Autumn Equinox - a poem

Autumn Equinox

I have survived the fiery kiln of summer
baked and purified under life-giving Sun
- that light so bright and strong
I craved it all winter,
yet somehow found it stifling and harsh
during those strong summer days.

Now I find
crisp cold mornings
balanced by hot cider and warm evening blankets.
Busy active days
balanced by quiet stillness of night.

I am finding balance again at the equinox
as I stand here on tip-toe at the precipice
between life and death, equal day and night will find me -

dancing

between consciousness and dream.

Looking behind, I gather my harvest.
Looking ahead, I gather my harvest.
It all somehow feels simultaneously
too small, and too
BIG.

I take this hardened shape of my spirit
purified in the fires of summer
and I paint it all the gold and red and orange shades of fall.
I glaze it with the cool rains of autumn.
Dying leaves fall from trees,
and old fears fall from my hair like dandruff;

I brush it all aside
and prepare a bed for myself
to welcome the coming dark nights of dreaming.
I dig down deep into the sleeping clay
of next year's creation.

W.J.M "Hestia's Muse" September 19, 2015

Mercury Retrograde Housekeeping Challenge!

It's Mercury Retrograde time again!  (This current Mercury Retrograde is September 17 to October 9th of 2015.)
You probably know that Mercury Retrograde isn't a great time to start any new projects, but it IS a great time to go back and finish up anything you started before!  Revise, edit, repair! 
As far as the household, Mercury retrograde is great for releasing excess belongings.  Get rid of clutter and trash and use this time to focus on releasing that which no longer serves you! Review my previous blog post; Clutter As a Block To Spiritual Flow to remember why this clutter can be so detrimental - and how freeing it can be to let it go!

I found this great list of simple challenges on Pinterest.  It's perfect for a Mercury Retrograde because it is a 21 Day challenge!  Mercury Retrogrades usually last about 3 weeks (21 days) and this gives you a simple area of focus for those days!

If you follow ("Like") my facebook page I will be putting up daily reminders for each challenge.

Have fun, keep it simple, and let this retrograde be a time of releasing that which no longer serves you in order to welcome positivity into your life in unexpected ways!  And you may find some great things to donate to charity!