This article is a collaboration, including our very own Liz from Dark Goddess Collective!
As the season begins to shift, Hestia also shows her face in the natural world. Hestia, as the fire of connection from the center, shows up in the harvest season. We see it when the landscape is bearing and releasing its fruit in the ultimate form of connection and nourishment for the world around it.
The relationship of fires within us and those outside of us are symbiotic. That dynamic presents itself when the plants and trees provide the nourishment that we will need as we shift from our own fruits to the roots. Our assistance with retrieving, or culling the fruits allows her to shift her energy from her fruits to her roots as well. It is the pattern of nature.
Connection to Land
Liz is an amazing witch, deeply connected to the land. I’m grateful and honored to share her work here!
As the wheel of the year shifts into the beginning of Autumn, I move with the land. I’m so deeply connected to her seasonal changes and the elements.
The flowers (the Fire element of the plant) have gone through their alchemical changes to become fruit (Spirit element) which I have harvested and preserved to give me sustenance throughout the Winter months. The leaves (Air element) are changing to beautiful hues of gold, red and brown start to fall, as Autumn progresses the stems, branches and stalks (Water element) need to be cut back or pruned sending back the energy, vibration and life force of the plant back down into the roots (Fire element to Earth element).
The Harvest
It is a busy time for those of us with gardens and myself with my small holding. My harvest yields have been abundant this year, the vegetables, fruit and my herbs. My hard work of growing from seed, planting out in the Spring and nurturing throughout the Summer has paid dividends.
It is also a ‘Mast Year’ for some of the trees. A Mast year is when some tree species produce very large crops. This is a clever strategy to ensure future generations of the trees and is welcome food for wildlife too.
It is the turn of the Mighty Oaks who surround my property.
I can’t walk around my property without the acorns falling on me right now and when the winds blow the noise on my roof sounds like huge heavy hail stones.
It is also the turn of Hawthorn!
Hawthorn’s fire red berries being incredibly prolific, weighing down the branches, they too will yield a good harvest as will the fire red hips of the wild Roses!
Connection to Hestia and Reciprocity
For me this time of year is also about gathering firewood to keep my wood burner, the very heart of my home, fed. It will give me warmth and comfort throughout the colder months which associates a strong connection for me to Hestia Goddess of the Hearth and Fire. I also use my wood burner to give me hot water for washing which cuts down on gas or electricity consumption.
My way of life is living as environmentally friendly as possible.
Another way I do this is to use all of my grey water as well as collected rainwater back on the land. I also use the fallen leaves and dead or used plant material, food scraps and wood ash to create compost to grow more plants. These are cyclical processes, the land and nature give, I use, and then I give back to the land.
~ Liz V.
The Balance
As we enter the liminal space between seasons, it’s a beautiful time to review, rethink, or re-member our connection to the land and each other. In what ways are we balanced in our reciprocity? In what ways are we intuitively rethinking or reshaping our connections to the world around us and within us?
Sending you the biggest blessings this Harvest Season and Equinox!
A Candle & A Key,
Kaycee
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