Carla Rosseels; Grounding exercise: Jennifer Hinton; Drawing man: Rob Horree]
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